Zurich eSIM
In Zurich you connect to Swisscom or Salt, whichever is performing better where you are standing. The typical speed across the country is 112 Mbps. Your data starts working the moment you land, before you reach the immigration hall.
- Networks
- Swisscom and Salt
- Typical speed in Switzerland
- 112 Mbps typical, 39 Mbps at busy times
- 5G
- yes, standalone and non standalone
- Throttle
- None on metered plans
- Tethering
- Allowed on every plan
Plans that cover Zurich
| Data | Validity | Price per GB | Price | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 GB | Never expires | $5.89 | $5.89 | |
| 3 GB | Never expires | $2.63 | $7.89 | |
| 5 GBMost travellers | Never expires | $1.98 | $9.89 | |
| 10 GB | Never expires | $1.49 | $14.89 | |
| 20 GB | Never expires | $1.19 | $23.89 | |
| 50 GB | Never expires | $0.94 | $46.89 |
How Switzerland compares across Europe
- Regional typical speed
- 71 Mbps
- Upstream networks
- 2, Swisscom, Salt
- 5G
- Yes, standalone and non standalone
- Next fastest nearby
- Kosovo, 158.7 Mbps
- Next slowest nearby
- Finland, 102 Mbps
- Cities with their own page
- 4: Zurich, Geneva, Interlaken, Zermatt
Landing at Zurich Airport (ZRH)
- Airport
- ZRH / LSZH
- Distance
- 9 km from the centre of Zurich
- Wifi on arrival
- Free wifi in the terminalEight hours of free internet per login. You get the code either by entering a mobile number and having it sent by SMS, or from a WiFi Station or an information desk on showing a boarding pass and ID. The airport's own site, SBB, ESTA and SWISS open without registering.
- SIM on arrival
- SIM counters or vending in the terminalZurich Airport lists a Swisscom shop in the Airport Shopping public area, open daily 08.00 to 21.00, and a Sunrise shop in The Circle public area, open daily 10.00 to 19.00.
Getting into Zurich
- Rail from Zurich Airport station to Zurich Hauptbahnhof (ZRH), about 13 minutes. Runs through tunnels, where a signal drops
- Tram 10 on the Glattalbahn from Zurich Airport to Bahnhofplatz/HB (ZRH)
Worth knowing about Zurich
- Zurich Airport's railway station is entirely underground, directly beneath the landside Airport Centre, so you go straight from arrivals into a tunnel station.
- Around 13 trains an hour run to Zurich Hauptbahnhof, taking 9 to 13 minutes.
- The airport station also has direct EuroCity, InterCity and InterRegio trains to cities across Switzerland and into Austria and Germany, so you can leave the country by rail without entering Zurich.
- SBB-FREE, the free wifi at 80 Swiss stations including Zurich main station, needs a one time registration that works only with a mobile number able to receive SMS.
- SBB says the SBB-FREE registration is required by law, cannot be done with a data only subscription, lasts 12 months and covers up to five devices per number.
- Swiss surveillance law, VUEPF article 19 paragraph 2, requires providers of professionally operated public WLAN access to identify every end user by suitable means.
- A Swiss mobile SIM requires proof of identity at handover or first activation, by a valid Swiss or foreign passport, an identity card, or a foreigner's permit, and the seller keeps a legible electronic copy.
- For a customer relationship without a subscription, which is what prepaid is, Swiss law also records the moment of activation and the name and full address of the point of sale.
- SBB EasyRide charges by check in and check out in the SBB Mobile app. It needs location services on while in use, Bluetooth on from check in to check out, and a SIM that can transmit data.
- EasyRide works out the route after check out and prices the whole day, charging the cheaper day pass automatically when the separate journeys would cost more.
- ZVV has more than 1,400 ticket machines in its network area. They take coins and the main debit and credit cards, including contactless, and switch to English, French or Italian.
- Zurich has no metro. Referendums in 1960 and 1973 rejected underground railway plans, and S-Bahn trains cross the centre through the Hirschengraben and Zurichberg tunnels, both opened in 1990.
- The Weinberg tunnel and Loewenstrasse station opened on 14 June 2014, adding a further set of through platforms underneath Zurich main station.
- Zurich Airport says trains leave for Zurich main station every 10 minutes.
- Zurich Tourism points visitors to hotels, restaurants and businesses for free wifi, and to SBB-FREE at the main train station after registering online.
Sources for this page
Other cities in Switzerland we cover
- Interlaken
- 92 km from Zurich, nearest airport BRN
- Zermatt
- 162 km from Zurich, nearest airport LUG
- Geneva
- 224 km from Zurich, nearest airport GVA