SIM cards in Lisbon airport?

[kmccue]

Are they available? We switched easily in Madrid before Frances at a kiosk. Any thing comparable in Lisbon? I’ll need both Portuguese and Spanish

 

[peregrina2000]

Are they available? We switched easily in Madrid before Frances at a kiosk. Any thing comparable in Lisbon? I’ll need both Portuguese and Spanish

There are vodaphone shops in Lisbon airport. https://www.falandodeviagem.com.br/viewtopic.php?t=6881

IF you can't figure out the Portuguese in this link, here's the key info: Both shops are in T1, the main terminal. My impression is that T2 is for low cost airlines like Ryan Air, etc, but you can easily get to T1 by airport bus if you arrive there.

There is one vodaphone kiosk at the exit near the taxi stand. There is also a shop near the check-in sectioin, going up the escalator.

I'll let the Europeans weigh in here, but my impression is that you can use the same number and plan for both countries, there is no more roaming charge in Europe. So you can call within Spain on a Portuguese number for no extra charge, at least that is my understanding. I have gotten vodaphone SIM cards for the last two years before starting to walk (before that I was a movistar user), and I like the plans available very much. One was called SuperYuser or something like that and for 15 euros I got 4 weeks with a couple gb of data and 50/60 minutes of phone calls, enough for me to call ahead on the days I needed to reserve. Since wifi is so prevalent, I used it primarily to stay in touch with others via whatsapp.

 

[mcopeland]

Be careful. We got a Vodaphone SIM in the Lisbon airport. We were assured the Portuguese SIM would also work in Spain and France (where we were going post-Camino). It worked fine in Portugal, but when we tried to make a call from Portugal to Spain it would not work because it was roaming out of the country. It seems that with that particular plan you could call Portugal from Portugal, Spain from Spain and France from France, but could not call country to country without adding money to the SIM. That was nearly impossible in Spain. Vodaphone in Spain was not interested in helping with a Portuguese number. We finally found a small shop in Santiago (not Vodaphone) that could help us.

 

[peregrina2000]

Be careful. We got a Vodaphone SIM in the Lisbon airport. We were assured the Portuguese SIM would also work in Spain and France (where we were going post-Camino). It worked fine in Portugal, but when we tried to make a call from Portugal to Spain it would not work because it was roaming out of the country. It seems that with that particular plan you could call Portugal from Portugal, Spain from Spain and France from France, but could not call country to country without adding money to the SIM. That was nearly impossible in Spain. Vodaphone in Spain was not interested in helping with a Portuguese number. We finally found a small shop in Santiago (not Vodaphone) that could help us.

I'm cearly out of my depth here, but I thought that as of last year, there are no roaming charges in the EU? That certainly doesn't seem to have been your experience. Help from the wiser ones would be appreciated. I am certain that I used a Spanish phone number to call Portugal last year, but I may have incurred extra charges, I don't know.

 

[mcopeland]

It was last October. Maybe there are different plans. We relied on what they told us and assumed it would work country to country. Or maybe it's just a problem with Portuguese numbers (someone in Spain told us that) and not a problem to call Portugal with a Spanish SIM. I don't recall that problem when we visited Portugal after our 2016 Camino Frances with a Spanish SIM and a different company (Orange I think).

 

[peregrina2000]

It was last October. Maybe there are different plans. We relied on what they told us and assumed it would work country to country. Or maybe it's just a problem with Portuguese numbers (someone in Spain told us that) and not a problem to call Portugal with a Spanish SIM. I don't recall that problem when we visited Portugal after our 2016 Camino Frances with a Spanish SIM and a different company (Orange I think).

Here is some relevant language from a reliable source:

As of 15 June 2017, consumers will be able to use their mobile device when travelling in the EU, paying the same prices as at home, i.e. to "Roam like at Home". Any voice call, SMS and data session made while travelling abroad in the EU will be deducted from the monthly package of minutes, SMS and data in the home country with no extra charges. This means the end of roaming charges as travellers have experienced them so far.

Source: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-16-4396_en.htm

So when I buy my vodaphone sim card, and get 50 minutes talking and a couple gb of data, I understand that I can use those minutes to call any EU country, and that I can use my data in any EU country. But maybe there is a difference between sim card and monthly plan?

Calling all European experts, like @Kathar1na or @sabine!

 

[jungleboy]

IF you can't figure out the Portuguese in this link, here's the key info: Both shops are in T1, the main terminal. My impression is that T2 is for low cost airlines like Ryan Air, etc, but you can easily get to T1 by airport bus if you arrive there.

Off-topic but while the low cost airlines depart from T2, all flights land at T1. In practice this means that the low cost airlines land at T2 but you get off the plane straight onto a bus that takes you directly to T1.