Using Your UK Phone in Morocco: Roaming Charges from EE, O2, Vodafone and Three
Morocco is only a three-and-a-half-hour flight from the UK, but as far as your mobile network is concerned it might as well be Australia. It sits outside every UK network’s European roaming zone, so the inclusive roaming you may be used to in Spain or France does not apply. Depending on who you are with, using your phone in Marrakech, Agadir or Fes is either a fixed daily fee, an expensive add-on, or switched off altogether until you pay.
This guide sets out what each of the four big UK networks charges in Morocco as of September 2026, what a week of normal use actually costs, and how a Morocco eSIM compares.
Why Morocco is different from a European holiday
Since 2021 the UK networks have rebuilt their roaming into zones. Europe is the cheap zone, and some plans still include it. Morocco is not in it. Each network puts Morocco in its “rest of the world” tier, which means one of three things happens when you land:
- You pay a daily charge to unlock your UK allowance (Vodafone and Three).
- Your data is blocked until you buy a bolt-on priced per megabyte (O2).
- You are charged per unit for calls and texts, with a daily pass for data (EE).
None of these are hidden, exactly, but they are easy to miss when you are checking in a bag and finding your gate.
What each UK network charges in Morocco
Prices below are for pay monthly customers and were checked against each network’s published roaming information in September 2026. Networks change roaming pricing without much notice, so treat these as a guide and check your own plan before you fly.
| Network | How Morocco is treated | What it costs |
|---|---|---|
| Vodafone | Zone D (rest of world) | £8 a day to use your UK allowance (£6 a day on plans taken out before August 2021), with a monthly fair use cap on data. |
| Three | Go Roam Around the World Extra | £7 a day to use your UK allowance, capped at 12GB a month. Included at no extra cost on Three’s Complete plans. |
| O2 | Zone 3 (rest of world) | No daily rate. Data is stopped unless you buy a Data Roaming Bolt On: £26 for 100MB, £45 for 500MB or £65 for 1GB. Calls £3 a minute, texts £1 each. |
| EE | Outside the Roam Abroad and Travel Data Pass zones | Around £7.50 a day for a pass covering calls, texts and 500MB of data. Outside a pass, texts are roughly 76p each and calls over £2 a minute. |
The O2 figures are the ones that catch people out. £65 for a single gigabyte is not a typo. At that rate, a week of ordinary phone use in Morocco (maps, WhatsApp, a bit of Instagram, one evening of Netflix in the riad) runs into hundreds of pounds.
What a week in Morocco actually costs
Most people use somewhere between 500MB and 1GB a day on holiday. Maps and messaging are light, but photos backing up to the cloud, video calls home and streaming are not. Taking 1GB a day as a sensible working figure, here is what a seven-day trip looks like on each network.
| Option | Cost for 7 days, about 1GB a day |
|---|---|
| O2 Data Roaming Bolt Ons (7 x 1GB) | £455 |
| Vodafone daily charge | £56 |
| EE daily pass (500MB a day, so you may need two) | £52.50 to £105 |
| Three daily charge | £49 |
| Planet eSIM Morocco, 10GB for 30 days | £22.65 |
| Planet eSIM Morocco, 5GB for 30 days | £13.05 |
The daily-charge networks are not outrageous for a short trip, and if you are on a Three Complete plan you are covered already. But for a fortnight, a family with several phones, or anyone on O2, the numbers move quickly in the eSIM’s favour.
How a Morocco eSIM works
An eSIM is a digital SIM built into your phone. Instead of swapping out your UK SIM, you add a second one by scanning a QR code, and your phone uses it for data while your UK number stays active for calls and texts. Our Morocco plans run on Orange Morocco’s 4G network, which has good coverage across the cities and the main tourist routes, including the road from Marrakech over the Atlas to the desert.
Plans start at £1.90 for 500MB a day, and the popular options for a holiday are 5GB for 30 days at £13.05 or 10GB for 30 days at £22.65. Every plan is data only with hotspot sharing allowed, so one eSIM can keep a tablet or a travelling companion’s phone online too. Calls home go over WhatsApp or FaceTime, which is how most people call from abroad anyway.
Three things to know before you buy:
- Check your phone is eSIM compatible. Most iPhones from the XS onwards and most flagship Android phones from the last few years are. Our compatibility checker has the full list, and the quick test is to open Settings and search for “Add eSIM”.
- Your phone must be unlocked. If you bought it on a contract, it may be locked to your network. The compatibility page explains how to check.
- Install it before you fly. Scan the QR code at home on Wi-Fi, then switch the eSIM on for data when you land. The install guide takes about five minutes to follow.
Switching off roaming on your UK SIM
This is the step people forget. When you land, go into your phone’s mobile data settings and make sure data roaming is off for your UK SIM and on for the eSIM. If both are on, your phone can drift back to the UK SIM for data and you end up paying the roaming rate for something you had already covered. There is a full walk-through in our guide to preventing roaming charges abroad, and a short explainer on running an eSIM alongside your usual SIM.
Keep your UK SIM active for calls and texts. Receiving a text in Morocco is free on all four networks, so bank one-time codes and airline updates still come through. Just do not reply to them from the UK SIM unless you are happy paying per text.
Frequently asked questions
Can I use my UK phone in Morocco?
Yes. All four UK networks have roaming agreements in Morocco, but it is charged at rest-of-the-world rates, not European rates. Expect a daily fee on Vodafone or Three, a per-megabyte bolt-on on O2, and a daily pass on EE.
What is the cheapest eSIM for Morocco from the UK?
For a typical week, a 5GB 30-day Morocco eSIM at £13.05 covers most people. If you stream video or share your connection with someone else, 10GB at £22.65 is the safer choice. Both work out at a fraction of the network daily charges, and well under a tenth of O2’s bolt-on pricing.
Does the Morocco eSIM include a phone number?
No. It is data only. Your UK number stays live on your existing SIM for incoming calls and texts, and you make outgoing calls over WhatsApp, FaceTime or similar.
Does the eSIM work in the Sahara or the mountains?
Coverage is strongest in cities and along main roads. It thins out in the High Atlas passes and in the dunes at Merzouga, as it does on any network. Download offline maps before you head out of Marrakech.
Can I buy the eSIM once I am already in Morocco?
Yes, as long as you have Wi-Fi to download it, which most hotels and riads have. It is easier to do it at home, though, so it is ready the moment you land.
Ready to go? See Morocco eSIM plans and prices.
