Vodafone international $5 roaming explained

By Alex Choros

Last updated 26 July 2023

Travelling with Vodafone: $5 roaming explained

Contents

In this guide:

What is Vodafone's $5 roaming offer?
How do you get Vodafone's $5 roaming?
What's included in Vodafone's $5 roaming?
Vodafone roaming vs. Optus vs. Telstra vs. other telcos
Where does Vodafone's $5 roaming work?
Going over data on Vodafone's $5 roaming
Is Vodafone $5 roaming a good deal?

Taking your phone overseas can often be an expensive affair. While travel SIMs or a local SIM can help mitigate the damage to your wallet, Vodafone's $5 Roaming is one of the simpler unlimited mobile data plans for your international data needs.

What is Vodafone's $5 roaming offer?

Vodafone $5 roaming is exactly what it sounds like. For an extra $5 per day, you can use your regular Australian plan inclusions in selected countries overseas. This means you can make calls, send texts, and use mobile broadband like you would while you're in Australia. It also means you can keep your phone number when you travel.

Since, October 2023 it even works for in-flight roaming on select airlines.

The $5 fee is only charged for days on which you use your inclusions: if you're keeping your phone on flight mode and mooching off public Wi-Fi, you won't pay a thing. Actions that will activate the $5 charge include:

Any network data usage. This includes automatically checking for new emails or updates on Facebook.
Any network usage for use, such as making or receiving calls. Receiving text messages is free but sending them isn't.

Once roaming is activated, it lasts for 24 hours. That means if you start using your inclusions at 3pm on Monday, you've now got roaming until 3pm on Tuesday. So you may as well use it.

Vodafone allows roaming for up to 90 days in any given calendar year. After you've used your 90 days, you'll be billed at pay-as-you-go rates.

How do you get Vodafone's $5 roaming?

If you're new to Vodafone, you can get $5 roaming by signing up for any postpaid plan. Here are just a few of the options available.

#1	Vodafone	Vodafone $49 Small SIM Only Plan 100GB data Vodafone 5G Network in selected areas with 5G devices Deal: Get 100GB for $39 (incl. 50GB bonus + $10/mth off) on the $49 Small plan. T&Cs apply. $39/mth Min. cost $39 Go to Site	$39/mth Min. cost $39	Go to Site
#2	Vodafone	Vodafone $59 Medium SIM Only Plan 360GB data Vodafone 5G Network in selected areas with 5G devices Deal: Get 360GB for $49 (incl. 180GB bonus + $10/mth off) on the $59 Medium plan. T&Cs apply. $49/mth Min. cost $49 Go to Site	$49/mth Min. cost $49	Go to Site
#3	Vodafone	Vodafone $69 Large SIM Only Plan 720GB data Vodafone 5G Network in selected areas with 5G devices Deal: Get 720GB for $59 (incl. 360GB bonus + $10/mth off) on the $69 Large plan. T&Cs apply. $59/mth Min. cost $59 Go to Site	$59/mth Min. cost $59	Go to Site

If you're already on a Vodafone postpaid plan — either contract or month-to-month — $5 roaming is already included in your plan.

If you're on a prepaid plan you'll need to opt for one of Vodafone's prepaid roaming add-on packs. These range from $5 for 200MB of data with a one-day expiry to $35 for 2GB of data with a maximum expiry of seven days. These aren't good value for money, however.

What's included in Vodafone's $5 roaming?

Your plan's standard talk and text inclusions to numbers in the country you're visiting and in the air on certain airlines
Your plan's standard talk and text inclusions to numbers back to Australia.
The same data allowance you have on your plan in Australia. For example, if you're on a plan with 5GB in Australia, you can use 5GB of data while you're overseas.
The same international call allowance your plan has in Australia.
Access to international 4G network coverage, where available.

Vodafone roaming vs. Optus vs. Telstra vs. other telcos

While Vodafone roaming is one of the better roaming offers, you can still get by on the roaming offers with Optus and Telstra. We've now also seen smaller telcos adding more roaming options.

Telstra roaming option

Telstra's International Roaming Day Pass will also cost you $5 per day in New Zealand but $10 per day in other eligible countries for those on one of its Upfront plans. With this, you'll get unlimited standard talk and SMS, but you'll be limited to just 1GB of data for every 24 hours.

If you go over that, you'll be charged an extra $10 for 1GB with a 30-day expiry. You'll be able to use these packs in over 70 destinations.

$65 Basic Upfront SIM Plan

50GB data
Telstra 5G Network in selected areas with 5G devices
Deal: Get your first 3 months device protect on Telstra, then $10/mth.

$65/mth

Min. cost $65

Link not supplied

$65/mth

Min. cost $65

Link not supplied

Optus roaming option

Current Optus postpaid plans (Choice Plus, Plus Family, Plus Kids, or Plus Promo) can add on the $5 Optus International Roaming Pass via the My Optus app for overseas travel use. With Optus, you'll pay $5 for 5GB of data, which either lasts 24 hours or until you use it up (whichever comes first). This pass comes with unlimited talk and SMS but note that MMS incur additional charges.

