Best Cell Phone Sim Card To Buy

Welcome.
In all my many trips to Italy, I’ve found that TIM cards work best on the mainland, and VodaFone works best in Sicily.
I always wait till I am in Italy to buy mine.
Get to your accommodation first, then take a walk to the nearest phone shop.
Plenty of shops selling both in most towns and cities; you can find the shops on Google Maps.
Expect to pay about E25 for a month of service and 20g of data.
The workers in the shop will set it up for you, and the card works within the hour, sometimes right away.
Just bring a tiny ziploc bag to keep your “home” simcard in till you go home again.

Awesome. Thank you.

I tried to get one last time at Vodafone and I didn't have my passport with me.....oops! So I had to wait a day.....but now I am sitting here thinking "why did I go to Vodafone? I always use TIM!" haha

If you are slightly tech savvy, and your phone is unlocked to be used with outside/international sims, you could also consider an esim when you don't have to buy anything physical, you just set it up on your phone. I know I have heard a lot of things about airalo....

Actually TIM and Vodafone are comparable in terms of coverage. If you stay in cities or even major urban areas, coverage will be pretty much the same with both. In rural or mountain areas is where the difference is. Some of those areas are better covered by Vodafone, others are better covered by TIM. I'm a Vodafone customer because in the area of rural Tuscany where I have a country house, I have little signal with TIM but excellent with Vodafone, across the hill, in the same town, it's the opposite, so go figure.

If you have a relatively new 5G phone, you can also purchase a legit eSIM in advance of your trip.

Anecdotal data: On our 2022 December trip, I had a physical TIM SIM, and my hubs used Verizon's travel points through Vodaphone. Through Rome, Siena, Lucca, and Florence, his phone consistently had better signal than mine. Hrmph.

This year, with a Pixel 7 Pro, I went with an eSIM from Vodaphone directly: https://travel.vodafone.com/ purchased a week prior. They have 15-and 30-day options with fixed data totals well beyond what you'll use, and pretty cheap. I bought 15, and on our 16th day just took the $10 hit Verizon charges per day on my lesser plan.

There are three important steps to this; only mildly technical: 1) After buying, download the SIM, and install it (their directions are clear) as Inactive. 2) Right before you fly (while phone is active under your normal carrier SIM), turn off roaming under that. 3) Once arrived, while still in airplane mode, make your home/physical SIM inactive. Finish activating the eSIM steps, and turn ON roaming under this. If oddness occurs beyond their instructions, take it to their office (which you would have done anyway). I had no issues.

This literally takes 1/4 the time you'd spend in the Vodaphone/TIM store waiting on the employee to tap-tap things into your phone.

It should be noted: if you purchased your phone within the past 60 days, your phone may not be unlocked to use any other SIM. Be sure you clarify this with your carrier at home.

I always found it best to purchase a Sim once in-country.

You can buy at the airport or, train statin but, you'll pay more than if you just wait till you're settled in.

We usually get into our hotel/BnB/home share, unpack, freshen-up, and depending on time of day, either grab a bite or, hit the Coop & Tiger for toiletry items. Usually in-store or, nearby is a stand selling TIM or, Vodophone cards, easy to pick-up and chat-up the worker.

Yes, bring your passport when purchasing!

Thank you everyone for all your information.