Covid and Phone plans

[1elantra]

Hi all hoping to start Camino from sjpp on 23 April 2023. Couple of questions, are there any mask rules at the moment on the Camino Frances.
2nd question whats reccommended re mobile phone coverage. Is it best to use my current phone or buy a cheap one over there? Ive had issues overseas before when Ive been unable to use my phone. Not helpful in an emergency. If getting a new sim is it best to buy in Australia before leaving or buy one on arrival?

Thanks in advance

 

[Vacajoe]

Currently in France and masks rarely required (health care, some transportation), but that means nothing since it can change overnight and you won’t arrive for six months. Best to recheck a week or two out.

As for phones, lots of other threads on this, but in general most phones will allow you to put in a new sim card here (or download an e-sim) which is far cheaper than using a service from a non-EU country.

 

[1elantra]

Currently in France and masks rarely required (health care, some transportation), but that means nothing since it can change overnight and you won’t arrive for six months. Best to recheck a week or two out.

As for phones, lots of other threads on this, but in general most phones will allow you to put in a new sim card here (or download an e-sim) which is far cheaper than using a service from a non-EU country.

Oh great thank you

 

[C clearly]

Scroll down the list of Forums, to the Pilgrim Topics Related to All Routes. Under Equipment you will find a sub-forum about Phones.& Electronics. Under Health & Medical, there is one about Covid. These should help answer your questions.

 

[1elantra]

Scroll down the list of Forums, to the Pilgrim Topics Related to All Routes. Under Equipment you will find a sub-forum about Phones.& Electronics. Under Health & Medical, there is one about Covid. These should help answer your questions.

Excellent. Ill take a look. Thank you

 

[dougfitz]

2nd question whats reccommended re mobile phone coverage. Is it best to use my current phone or buy a cheap one over there? Ive had issues overseas before when Ive been unable to use my phone. Not helpful in an emergency. If getting a new sim is it best to buy in Australia before leaving or buy one on arrival?

It is a long time since I have purchased a cheap handset, and wouldn't recommend that if you have currently have a handset that works on at least 4G and 3G networks. There are some other network standards, but you will get coverage across Europe with those bands. It would be a very old handset that didn't have give you that coverage, and most recent handsets will have 5G as well.

For most of my recent travel, including Portugal, Spain and the UK, I have purchased SIMs before I left Australia, These are normally 30 day pre-paid SIMS, so I need two to cover the time that I am away. One I activate the day that I arrive, and the second one I activate 30 days before the day I arrive home.

If you are not using WhatsApp, I recommend you do, and register it with your regular Australian mobile number on the handset you will be taking. You don't need to re-register it with the new SIM cards. You will have to re-register some other apps with the SIM you are using. Specifically, this has to be done for AlertCOPS, which I recommend you have loaded in Spain. So if you do change SIMs at some point, you will have to re-register that as well.

You can also buy a SIM when you arrive. That has worked for me in the past, and might be cheaper than purchasing a European SIM before you go. I haven't done a price comparison recently.

 

[tomnorth]

If your phone supports it (most iPhones do), I highly recommend going with an eSIM. No need for getting your hands on a physical SIM. I know Orange offers eSIM. Here is a link to the Apple support web page on eSIM. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212780

 

[Mito]

Currently in Spain masking is required on all mass transit and in pharmacies and medical establishments. But that could change.

I always buy a SIM card here. It’s easy. You just have to be sure your phone is unlocked. Not all are.

 

[1elantra]

If your phone supports it (most iPhones do), I highly recommend going with an eSIM. No need for getting your hands on a physical SIM. I know Orange offers eSIM. Here is a link to the Apple support web page on eSIM. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212780

Hi have a Samsung and have had truble in the past overseas trying to use whatsapp and phone in general which can be frustrating. Ill have to look into it better

 

[JEsler]

Hi all hoping to start Camino from sjpp on 23 April 2023. Couple of questions, are there any mask rules at the moment on the Camino Frances.
2nd question whats reccommended re mobile phone coverage. Is it best to use my current phone or buy a cheap one over there? Ive had issues overseas before when Ive been unable to use my phone. Not helpful in an emergency. If getting a new sim is it best to buy in Australia before leaving or buy one on arrival?

Thanks in advance

Currently in Galicia having walked from SJPdP with my brother. Our iPhones already had eSIMs for AUS so we each got data-only Spanish sims, me MOVISTAR and he ORANGE. We got data-only sims because we only needed internet and WhatsApp. MOVISTAR has been the most reliable of the two, providing stronger and more consistent 4G all the way from Pamplona.

 

[1elantra]

Currently in Galicia having walked from SJPdP with my brother. Our iPhones already had eSIMs for AUS so we each got data-only Spanish sims, me MOVISTAR and he ORANGE. We got data-only sims because we only needed internet and WhatsApp. MOVISTAR has been the most reliable of the two, providing stronger and more consistent 4G all the way from Pamplona.

