Cell phone use in Spain

[Boomer23]

We are hiking the Camino Frances this spring and would like to be able use our cell phones. Xfinity says we will lose our credit on our iphones if we get sim cards in Spain (we are still paying off the devices). The international travel plan thru Xfinity is $10/day. Will we be able to use our phones in Spain without getting a local sim card or the travel plan? Thanks for your advice!

 

[Kanga]

We are hiking the Camino Frances this spring and would like to be able use our cell phones. Xfinity says we will lose our credit on our iphones if we get sim cards in Spain (we are still paying off the devices). The international travel plan thru Xfinity is $10/day. Will we be able to use our phones in Spain without getting a local sim card or the travel plan? Thanks for your advice!

Can you install an esim? Most new phones allow this and it means you keep your normal sim in the phone, but switch to using the esim while in Spain. I am currently experimenting with using Airalo to locate my next esim for use in Spain and Italy.

 

[Vacajoe]

You can use your phone on wifi-only and avoid any additional costs. Free wifi is often available at bars, restaurants, and hotels along the CF. You won’t have always-on service, but do you REALLY need that? Or just in the evenings when making plans? Note that many mapping programs still work since gps is active even without a cell signal.

 

[trecile]

Will we be able to use our phones in Spain without getting a local sim card or the travel plan?

You can use your phone on wifi-only and avoid any additional costs. Free wifi is often available at bars, restaurants, and hotels along the CF. You won’t have always-on service, but do you REALLY need that? Or just in the evenings when making plans? Note that many mapping programs still work since gps is active even without a cell signal.

I was just starting to post what @Vacajoe said.

 

[Brian&Deb J.]

Can you install an esim? Most new phones allow this and it means you keep your normal sim in the phone, but switch to using the esim while in Spain. I am currently experimenting with using Airalo to locate my next esim for use in Spain and Italy.

Can you clarify this? Specifically, I use an iPhone 14 Pro Are you saying my phone has 2 SIM card slots? I keep my normal then slide the Spanish in as well? Will the phone default to the Spanish -ie I don't want local nor home area calls going through my regular SIM. Thanks for your insight

 

[kensteve51]

We are AT&T customers. The AT&T International Plan has served us well over the past five years. It does cost $10 per day, but provides the exact service one has at home. We have used it for calls to home, and internet access/hotspot all over Europe, Cuba, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. I will be using the plan on my Camino in September. We use late model Samsung Galaxy phones, and the plan works great. In areas of greate telephone signal, where need to use the internet is limited, the hotspot works great!
Buen Camino....Ken

 

[Gringazolana]

Can you clarify this? Specifically, I use an iPhone 14 Pro Are you saying my phone has 2 SIM card slots? I keep my normal then slide the Spanish in as well? Will the phone default to the Spanish -ie I don't want local nor home area calls going through my regular SIM. Thanks for your insight

I have the same phone! There are no more “slots” for SIM cards anymore. It’s all electronic now. (*I* don’t understand this stuff, but my son is a software engineer/nerd!) But you can’t install (or whatever the electronic version of this is) any new SIM cards on your phone until you pay it off so the carrier can “unlock” it!!

 

[A Crackpot Abroad]

Might consider another option than the $10 a day plan. I copied and pasted from responses I made from other phone threads below.

Short version is you can get a lot of phone and data cheap in Spain. My last plan from May/2022 was 15 euro for 800 minutes to the U.S. and 50 GB of data (they do have a weird 28 day/ 4 week service period).

Need to have an unlocked phone that is on the GSM frequency. I'm not an IPhone user so hopefully someone can help with that. I seem to recall that the iPhone 14 has all the frequencies needed to operate in Spain. Also, ESim is foreign to me not sure how that works.

crackpot

Other phone threads
"I have used Yoigo in 2017 was not very good coverage then. No internet connection once you left a city. I've used Vodaphone since and amazed at internet connection almost everywhere along Via de Plata, Norte and LeVante.

My response from prior Sim threads:

May 7, 2022
I'm lazy. From another thread below is my answer. I'm in Spain now. I have the 15 euro Vodafone 50GB internet, 800 minutes of calling to the U.S.,and unlimited calls in Spain. Weird 28 day pre-pay plan. No contract.. no commitments. When you're r done with Spain, stop renewing.. I believe you get some minutes and GB in other EU countries.

