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Tarkan
23 March 2026
Optus is Australia's second-largest mobile network, and its international roaming comes in more varieties than most travellers expect. The $5 Daily Roaming option on Choice Plus plans delivers 5 GB of data per day. The $10 Roaming Pass on older plans gives you only 1 GB. Prepaid customers have separate add-on packs with their own pricing. And if you don't activate any of these, Pay-As-You-Go rates at $1/MB kick in automatically. This guide unpacks every Optus international roaming option, explains the differences between plan types, and shows you when a prepaid travel eSIM is the smarter choice for your next trip.
Optus offers international roaming through four products: Daily Roaming ($5/day on Choice Plus plans), the Roaming Pass ($10/day on other postpaid plans), Prepaid Roaming Packs, and Standard Roaming rates (the pay-per-use fallback). Which option you get depends on your specific Optus plan, and the differences are significant.
Optus divides roaming destinations into two zones. Zone 1 covers most of Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania, which includes the majority of popular travel destinations for Australians. Zone 2 covers parts of the Middle East, Africa, and Central/South America. Some destinations fall outside both zones entirely.
The critical distinction is between Daily Roaming and the Roaming Pass. Daily Roaming is the premium tier: 5 GB of data, unlimited calls and texts for $5/day. The Roaming Pass offers just 1 GB of data for $10/day. That's a five-fold difference in data and double the price. Your plan type determines which one you get, and many Optus customers don't realise the gap exists until they're already abroad.
Optus partners with local carriers in each destination. In Japan, you'll connect to NTT Docomo. In Indonesia, Telkomsel. In New Zealand, Spark and One NZ. In Europe, various national carriers depending on the country. Coverage is generally strong in urban areas and along major transport routes.
Here is a complete breakdown of every Optus roaming option.
Daily Roaming at $5/day is Optus's best roaming product. It's available on Choice Plus, Optus Plus Family, Optus Plus Promo, and Business Choice Plus plans. You get 5 GB of data per 24-hour period, plus unlimited calls and texts. If you exceed 5 GB, Optus charges an additional $5 for another 5 GB block. The pass is active by default and charges only on days you use your phone.
The Roaming Pass at $10/day is for postpaid customers on plans that don't qualify for Daily Roaming. The drop in value is steep: only 1 GB of data for double the price. If you exceed 1 GB, Optus charges an additional $10 for another 1 GB. Unused data doesn't roll over to the next day. For data-heavy travellers, this adds up fast.
Prepaid Roaming Packs are available on Optus Flex Plus plans in Zone 1 countries only. The 1-day pack at $5 includes 1 GB, 100 minutes, and 100 texts. The 7-day pack at $35 gives 7 GB with 700 minutes and 700 texts. These are reasonable value for Zone 1 destinations but unavailable in Zone 2 countries.
Standard Roaming kicks in if you don't have Daily Roaming, a Roaming Pass, or a prepaid pack active. At $1/MB in most Zone 1 destinations, a single GB costs over $1,000. Even Optus strongly advises against using standard roaming rates for anything other than absolute emergencies.
Check which roaming tier your plan qualifies for. The difference between $5/day for 5 GB (Daily Roaming) and $10/day for 1 GB (Roaming Pass) is substantial. Log into the My Optus app and check your International Roaming settings before you travel.
Consider upgrading to a Choice Plus plan before a big trip. If you're on an older postpaid plan that only qualifies for the $10 Roaming Pass, switching to a Choice Plus plan before departure gets you the $5/5 GB Daily Roaming instead. Run the numbers: for a two-week trip, the savings could easily justify the plan change.
Enable roaming in both the My Optus app and your phone settings. Optus requires roaming to be toggled on in your account settings AND in your phone's network settings. Missing either one means no connectivity abroad.
Buy prepaid packs before landing. For prepaid customers, purchase your roaming pack through the My Optus app before you arrive at your destination. The pack's duration starts from the moment of purchase, so buy it just before departure to maximise validity.
Turn off background data on rest days. The daily roaming charge triggers on any data usage, including background app refreshes. If you're spending a day at a resort with Wi-Fi, toggle data roaming off to avoid the charge.
Track usage via the My Optus app. Optus sends alerts when you're close to your daily data limit. Monitor usage to avoid overage charges, particularly on the Roaming Pass where the 1 GB cap is easy to hit.
