Phone range btwn SJPDP & Orisson?

[Joanne P]

So, 8 weeks out from the day we leave, I developed Achilles tendonitis. The physio says rest, so Ive lost my final two months training .

At this stage it's all looking a bit questionable, but I'm determined to still give it a go. If I start walking and find the steep incline too painful, am I likely to have phone range to call a taxi to take me back to SJPDP?

Thanks in advance.

 

[naplesdon]

My first question would be: what is your cellphone service?
My second question would be: what is your problem with taking a taxi to Roncevalles or Pamplona to start walking there?

 

[SabsP]

Agree with @estorildon .
Why make it complicated with starting in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port when Pamplona is so much easier to start.
Then again I never understood the artificial idea that starting in St Jean is " the real deal".

 

[Bill's_Walking]

If you do end up starting in Pamplona or Roncesvalles take the extra time you have and visit the Jardines de la Taconera in Pamplona. With the flowers, peacocks and deer its very restorative. ;-)

​

 

[Joanne P]

My first question would be: what is your cellphone service?
My second question would be: what is your problem with taking a taxi to Roncevalles or Pamplona to start walking there?

I am planning on getting a Sim card in Pamplona. We fly into Barcelona, have booked train to Pamplona for 2 nights before going to SJPDP to start walking.

We have already pre-booked the first few nights accommodation, including Borda.
Yes, I could choose to forego those bookings and monies paid, but I would like to try if I can.

 

[Joanne P]

Agree with @estorildon .
Why make it complicated with starting in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port when Pamplona is so much easier to start.
Then again I never understood the artificial idea that starting in St Jean is " the real deal".

I would like to use the pre-booked accommodations if possible (first few nights).
I never suggested that starting in SJPDP is the "real deal". It is just a really beautiful part of the way, and when I walked in 2018 it was wet and the views were obscured by cloud and fog. I have waited 5 years to come back and do it again. Of course the weather is never guaranteed, but I have dreamt of doing it again, with the hope that the weather would be clear so I can truly enjoy the glorious scenery.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I am planning on getting a Sim card in Pamplona. We fly into Barcelona, have booked train to Pamplona for 2 nights before going to SJPDP to start walking.

We have already pre-booked the first few nights accommodation, including Borda.
Yes, I could choose to forego those bookings and monies paid, but I would like to try if I can.

A Spanish sim card will not work in France, in my experience.
And you're only in France one or two days so why bother?
If you get to Borda and don't feel like you can make it to Roncesvalles, THEN is the time to decide as a taxi may not be able to pick you up on the trail once it leaves the road. So a phone won't help.That's my opinion. You know, the Camino doesn't begin in SJPP... just sayin'

 

[dougfitz]

A Spanish sim card will not work in France, in my experience.

I had no problems with connectivity in France with a Spanish SIM the last time I walked the CF, in 2016. The EU rules on this have recently or are about to change, but generally to strengthen the requirement to provide an equivalent service to that provided by one's home carrier.

 

[Kathar1na]

am I likely to have phone range to call a taxi to take me back to SJPDP?

Below is a link to a good map (in French). As you can see it depends on your provider or on the local provider with whom your own provider is paired. I understand that you are only interested in voice couverage and not in 2G, 3G, etc but this map should provide the information you are looking for:

Mon Réseau Mobile | Arcep

L’observatoire de la couverture et la qualité de service mobile s'inscrit dans le cadre des actions que mène l'Arcep pour améliorer l'information des utilisateurs en matière de couverture et de qualité des services de communications électroniques. Pour choisir un opérateur, les...

monreseaumobile.arcep.fr

 

[Joanne P]

Below is a link to a good map (in French). As you can see it depends on your provider or on the local provider with whom your own provider is paired. I understand that you are only interested in voice couverage and not in 2G, 3G, etc but this map should provide the information you are looking for:

Mon Réseau Mobile | Arcep

L’observatoire de la couverture et la qualité de service mobile s'inscrit dans le cadre des actions que mène l'Arcep pour améliorer l'information des utilisateurs en matière de couverture et de qualité des services de communications électroniques. Pour choisir un opérateur, les...

monreseaumobile.arcep.fr

Thank you so much

 

[lt56ny]

I had no problems with connectivity in France with a Spanish SIM the last time I walked the CF, in 2016. The EU rules on this have recently or are about to change, but generally to strengthen the requirement to provide an equivalent service to that provided by one's home carrier.

A Spanish sim card will not work in France, in my experience.

I agree. If you look at the pre paid sim cards with Vodafone and Orange they work all across EU countries. I have also been assured of this by the employees of Vodafone when I buy my sim card.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I agree. If you look at the pre paid sim cards with Vodafone and Orange they work all across EU countries. I have also been assured of this by the employees of Vodafone when I buy my sim card.

Personally, I think you'd better ask. Perhaps I was just buying a SIM for Spain because that was the case just last Spring for me.

 

[Kathar1na]

Personally, I think you'd better ask. Perhaps I was just buying a SIM for Spain because that was the case just last Spring for me.