Here my answer from another phone thread:

April 27, 2022
"I'm very happy with Vodafone in Spain. 15 euro for 50GB internet, 800 minutes calling time to the United States, unlimited calls in Spain.

No contract. When you are done, stop prepaying. Weird 28 day billing cycle but I deal with it. Prepaying the next billing cycle is easy. Texts are extra few cents per text (weird by U.S. standards).

I had excellent coverage on Via de Plata, Norte, and Levante (I had Yoigo before. Didn't work very well in the hinterlands. I didn't have a phone while on Camino Frances.). Vodafone does all the technical stuff for you at their local stores. Just make sure you have an unlocked GSM (non Verizon) phone. Easy peasey."

 

[lt56ny]

Might consider another option than the $10 a day plan. I copied and pasted from responses I made from other phone threads below.

Short version is you can get a lot of phone and data cheap in Spain. My last plan from May/2022 was 15 euro for 800 minutes to the U.S. and 50 GB of data (they do have a weird 28 day/ 4 week service period).

Need to have an unlocked phone that is on the GSM frequency. I'm not an IPhone user so hopefully someone can help with that. I seem to recall that the iPhone 14 has all the frequencies needed to operate in Spain. Also, ESim is foreign to me not sure how that works.

crackpot

Other phone threads
"I have used Yoigo in 2017 was not very good coverage then. No internet connection once you left a city. I've used Vodaphone since and amazed at internet connection almost everywhere along Via de Plata, Norte and LeVante.

My response from prior Sim threads:

May 7, 2022
I'm lazy. From another thread below is my answer. I'm in Spain now. I have the 15 euro Vodafone 50GB internet, 800 minutes of calling to the U.S.,and unlimited calls in Spain. Weird 28 day pre-pay plan. No contract.. no commitments. When you're r done with Spain, stop renewing.. I believe you get some minutes and GB in other EU countries.

Here my answer from another phone thread:

April 27, 2022
"I'm very happy with Vodafone in Spain. 15 euro for 50GB internet, 800 minutes calling time to the United States, unlimited calls in Spain.

No contract. When you are done, stop prepaying. Weird 28 day billing cycle but I deal with it. Prepaying the next billing cycle is easy. Texts are extra few cents per text (weird by U.S. standards).

I had excellent coverage on Via de Plata, Norte, and Levante (I had Yoigo before. Didn't work very well in the hinterlands. I didn't have a phone while on Camino Frances.). Vodafone does all the technical stuff for you at their local stores. Just make sure you have an unlocked GSM (non Verizon) phone. Easy peasey."

I always use the Vodafone plan too. It is so inexpensive and works so well. If you are in Spain it is super easy to recharge. They send you a text message and when you open the link the site is also in English. It takes about 1 minute to recharge. Instead of using text messaging use Whatsapp. It is free and works great and you can make video calls with your loved ones back home. With 50GB you have nothing to worry about with usage even if there is no wifi or weak wifi when you call.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Can you clarify this? Specifically, I use an iPhone 14 Pro Are you saying my phone has 2 SIM card slots? I keep my normal then slide the Spanish in as well? Will the phone default to the Spanish -ie I don't want local nor home area calls going through my regular SIM. Thanks for your insight

There are three ways a phone can have dual SIM capability for essentially more than one "phone number" (I'm simplifying here). (1) It can take two physical SIM cards. (2) More commonly now it can have one physical SIM card and an eSIM (see more at link below). Canadian iPhone 14s are like this. (3) Rare is a phone that has no physical SIM or a slot for one. I believe the only phone of this type is the American version of the iPhone 14 although this is the way the technology is going. eSIMs can have more than one "phone number" stored on them.

Your phone has to be unlocked for this to work. Hold any questions on this until after reading the following thread please.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/questions-about-esim-card.75197/

That thread originally had an embedded video that can no longer be seen but I think it is one of these (these are the YouTube video ids):
g5j7ILjx-BI
7lnEQLVOsH4
DLILlKdELEk
V35jHAkpUIk

You definitely want to use the dual sim (eSIM) when overseas so pay attention to that video.

I'm not an iPhone or Apple user but I'm available for questions anyway.

 

[pjacobi]

Link for Xfinity International rates. You can pay $10/day or just do nothing and pay-as-you-go.

https://www.xfinity.com/mobile/support/article/traveling-internationally

The simple and cheap solution is just to use the Wi-Fi, usually available for free at most Albergues or hotels.


