Cell phones and sim cards in Europe

[backpack45]

Hi,
I've just written a blog about cell phones and sim cards on my blog. I know that to many of us (that includes me!) the topic is totally confusing so I hope this helps sort it all out.

http://backpack45.blogspot.com/2013/06/ ... urope.html
Susan Alcorn

 

[fraluchi]

I know that to many of us (that includes me!) the topic is totally confusing

It shouldn't be. If your cellphone is unlocked, you can buy a prepaid SIM card from any provider (Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, etc.) in Spain and it' ll work. Most chargers today work with both 110 V and 220 V (check its label).

 

[NicoZ]

The current EU standard for chargers are USB. If your phone uses an USB charger/cable then you can pick on up for very little.

 

[nreyn12]

Thanks for this, Susan!

I recently took one of my clients to get a Spanish SIM card in Pamplona, and he got a deal of one cent a minute to call the US, with a 15 cent connection fee.

Two other clients needed to make calls just within Spain, and they also got one cent a minute, same connection fee, and a one euro per week service fee.

This was at an Orange shop. They have all kinds of packages, which seem to change occasionally. I have heard that the Orange shops are most likely to have English speaking staff (as compared to Movistar and Vodafone).

 

[billvinhage]

Can one get a Sim Card in St. Jean (France) with great rates that will function in Spain as well at the same rates?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Spain and France are not sharing mobile service, even within the same company, such as Orange. A French SIM will be on roaming when in Spain.

 

[ZenPeregrino]

I am traveling with an iPhone 4S and an iPad mini. I will leave discussions of why/why not and pros/cons to other threads. Suffice it to say that being able to be reached in near real-time was a nonnegotiable condition of being able to walk the Camino for me.

After considerable research on this forum and other locations, I ended up getting a local Spanish SIM card in Pamplona for both. My home carrier in the US is Verizon so I had to request that they unlock the phone before I left, and they agreed without any issues. I have been a customer with them for over a decade so not sure if they would be so cooperative if one were a more recent customer with them. The iPad is by definition unlocked but you need to know which version of carrier type it supports.

For both SIM cards I paid about 10 euros each initially for a month-to-month voice plus 3G data plan. Spain does not yet have 4G service and the 3G data service is not particularly fast, but I have had coverage everywhere along the Camino except one night purposely out of range in the mountains (Manjarin).

For the SIM card on the iPad I had to top-up with about 20 euros in Burgos in order to buy more data but otherwise no additional charges. I don't use the 3G data for uploading photos and such but otherwise I have not done anything special to manage my data usage.

For the SIM card on the iPhone I have topped up several times, probably spending about 50 euros total. The data usage has never been an issue but I have non-trivial volume of text messages and international voice calls, maybe 20 texts and 2 hours of international calling a week.

Retrospectively I think I could have stayed on my home Verizon plan / SIM card and just paid their international plan, and probably ended up paying about the same amount for the iPhone. I will say that there has been an unexpected benefit from using the Spanish SIM which is that my normal USA cell number does not reach me and so the volume of calls received has been reduced to the truly-essential from the small # of people who have the Spanish number.

With the iPad, I have been glad to have the 3G data service. While WiFi is theoretically available almost everywhere, I have found it often not working, or very slow, or unreliable. It's just a lot less hassle to have 3G so I can check in when I need to instead of having my daily routine oriented around WiFi access. If having Internet access is important at all then I would argue that using 3G cellular data instead of WiFi is actually more liberating along the Camino.

There is no question that if one could travel the Camino without any devices or connectivity, it would be a better experience. For me such a restriction would have meant that my Camino would have been no experience at all. So I made the tradeoff and frankly have not thought it much of a big deal. Both devices have off buttons and ultimately learning how to manage one's own control over the metaphorical off button of life is a key lesson of the Camino.

Buen Camino.

 

[scruffy1]

Don't forget Viber or Skype free where ever you find WIFI pronounced WeeFee in Spanish one can save mucho dinero. Downlowd both and you are talking home for free.

 

[lbpierce]

I just finished my Camino from Roncesvalles to Santiago and bought and used a Moviestar SIM card on my Samsung Galaxy SIII phone. I just used it for calls within Spain to make reservations. It worked fine, although it was not cheap. I think I spent $30 to $40 US for making reservations for my 51-day Camino. For what it's worth, some friends bought an Orange SIM card and discovered that there wasn't coverage in many places, not a problem with my Moviestar SIM card.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Vodafone has excellent coverage for voice, decent coverage for iPhone data, and acceptable 3G coverage. When 3G is detected, data speed is good. When there is just the "E", data is slow. When just voice is detected, there is no data.

