- Time of past OR future Camino
- June: Camino Frances from Pamplona
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Both Orange and Vodafone SIM cards are available at a mobile store in the middle of the Madrid airport. I have always used Vodafone, and have been satisfied.
I too have always used Vodafone. The assistant at the shop sets it up for you, seamless, no hassle, plenty of data for 20 Euro. Tell the assistant which countries you will visit, have your passport, and get it in the Madrid airport, for sure! If you need to call the USA, make sure you have enough minutes (for an extra charge), as the plan is mostly data. Don't forget that texts use minutes, so if your are texting a lot, even within Europe, you will burn the minutes fast. I have elderly parents that we called every few days, and the only way to connect with them was through the minutes and telephone! Make sure you say what you need did you get the right plan.
Hmm, I am trying to remember. I know it is right on the path to the train station. If I remember right, the bus/train connections are close to one another, so you may just run into it. Maybe another member can recall its exact location? There are information booths as well, if you don't see it right away.Thanks for your help! Do you know if the mobile store is close to T-4. I am catching my bus to Pamplona outside t-4 and want to be sure I have enough time to get the SIM card installed.
Vodaphone is not actually in a shop, it is a booth along the way.Thanks for your help! Do you know if the mobile store is close to T-4. I am catching my bus to Pamplona outside t-4 and want to be sure I have enough time to get the SIM card installed.
If you use a non Spanish SIM card in Spain it will pick up.rhe.best signal. Be that voda movistar etc.I have used Vodafone for the last few years and never had a problem till this year. There were lots of places in the region of Castilla y León where Vodafone had no service and Movistar worked just fine. People in the small towns could occasionally point me to a corner where Vodafone could sometimes be picked up, but they always shook their head when I told them I had vodafone. I was on the Camino Olvidado when I had the most trouble. I may go back to Movistar. This may not be a problem on the more standard caminos.
I also find that my Vodafone SIM card eats through data at a much quicker rate than my Movistar cards ever did, but that could be something I am doing.
It can take some time, so if I were in your shoes, I'd get one in Pamplona - or as @Telboyo suggests, use a SIM from another European country, as there's no rosming, and it'll automatically use the strongest signal, so you're not locked in to one provider:I am catching my bus to Pamplona outside t-4 and want to be sure I have enough time to get the SIM card installed.
If you use a non Spanish SIM card in Spain it will pick up.rhe.best signal. Be that voda movistar etc.
If you do, make sure you get a plan that allows you to recharge data. I had one that I couldn't easily add data to when it ran out. It was very frustrating and even the sales people in the store in Burgos had a hard time figuring it out. It turned out that they couldn't top up the data in my particular plan once it was gone, but I could buy 200mb at a time by deducting credit from my main balance, and it was not a cheap rate. Grrrrrrrrrrr.There were lots of places in the region of Castilla y León where Vodafone had no service and Movistar worked just fine. People in the small towns could occasionally point me to a corner where Vodafone could sometimes be picked up, but they always shook their head when I told them I had vodafone. I was on the Camino Olvidado when I had the most trouble. I may go back to Movistar.
Could some tech whiz please enlighten the rest of us why this happens?? The Movistar SIM I had was doing this, too. Poof....15 gig, gone. For no obvious reason.I also find that my Vodafone SIM card eats through data at a much quicker rate than my Movistar cards ever did, but that could be something I am doing.
Maybe this will help. It is a store locator for electronics shops at the airport.
Note there is a category pulldown and one for specific terminals. Below that there are links that will show a map where in the terminal the shop is located.
Important: another European Union country, not just any European country like Switzerland or Serbia etc....use a SIM from another European country, as there's no rosming, and it'll automatically use the strongest signal, so you're not locked in to one provider:
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Wonderful, thanks Rick. Boolmarking it now!I came across this page that has LOTS of information on providers in Spain, their plans and costs, links to websites and locators to shops, card expirations and more.
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