I have an unlocked Iphone that I would like to use for our trip to Spain and Portugal. We will require data.
Can you recommend a cellphone carrier? And where is the best place to buy a SIM card? At the airport or once we arrive in Barcelona? Thanks.
Posted by
Fairfax, Virginia
348 posts
Last year I used a sim card from Orange. I don't have a recommendation for a specific plan as the terms on the one I used have apparently changed. It had a fixed amount of data for 15 days, and then was something like 15 euros to replenish it. We had good coverage throughout Spain. Movistar and Vodafone also have good coverage and have comparable plans. I bought mine in advance (4gSim.es), but you can get them at the airport in Barcelona or in any of hundreds of stores selling phones and cards.
Posted by
Short Hills, NJ, USA
26 posts
We picked up a SIM card from the Crystal shop in Barcelona Airport. They had Vodafone and Orange. The shop attendant said both had equally good quality and depended on how much data we wanted. We paid Euro15 for the SIM card including 2 GB of data.
Posted by
New York, NY, USA
11294 posts
If you really want to get into the nitty-gritty of what each company offers, you can use this page from Prepaid GSM, then click "prepaid Offer" from each company: http://www.prepaidgsm.net/en/spain.php
You can also ask on their Spain forum. Discussions here can get VERY technical, so don't be afraid to ask for clarification: http://www.prepaidgsm.net/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=33
Posted by
75 posts
Hi Helen,
I have been in Spain for the past 3 weeks and have found that Moviestar and Vodafone have the best coverage but Moviestar is really expensive (€50) compared to Vodafone's €10 2.5 gig sale price. I have a mini iPad and it's been great to google map myself when I get lost.
Don't buy it at the airport, buy it in the city center.
Liam
Posted by
Folsom, California
542 posts
Unless you need to make a lot of calls, I highly recommend a mobile wifi unit instead. It gave us the data and wifi we needed wherever we went. We used Skyroam.
With WhatsApp and the Skyroam, we were set.
Posted by
26 posts
We bought Vodaphone for our trip. Good coverage in Madrid, Segovia, Toledo and Seville. Not as good in Barcelona and very spotty in San Sebastian.
Beware: our plan did not come with text sending. We can receive. Make sure you have whatsapp.
Posted by
26 posts
Also for WhatsApp, add the country code even if messaging in the country you are present in. For Spain, the code is +34. This pertains to an Android Moto Turbo 2 or Samsung S5 used with Verizon in the US. When we forgot, the phone tried to send sms but our plan does not include sms except to other Vodaphone users.