We start our travels in Spain, 2 weeks there, and then head to France for 5.5 weeks. I'm finding options for a 30 day data only SIM card but I've yet to determine if the initial amount of data goes away once the 30 days have lapsed. I understand I can re-up/recharge but am I essentially starting over for the next time period?
Thanks!
Short answer: yes.
But you can use the data in France. EU laws require phone companies to offer free roaming. Then you could renew your Spanish SIM for the remaining week and a half that you're in France.
The Vodafone UK SIM card that I use for all of my trips to Europe allows rollover if you buy their Big Value Bundles and renew within the 30 days (and 7 day grace period.) So it may vary by the company and type of plan you have purchased.
Just to clarify, my trip is a total of 7.5 weeks so two 30 day plans is likely to be best. While I expect to primarily use wifi, we will be driving while in Spain for 2 weeks and for the last 2.5 weeks that we are in France so there could be times when we need data on the road but I'm more concerned about needing to make a call in case of an emergency while driving. Verizon has a pay as you go plan as well as their $10 a day plan (only pay when used) but unless one is very disciplined on use (we typically have been even in the good old days when the monthly international plans were much less expensive), those could add up in a hurry!
Decisions, decisions! Thanks for the information.
Data is SO cheap in Europe, you'll probably be well covered with a pre-paid Spanish SIM for 15euro a month — less than 4 days of Verizon roaming over the length of your whole trip.
