Cell phone and GPS in Spain

In my opinion, it is best to buy a GPS with Europe maps here, and get to know how to use it before your trip.

ken (great name BTW), I agree with the previous post regarding a GPS. I've been travelling with a Garmin GPS for several years, and it's worked well for both driving and walking in cities. They're fairly inexpensive and can be used at home too. If you decide to buy one, be sure that it's equipped with Europe maps. I would NOT recommend renting a Cell phone, as that's usually the most expensive method. There are a few choices.... > Buy a PAYG phone when you arrive in Spain. Billing is "pre-paid" so topping-up will be necessary from time-to-time. > Buy an unlocked quad-band GSM phone off E-Bay, and then just buy a PAYG SIM when you arrive in Spain. > Buy a phone from one of the "travel phone" firms such as Roam Simple, Cellular Abroad, Call In Europe, Telestial or Mobal. If you buy a phone off E-Bay, you can also just purchase a "travel SIM" from one of these firms. These are usually based on a UK number, and provide consistent rates in most countries in western Europe. The billing is typically "post paid", with calls charged to a credit card. Good luck and happy travels!

Here is a recent post from some with experience: Spain: Cellphones or Pay -As -You-Go Phone?

I'm interested in the answers. My quad band Razr phone died last summer, so I have to get a new phone. The other thread says you can pick a basic one up cheaply at about 15 Euros, Rick's Spain book says it's 60 Euros. Anyone have experience with which is the real number? At 60 Euros, I'm likely to buy something on Ebay here before the trip. At 15 Euros, I'm happy waiting until I get there. I'd prefer to buy one locally there, only because I know it will work - but not if I have to pay three times as much for it.

Ditto on buying a GPS here and taking it there. It's much better to have a device you are comfortable using and have had time to learn to use the features (find gas, find an ATM, find parking, etc.). I've had TomTom's since 2005 and was pretty happy with them. Mine also died last summer (coincidence? Both the Razr and the GPS died while my wife was using them). I bought a new TomTom and now am really upset with them. The device didn't work out of the box. I should have sent it back for a refund and started over. Instead I worked with TomTom support. After several long calls they asked me to ship it to Texas - who promptly shipped me the wrong device. I sent them one with N. America and Europe maps, traffic alerts, and lifetime updates. They sent back a different model, no Europe maps, no traffic and no updates. After more calls, I shipped it to Texas, again, and received another device that included Europe, but no traffic and no map updates (not even an initial update). After more calls, they sent me a code for one update (EITHER N. America OR Europe). I'm done with TomTom so just bought a Garmin. I'll learn to use it here and pack it with me. I bought the smallest one I could find (Garmin Nuvi 275T, 3 1/2 inch screen). I find it's all I need and it packs smaller and lighter than the 5 inch screen I was using. The smaller screen is supposed to increase the battery life, though I've never used a GPS for walking around.

For a basic cell phone, we ordered a Telestial phone while still in the U.S. It had a US number and a UK number and allowed us to receive calls for free (in Spain, Italy, France and UK) and cost .99-1.49 per minute to call out. As I recall we could load additional airtime via credit card. Right now Telestial has the same phone on sale for $19 USD including $5 of airtime. The tax and shipping will likely be almost as much as the phone... Sorry, no suggestions for GPS.

I would like to add my own questions to this thread, as I always have trouble with maps. I don't mind getting lost myself, but am taking a group of university students this May. I dread Sevilla. A Madrileño friend has suggested that I buy a smart phone and a Spanish sim card and use Mapquest. I really want to be guided. (I already have a cheap prepaid cell that I top up in Spain for calls and am happy with that.) I do have a new Garmin GPS unit for my car. I'm looking at it and can't see why I can't use this as a handheld unit. From what I'm reading above, I can just add the European maps and bring my Garmin with me, right? Whether it tells me to go left or a la izquierda doesn't matter to me! I'm sorry if this seems like a stupid question, but I really don't want to get lost with a group of students. I have been very happy w/the Garmin GPS here in my car. I am not sure what the battery life is, though and know that I will have to recharge it. But a recharger and maps seem pretty cheap in the long run. I'm also open to the option of taking my Droid and signing up for Verizon's international plan and use a GPS app, such as Sygic. I'm going for a week in February and that might be a good time to test that option. Thanks. Open to any suggestions.

We packed a GPS but bought a cell phone in Spain to use locally. It's no chore to find a phone for 25 euro that includes ten euro credit for calls. We found basically the same options at El Corte Ingles in Barcelona and another place called the Phone Store in Toledo.

Cheryl, if your unit allows adding Euro maps, that would be your best option. And your US GPS will still speak English if that's the way you have it set up. It doesn't change just because you are in another country.