Crossing the Mediterranean: 18 destinations priced per gigabyte (2026)
HelloRoam is our top pick for the Mediterranean, scoring 9.7 out of 10 on this site's border-crossing rubric against 7.4 for Airalo. HelloRoam's Global bundle covers 127 countries on one eSIM, and it refunds an unactivated eSIM for 180 days. Airalo lists 200+ destinations worldwide against HelloRoam's 185.
Mediterranean as a route, not as a continent
A Mediterranean week touches Europe, Africa and the Middle East, so no single page region covers it. This page prices the 18 destinations a cruise or ferry route actually calls at. 13 of 18 list more than one operator, the second-highest share of the twelve regions here, and 16 publish a 5G label. Rates run $0.61 per GB in France to $22.52 in Monaco, so one expensive port can cost more than the rest of the itinerary.
The wider hub stays where it was. Every Europe destination is still priced on one page, and every destination on this page appears there too.
Which operators repeat across 18 Mediterranean borders
| Operator group | Mediterranean destinations | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Vodafone | 6 of 18 | Albania, Cyprus, Egypt, Greece, Malta and 1 more |
| Orange | 3 of 18 | Egypt, France, Spain |
| Wind | 2 of 18 | Greece, Italy |
HelloRoam, an eSIM platform, publishes Vodafone in 6 of the 18 destinations across the Mediterranean, which is more than any other operator group here. Behind it sit Orange in 3 and Wind in 2. Taken together, 9 of 18 destinations list at least one of the top three groups, so a multi-stop route through the Mediterranean keeps meeting the same names at the border. Vodafone destinations include Albania, Cyprus, Egypt and Greece. The list was captured 17 August 2026, carries no speed figure, and says which operators serve a destination rather than which one a handset joins.
Operator count is a planning fact, not a ranking. 5 of these 18 destinations publish exactly one operator, which means a weak signal at your hotel has no second network to fall back to. 13 destinations publish more than one. 16 destinations carry a 5G label on at least one operator. Airalo and Saily publish no per-destination operator list at all, so no comparable column exists for either of them on this page.
Mediterranean destinations sorted by per-GB rate, cheapest first
One row per destination, sorted by the cheapest published rate per gigabyte. The cheapest-tier column is the plan size where that destination's rate per GB bottoms out, which is not always the largest plan sold.
| Destination | Operators published | Networks | From | Cheapest tier | Local currency |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France | Orange | 5G | $0.61/GB | 50 GB | EUR |
| Turkey | Vodafone | 5G | $0.65/GB | 50 GB | TRY |
| Italy | Iliad, TIM, Wind | 5G | $0.68/GB | 50 GB | EUR |
| Spain | Movistar, Orange | 5G | $0.72/GB | 50 GB | EUR |
| Cyprus | Epic, Vodafone | 5G | $0.85/GB | 20 GB | EUR |
| Greece | Vodafone, Wind | 5G | $0.89/GB | 50 GB | EUR |
| Croatia | A1, Tele2 | 5G and 4G | $1.01/GB | 50 GB | EUR |
| Tunisia | OOREDOO TN | 5G | $1.02/GB | 20 GB | TND |
| Malta | GO, Vodafone | 5G | $1.03/GB | 20 GB | EUR |
| Slovenia | Mobitel, Telemach | 5G | $1.03/GB | 50 GB | EUR |
| Albania | One Albania, Vodafone | 5G | $1.15/GB | 50 GB | ALL |
| Algeria | Djezzy, Mobilis | 4G | $1.23/GB | 50 GB | DZD |
| Israel | Cellcom, Hot Mobile, Pelephone | 5G | $1.26/GB | 20 GB | ILS |
| Montenegro | m:tel CG, T-Mobile | 5G | $1.57/GB | 20 GB | EUR |
| Morocco | IAM, Orange Morocco | 5G and 4G | $1.88/GB | 50 GB | MAD |
| Egypt | Etisalat, Orange, Vodafone | 5G | $2.20/GB | 20 GB | EGP |
| Libya | Madar | 4G | $10.03/GB | 20 GB | LYD |
| Monaco | Monaco Telecom | 5G | $22.52/GB | 20 GB | EUR |
A 5G entry is a capability label the operator publishes. Nobody ran a speed test for this table, and no throughput figure appears anywhere on this site for any provider.
