Here you can find all you need to know about using your phone in Corfu.
Phone Area Code: +30
The international dialing code of Greece is +30 so if you are calling any Greek number from your foreign phone, you’ll have to make sure to include the country code before the local phone number. Similarly, when you’re in Corfu, you’ll need to make sure that you include your country’s dialing code in any call back to your home country.
(Data) Roaming
Corfu and the rest of Greece are part of the EU, which means that the EU data roaming agreement is valid here. This means that if you have a sim card from any other EU country, you can use roaming services to make calls, send text messages, or use your data bundle without any additional charges on top of your standard phone plan. In order to do this, make sure to turn roaming services and data roaming on in the settings of your phone to connect with a local Greek provider.
If you have a sim card from outside the EU, it’s advisable to turn data roaming off to prevent any nasty bills when you return from your holiday, as roaming charges for calls, texts and data usage could be skyhigh. You can always check the costs with your provider to determine if it’s worth the costs, or whether you’d rather stick with using the wifi in your hotel, or buy a local sim card.
Getting A Local Sim Card
If you don’t have a sim card with a data plan from any EU country, you could consider buying a local sim card if you want to use data on your phone outside of your hotel or any restaurant. The main mobile phone providers in Greece are Cosmote, Vodafone, Wind, and Frog. You can buy a sim card with a data package in one of their shops but during the summer there are sometimes also mobile booths selling sim cards at the airport.
Getting An E-Sim
An even easier way to get connected directly upon arrival is by buying an e-sim, for example from Airalo. This electronic, or virtual sim card can be purchased online even before you arrive in Corfu. Once installed and activated you’re online immediately, so there’s no need to go to a phone shop at all.
Another advantage of e-sims is that they offer a wider variety of packages to suit your data needs when traveling through multiple countries. Airalo for example, not only offers packages for Greece, but also for other countries, and even more conveniently, a single package for Europe that is valid in 42 countries. You can easily browse through all the offers in their app, so you don’t need to search around the internet for which sim card to buy and where to get it for each country you’re traveling to.
Before buying an e-sim, make sure that your phone supports e-sims. This is most often the case for recent high-end models like the iPhone and Samsung Galaxy, but if you have a cheaper or older phone it might not support e-sims.
Wifi
Wifi is commonly available for free in most hostels, bars, and restaurants. Data speeds in Greece are in generally not among the fastest in Europe, but unless you need to upload or download enormous amounts of data, you will mostly not have any problems surfing the internet and services are pretty reliable.
