‘Is it hard to get a sim card in India?’ Not anymore! Well, if you fly into Delhi Airport anyway, because you can buy a sim card in Delhi Airport in a matter of minutes with one of the most competitive plans in the world!
Here is everything you need to know about the Delhi Airport Sim Card!
Airtel is India’s largest network provider and works well in the majority of the country and right now, they are the only sim card provider located out of Delhi Airport and the Airtel Delhi Airport opening hours are 24 hours, making it easy to get a sim card when you land in Delhi as a tourist to India no matter what time you land.
Not flying into Delhi Airport?? Here are 3 other ways to get a sim card in India as a tourist!
Delhi Airport Sim Card
Note – This information was from early 2020. I haven’t been back to India since the pandemic so things may have changed.
Airtel Store in Delhi Airport Location
Indira Gandhi Airport aka Delhi Airport has 3 terminals but terminal 3 is where you will most likely fly into because all international flights are operated out of terminal 3.
International Arrivals and Domestic Arrivals are located next to each other in terminal 3 Delhi Airport.
On exit, once you have collected your bag, you will see a Costa Coffee straight in front of you leaving both International Arrivals and Domestic Arrivals (there are 2 cafes).
The Airtel Store in Delhi Airport is located between exit 4 and 5, opposite the International Arrivals exit and next to Costa Coffee.
I have been told by the staff at the Airtel Store in Delhi Airport is open 24hours. It looks like this:
SIM CARD FOR INDIA
I really recommend having a sim card in India as it makes travel in India so much easier! You may have heard that it’s hard to get a sim card in India but you can get a sim card in Delhi Airport, read this post to see how to buy a sim card in Delhi Airport or if you fly in elsewhere 3 ways to buy a sim card in India and you’ll be connected in just a few hours!
WHAT TO WEAR IN INDIA
If you are a woman, here’s what I recommend you pack and wear in India. Technically you can wear what you like in India in most places but to get fewer stares and feel more comfortable, read my post!
DON’T GET SCAMMED IN DELHI
Most people arrive for the first time into Delhi and get scammed within a few hours! Read my Delhi Travel Tips to help you enjoy Delhi, and the best places to stay in Delhi which is so important!
Remember you need a visa for India. Here’s my Step by Step Guide on How to Apply for an Indian Tourist Visa!
Before you get your sim card you will probably need to get some cash!
There are a few ATM’s in Delhi Airport but SBI Bank is the ATM I suggest you use as it takes international bank cards and charges minimal fee’s.
Note that in India, the maximum amount of cash you can get withdraw from an ATM is 10,000 Indian Rupee’s which is approximately £105.00 and $1250.00 USD.
Luckily, SBI ATM Delhi Airport is attached to the Airtel Store next to exit gate 4:
Airtel Prepaid Sim Card Delhi Airport
Note – This information was from early 2020. I haven’t been back to India since the pandemic so things may have changed.
There is only one prepaid sim card option in Delhi Airport but that’s ok because it’s a good one.
(Note the Sim used to be 900Rs but has now changed to 615Rs! It might have changed again recently so keep this in mind)
- The India Sim Card deal is:
- 615Rs / £6.65 / $8.65
- 1.4gb of data each day which refreshes each day.
- Unlimited calls to Indian numbers.
- Validity for 2 months
This means no matter if you are in India for 2 weeks or 2 months, this sim card will last you the whole duration of your India trip.
**IMPORTANT NOTE – THERE’S A 99% CHANCE THEY WILL NOT GIVE YOU THE RIGHT CHANGE, MAKE SURE YOU COUNT IT OR TELL THEM IT’S WRONG, EVEN IF YOU DON’T KNOW, BECAUSE THEY’VE DONE IT TO ME TWICE AND LOTS OF OTHER PEOPLE HAVE TOLD ME THEY DID IT TO THEM TOO! THEY MAY TRY TO DISTRACT YOU TOO SO YOU FORGET ABOUT THE CHANGE ALL TOGETHER SO KEEP A WATCH ON THIS!**
Check the comments from readers at the end of this post for recent updated experiences!