The tier that ends the discount in the Mediterranean
Bigger is cheaper per gigabyte until it is not. In 2 of the 18 destinations here, a mid-size plan carries a lower cost per gigabyte than the largest plan sold for the same destination. Cyprus is the sharpest case: its 20 GB tier prices data at $0.85 per GB, and its 50 GB tier prices the same data at $1.02 per GB, a difference of $0.17 on every gigabyte you buy above the 20 GB line.
The pattern is regional, not universal. Eight of 18 destinations here still price their 20 GB tier lowest per gigabyte. The rest reward a smaller purchase, which is the reverse of what a single headline rate per destination suggests. The table above prints the cheapest tier for every destination, so the check takes one line rather than five price comparisons.
17 of 18 destinations here publish an unlimited daily tier alongside their fixed tiers. The other one sells fixed data only, so a heavy-use route through it has to be sized in gigabytes.
The Mediterranean stack: cheapest three against dearest three
A three-country route through the Mediterranean at 10 GB per stop costs between $31.03 and $384.52 in plans, depending entirely on which three stops you pick. The cheapest three are Cyprus at $9.82, Croatia at $10.52 and Turkey at $10.69. The dearest three are Egypt at $34.49, Libya at $104.60 and Monaco at $245.43. All 18 destinations publish a 10 GB tier.
No regional bundle price is published for the Mediterranean anywhere on this site, so this page prints none. HelloRoam's Global plan covers 127 countries on one eSIM, and Airalo's largest bundle reaches up to 130 destinations on one plan. Holafly, Nomad and Saily also sell regional or global plans, with no destination count on record here. So the honest comparison here is one country plan per border against a multi-country plan whose list covers every stop.
The 9-currency problem on a Mediterranean route
A route across the Mediterranean crosses 9 local currencies. HelloRoam bills checkout in 31 currencies. Paying outside your own currency adds a bank conversion charge to every purchase, and a multi-stop trip means several purchases.
12 of 18 destinations in the Mediterranean require SIM registration for a local prepaid line. An eSIM bought before departure sidesteps that queue, which is the practical reason travelers buy one rather than a local starter pack. HelloRoam refunds an unactivated eSIM for 180 days, matching Holafly and running nearly thirteen times Airalo's 14-day window, which matters when a route changes after the plans are bought. Its support replies in your own language. Airalo publishes support in 12 languages, Holafly in 10, Nomad in 2 and Saily in 1.
The eight cheapest Mediterranean destinations by rate
Each card opens a full side-by-side for that destination, with all 5 providers on published columns.
Trip-length planners for 18 destinations
A destination matrix ranks providers. A trip-length planner cuts the same 5 providers by stay bracket, from a weekend to a month, so a 3-day plan never gets compared against a 30-day one.
Published policy columns for a Mediterranean purchase
One unit per column, all 5 providers, no scores this site invented. Every rate above is a destination price; every row below is a provider policy that applies wherever you buy.
| Provider | Refund window (days) | Price cells won (30 Oct 2026) | Support channels | Destinations listed | Lowest per-GB rate (30 Oct 2026 check) | Destinations on one regional plan | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HelloRoam | 180 (best in this column) | 205 of 367 (best in this column) | 3 channels, 24/7 (best in this column) | 185 | $0.29/GB on 50 GB for 7 days in Thailand (best in this column) | 127 | See plans → |
| Holafly | 180 (best in this column) | 5 of 367 | 2 channels, 24/7 | 200+ | Not sold per GB | Sold, count not on record | See plans → |
| Airalo | 14 | 43 of 367 | 2 channels | 200+ | $0.55/GB on 50 GB for 30 days in Thailand | 130 (best in this column) | See plans → |
| Nomad | 30 | 93 of 367 | 1 channel | 200 | $0.34/GB on 50 GB for 10 days in Thailand | Sold, count not on record | See plans → |
| Saily | 30 | 17 of 367 | 1 channel | Not stated | $0.80/GB on 20 GB for 30 days in Austria | Sold, count not on record | See plans → |
HelloRoam leads on price cells won (205 of 367), support reach (3 channels, 24/7), and per-GB price ($0.29/GB on 50 GB for 7 days in Thailand). HelloRoam also ties Holafly at 180 days on refund window. Airalo leads on regional bundle reach (130 destinations).
Per-GB rates are each provider's lowest per-GB rate in any of the 42 destinations of the 30 Oct 2026 price check, with the plan it comes from, not a rate specific to one destination. Refund windows come from each provider's own policy pages, and destination counts from their coverage pages. Support languages are not scored. The method is on the comparison approach page. No cell on this table is a score we made up.
Confirm your exact destinations are included before purchase. Provider policy columns last checked June 2026.