Sim Card in Porto

[JohnCilladi]

Hi,
I am wondering if anyone can give some good advice on purchasing a phone sim card for European use. I will need to purchase it in Porto, so what is the best place to purchase a sim card in that town?
Thanks!

 

[Anniesantiago]

Any Vodafone or Orange store. They're everywhere. Google maps.

 

[lt56ny]

Any Vodafone or Orange store. They're everywhere. Google maps.

Exactly. They have many plans available at a relatively low price that is really easy to recharge. The only thing I am not sure about is what plans will continue to work when you leave Portugal and enter Spain. I have not walked in Portugal since 2017. My 4 Caminos since have all been in Spain so there was never a problem. The simcard/plan I purchased in Lisbon was with a small cell phone company and I had to get a new sim when I crossed over to Spain.

 

[C.C.]

In 2019; Orange SIM purchased in Spain worked fine in Portugal

 

[makingtrax]

Exactly. They have many plans available at a relatively low price that is really easy to recharge. The only thing I am not sure about is what plans will continue to work when you leave Portugal and enter Spain. I have not walked in Portugal since 2017. My 4 Caminos since have all been in Spain so there was never a problem. The simcard/plan I purchased in Lisbon was with a small cell phone company and I had to get a new sim when I crossed over to Spain.

Im sure Orange works in most european countries.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

Im sure Orange works in most european countries.

It is not the SIM so much as the plan. The very cheap plans aimed at tourists in Portugal are often unable to roam outside of Portugal.

Just be sure to ask before handing over your money if the plan will allow roaming outside of Portugal.

The other thing to watch if you will be in Europe outside of Portugal for more than a couple of weeks is that you will need to either be able to recharge the SIM over the Internet or put extra value on it before leaving Portugal because even though they seem like the same company each phone company in each country are separate and so you won't be able to put credit on your phone outside of Portugal.

 

[Kanga]

I asked and was told by the Orange rep that it would work when I crossed the border into Spain. It did not. I managed by using wifi.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

I asked and was told by the Orange rep that it would work when I crossed the border into Spain. It did not. I managed by using wifi.

It is difficult to be definitive without knowing all the factors but may I ask if you had Roaming turned on for that SIM card? It won't roam if roaming is turned off. Often roaming is turned off by default.

 

[Kanga]

Yes, I had roaming on. I took the phone into an Orange store in Spain and was told the supplied SIM card was for Portugal only. The very nice man there spent a long time on the phone with Orange (higher up the food chain) and they did refund me the extra money I had put on the card, just before crossing the border.