Warning to Brit tourists over ‘hidden' charge that could cost you £300 before even stepping out of airport
Corfu, in the northwestern corner of Greece, lies just 48km from the Albanian coast.
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Because of this, strong mobile signals from across the border can reach parts of the island, especially on the eastern side.
This can cause some phones to automatically connect to Albanian networks—even though tourists haven't left Greece.
As a result, many holidaymakers have reported receiving a confusing 'Welcome to Albania' text shortly after landing at Corfu Airport, which in some cases has led to unexpected roaming charges and hefty phone bills.
One traveller shared a message received from a service called Rate Advice, which read: 'Welcome to Albania! Calls, texts and data in Albania are chargeable and do not come out of your standard allowances or UK data add-ons.'
Charges can be as high as £1.50 per MB of data, with a roaming cap of £45 – but many users report blowing past that limit if not careful reports MailOnline.
Several tourists have taken to social media to warn others.
Steve Moore, from Chesterfield, wrote on Facebook: 'I arrived Sunday, usual welcome text to Corfu charges just the same as UK – 2 days later message 'Welcome to Albania' this is your charges.
"Wow what a rip off… was told the network must have changed to a different mast.'
Another Facebook user added: 'Only if you go to the east of the island. I did that mistake while on a quad.
"Using Google Maps. £128 to drive up road lol.'
A third warned: 'We got caught out – £298 bill when we got home.'
To avoid these charges, Brits are being urged to manually select a Greek mobile network upon arrival.
Turn this off now
One traveller advised: 'All you do is let your phone set its paired Greek network automatically when you arrive on the island at the airport.
"Once it's selected the correct Greek network, go into your settings and turn OFF 'automatically select network'.
"This means your phone will not hunt for or connect to anything else other than your correct Greek network.'
Others recommend turning off roaming completely and relying on Wi-Fi in hotels, bars, and restaurants.
'We keep our roaming off at all times and just log into Wi-Fi,' one user said.
Some have even reported successfully challenging the charges with their network provider afterwards, though this is not guaranteed.
The warning comes as travel experts highlight other mobile settings that could leave travellers out of pocket.
Georgia Brivida, from international SIM provider Sim Local, says one commonly overlooked feature is autoplay – which automatically plays videos on apps like TikTok, Instagram and Facebook.
She warns this can quietly use large amounts of data, especially when abroad.
'Autoplay is a feature that automatically plays videos as you scroll through apps like Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, often without you even tapping play,' she said.
To avoid any nasty surprises, travellers are being urged to check their mobile settings before flying – and stay alert to unexpected network switches, especially when close to international borders.
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