Using your phone on a ski holiday: roaming and eSIMs

Quick answer: heading to France, Austria, Italy or Switzerland? Check your plan, because many include European roaming, and O2 includes it up to 25GB. Going to Andorra? Get a travel eSIM before you go. A week of roaming there costs £40 to £56, and O2 charges £65 for just 1GB.

What roaming costs in each ski country

Prices for pay monthly customers on plans that don't already include roaming, from each network's own website on 2 November 2026.

EE's Europe pass is also available as £16.50 for 7 days or £30 for 15 days. "Included" on O2 means your normal allowance works up to 25GB. Older plans and plans with inclusive roaming may pay less, so check your own plan before you go.

Skiing in Andorra: why it costs so much

Andorra sits between France and Spain, but it isn't in the EU, and none of the big three UK networks include it in their European roaming zone:

• Vodafone charges £8 a day for your usual calls, texts and data, up to 25GB. That's £56 for a week.
• EE treats Andorra as Zone 2: £8 for 24 hours, £40 for 7 days or £60 for 15 days. Without a pass you get no mobile data at all.
• O2 doesn't offer its Travel Bolt On there. Data comes in bundles: £26 for 100MB, £45 for 500MB or £65 for 1GB. Calls cost £3 a minute, to make or to receive.

Compare that with an Andorra travel eSIM: 3GB for £5.92 or 10GB for £15.70, each valid for 30 days. You keep your UK SIM switched on for calls and texts, and use the eSIM for data.

Driving in through France? Around Pas de la Casa your phone can pick up French or Andorran networks, so it may switch between EU roaming and Andorra rates without you noticing. With an eSIM for data and data roaming turned off on your UK line, it doesn't matter which one you're on.

France, Austria, Italy and Switzerland

These are much cheaper. O2 customers can use their normal allowance (up to 25GB). On EE and Vodafone plans without inclusive roaming, you pay about £2.75 a day, which comes to around £19 for a week, or £16.50 with EE's 7-day pass.

A travel eSIM can still beat that. A Europe eSIM with 10GB costs £9.94 and a Switzerland eSIM with 5GB costs £3.34. It's worth it if your plan charges a daily fee, caps your roaming data or you share a phone plan with the family.

Switzerland isn't in the EU, but the big UK networks put it in their European zone at the same price as France or Austria. Ski areas that cross the border, such as the Portes du Soleil between France and Switzerland, therefore cost no more than staying on one side.

How much data do you need for a ski week?

For maps, messaging, lift and weather apps and a few photos on social media, 3–5GB is plenty for a week. Go for 10GB or more if you'll post lots of video, stream in the chalet or use your phone as a hotspot. See our data guide for more.

Mountain phone tips

• Keep your phone warm. Cold drains batteries fast. Keep it in an inside pocket and carry a small power bank.
• Download maps before you go up. Save the resort's piste map and offline Google Maps for the area while you're on Wi-Fi.
• Save the emergency numbers. 112 works across Europe, including Andorra and Switzerland, and most resorts also list a local piste rescue number on the lift pass or map.
• Set up your eSIM at home. Install it on Wi-Fi a day or two before you travel and switch it on when you arrive.
• Turn off data roaming on your UK line once the eSIM is active, so you only pay for the data you've already bought.

Ski holiday phone FAQs