Short answer. At Djerba-Zarzis airport a Tunisian SIM card is bought with your passport, and it is the cheapest way to get mobile data: on its website Orange Tunisie lists its 25 GB SIM DATA, valid 30 days, at 30.4 dinars. What nobody can promise is that a counter will be open when your flight lands. An eSIM installed before you leave works as soon as you land, with no queue, but costs more. Here are both options, with the numbers.
Djerba-Zarzis airport in brief
Djerba-Zarzis International Airport (DJE) serves Houmt Souk, the island of Djerba and south-eastern Tunisia. It lies about 7 km in a straight line from Houmt Souk; the Midoun hotel area is further away, on the east side of the island. Seasonal flights often land in the evening, which is exactly when you need data most (taxi, hotel, a message home) and when a counter is most likely to be closed.
Buying a SIM card on arrival
Three operators sell prepaid lines in Tunisia: Orange Tunisie, Ooredoo and Tunisie Telecom. Ooredoo's official help pages say its Holiday SIM is sold "at the Ooredoo shop at the airport", without naming which one. We found no official list of the counters open at Djerba or of their hours: if your flight lands late, plan to buy the SIM in town the next day.
Since 2024 a line can only be activated once it is linked to a valid identity document, and informal SIM sales are banned. Show your passport at the counter and do not buy a SIM in the street: an unregistered line can be switched off. You also need a free SIM slot in your phone.
Orange Tunisie's official prices
Orange Tunisie is the only one of the three whose prices we could read on its own website. Its SIM DATA, read on 15 October 2026:
| Orange Tunisie offer | Validity | Listed price |
|---|---|---|
| SIM DATA 400 MB | 7 days | 3.8 TND |
| SIM DATA 6 GB | 30 days | 16.15 TND |
| SIM DATA 25 GB | 30 days | 30.4 TND |
Orange also lists 30-day data add-ons: 4 GB for 10 TND, 6 GB for 15 TND, 25 GB for 30 TND. The dinar cannot be bought outside Tunisia, so withdraw or change money on arrival before paying for a SIM in cash. Ooredoo's and Tunisie Telecom's prices could not be read on their websites from our connection, so we do not quote them.
The network around the airport and on the island
To give an idea of network density, we counted the 4G cells recorded within 10 km of four points on the island in Mozilla Location Service's open data (volunteer readings from 2016 to 2024, mostly before 2021):
| Place | Orange Tunisie | Tunisie Telecom | Ooredoo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Djerba-Zarzis airport | 38 | 25 | 40 |
| Houmt Souk | 56 | 40 | 51 |
| Midoun | 44 | 36 | 80 |
| Ajim | 13 | 8 | 3 |
These are cells recorded by volunteers' phones, not a coverage map: a low number does not mean there is no signal. They do show all three networks around the airport and Houmt Souk, and a thinner network in the south-west of the island (Ajim).
The eSIM: ready before the flight
Our eSIM runs on the Orange Tunisie network. You install it at home over Wi-Fi; the plan only starts at your first connection in Tunisia. When you land, switch on mobile data and data roaming for the eSIM line. Every plan gives 1 GB a day at full 4G speed, then 512 kbps until the next day, hotspot included, from €6.50 for 1 day to €21.90 for 7 days and €84.90 for 30 days. It does not give you a Tunisian number: calls and texts stay on your usual line.
Which one for Djerba?
- You land in the evening or with children: the eSIM, so maps and messages work from the jet bridge.
- You stay two weeks or more and use a lot of data: a local SIM, bought in a shop with your passport, costs less per gigabyte.
- Your phone has no eSIM: the local SIM is the only one of the two that works. Check your model on our compatibility page.
For the rest of the island (hotel Wi-Fi, day trips, data use) read Internet in Djerba without roaming fees, and for the other airports Tunisia SIM card at the airport or an eSIM?.
Sources
Read on 15 October 2026: Orange Tunisie, SIM DATA and add-ons; Ooredoo Tunisie official help (answer of 30 January 2025 on the Holiday SIM); Wikipedia for Djerba-Zarzis airport; Mozilla Location Service final cell export (CC0).
Free Wi-Fi at Djerba-Zarzis airport
According to a statement by Tunisia's airports authority (OACA), reported by the Tunisian press on 7 May 2025, Djerba-Zarzis airport offers free Wi-Fi. We could not check its speed or sign-in conditions on site. It is enough to install an eSIM on arrival, message home or book a taxi; as on any public Wi-Fi, avoid banking on it.
Sources: Managers, 7 May 2025 and La Presse de Tunisie, 7 May 2025, reporting an OACA statement.
Ooredoo's Holiday SIM packs, pre-ordered and collected at Djerba: Ooredoo Tunisia eSIM: Holiday SIM prices.