For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here. (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation) |
---|
johnBCCanada said:I would go along with the suggestion of leaving it at home. It will be one more item that you will have to worry about losing, or having stolen, and keeping charged. If you don't have it you will have more time and less distraction for where you are, the people you meet along the way and your own thoughts.
Annie, you are just so wrong! Maybe you didn't get lost, but that does not mean the experience is universal. If I don't count the difficulty I had in Pamplona, Leon and Ponferrada, there were three other places where I lost, and I can tell you I was not the only one who had difficulty. While I can make an art form of getting lost, I found others who had met similar problems in two of the places where I had had difficulty.Anniesantiago said:Just curious why a person would want the extra weight of a GPS on the Camino? It's not like you can get lost?
ffp13 said:A GPS will provide directions to a preset destination, and it will show you a map, but it won't identify the correct route to stay on the camino.
jude588 said:I am traveling solo with a genetic defect in sense of direction .
after reading these posts, I've decided to purchase a garmin Dakota 20. do I need to purchase additional maps or software? how do I find the correct maps for northern route?
jude588 said:I am traveling solo with a genetic defect in sense of direction .
after reading these posts, I've decided to purchase a garmin Dakota 20. do I need to purchase additional maps or software? how do I find the correct maps for northern route?
First you need an unlocked phone. Google this if you are not sure what it means.
With an unlocked phone you buy a Spanish SIM card from a phone shop when you get to Spain
This allows inexpensive phone calls in Spain and back to your home country.
Texts between Spain and U.S./Canada are usually very cheap.
The price of the SIM and the rate varies with the Spanish supplier so some research should be done
There are some very good threads here on the forum with pretty complete information.
Take the time to search for them and look through the information.
I'm considering buying a SpotGen3 for my trip in September. I'm not planning on using it for anything other than my family's piece of mind that I am progressing along. They are excited to think they can wake up and see where I am that day. Has anyone used this model before?
Grayland, one thing I've always wondered is whether there is an advantage in getting an unlocked phone other than just using the cheap cell phone
Grayland, one thing I've always wondered is whether there is an advantage in getting an unlocked phone other than just using the cheap cell phone I bought years ago in Madrid and for which I buy a new card replacement every year.
And though I am no phone expert, I did notice last year that the rate per minute on my pre-paid card had gone down a lot from the year before. Not sure why, but it was definitely much cheaper. Thanks, Laurie
Grayland, Thank you. I did find out that my iphone 5 is unlocked. My carrier did confirm that the spanish sim cards would work. I would have a different phone number that I would have to send to my family once I am in Spain. The "planner" in me wants to know things will go smoothly with the phone (because we know this isn't the case with things out of our control). Verizon has a $25 for 100 mg plan and .99 cent calling home plan. If I use WIFI as much as possible, this might get me thru. Thanks for all of your advise.
Whariwharangi, agree about the spot! Thanks for the insight
Grayland, Thank you. I did find out that my iphone 5 is unlocked. My carrier did confirm that the spanish sim cards would work. I would have a different phone number that I would have to send to my family once I am in Spain. The "planner" in me wants to know things will go smoothly with the phone (because we know this isn't the case with things out of our control). Verizon has a $25 for 100 mg plan and .99 cent calling home plan. If I use WIFI as much as possible, this might get me thru. Thanks for all of your advise.
Whariwharangi, agree about the spot! Thanks for the insight
Verizon's international data plan is a complete rip off. FYI.
Stuff like that are for people that can't change their phone number. A work phone for example. Obviously for short trips even the high price charged can be a better total price.
If your work is paying your phone bill, then I wouldn't bother to swap out SIM cards, but for those who pay their own phone bill, it's money well spent.
I traveled to the Philippines last month and bought a local SIM card with data, it sure came in handy when our hired driver got us lost in Manila and I had to use Google Maps with my iPhone to get us back on track. Imagine what it would have cost if you used AT&T instead of a local SIM, it sure would have been more than the cost of a local SIM.
What a great amount of info! What is the first place on the Camino starting at SJPDP that a spanish SIM card can be purchased? I will consider it for sure. How has everyone found WIFI accessibility to be? I hear rumbles of passwords needed?
What a great amount of info! What is the first place on the Camino starting at SJPDP that a spanish SIM card can be purchased? I will consider it for sure. How has everyone found WIFI accessibility to be? I hear rumbles of passwords needed?
I agree, wait till you get to Pamplona and buy a SIM from the Phone House or El Corte Ingles, both stores have all brands of carriers to choose from and are cheaper than trying to purchase them before flying over, and if there are any issues, you can sort them out on the spot.
Tuenti Movil is the prepaid division of Movistar and has great deals for SIM cards with data.
It's not about who pays but the need to be contacted on a certain number.
Google maps lets you download the maps in advance (normally. Some times Google updates the program and breaks this feature). If you download the maps in advance (home,wifi whatever) then all you'll use data for is turn by turn directions. This isn't a huge amount of data.
Obviously if you need a lot of data it's cheaper to buy a new SIM. The problem is it's rarely that simple. In a few months I'll be in Barcelona. My Italian provider will charge me €3 a day for roaming. A week in Spain isn't going to be much more expensive then buying a local SIM and a month of service.
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?
We use cookies and similar technologies for the following purposes:
Do you accept cookies and these technologies?