Optus's Daily Roaming at $5/day with 5 GB is competitive. For a week in Bali or Japan, $35 in roaming charges with generous data is reasonable. But the value drops significantly for customers on the $10 Roaming Pass, where 1 GB/day for $10 is poor value by any measure.
For Roaming Pass customers, the maths heavily favours a travel eSIM. A week of roaming at $10/day with only 1 GB daily costs $70. Exceeding the 1 GB cap even once adds another $10. A prepaid eSIM for the same destination delivers more data at a lower total price.
For prepaid customers, Optus's Flex Plus packs are reasonable in Zone 1 but don't exist for Zone 2. If your destination falls in Zone 2 (parts of the Middle East, Africa, South America), prepaid Optus customers have no add-on option at all and face standard roaming rates at $0.50-$2/MB. A travel eSIM covers these destinations without the zone restrictions.
Even Daily Roaming users can benefit from a travel eSIM in certain scenarios. If you're on a multi-country trip spanning three or four destinations, the eSIM approach lets you buy data tailored to each country's network, while Optus charges $5/day regardless. For longer trips of three weeks or more, the cumulative cost of daily fees starts to exceed what a prepaid eSIM would cost.
The Dual SIM setup keeps your Optus number active for Australian calls and texts while the eSIM handles data on the local network. No daily fees, no zone confusion, no 1 GB or 5 GB ceilings.
Australian travellers are some of the world's most frequent international flyers. Whether it's a quick hop to Bali, a food tour through Japan, a family holiday in New Zealand, or a European adventure spanning half a dozen countries, Australians travel far and they travel often.
TurkSIM covers 200+ destinations with prepaid eSIM plans. Pick up an eSIM for Indonesia and connect to Telkomsel, Indosat, and XL Axiata across Bali, Java, and Lombok. Grab a Japan eSIM for your cherry blossom trip and run on NTT Docomo. Or get a New Zealand eSIM connecting to Spark and One NZ for your South Island road trip.
For Optus customers on the $10 Roaming Pass, TurkSIM is a substantial upgrade. Instead of paying $10 for 1 GB that resets daily with no rollover, you get a prepaid data package at a fixed cost. No daily charges, no 1 GB ceiling, no surprise overage fees at $10 per extra gigabyte.
The Dual SIM setup means you don't sacrifice your Australian number. Keep Optus active for calls, texts, and banking verification messages. Use TurkSIM for all data. You stay reachable on your Australian number while getting local network speeds at your destination.
For travellers visiting Zone 2 countries where Optus prepaid packs aren't available, TurkSIM fills a gap that Optus simply doesn't cover. No zone limitations, no plan eligibility requirements, just a prepaid eSIM that works in 200+ destinations worldwide.
Daily Roaming costs AUD $5/day and includes 5 GB of data with unlimited calls and texts. It's available on Choice Plus, Plus Family, and Plus Promo plans. The Roaming Pass costs $10/day but includes only 1 GB of data with unlimited calls and texts. It's for other postpaid plans that don't qualify for Daily Roaming.
Optus Choice Plus, Optus Plus Family, Optus Plus Promo, and Business Choice Plus plans qualify. Optus Choice Direct Debit plans are automatically opted in. If you're on any other postpaid plan, you get the $10 Roaming Pass instead. Check eligibility in the My Optus app.
On Daily Roaming, exceeding 5 GB triggers an automatic $5 charge for another 5 GB block. On the Roaming Pass, exceeding 1 GB triggers a $10 charge for another 1 GB. Unused data does not roll over to the next day on either plan.
Yes. If your phone supports Dual SIM or eSIM, keep Optus active for calls and texts while the eSIM handles data. Turn off data roaming on your Optus line to prevent Daily Roaming or Roaming Pass charges from activating.
Yes, but only with Flex Plus plans and purchased roaming packs. Packs are available in Zone 1 countries only. The 1-day pack costs $5 for 1 GB, and the 7-day pack costs $35 for 7 GB. Without a pack, prepaid standard roaming rates apply at $0.50-$1/MB.
Open the My Optus app, go to Service, then Settings, then International Roaming, and ensure the toggle is on. For prepaid customers, buy a roaming pack through the app's Add-ons section. You also need to enable data roaming in your phone's network settings for data to work abroad.
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