Thank you. Did you get a sim for France and then change it to a sim for Spain please @JEsler

 

[tomnorth]

Hi have a Samsung and have had truble in the past overseas trying to use whatsapp and phone in general which can be frustrating. Ill have to look into it better

If it's a later generation Samsung phone I suspect it would support eSIM.

 

[domigee]

Hi all hoping to start Camino from sjpp on 23 April 2023. Couple of questions, are there any mask rules at the moment on the Camino Frances.
2nd question whats reccommended re mobile phone coverage. Is it best to use my current phone or buy a cheap one over there? Ive had issues overseas before when Ive been unable to use my phone. Not helpful in an emergency. If getting a new sim is it best to buy in Australia before leaving or buy one on arrival?

Thanks in advance

At the moment, masks are required in Spain in any public transport and in pharmacies. It may have changed by the time you start your Camino!

 

[dougfitz]

If it's a later generation Samsung phone I suspect it would support eSIM.

Only the S and Z series of Samsung handsets have eSIMs. Others don't, at least, not yet.

 

[trecile]

Only the S and Z series of Samsung handsets have eSIMs. Others don't, at least, not yet.

And older S and Z phones won't have eSIMS.

 

[dougfitz]

And older S and Z phones won't have eSIMS.

Yes, you are right. I think that eSIMs were introduced with the S20 in 2020, perhaps a year after they were introduced in Apple phones around 2019. I could be wrong, but I think that would have been the iPhone 11.

 

[JEsler]

Thank you. Did you get a sim for France and then change it to a sim for Spain please @JEsler

We got mixed advice about the French SiMs working in Spain so used WhatsApp on free wifi until Pamplona.
We now know from chatting to others that some work and some don’t.

 

[tomnorth]

Yes, you are right. I think that eSIMs were introduced with the S20 in 2020, perhaps a year after they were introduced in Apple phones around 2019. I could be wrong, but I think that would have been the iPhone 11.

Apple started supporting eSIM in 2018 with the iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR.

 

[Former member 92300]

COVID - have a mask - but usually not required. May be a few places that still require.

As for phone - personal preference. I prefer to use my normal phone with my normal phone number and my normal SIM card. Others prefer to use their normal phone with a different phone number and SIM card. And others buy a phone and a SIM card in Europe. (maybe more options - but generally these are the 3 choices I can think of right now.

Advantage of using own phone with same number and SIM card is that you can still be in touch with people from home without giving out a new number. You can still use your phone as you do at home. Disadvantage is it is more expensive to pay for international travel packages. For me - it is worth it to pay more and not have to stress over who can't reach me. And I do tell people not to call me (except family) while I travel - and I also turn off my phone or turn in on airplane mode when I don't want to be interrupted (always off when it is "quiet hours" so my phone doesn't accidentally ring in the middle of the night in Spain (I live in the US - so that would be when most people would call me if I were at home).

Getting a SIM in Europe only works with your phone if your phone is unlocked and compatible. You can research that in advance. But it is a cheaper option.

 

[Former member 88968]

Hi have a Samsung and have had truble in the past overseas trying to use whatsapp and phone in general which can be frustrating. Ill have to look into it better

I too have a Samsung and have just returned to Melbourne after 9 weeks in Portugal and Spain. We bought simcards before we left from a place called UK simcards.com based in Sydney and had no issues at all, ever. You can't call or text Australia on their simcards but you can whatsapp to Australia as it uses data.

 

[Suzanne H]

Hiya! Ending two months in europe now, and have had a vodaphone sim installed (from Portugal, but Spain’s vodaphone service options are similar).
My lessons learned:
A tourist sim via vodaphone on my iPhone is about 20 euro a month for 10gb. (Google it to find details) I’m on my phone too often, and it was all that I needed. After one month I was hoping to update for a second month via text or website. Unfortunately, if you have a vodaphone tourist SIM card from Portugal and need more data at the end of the month, you can’t just “renew” it. I had to go into a vodaphone store and buy a new sim for the second month. This included getting a second phone number. I’ve had no issues other than having to renew the sim. I’ll use it again in the future if necessary.

In the future, I’ll be trying keepgo. Friends who are well traveled recommended it to me and having looked at the services on their website, the price and business model is one I’d like to try.

Good luck to you!

 

[1elantra]

I too have a Samsung and have just returned to Melbourne after 9 weeks in Portugal and Spain. We bought simcards before we left from a place called UK simcards.com based in Sydney and had no issues at all, ever. You can't call or text Australia on their simcards but you can whatsapp to Australia as it uses data.

Thanks Ill take a look into them

 

[Vacajoe]

I think this thread has moved on from its intended information and can be closed.

 

[trecile]

I think this thread has moved on from its intended information and can be closed.

You're right. Several posts have been deleted, and the thread is now closed.