Albania eSIM

How the Albania eSIM works

Albania doesn’t have its own plan in our shop. It’s covered by our regional eSIMs, and the buy box on this page starts on Europe 49. That suits most trips, since few people visit Albania without crossing another border.

The buy box also shows the other plans that include Albania:

• Europe 55 + US: more of Europe, plus the United States.
• Balkans 11 and Balkans: made for a trip through the region. See the Balkans eSIM for which countries they cover.

All of them keep you online at 128 kbps when the data runs out: slow, but enough for messages and maps.

One Albania, Vodafone and 5G

On Europe 49, Europe 55 + US and Balkans 11 you’re on One Albania and Vodafone Albania, with 5G on both. Your phone picks the strongest and switches by itself.

Vodafone announced its 5G spectrum on 25 November 2024, with the first 5G in Tirana and Durrës and more cities to follow in 2025. One launched 5G that same month. In Opensignal’s 5G Global Awards of September 2026, ONE won three Rising Star titles.

Albania and EU roaming

Albania is not an EU member, so EU roaming rules don’t apply. Two things to know:

• Since 1 October 2023, a group of EU and Western Balkan operators has voluntarily lowered data roaming prices between the EU and the region. That makes roaming cheaper with operators that signed up, not free, and not with every operator.
• On 4 June 2026 the EU Council authorised talks on bringing Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia into Roam Like at Home. Each first has to adopt the EU roaming rules, so check your operator’s rates before you go.

An eSIM for Albania sidesteps all of that: you pay up front and switch off data roaming on your home SIM.

Where you’ll use it

• Tirana: ride apps and cafés. One of the first two cities with 5G.
• The Riviera (Sarandë, Ksamil, Himarë, Dhërmi): beaches, boat trips and the coast road.
• Berat and Gjirokastër: old towns, castles and a lot of photos to upload.
• The Albanian Alps (Theth, Valbonë): remote mountain valleys. Don’t count on signal on the hike between them.

Tip: download offline maps of the Alps and the Riviera before you leave Tirana, and save your guesthouse address. Then signal is a bonus, not a need.

Albania as part of a Balkan route

Going on to Montenegro, Kosovo or North Macedonia? The Balkans eSIM covers the region. Adding Italy or Greece? Then take Europe. Our route planner checks which is cheapest for your route.

Sources: on 5G, Vodafone Albania, 5G spectrum announcement, 25 November 2024, and TS2, May 2025; on the awards, TelecomsTech News on Opensignal's 5G Global Awards, October 2026; on roaming, the EU Delegation to Albania, Roaming Declaration, December 2022, the European Commission, February 2026, and European Western Balkans, 4 June 2026. Networks and plans come from our own catalogue.