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Layover guideFrankfurt · FRA

Staying connected in Frankfurt

An EU or EEA SIM roams at domestic rates, and a German prepaid SIM requires an identity check against a document.

Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons · CC BY 2.0
All of Frankfurt

On an EU or EEA plan, roam-like-at-home applies: calls, texts and data are charged at domestic rates, and the same rule covers calls and texts you receive, so you are not charged extra to take a call while roaming. The regime also covers Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, Moldova and Ukraine.

Fair use limits still apply. Your operator can monitor your roaming use over a four-month period, and if you spent more time abroad than at home and your roaming use exceeded your domestic use, it may start charging extra. Worth knowing if you are based outside the EU but carrying an EU SIM.

Data cut-off protection applies at a total additional consumption of 50 euros, or another limit you choose, so a long layover will not silently run up a bill.

Buying a German prepaid SIM is not anonymous. The Bundesnetzagentur cites section 172(2) of the Telecommunications Act, under which the connection holder's data must be checked against a listed identity document. Carry ID if you plan to buy one.

  1. Bundesnetzagentur: identity verification procedures for prepaid mobile · checked 2026-08-17
  2. European Commission, Your Europe: mobile roaming costs · checked 2026-08-17

The rest of Frankfurt

The whole guide
Getting out of the airportThe S8 or S9 from the station under Terminal 1 reaches Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof in about 12 minutes, and taxis wait around the clock outside both terminals.Ride-hailingUber is the only ride-hailing service the airport names, and its pickup points are in a car park and a bus lane rather than at the arrivals kerb.Local laws that catch crew outGermany is legally unremarkable for most crew with one exception that matters a great deal: drugs, cannabis included, are treated severely, and that explicitly covers transiting the airport.WeatherMild summers, frosty damp winters, rain possible in any month; no extreme-weather season.Eating near the crew hotelsAlt-Sachsenhausen for apple-wine taverns, Kleinmarkthalle for market food (closed Sundays), Fressgass for the deli-and-cafe strip.What to buyZeil for mainstream, Goethestrasse for luxury; the local buy is a Bembel apple-wine jug; non-EU crew can reclaim VAT on purchases over EUR 50, stamped at FRA customs.TippingTipping is voluntary; round up or add 5-10% in restaurants, round taxis to the next euro.