BOOKING TRAINS IN INDIA
India is best travelled by train because its the quickest, cheapest and best way of getting to know the country. For an EASY option of booking trains in India use 12GO to search and book trains really easily. If you’ll be in India for awhile, you can use the local booking system, it’s a bit tricker but possible, here’s my post on how to book trains in India as a tourist.
BEST ACCOMMODATION IN INDIA
I always use Booking.com to book my hotels in India and Hostelworld to book my hostels. India has a great range of accommodation with brilliant hostel chains like Moustache, Zostel and Backpacker Panda as well as homestays to luxury hotels.
GUIDED TOURS IN INDIA
Many cities in India are best seen with a guide, even if it’s just a half day tour on your first day. Cities in India are chaotic and complex and what better way to taste the food and get to know the city than with a local. I recommend Get Your Guide & Viator for the best tours in India!
2 Important things to note about Delhi Airport Sim Cards
1 – You must have an unlocked phone
If your phone is not unlocked you will not be able to get a sim card in India. Instead, your best choice for internet in India is a wireless device!
If you are on a contract in your home country, check with your network provider if your phone is locked or unlocked before you travel to India.
2 – MAKE SURE YOU COUNT YOUR CHANGE and do not get shortchanged!
I’m telling you this again, the men that work on at the Airtel Shop in Delhi Airport seem to do this to everyone, everytime, from what people have told me and they did it to me!
They give you a lot of notes which looks like the right change but isn’t, or they make you try to forget about your change altogether by distracting you with questions!
These men know you are new to India and might not know the currency!
The ATM will give you either 500Rs notes or big 2000Rs so look out for 385Rs change if you give 2x500Rs notes, or 1385Rs change if you give 2000Rs.
Delhi Airport Free Sim Card
In addition, I read that there is a Delhi Airport free sim card for tourists when you show your e-visa on arrival but I have never seen signs for this and from what I read there is only minimal data on it -1.5mb which is not a good deal even if it was free and given out, so forget about this India sim card on arrival option!
There’s no international sim card at Delhi Airport either or Vodafone in Delhi Airport.
- More of my India and Delhi blog posts to help with your stay in Delhi!
- Where to Stay in Delhi. Best Hotels & Hostels for all Budgets!
- 10 Delhi Travel Tips to See & Enjoy Delhi as a Tourist!
- 24 Places to Visit in India Perfect For Your First Trip to India!
- How To Book Trains in India as a Tourist Online!
How else can you get a Sim Card in India?
It is 100% possible to get a sim card in India away from the airport however it is much harder which is why I really recommend getting a sim card in Delhi Airport, even if the queue is long and it’s late!
The biggest benefit of getting a sim card in Delhi Airport is that you don’t need to provide any extra paperwork, photos or documents.
Here are 2 other ways to get a sim card in India!
But when using the Airtel Store in Delhi Airport, you give them your passport for them to make copies, they take a photo of you and you fill in a few parts on a big form.
How long does a sim card take to activate in India? Just a few hours!
This means you will not be able to use it straight away in Indira Gandhi Delhi Airport but the airport does have wifi (although it doesn’t always work).
You will just need to have a sim card in your phone that has a signal (your sim card from home, or from a country you’ve just been to) as they text you an access code to access the wifi in Delhi Airport.
How to get from Delhi Airport to the City?
This also means that it’s not as easy to get an Uber from Delhi Airport into New Delhi because you will have to rely on wifi which doesn’t reach to the Uber car park in Delhi Airport.
Here are other ways to get from Delhi Airport to the city safely:
Firstly, if you haven’t booked a hotel yet, or even if you have and it has a cancellation period, have a read of this post for the best hotels, hostels and Airbnb’s in Delhi because if you have good accommodation in Delhi in a good area you are much more likely to enjoy your stay!
If this is your first time to Delhi I’d suggest booking an airport pick up from Delhi Airport in advance to your hotel in Delhi, so you do not have to bargain with the taxi men at the airport door.
Just remember you’ll need an extra 30 minutes or so to get cash and a sim card in case there is a line for sim cards.
