Prepaid SIM / eSIM Serbia: How to Buy a 4G Data SIM Card?
Roaming fees
Although Serbia is a European country, it is not part of the European Union. Therefore, free roaming rules do not apply. Unless you have a Free Mobile plan, you will face a hefty bill at the end of your stay if you use your French SIM card.
Consider the rates for using 1 MB of mobile data.
| Mobile operator | Roaming |
|---|---|
| Free Mobile | Included in the €20 plan |
| SFR | €13.20 / MB |
| Orange | €13.31/MB |
| Bouygues Telecom | €10.24 / MB |
Here’s the SMS you’ll receive if you’re with La Poste Mobile. Don’t use your SIM card; you’ll be broke!
And this is the one I got with my Free Mobile subscription. 25 GB of internet is included, for the rest: avoid it!
Buy an eSIM valid in Serbia
If you own an eSIM-compatible phone, Holafly offers this service, which has the advantage of being instant since it’s fully digital (read our detailed article on the subject).
See Holafly’s eSIM offers for Serbia. Feel free to use the promo code NOMADBENTO
The offer includes 6 GB of internet, valid for 15 days, for €47.
Buying a 4G SIM at the airport
At Belgrade Airport, in the baggage claim area, you’ll find a stand offering SIM cards from the operator Yettel.
Two options are available:
- 5 GB of data, valid for 7 days, for 400 RSD
- 15 GB of data, valid for 15 days, for 600 RSD
Both SIM cards also include 2,000 and 9,000 dinars of credit respectively for calls and texts. I’m not sure exactly how many call minutes that translates to, but it should be more than enough.
You can pay cash or by card, but only in local currency.
The saleswoman was charming and took care of installing and activating the SIM card in our phone.
Based on the automatic SMS I received, you just need to enter *111*1# to activate the SIM card.
I recommend buying the SIM card directly at the airport; it’s not necessarily more expensive than in the city.
You can then top up the SIM card with the Yettel app once the credit has expired. I’ll update the article once we’ve done that.
The app is easy to install, and you can quickly see the remaining data and call credit. However, it’s in Serbian, and I don’t think you can switch it to English. To top up, you might rather look for a kiosk in town 🙂
Buying a SIM card in town
In the city, you can easily buy a tourist SIM card, whether at kiosks or mobile operator stores.
For example, at VIP Mobile, you can get a SIM card for 600 RSD with 3 GB of internet and a validity of 7 days. For 5 GB, you’ll pay 900 RSD.
Here are also the data rates observed at A1 Serbia.
| Data | Validity | Rate |
|---|---|---|
| 500 MB | 1 day | RSD 89 |
| 1 GB | 1 day | RSD 129 |
| 3 GB | 7 days | RSD 289 |
| 6 GB | 7 days | RSD 429 |
| 12 GB | 7 days | RSD 729 |