Maybe you bought a SIM for Spain only but such cards/contracts are extremely rare. Or maybe you did not activate roaming on your mobile phone - all you have to do is activate the roaming button in Settings. Or maybe you were in one of these rare situations where your mobile phone did not manage to connect to the foreign network - all you have to do is switch airplane mode off and on again to force the mobile phone to select a network from the available foreign networks. In general, SIM cards bought in Spain work in France and SIM cards bought in France work in Spain.

 

[lt56ny]

Personally, I think you'd better ask. Perhaps I was just buying a SIM for Spain because that was the case just last Spring for me.

You are so right about asking. The last 3 caminos I toyed with the idea of finishing my camino walking the coastal Portugues. This year I will start in Bayonne and walk the Vasco to Burgos, than stay on the Meseta to Leon and again I am thinking about busing to Porto to finish up in Santiago. So once again when I get my sim card in San Sebastian I will ask because I may be in 3 different countries.

 

[AlwynWellington]

A Spanish sim card will not work in France, in my experience.

Interesting that our experiences of the same thing are so different, even though we both live beside the Pacific Ocean.

My first stop after leaving home is London (and family). There I pick up a multi-month SIM card offering European wide data access (as well as voice and text). Best European deal in the past for me has been from UK providers Vodafone and more recently Three.

Currently the best European wide deal from a UK provider appears to be from an offshoot of Three called Smarty.

I have an issue with my local bank, their Visa card offering and two factor verification.

Currently I am thinking of having the SIM card mailed to my London family. And invite them to air-mail to me. I wont go into the rest of the mechanics as I currently see it but I hope for a satisfactory outcome.

Kia kaha (take care, be strong)

 

[Anniesantiago]

Interesting that our experiences of the same thing are so different, even though we both live beside the Pacific Ocean.

My first stop after leaving home is London (and family). There I pick up a multi-month SIM card offering European wide data access (as well as voice and text). Best European deal in the past for me has been from UK providers Vodafone and more recently Three.

Currently the best European wide deal from a UK provider appears to be from an offshoot of Three called Smarty.

I have an issue with my local bank, their Visa card offering and two factor verification.

Currently I am thinking of having the SIM card mailed to my London family. And invite them to air-mail to me. I wont go into the rest of the mechanics as I currently see it but I hope for a satisfactory outcome.

Kia kaha (take care, be strong)

As I said, it's best to ask.
I buy cards that are only for Spain.

 

[dougfitz]

As I said, it's best to ask.
I buy cards that are only for Spain.

This puzzles me. I understood the EU required providers to support roaming across the EU, so while a SIM might be purchased from a Spanish telco, it should work across the EU. Certainly that has been the case with SIMs I have purchased in Spain previously, and the SIM my wife is currently using in Portugal is from a Spanish telco, with a Spanish number.

The only time I have had a problem was some years ago when I picked up a SIM in Sweden, and did not register my details with the provider, which I needed to do if I wanted it to support roaming.

 

[Anniesantiago]

This puzzles me. I understood the EU required providers to support roaming across the EU, so while a SIM might be purchased from a Spanish telco, it should work across the EU. Certainly that has been the case with SIMs I have purchased in Spain previously, and the SIM my wife is currently using in Portugal is from a Spanish telco, with a Spanish number.

The only time I have had a problem was some years ago when I picked up a SIM in Sweden, and did not register my details with the provider, which I needed to do if I wanted it to support roaming.

No idea.
All I know is I go to Vodafone and purchase a SIM for Spain.
It's very inexpensive, like €20 and usually lasts most of my Camino.
But it doesn't work in SJPP.

 

[Kathar1na]

This puzzles me. I understood the EU required providers to support roaming across the EU, so while a SIM might be purchased from a Spanish telco, it should work across the EU. Certainly that has been the case with SIMs I have purchased in Spain previously, and the SIM my wife is currently using in Portugal is from a Spanish telco, with a Spanish number.

Fwiw, it is entirely possible to have a contract with a provider or purchase a prepaid SIM card that does not allow roaming, i.e. does not work in another EU country. However, more often than not, a SIM card “does not work” because the user has not activated the roaming option in the mobile phone’s settings or does not know how to force a connection with the foreign network provider. The connection is usually established automatically but this sometimes fails, especially in a border region.

Nowadays, I experience this rarely but in recent weeks, when I travelled to a neighbouring EU country a few times, there were several occasions when this happened: either the mobile phone still shows a connection to the provider of the contract / SIM card but nothing works, or the mobile phone says “no network” although there is good coverage. Restarting the phone or turning automatic network selection off and selecting the foreign partner network manually from a list usually does the trick but it can take a few minutes and I find it frustrating.

 

[Former member 92300]

I started my Camino Frances just a few days after a several day hike on the mountainous section of the Pacific Crest Trail with a much heavier pack. I didn't suffer any injuries that I knew of, but in the few days in between - my ankles got swollen and painful. Thought they would be better by the time I arrived in SJPDP. They weren't. I started hiking anyway. And yes - with the steep incline - my ankles were painful. I did keep walking, but it took much longer for my ankles to heel. I think I had to wear ankle supports until sometime after Burgos as a result. I don't recommend it. You don't have to start in SJPDP. You can start in Roncesvalles or Pamplona. Or you can shuttle to Orisson and start from there. But you will still have more climbing, just not as steep. But - hopefully you area more healed before starting than I was. But at least you have options.