Non Cell Phone Calls

[barryg]

Hello!

Is there any way to make calls from Spain to the US other than using a cell phone? Are there call centers or pay phones? I didn't want to take my cell phone, but I need to keep in touch with my family. Any ideas?

Barfry

 

[Deleted member 3000]

They are disappearing, even the phones in bars. Big cities may have a locutorio with phones. That is about it

 

[Vacajoe]

I’ve seen a couple of pay phones and one Internet cafe, so I wouldn’t count on this being your way to contact home. We’ve been using VIBER and WHATSAPP to make virtually free internet phone calls. Perhaps you can bring an old smart phone or buy one here instead

 

[barryg]

I’ve seen a couple of pay phones and one Internet cafe, so I wouldn’t count on this being your way to contact home. We’ve been using VIBER and WHATSAPP to make virtually free internet phone calls. Perhaps you can bring an old smart phone or buy one here instead

I thought as much. Unfortunately my wife is a total technophobe and would never be able to handle anything like that. Thanks anyway!

 

[OzAnnie]

I thought as much. Unfortunately my wife is a total technophobe and would never be able to handle anything like that. Thanks anyway!

Barry
Put some thought into taking a smart phone. Even an old one. You can take it without your sim and buy a cheap E10 sim in Spain or it will work on wifi ‘without any sim’ by the way. Just that the E10 sim gives you security of making a call if you need to ring ahead to a hotel etc.

But getting back to original ‘contact family’ post ....
...if you get someone to help you load ‘whatsapp ‘ on your phone and likewise on phones of loved ones at home who you want to contact...,,,
Ringing home ....if you are connected to wifi., is free completely ., and making these calls is as simple as calls you do now. Once you open the app ... you will see those you have on your phone who are also connected to whatsapp... just tap the person you want and you’re connecting to home...

Check it out and practise at home .. get used to it there and it will work the same from Spain as long as you’re on wifi.

Good luck.
Annie

Plus you’ll have ‘a camera ‘ (your smart phone ).. you can then send pics direct from your iPhone pics album to the ‘whatsapp’ contacts

 

[Juspassinthru]

I used Skype for some local and most international calls, obviously you need a reasonable internet connection, most connections would not support video. I considered WhatsApp and Viber but they want access to all your contacts and per their terms and conditions can capture and use that info.

 

[trecile]

If you use Viber you can call landlines for just two cents a minute by buying Viber credit. $5 worth of credit should be more than enough for the length of your Camino.

 

[t2andreo]

If you use an Apple smartphone, the native FaceTime app supports voice-only calls over either Wi-Fi or your data stream, without using the cellular voice service. In this way, the calls are usually free. You do not need to add other apps.

This is what I have been using for three years now to call home from Spain. In my experience, it seems to works best if you are on someone else's free Wi-Fi, rather than using your phone's native voice capability.

However, I have had times when I THOUGHT I was making a free voice call over Wi-Fi, only to find out that my phone used my voice package. The discovery was the extra amount in my normally flat rate bill some weeks after returning home. Evidently the smartphone is in fact smart. It will find the best available signal and use it to place the call. If the Wi-Fi is weak, it will automatically use the voice circuitry.

Hope this helps.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I sort of miss those bygone days of the locutorio and not carrying electronics.
I guess that makes me old.

 

[trecile]

If you use an Apple smartphone, the native FaceTime app supports voice-only calls over either Wi-Fi or your data stream, without using the cellular voice service. In this way, the calls are usually free. You do not need to add other apps.

This is what I have been using for three years now to call home from Spain. In my experience, it seems to works best if you are on someone else's free Wi-Fi, rather than using your phone's native voice capability.

However, I have had times when I THOUGHT I was making a free voice call over Wi-Fi, only to find out that my phone used my voice package. The discovery was the extra amount in my normally flat rate bill some weeks after returning home. Evidently the smartphone is in fact smart. It will find the best available signal and use it to place the call. If the Wi-Fi is weak, it will automatically use the voice circuitry.

Hope this helps.

That situation can be avoided by putting the phone in airplane mode, then turning just the wifi back on.

 

[grumerz]

Hello!

Is there any way to make calls from Spain to the US other than using a cell phone? Are there call centers or pay phones? I didn't want to take my cell phone, but I need to keep in touch with my family. Any ideas?

Barfry

Two years ago, I made many calls to the USA, from my Android tablet, via Facebook phone, costing nothing. I did not carry a cellphone. It did require an internet connection, which was 98 percent available when needed.

 

[t2andreo]

Trecile...THANK YOU! Now why did I not think of that...? I need more coffee...

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I thought as much. Unfortunately my wife is a total technophobe and would never be able to handle anything like that. Thanks anyway!

Unfortunately, the Camino has moved on. Pay phones get no use, hence no revenue! Smoke signals, semafore, Morse Code, telegrams, and now public phones are on the refuse pile of technology.

 

[t2andreo]

But, you had to join Facebook...no thanks... I think I shall try Trecile's idea first...second and third...

 

[barryoglick]

Barry
Put some thought into taking a smart phone. Even an old one. You can take it without your sim and buy a cheap E10 sim in Spain or it will work on wifi ‘without any sim’ by the way. Just that the E10 sim gives you security of making a call if you need to ring ahead to a hotel etc.

But getting back to original ‘contact family’ post ....
...if you get someone to help you load ‘whatsapp ‘ on your phone and likewise on phones of loved ones at home who you want to contact...,,,
Ringing home ....if you are connected to wifi., is free completely ., and making these calls is as simple as calls you do now. Once you open the app ... you will see those you have on your phone who are also connected to whatsapp... just tap the person you want and you’re connecting to home...

Check it out and practise at home .. get used to it there and it will work the same from Spain as long as you’re on wifi.

Good luck.
Annie

Plus you’ll have ‘a camera ‘ (your smart phone ).. you can then send pics direct from your iPhone pics album to the ‘whatsapp’ contacts

But these WhatsApp calls need to be calls to another mobile phone, right? You couldn’t call a landline?

 

[OzAnnie]

Hi Barry
Re your question - I believe so. ( ie. that whatsapp is only a mobile app).
it’s unusual nowadays (in oz anyway ) for people not to have a mobile. Although I say that and 3 in ‘my’ direct family have old mobiles ., not smart phones and as such don’t have ability to use the ‘app’. either.

If you don’t intend to take your own smartphone though., it may be difficult to call home cheaply.
You should be able to contact if necessary though. Bigger places I’ve passed through have decent sized post offices, I’m sure you could find a phone in them.
Hotels if you stay in one, ditto to land lines.

Occasionally, you’ll find older places along the way that may still have an internet connection and you could email or possibly use a Facebook ‘messenger’ call to home. (As above by @trecile )
Nothing’s impossible.
Eg. Sometimes a hospitalero/a; may allow you quick use of the albergue computer if you explain. ( Most albergues nowadays have to load data to Guardia civil daily and may have a computer available somewhere ).....
or. You may end up walking with someone who is aware of your need and will let you use their tablet or smartphone.

Good luck and keep researching.
Annie