Estonia eSIM

Staying connected in Estonia

Most visits to Estonia start in Tallinn, whose medieval Old Town is a UNESCO World Heritage site, and many continue to the university city of Tartu, the beach town of Pärnu or the islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa. Install a travel eSIM at home and switch it on when you arrive. AirOva sells Estonia plans from $1.49: fixed GB, unlimited data and a data + calls option, on Tele2 and Telia with 4G and 5G where available; each plan card lists its network.

Which Estonia plan to choose

GB plans suit most trips, since maps, messaging and ticket apps take little data. Unlimited plans give unlimited data with no data cap and no fair-usage limit, priced by the number of days, which suits remote work and long stays. The data + calls option adds call minutes to mobile data. GB and unlimited plans are data only, and no plan includes a local phone number. For more on travelling with an eSIM here, read our Estonia eSIM guide.

Telia, Tele2 and 5G

Estonia has three mobile network operators: Telia, Elisa and Tele2. AirOva plans run on Tele2 and Telia; Elisa is not on our plans. All three operators won 5G licences in the 2022 auctions, and by November 2022 Telia said its 5G reached more than 40% of the population. Plan cards and your phone decide what you see, so expect 4G in places and 5G where available.

Arriving at Tallinn Airport or by ferry

Tallinn Airport (TLL), the largest international airport in Estonia, lies about 5 km southeast of the city centre, and trams have run to the terminal since September 2017. Many visitors arrive by sea instead: ferries from Helsinki usually take two to two and a half hours across the Gulf of Finland. After arriving, turn off airplane mode, switch the eSIM line on, choose it for mobile data and enable Data Roaming for that line; the plan is prepaid, so roaming adds no charge.

EU roaming in Estonia

Estonia is in the European Union, so SIMs from the EU, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Moldova and Ukraine roam there under Roam Like at Home. If your SIM comes from elsewhere, roaming is billed at your operator's own rates, and a prepaid eSIM keeps the cost fixed. Touring Latvia and Lithuania as well? Every Europe eSIM plan covers all three Baltic states. Read more in EU roaming rules explained.

Tip: install the eSIM over Wi-Fi a few days before you travel, and keep roaming off on your home SIM unless it is from the EU. Leave the home SIM in the phone for bank codes, and set the eSIM as your data line before you board the plane or the ferry.