-Paul

 

[Dave Morgan]

Can you clarify this? Specifically, I use an iPhone 14 Pro Are you saying my phone has 2 SIM card slots? I keep my normal then slide the Spanish in as well? Will the phone default to the Spanish -ie I don't want local nor home area calls going through my regular SIM. Thanks for your insight

I'm not familiar with iPhones so I dont know about esim compatibility but esims don't require a physical card or slot.

 

[C clearly]

We are hiking the Camino Frances this spring and would like to be able use our cell phones. Xfinity says we will lose our credit on our iphones if we get sim cards in Spain (we are still paying off the devices). The international travel plan thru Xfinity is $10/day. Will we be able to use our phones in Spain without getting a local sim card or the travel plan? Thanks for your advice!

A tag ("phones/apps/gps/maps") has been added under the title at the top of this thread. If you click on it, you will find many threads on the topic.

 

[Richard Smith]

$10 per day x number of days (say 35) is $350. You can get a cheap mobile phone for less (not iPhone).
It can be useful to have a spare mobile phone.

 

[WanderstheWorld]

Can you clarify this? Specifically, I use an iPhone 14 Pro Are you saying my phone has 2 SIM card slots? I keep my normal then slide the Spanish in as well? Will the phone default to the Spanish -ie I don't want local nor home area calls going through my regular SIM. Thanks for your insight

No, it’s not a second slot. It requires no physical Sim for e-sim. In settings you switch it. You can buy a local eSim from a local provider or from an eSim company like Airalo or Holafly. Here is the Wikipedia link about eSims. Your phone would allow it. I’d still double check with your cell phone provider if that would affect anything but I would guess that it doesn’t.

eSIM - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[mla1]

I was just looking at Airalo e-Sim prices for Spain.

30 days with 10 GB = $18US
30 days with 20 GB = $26 US

I recently used Airalo during a a month in Mexico. Once I set it up (which is not hard, but you do have to follow the instructions carefully) it was great. Easy to top up if you run out of data. During 10 days of using google maps pretty constantly (which seems to draw a ton of data) - I used about 8 or 9 GB of data.

On a camino having access to data means you can stand outside smaller albergues and use Whatsapp to call the number on the door to get the key! And not have to find somewhere with wifi.

And then if a hospitalera or hostal needs to call you for some reason - I am assuming they can also use What's App to call an international number.

ml

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

I was just looking at Airalo e-Sim prices for Spain.

About a week ago on another thread I compared Airalo with a voice and data plan from Orange. I thought that an Orange SIM and home number on eSIM would be the better deal.

https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/cell-phone-sim-cards.78768/#post-1110143

 

[slf5163]

I use Google Fi. No additional costs/fees when traveling to over 200 countries. I used it while walking the del Norte. Worked perfectly and worked everywhere.

 

[IMLiege]

I use Google Fi. No additional costs/fees when traveling to over 200 countries. I used it while walking the del Norte. Worked perfectly and worked everywhere.

Which plan do you have?

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Which plan do you have?

You didn't ask me but I've been using the cheapest FI plan for maybe 5 years mainly because I don't use voice, text or data much and it is $20 per month to cover voice and text ($25 after the government gets involved). Data on this plan is expensive but I can go months without using it. On trips I've sucked up the data costs but I'm going to use my eSIM going forward with cheaper data.

In Spain I would call home over wifi for 2 cents per minute. Do this to get the cheap wifi calls versus the 10 cents per minute international telephone rate. Go into airplane mode to shut off both voice and wifi and then turn on wifi and make a connection. Then dial.

 

[slf5163]

Which plan do you have?

Unlimited Plus ($65/month - unlimited data, text, calls in over 200 countries). If you travel a lot, its the best plan. Worked seamlessly when I walked the del Norte last year (and helped other pilgrims who couldn't find wifi/connections).

 

[IMLiege]

Thanks Rick and slf5163 for the information. Looks like Google Fi is what you would use in the states and also when going to Europe. I was interested in something for my journey in August.

Google Fi looks like a good option if you travel overseas a lot. I will be there just 3 weeks so I'm probably going to get a SIM for my phone.

My son went last year and did the del Norte from Arun to Santiago, then to the coast, Finisterre and Muxia. He's going back with my daughter and me and said he just needs to reload the SIM. If I decide to return for another segment the SIM would be the better deal for me.

Again, thanks to you both