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I used Verizon and I thought it was expensive. I started using Skype while on the Camino as long as there was a good wifi connection it was as good as a cell phone call. There tends to be good wifi I. The larger cities.My wife and I will be walking the Camino in March. We will be in Spain about 9 weeks. This will be our 2nd Camino. In the past I would get a sim card and use a unlocked phone. This time I am thinking about using Verizon's International Travel Preferred Pricing Plan. I would love to hear anyone with experience using this plan as to the good and the bad. Thanks in advance!
Cullen
I'm not tech savvy at all, so pardon if I'm missing the obvious. If the Spanish sim gives you a new phone #, how can Aunt Mary get into trouble calling you unless she knows your new number? Seems like Skype/wifi would be the way to connect with folks at home, but the Spanish sim would be best for in country calls for reservations, etc. No?I use Verizon's plan. In fact, I'm using it right now in Frankfurt, Germany. Of course, I used Skype and FaceTime whenever possible. But I'm not going to put a Spanish SIM card into my unlocked phone on the Camino because that changes my phone number. And I'm not about to instant message 300 people to let them know my new number once I get it in Spain. Moreover, that puts the burden of a long distance phone call on anyone calling you. Put differently, somebody is going to pay for the international call. If you slip in a Spainish SIM card, then Aunt Mary, who doesn't have an international phone plan, is in for one hell of a surprise the month after she called you in Burgos. If you keep your number and get an international calling plan, it's you and not Aunt Mary paying for it. But, you are paying at a substantially reduced rate than she would have encountered.
I have Verizon and was quoted $10 per day for that plan. For me that adds up to a extra $450. That's close to a weeks worth of expenses on the Camino. I carry a small cheap dumb phone by Cellular Abroad for travel and take advantage of free WiFi for my tablet. Works for me. Buen CaminoMy wife and I will be walking the Camino in March. We will be in Spain about 9 weeks. This will be our 2nd Camino. In the past I would get a sim card and use a unlocked phone. This time I am thinking about using Verizon's International Travel Preferred Pricing Plan. I would love to hear anyone with experience using this plan as to the good and the bad. Thanks in advance!
Cullen
I have Verizon and was quoted $10 per day for that plan. For me that adds up to a extra $450.
I'm not tech savvy at all, so pardon if I'm missing the obvious. If the Spanish sim gives you a new phone #, how can Aunt Mary get into trouble calling you unless she knows your new number? Seems like Skype/wifi would be the way to connect with folks at home, but the Spanish sim would be best for in country calls for reservations, etc. No?
The $10 a day plan lets you do all the phone call and data you use at home. Check their website, there is a 40 dollar a month plan that gives you 100 mg of data and 500 minutes of phonically for $40 a month. Should be enough for most since usually can use wifi.I have Verizon and was quoted $10 per day for that plan. For me that adds up to a extra $450. That's close to a weeks worth of expenses on the Camino. I carry a small cheap dumb phone by Cellular Abroad for travel and take advantage of free WiFi for my tablet. Works for me. Buen Camino
Happy Trails
Here's the problem. You hear, "Oh! You've got to put a Sanish SIM card in your phone!" And you do. So now, local calls are cheap. Excellent. Problem "solved". But everybody back home is trying to call you ("Have you left yet?" "How's the food?") and they get nothing because your old SIM card is buried deep in your in your backpack. So now your inbox explodes with panic emails because no one can get ahold of you (unless of course, you explained to every person who has your cell phone where you are going and why they can't contact you). So now, even though you are trying to enjoy the Camino, you are forced to diligently sit down and answer emails apologizing and giving everyone your Spanish phone number.
So now, Aunt Mary calls the new number to wish you a happy birthday. The call to you is nothing to you because you have a Spanish SIM card. But the call to her is charged at huge international rates because she doesn't have an international calling plan. And she's on a fixed income. When her bill arrives, she has a heart attack. But, all's well that ends well, because you saved money by having a Spanish SIM card.
But, if you had kept your phone number and gotten an international plan, it would have been no cost to Aunt Mary and she'd be alive today.
My only point is this. Tossing in a Spanish SIM card solves one problem but creates several others. Are you really going to take the dozens and dozens of hours to explain all of this before you go? Do you realize how many people have you cell number? Are you prepared to deal with each one before you go? Are you going to take the time, on the Camino, to explain how international calling rates effect them if you are using a Spanish SIM card?
Or, why not buy an international calling plan before you go, keep your number, and save Aunt Mary's life.
I can only speak from other countries (Amsterdam, Mexico, China, Indonesia, and Argentina) - but I love the plan! Just be sure to turn data off for almost everything and stick to wifi. You'll have enough data for maps and emergencies if needed. I can't speak to the network in Spain though on the Camino. I'm also going in March (only the last 220km) and plan on using the Verizon plan.My wife and I will be walking the Camino in March. We will be in Spain about 9 weeks. This will be our 2nd Camino. In the past I would get a sim card and use a unlocked phone. This time I am thinking about using Verizon's International Travel Preferred Pricing Plan. I would love to hear anyone with experience using this plan as to the good and the bad. Thanks in advance!
Cullen
I have Verizon and was quoted $10 per day for that plan. For me that adds up to a extra $450. That's close to a weeks worth of expenses on the Camino. I carry a small cheap dumb phone by Cellular Abroad for travel and take advantage of free WiFi for my tablet. Works for me. Buen Camino
Happy Trails
Ah...cell phones on the Camino.My wife and I will be walking the Camino in March. We will be in Spain about 9 weeks. This will be our 2nd Camino. In the past I would get a sim card and use a unlocked phone. This time I am thinking about using Verizon's International Travel Preferred Pricing Plan. I would love to hear anyone with experience using this plan as to the good and the bad. Thanks in advance!
Cullen
Check out the What's App -- works great as long as you have access to wifi...Well worked great in Aruba and chatted with the kids back in the StatesMy wife and I will be walking the Camino in March. We will be in Spain about 9 weeks. This will be our 2nd Camino. In the past I would get a sim card and use a unlocked phone. This time I am thinking about using Verizon's International Travel Preferred Pricing Plan. I would love to hear anyone with experience using this plan as to the good and the bad. Thanks in advance!
Cullen
I've been on T-Mobile for about a year now, and I LOVE their unlimited international data! I got great signals last year in Germany, France, Czech Republic and Spain. I use free apps, like Whatsapp and Google Hangouts to make free calls to other users. If I want to call any phone in the world I use an app called Viber. I buy credits and calls I made last year from Barcelona to the US were only 2 cents a minute, rather than 20 cents that T-Mobile charges. I bought $4.99 worth of credits, and after making numerous calls I still have about half that amount. And since I have data virtually everywhere, I don't have to wait until I have a wifi connection. And T-Mobile paid off my Verizon contract. (sorry if I sound like an adI highly recommend switching to TMobile if it's possible to do. We just spent a month in Italy with our TMobile plan and we could call and text each other locally, as well as calling and texting loved ones back home. Calls were only 20 cents a minute and there was no additional charge for text and data usage. It was magical!
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