#1	Optus	Optus $55 Optus Choice Plus Plan 50GB data Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device $55/mth Min. cost $55 Go to Site	$55/mth Min. cost $55	Go to Site
#2	Optus	Optus $65 Optus Choice Plus Plan 200GB data Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device $65/mth Min. cost $65 Go to Site	$65/mth Min. cost $65	Go to Site
#3	Optus	Optus $79 Optus Promo Plan 360GB data Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device Deal: Get up to $10/mth SubHub credit to use on your favourite subscriptions for 12 months. T&Cs apply. $69/mth Min. cost $69 Go to Site	$69/mth Min. cost $69	Go to Site
#4	Optus	Optus $85 Optus Choice Plus Plan 400GB data Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device SubHub: Receive up to $20/mth SubHub credit when you have an active SubHub account with subs greater than $0. T&Cs apply $85/mth Min. cost $85 Go to Site	$85/mth Min. cost $85	Go to Site

Optus' roaming add-on only works in Zone 1 locations. This includes:

USA
Singapore
New Zealand
France
China

Hong Kong
Poland
Sweden
Norway
United Kingdom

Optus' prepaid roaming options give you either 7GB of data and up to 700 minutes of calls and 700 texts with a seven-day expiry or 10GB to use in 10 destinations over 14 days. These are probably more practical roaming options if you're looking for a short-term solution, and your country is covered. You'll need to buy an Optus prepaid SIM, activate it within Australia, and have an active recharge.

#1	Optus	Optus Optus Prepaid $35 SIM 40GB Speed capped at 150Mbps Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device Deal: 40GB on first 3 recharges before 28/04/25 for new services only. Note plan changes from 28/4/2025. Fair Go Policy and T&Cs apply. $35 Per 28 Day Renewal Go to Site	$35 Per 28 Day Renewal	Go to Site
#2	Optus	Optus Optus Prepaid $35 SIM 40GB Speed capped at 150Mbps Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device Deal: 40GB on first 3 recharges before 28/04/25 for new services only. Note plan changes from 28/4/2025. Fair Go Policy and T&Cs apply. $35 Starter Pack 28 Day Expiry Go to Site	$35 Starter Pack 28 Day Expiry	Go to Site
#3	Optus	Optus Optus Prepaid $45 SIM 60GB Speed capped at 150Mbps Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device Deal: Get unlimited data, every weekend when you stay connected with AutoRecharge. Fair Go Policy and T&Cs apply. $45 Per 28 Day Renewal Go to Site	$45 Per 28 Day Renewal	Go to Site
#4	Optus	Optus Optus Prepaid $45 SIM 60GB Speed capped at 150Mbps Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device Deal: Get unlimited data, every weekend when you stay connected with AutoRecharge. Fair Go Policy and T&Cs apply. $45 Starter Pack 28 Day Expiry Go to Site	$45 Starter Pack 28 Day Expiry	Go to Site
#5	Optus	Optus Optus Prepaid $55 SIM 80GB Speed capped at 250Mbps Optus 5G in selected areas (exc NT) with a 5G device Deal: Get unlimited data, every weekend when you stay connected with AutoRecharge. Fair Go Policy and T&Cs apply. $55 Per 28 Day Renewal Go to Site	$55 Per 28 Day Renewal	Go to Site

MVNO roaming options

Several smaller telcos or Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) also offer add-ons or plans with international roaming. At the time of writing, these include:

All offer at least one add-on to their existing plans for use while overseas. To find out more about smaller telcos offering international roaming add-ons, check out our extensive best plans with international roaming guide.

Where does Vodafone's $5 roaming work?

At present, there are over 100 countries covered by Vodafone's $5 Roaming. These include:

Aland Islands, Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Gibraltar, Greece, Guatemala, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia (includes Bali), Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, Macedonia, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Serbia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, United Republic of Tanzania, Thailand, East Timor, Tonga, Türkiye, Ukraine, UK (England), Uruguay, USA, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vatican City, Vietnam, Virgin Islands, U.S., Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

Vodafone adds and removes countries from this list from time to time, so it's always best to check the Vodafone website before you travel. If a country is going to be removed, Vodafone will announce it three months in advance.

Outside of the countries listed, all Vodafone customers use pay-as-you-go (PAYG) rates, regardless of the plan you are on. Vodafone's PAYG rates are as follows:

$1 per minute to make or receive calls
$0.75c per text message (sending only, no fee to receive)
$0.75 per PXT message (sending per recipient only, no fee to receive PXT)
$1 per MB of data

If you find yourself on PAYG rates, try to avoid using data. You could end up paying $40 or more in mobile data usage charges just to watch a single YouTube video.

Going over data on Vodafone $5 roaming

If you hit your data cap while overseas, Vodafone will automatically charge an extra $5 and give you an additional 1GB to use until the end of your billing month.

Is Vodafone $5 roaming a good deal?

For shorter trips, $5 roaming is a fantastic option. An entire week overseas would cost you $35 — or less if you don't use your inclusions every day.

Value becomes a little harder to judge the longer you're away from home: a month of taking your phone overseas would bring your roaming bill to as much as $155 on top of your current phone plan fees. If you need to keep your Australian number, that might be worth it, but buying a local SIM or eSIM at your destination could end up being a cheaper option.

That said, Vodafone's travel offer is better than any of the roaming deals currently offered by Telstra, Optus or smaller telcos.