SIM cards for non EU citizens doing Camino Frances landing in Paris

[Mick O'Grady]

An EU friend said to open a prepaid account for the EU like any other EU resident and pay the monthly fee + the activation fee because this is cheaper than a tourist SIM package. We are landing in Paris. Some suggest waiting till we arrive in Pamplona. But some Albergues don’t use email. That would mean we would have to wait a few days after starting to have phone service Does anyone have any information or suggestions for SIM cards for folks landing in Paris?

 

[mspath]

Check this earlier thread re 'SIM cards in France'
Orange is one of the main suppliers in France.

 

[C clearly]

If you don't want the hassle of figuring out the question of SIM cards for both France and Spain, consider just keeping your Canadian SIM card in your phone until Pamplona. You can still use it all you want with wifi, with your phone in airplane mode. Then, if you need to use it for emergency, or for a short call or two, you will have the service available and the cost would not be huge. In Pamplona, buy a SIM card for Spain.

 

[Scott Fraser]

I recommend you find an inexpensive stop gap until you get to Pamplona. Much easier to recharge a Spanish SIM in Spain, and in my experience cheaper as well than the French alternatives. Phone stores in Pamplona open at 10 am (closed Sundays) so work that into your plan. After Pamplona the next phone stores are in Logroño.

 

[CWBuff]

If you happened to have T-Mobile than you will have to do nothing.
Seems T-Mobile roams on EU providers for no charge to you. Speed is quite slow and any phone call you make (local or not) will be $.25\min (I believe T-Mobile to T-Mobile calls are exclusions, I just tried that in Barcelona 2 weeks ago; called my wife's mobile and didnt get charged.... granted she was also in Barcelona at the time, but I am optimistic that it woould work over-the-pond as well)
They also offer various "upgrade" packages that can be bought for needed time

Good luck and Buen Camino

 

[lt56ny]

I think the advice of just using whatsapp calling or getting a super cheap sim card in France is the best advice. I buy a sim card before every camino. In Spain,I have always used Orange or Vodafone as they both have the best monthly prepaid prices, best coverage and largest number of locations. Just make sure you have your passport and some Spanish knowledge will help of course.

 

[peregrinapenguin]

If you don't want the hassle of figuring out the question of SIM cards for both France and Spain, consider just keeping your Canadian SIM card in your phone until Pamplona. You can still use it all you want with wifi, with your phone in airplane mode. Then, if you need to use it for emergency, or for a short call or two, you will have the service available and the cost would not be huge. In Pamplona, buy a SIM card for Spain.

Hi C Clearly. I found a sim card/prepaid booth in the bus station in Madrid yesterday and they fixed me up. Thank you, I feel great having it. Ps,I took my old phone but it didn't work in it, so I mailed it ahead to save on the weight)!

 

[Grayway]

Greetings from New Zealand. In 2018 I purchased an 'all of Europe' SIM card online from: www.simcorner.com This gave me excellent mobile phone coverage when I arrived in France, Spain and wider Europe. Using data and WhatsApp I was able to keep in touch daily with family in NZ, as well as making local calls during my 32 days SJPD to Santiago and out to the coast.

 

[cbacino]

An EU friend said to open a prepaid account for the EU like any other EU resident and pay the monthly fee + the activation fee because this is cheaper than a tourist SIM package. We are landing in Paris. Some suggest waiting till we arrive in Pamplona. But some Albergues don’t use email. That would mean we would have to wait a few days after starting to have phone service Does anyone have any information or suggestions for SIM cards for folks landing in Paris?

I bought Orange pre-paid for 8 weeks. It cost about 10 euro per week. Worked like a charm from Paris to Fisterra. Would buy it again.

 

[Hez]

If you have a newer phone you could use an eSim. You can "load" them onto your phone digitally and then set your data to use the esim and leave your normal sim for phone/text. Depending on your plan, and what type of texting you do, this can work out super convenient (so I'm told - about to try it out in a couple weeks!). Here's how it works with iPhones - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT209044 . And a list of eSim providers for Europe - https://esimdb.com/region/europe . I'm going to 3 countries so am going to get the Eurolink 10G for $37 from https://www.airalo.com/europe-esim

 

[S.Duffenais]

I ordered an Orange EU SIM card from Amazon, very reasonable.

 

[Mick O'Grady]

If you happened to have T-Mobile than you will have to do nothing.
Seems T-Mobile roams on EU providers for no charge to you. Speed is quite slow and any phone call you make (local or not) will be $.25\min (I believe T-Mobile to T-Mobile calls are exclusions, I just tried that in Barcelona 2 weeks ago; called my wife's mobile and didnt get charged.... granted she was also in Barcelona at the time, but I am optimistic that it woould work over-the-pond as well)
They also offer various "upgrade" packages that can be bought for needed time

Good luck and Buen Camino

I am from Canada so I am not sure this is applicable to my plan.

 

[1spiritedmom]

I bought Orange pre-paid for 8 weeks. It cost about 10 euro per week. Worked like a charm from Paris to Fisterra. Would buy it again.

Hello - did you purchase your Orange sim card in Paris or did you have it shipped to you before you left your country? Thank-you!

 

[Kanga]

I've just looked at Amazon here in Australia and see I can buy the Orange "Holiday Zen" SIM card for Europe, so I assume it is available in most places.

 

[S.Duffenais]

Hello - did you purchase your Orange sim card in Paris or did you have it shipped to you before you left your country? Thank-you!

I bought mine on Amazon

 

[cbacino]

Hello - did you purchase your Orange sim card in Paris or did you have it shipped to you before you left your country? Thank-you!

I bought it in Paris at an Orange store. Since I walked from Paris, I needed 7-8 weeks of service, and prepay is available in 2 week increments. I prepaid for four 2-week increments at the store in Paris. The salesman loaded one increment while in the store and gave me three receipt slips containing a numeric code to upgrade my service after each 2-weeks of service had expired. Worked just fine. Orange has stores in Spain, but upgrades to service purchased in France ARE NOT available in Spain. I was quite satisfied with Orange. There are several Orange stores in Paris; just query the web for their locations.

 

[greghiker]

We priced out Orange Sim cards today in Paris and it is 40 Euros for 2 weeks... not ideal. What about buying a SIMCard in Spain once you get to Pamplona??