SIM Card El Camino del Norte and El Camino Primitivo

Susan Watson · Mar 19, 2018

Hi, My husband and I are planning our very first (and hopefully not last) Camino commencing on 25 May from Irun along the del Norte and then breaking off to complete the Primitivo. Can anyone advise the best place in Irun to get a SIM card and also the best type to get which gives as wide a coverage as possible along both routes. We fly from Perth in Australia to Paris and then will take the TVG from Paris to Hendaye before commencing our walk. Any info would be much appreciated.

Lirsy · Mar 19, 2018

Hi Susan!!

Nice election of Camino! I am sure you will enjoy it a lot!!

You will find lots of shops with mobiles.

Just to mention one with most main brands:

The Phone House
C/ Almirante Arizmendi, 9
Teléfono: +34 943090278

Buen Camino & Ultreia!!

mspath · Mar 19, 2018

Susan Watson said:
Hi, My husband and I are planning our very first (and hopefully not last) Camino commencing on 25 May from Irun along the del Norte and then breaking off to complete the Primitivo. Can anyone advise the best place in Irun to get a SIM card and also the best type to get which gives as wide a coverage as possible along both routes. We fly from Perth in Australia to Paris and then will take the TVG from Paris to Hendaye before commencing our walk. Any info would be much appreciated.

Susan,

Welcome to the forum!

For more on walking from the Hendaye rr station over the international foot bridge to Irun see the posts/links in this
earlier thread.

Also see these posts.

Since you may be walking from the Hendaye gare to Irun do stop at the small bar/resto Chez Alain on the way at 11 ave d'Espagne. They are most friendly and do a very good daily menu for 13.50 euros. If you wish you can even take a shower for free! The place is a routiers or truck stop but in no way hyper macho. I loved it autumn 2015. See more here--
http://restoroutier.free.fr/fiche_64_hendaye.htm

Bon chemin and Buen camino to both of you !

Tia Valeria · Mar 19, 2018

We had Orange phones which had good coverage on the Norte (started from Santander) and the Primitivo.
Sometimes it can work out cheaper to buy a simple PAYG phone and voucher top-ups as they often come with a given number of starter minutes/texts. Smart phones - then SIM might be the better option.
With either option if these come with a 'pack' you need to remember to follow the instruction to stop the pack, especially if you have loaded more money, as the pack will auto-renew and deduct the money from credit.

Susan Watson · Mar 19, 2018

mspath said:
Susan,

Welcome to the forum!

For more on walking from the Hendaye rr station over the international foot bridge to Irun see the posts/links in this
earlier thread.

Also see these posts.

Since you may be walking from the Hendaye gare to Irun do stop at the small bar/resto Chez Alain on the way at 11 ave d'Espagne. They are most friendly and do a very good daily menu for 13.50 euros. If you wish you can even take a shower for free! The place is a routiers or truck stop but in no way hyper macho. I loved it autumn 2015. See more here--
http://restoroutier.free.fr/fiche_64_hendaye.htm

Bon chemin and Buen camino to both of you !

Thank you so much for the information and your good wishes. Yes we are planning on walking from Hendaye gare to Irun and as we will be arriving around lunch time will definitely put Chez Alain on our itinerary. Spending many years in country Australia truck stops are part of our way of life when travelling.

Susan Watson · Mar 19, 2018

Tia Valeria said:
We had Orange phones which had good coverage on the Norte (started from Santander) and the Primitivo.
Sometimes it can work out cheaper to buy a simple PAYG phone and voucher top-ups as they often come with a given number of starter minutes/texts. Smart phones - then SIM might be the better option.
With either option if these come with a 'pack' you need to remember to follow the instruction to stop the pack, especially if you have loaded more money, as the pack will auto-renew and deduct the money from credit.

Thank you for the information Tia, I will have a smart phone so will look at the SIM and the tip on stopping the auto-renew.

Susan Watson · Mar 19, 2018

Lirsy said:
Hi Susan!!

Nice election of Camino! I am sure you will enjoy it a lot!!

You will find lots of shops with mobiles.

Just to mention one with most main brands:

The Phone House
C/ Almirante Arizmendi, 9
Teléfono: +34 943090278

Buen Camino & Ultreia!!

Thank you Lirsy
It is nice to have an actual address we can look up and go directly to.

grayland · Mar 19, 2018

San Sebastián will have a very wide selection of phone shops to choose from. It is just one day (or 2) away from Irun.
There are several threads discussing SIM cards. I am on my phone at the moment and not easy to search and link the threads.
Maybe someone can point you to a recent discussion.

Jan_D · Mar 19, 2018

Probably information overload, but to understand the different companies and packages in Spain this website is helpful: http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Spain

Otherwise as grayland says there's a lot about sim cards on the forum, in fact this topic has its own tag! Maybe you can browse through the titles to find the most recent and relevant threads: https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/tags/sim-card/

Gypsyqueen · Mar 29, 2018

Susan Watson said:
Hi, My husband and I are planning our very first (and hopefully not last) Camino commencing on 25 May from Irun along the del Norte and then breaking off to complete the Primitivo. Can anyone advise the best place in Irun to get a SIM card and also the best type to get which gives as wide a coverage as possible along both routes. We fly from Perth in Australia to Paris and then will take the TVG from Paris to Hendaye before commencing our walk. Any info would be much appreciated.

Hi there
I too am doing the Norte after staying on Paris for a week. Can you please tell me about the TVG - is it the train?

Silvermomma · Tuesday at 7:32 PM

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MilenaS · Tuesday at 5:47 PM

Tomorrow I fly to Bilbao to start my 5th stint on the Camino. I did the Frances in three parts (2016, 2017 and 2022). Last year I did the Portuguese from Porto. I did the first 200 km of the...

ChrisMayou · Friday at 5:08 PM

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Silvermomma · Tuesday at 9:28 PM

I thought I had this all figured out, but I have ended up with 2 train tickets from San Sebastian (I don't even know if it's the airport or the town) to Irun, instead of ONE that goes all the way...

mb4869 · Thursday at 5:33 PM

I’m on day 2 of the CDN and I’m just blown away by the views. Day 1 Irun to San Sebastián, day 2 San Sebastián to Askizu Buen Camino

Bippo · Thursday at 3:30 PM

Hi! I’m a Camino newbie planning on walking Camino del Norte this May-June. I have previous hiking experience and do well on longer distances and so on, but not any super recent multi day long...

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