If you don’t want to prebook a transfer or taxi, the next best option is to get a pre-paid taxi from Delhi Airport and email your accommodation beforehand to ask how much a taxi should cost so you have an idea.
Leave arrivals out of gate 4 which is next to the Airtel store and head to the yellow booth, tell them where you’re going and they will give you a fair price.
You pay them upfront (make sure you get the right change) and you will be taken to a driver. The only downside to this is that they may not use GPS and may not know where your hotel is if it’s a smaller hotel, this happened to me once and I had to guide the taxi to my Delhi Hotel.
There are many taxi drivers outside of the arrivals doors on the road offering you a taxi but from experience, they will not go down as cheap as the pre-paid taxi’s or the price that your hotel told you to pay!
HELP WITH YOUR INDIA ITINERARY
I’ve spent many months travelling India in the last few years visiting over 50 places around the country, here are my recommended itinerary posts for India to help you plan your trip!
2 WEEK INDIA ITINERARY, PERFECT FOR YOUR FIRST TRIP!
2 WEEK SOUTH INDIA ITINERARY – GOA & KERELA
1 MONTH NORTH INDIA ITINERARY IDEAS!
1 MONTH SOUTH INDIA ITINERARY IDEAS!
Things To Do in Delhi
Delhi is a pretty crazy city and a lot of tourists often leave with a bad impression after being scammed or being overwhelmed but it is actually a really great city so after a few visits I put together these 10 points of how to enjoy Delhi as a tourist! Make sure you read this straight away!
One of my top Delhi Travel Tips, along with getting a sim card in Delhi Airport, is to book on a tour so you can learn about the city with a local, these are the best Delhi Day Tours to book online and it will give you one less thing to think about when you arrive if you book in advance:
I hope this has helped you understand the Delhi Airport sim card.
- For more of my India posts and to help you plan your India trip further, have a look at:
- Packing List For India & What To Wear in India as a Female!
- Golden Triangle India Itinerary for 1 Week in India!
- A 2 Week India Itinerary For Your First Trip To India!
- HERE ARE ALL MY INDIA BLOG POSTS.
Tony L
-05/01/2020 Airtel guy tried to short change us by 200 INR. Thanks to your advice we checked our change.
TheWanderingQuinn
-That’s not good to hear but I’m so glad my post helped you not get shortchanged! Thanks for letting me know!
Lindsey
-Really useful post thanks. Did you have to have your phone unblocked before travelling for the sim card to work? Do many places have wifi in New Delhi?
TheWanderingQuinn
-Hello, yes you do need an unlocked phone in order for the sim card to work, which is the case everywhere. Yes a lot of places have wifi though, all hotels and restaurants and cafes do in Delhi and all over India really.
Or you can look into a wifi device like the TEP one I recommend in this post so you can connect to wifi like that 🙂
Betty
-Great details. Thanks so much. This is the first site I found with such details and current information for 2020.. Just last month experienced arriving in Jakarta at 2AM with no SIM card purchase available, pick-up ride didn’t show up, so I had no phone!!!! Did survive, but didn’t need that much drama being jet lagged!!!! So, I’m looking forward to smooth sailing upon arrival in Delhi around midnight!
TheWanderingQuinn
-Thank you Betty, I’m glad you found it useful, there is nothing worse than no internet these days, although this sim takes a few hours to work. I hope it goes well for you!
Barbara
-Do you know if the shop is open at night? I will travel in february 2020 and I will be arriving to Delhi aftern 01am.
In november 2018, I got the sim card without any trouble. Although, it took almost a day to get the service.
TheWanderingQuinn
-Sorry for the late reply. I was waiting until I went to Delhi airport again to ask. I asked them and they are open 24hours so you should have no problem! 🙂
Colin M
-We are leaving for our India trip in just a week and this blog post has been so helpful! We will be making a connection to Vizag in Delhi airport. From my understanding we would have to exit the secure area to purchase this SIM card, then go through the security line again to catch our flight to Vizag. Is this correct?