Two weeks and the chip were 15€. Vodafone changes its offering each month, so there is no telling what the rate will be when you get to Spain!!

 

[rene4664]

I just finished my Camino from Roncesvalles to Santiago and bought and used a Moviestar SIM card on my Samsung Galaxy SIII phone. I just used it for calls within Spain to make reservations. It worked fine, although it was not cheap. I think I spent $30 to $40 US for making reservations for my 51-day Camino. For what it's worth, some friends bought an Orange SIM card and discovered that there wasn't coverage in many places, not a problem with my Moviestar SIM card.

I would like to know where u were able to buy the Movistar Sim, Roncesvalles or Pamplona?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Pamplona! Roncesvalles is mostly a ghost town with no commerce.

 

[nathanael]

It shouldn't be. If your cellphone is unlocked, you can buy a prepaid SIM card from any provider (Movistar, Vodafone, Orange, etc.) in Spain and it' ll work. Most chargers today work with both 110 V and 220 V (check its label).

fraluchi, greetings I am going to be in Madrid for 2 days and in looking to get a cheap phone. But my concern is I will leave Madrid for Lourdes and will be walking for approximately 8-10 days in France will this phone work in France?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

will this phone work in France?

No. It may connect as roaming, but that will eat up your minutes. I think only Spain and Portugal have shared service. Cooperation between cell companies is expanding, so expect change.

 

[nathanael]

No. It may connect as roaming, but that will eat up your minutes. I think only Spain and Portugal have shared service. Cooperation between cell companies is expanding, so expect change.

then my best bet is to just buy a phone card and use that on pay phnes and save all the buss and fuss.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

then my best bet is to just buy a phone card and use that on pay phones and save all the buss and fuss.

Pay phones are disappearing! In the past you could always look in the hottest, brightest part of a village for the pay phone cabinet with sun-cracked plastic, unreadable display, and broken handset. That does not work very well anymore. Check the bars!

I suggest taking your current GSM unlocked phone, if you have one, and buy a chip in Spain and another chip in France. The SIM chips have become very inexpensive.

 

[nathanael]

Pay phones are disappearing! In the past you could always look in the hottest, brightest part of a village for the pay phone cabinet with sun-cracked plastic, unreadable display, and broken handset. That does not work very well anymore. Check the bars!

I suggest taking your current GSM unlocked phone, if you have one, and buy a chip in Spain and another chip in France. The SIM chips have become very inexpensive.

too completed best to use nothing as I have with all my other Camino's and buy a phone card and use it on a public phone. thus you avoid the hassle of worrying about being stolen..the less confusing and completed a Camino is the better to enjoy. Thanks.

 

[fraluchi]

[...] buy a phone card and use it on a public phone.[...]

You're better off using Skype, considering there's WiFi all over the place.

 

[SYates]

No. It may connect as roaming, but that will eat up your minutes. I think only Spain and Portugal have shared service. Cooperation between cell companies is expanding, so expect change.

Roaming costs are going down allover Europe and so do costs. SY

 

[WldWil]

An important detail here is that your phone must be unlocked -AND- a world phone.

My Samsung Galaxy phone was unlocked last year. Bought a sim card at the airport only to find out 45 minutes later it would not work. Barely made it to the train and bought a cheap phone in Pamplona. Luckily, it used the same charger as my Samsung, so donated the charger that it came with to save weight.

Now, I have a phone, but the sim card expired and cannot be reactivated because I waited over 120 days. It would be nice if you could get one ordered online, but I know Lebara no longer ships to the USA.


So, I am searching the forum hoping for an answer and tripped over this post and added my two cents so someone doesn’t make my mistake.

 

[MikeShaw]

Hi,
I've just written a blog about cell phones and sim cards on my blog. I know that to many of us (that includes me!) the topic is totally confusing so I hope this helps sort it all out.

http://backpack45.blogspot.com/2013/06/ ... urope.html
Susan Alcorn

Susan -
I did the same in Ireland and it was fine. I'm assuming now in 2017 that I can do this in Madrid- buy a cell phone and SIM card cheap and use it when I need to. I'll bring my Irish phone in case it works. Was made in Hong Kong. Thanks!!

 

[AbbyDee]

The never ending subject of sim cards: I have been doing some research online and I came up with this:
https://simcard.spainsur.com/home/4...ntries-prepaid-sim-card-includes-10-euro.html.
you can buy them before hand and they will ship them anywhere. Now this may not be the best plan fiscally, the convenience of being able to buy it ahead of time, and not having to go all the way to Pampaloma may be worth something.

Any insights? Inquiring minds want to know!