TheWanderingQuinn
-Hello, Yes this is right, it is in arrivals after baggage claim so you might not be able to if you’re just connecting. Where do you fly to next as it seems like a few airports offer sim cards in arrivals in Indian airports now!
Colin M
-We will be going to Visakhapatnam. But we have a 13 hour layover in Delhi first! We should have plenty of time to purchase this SIM card
TheWanderingQuinn
-Also, I’m very pleased to hear it has been helpful! Enjoy your time in India!
C
-Hi! How did you activate your sim card? Having a hard time doing so and it says we need to load it first?
TheWanderingQuinn
-Sorry I’ve just seen this, is it working now? It should work after a few hours and of turning your phone off and on!
DaisyTells
-Glad your post gives a heads up on their short changing people. They sold me a faulty sim that never worked in the allocated slot and the big boss just walked away and left me once he had got my money. Another worker at least took a look at it, and eventually it had to be put in slot 2, which is only for voice and sms, no data. I was without data for days until I went to Airtel in Jaipur who confirmed the sim was faulty and I had to buy another one.
Tried to take the faulty sim back on my way back through Delhi, told that you cannot enter arrivals area so this kiosk is totally protected from anyone confronting them unless they are re-entering Delhi from overseas. Yes, it is a disrespectful and scamming low life behaviour and if you get a functional sim, lucky you. No guarantee with this mob.
Max
-Thank you for the note on the EXACT CHANGE! It in both places the Airtel and pre-paid taxi kiosks they tried to trick me. Airtel try to keep extra 500 (and did it very professionally I shall say!!!) while the pre-paid taxi cashier tried to keep another 200.
These pathetic people shall not represent their country!
I could not find free SIM for e-visa holders. One person advised they used to provide but stopped (government kiosk) and pointed out to Ashok travel (run by government I understand) to try that place too but there was no one in that kiosk.
And thank you for your overall review!
Ramon
-Awesome tip regarding the SIM card for India: 10 euro for 1.5 gig per day!!!! I just returned from india and had 4G all the way!
TheWanderingQuinn
-Good to hear! It’s such great value isn’t it!!
Rrrr
-They ask for a passport photo and no place in the airport to take a photo.
TheWanderingQuinn
-They take the photo of you
Azhar
-Today I reached Delhi Airport from abroad I approached to purchase a sim Card. They replied that sim will be activated tomorrow evening.
What is this joke, why they guys available on airport, If someone taking sim card on Aurpirt it means he is urgently needed. If they will activate tomorrow evening then why we will purchase on Airport.
Airport authorities should consider it, there should be immediate activation of Sim Card.
Rudi
-Don’t waste your time. I just tried to get a SIM here now and was turned away as the SIM cannot be activated within 24hours. Guy at the kiosk was useless.
PeLu
-I always had good experiences with them since they have this booth. Never got short change (but maybe I always had the correct amount, can’t remember. The longest had been 5-6 hours to activate it. I always have a few passport photocopies with me, but they always made their own photocopy. But last time was 2020 I had been there.
TheWanderingQuinn
-Good to hear!
Will
-Is it possible to renew the sim card after 2 months expiry date while traveling around india? Thanks in advance.
TheWanderingQuinn
-Hi Will, from my past experience, once it’s finished you do need to get another sim card, you can’t renew it or top it up again.
Yogesh
-29th Oct 2022. Fairly easy. They scan your passport and oci card (if u have one) they take your photo. Pay either rs 450 or 6 dollars and gives u the sim . U take the sim put in unlocked phone . I was told to call 59059 from the phone and follow the prompt to activate. Data did get activated or added until overnight. But yes it works.
TheWanderingQuinn
-Great to hear, thank you!
The Hims
-@Yogesh, very nice! Did you have to take a photo, passport, OCI copies yourself, or did the store not need that?
Gary R
-Okay, so what if you take a cellphone into India that has no SIMM card in it at all and try to have an Indian SIMM card installed. Will that work or must some pre-existing SIMM card already be in it?
TheWanderingQuinn
-Hello, as long as your phone is unlocked, another sim card wherever you are in the world will work in it. You don’t need to do anything else already except have an unlocked phone.
Richard
-Just the information I was looking for!
Now I feel a bit more prepared for the trip. Thanks for sharing
Adam B
-Thank you for such a super helpful post. We’re landing in DEL next weekend, so will let you know if the setup is still the same post covid, incl being open 24 hours etc.
TheWanderingQuinn
-Thank you!
Gohil p
-@TheWanderingQuinn, hello I am going Delhi next eeek can’t my Uk sim work in india
TheWanderingQuinn
-Like in all countries, it will work but you’ll spend money on roaming charges charged by your UK provider
Heena Dhyani
-Would you be able to purchase the SIM card with a credit card? I have a travel card with no foreign transaction fees
TheWanderingQuinn
-I’m not sure if they take card. If not, there is an ATM next to the shop you can use. In India you will need to withdraw and pay for most things in cash, not on card anyway 🙂
Robustboy
-1. As I had a proper phone (iPhone 11) I bought eSIM BEFORE I enter India – from https://www.airalo.com/india-esim. My eSIM was from singapore with roaming all over india.
2. You can buy a SIM at the airport, but but in the city buying a SIM is more convenient, . We asked owner of our hotel where we could buy a SIM – within 1 hour an Airtel salesman arrived, activated us a SIM card with a lot of GB, free calls throughout India and it cost about 600 rupees. An interesting thing – when we were going to another state, we had to turn on roaming for SM to work.
Elke
-The SIM at the airport is currently 400 INR, at least that’s what they charged me and the people in front of me – there is nowhere an indication of the price or what package you get, but the salesperson told me it’s valid 1 month and you get 1,5Gb per day. I’ve been waiting for 2 hours now and it’s not yet activate though …
TheWanderingQuinn
-Thanks for letting me know!
QueenPea3
-This was such a great blog and really reassured me that I would be digitally-connected ASAP, so HUGE thanQ!
I arrived at Indira Gandhi (Delhi International Airport) on 21/10/23 and getting my Airtel SIM was incredibly straightforward, even after 2 over night flights and with major brain fog. The guy in the shop took my photo, fitted the SIM for me and I was connected a couple of hours later.
The cost was 500 Rupees (~£5) for 1 SIM card or 900 Rupees (~£9) for 2 [gotta love an easy exchange rate]. I got 1.5GB data each day and free calls to other Indian mobiles.
Whilst all the hotels I stayed in had excellent WiFi connections, having a SIM was so useful for Google maps and feeling less vulnerable when out-and-about on my own.
TheWanderingQuinn
-Thank you so much for letting me know and sharing your experience!
PaulMc
-Really useful post. Thanks. A few points from our recent experience may help others
– We had to try a few cards before the ATMs would pay out. We encountered this elsewhere in India and didn’t bottom out the reason (mag stripe machines rather than chip & pin??)
– Our SIM cards took 24 hours to activate. I think this was because we arrived on a festival day (23-Oct) when most offices were closed and AirTel have a manual KYC (know your customer) process.
– To get the full data allowance we had to install the AirTel app on a 4G handset (easy but lots of mildly irritating notifications and offers). Our 5G handset was less hassle and they said we had unlimited 5G data.
TheWanderingQuinn
-Thank you for sharing your experience. I appreciate it. Have a great trip!
Indi75
-Impossible to buy a SIM card at Airtel counter of Terminal 3 arrival yesterday !
Man refused to all tourists saying that it’s only for local people and that we have to buy one in the city 🤷🏻♂️
H.D.
-I went to India, and landed in Delhi airport on 14 February 2024, around 6 AM I arrived at the shop, only for the people to tell me it’s closed until 8AM. Nowhere a sign to show this and the booth had 4-5 people in there… eventually bought the SIM elsewhere, after much hassle.
Sem
-Thanks for your information, was very useful!
I was there 3 days ago. Buying the sim was very easy, took about 30 minutes in total. They needed my passport, a photo taken and they took care of it. Small queue. The sim cost me 500INR which got me 1.5gb for 28 days. It worked straight away!