Internet and mobile communications in Spain: how to always stay connected
In Spain it is easy to use inexpensive mobile communications, there is excellent coverage and fierce competition between operators. You can use a local SIM card for the whole vacation, spending 10-15 €.
If you do not want to bother with buying a new card and the cost of communication is not a decisive factor, use the roaming services of your operator.
And for those who change their location all the time, the best option is to purchase a travel SIM card. In Spain, you can easily move around on a rented car .
Let’s try to figure out what will be most relevant for you / f
Mobile operators in Spain
Most Spanish SIM cards will work throughout Europe thanks to European Union regulations. The main thing is to buy a tarjeta prepago (prepaid card). All SIM cards must be officially registered by presenting a passport or photo ID at the store at the time of purchase. Let’s consider several options:
Lycamobile is a budget SIM card in Spain. One of the cheapest operators, tariffs start from 5 €/month. Many tariffs are aimed precisely at providing the user with cheap mobile Internet in Spain. For example, the Navega M 7 GB tariff costs only 10 € and allows you to get 7 GB of traffic per month, as well as additional free minutes within the network. Of the minuses, there are fewer stores than other operators.
Orange is a prepaid card. In major Spanish cities, there are many Orange stores, the staff speaks good English. Good coverage throughout the country. There are three main rates:
Go walk – €9.95 / 5 GB / 20 min
Go run – €14.95 / 7 GB / 40 min
Go fly – €19.95 / 15 GB / 80 min
All other calls will be charged at 6 €/min.
“SIM Holidays” – you can use this card, 15 € / month (3 GB, 20 min) or “Sim Holidays Spain”, 30 GB / 30 € per month. If you plan to use your smartphone as little as possible during the trip, then the tariffs will suit you:
Navega – 8.95 € / 5 GB, mobile in Spain is free, but there is a connection fee of 30s.
Liama - 4 € / 500 MB, calls at 6 s / min.
You can order your card in advance online. Once you sign up online, you have 30 days to use your balance.
Moviestar is a prepaid card. More expensive than Orange but much better coverage. If your trip includes small villages and mountain passes, visiting a city on a rock , it is better to use the services of this network. The cost of a SIM card is 20 €, of which 10 are immediately credited to your account. In order for the card to work, you need to replenish your account with at least 5 €. You can choose from 4 tariffs, the package is valid for 4 weeks:
Tarifa Prepago 15 — 20 € / 80 min / 30 GB
Tarifa Prepago 7 — 15 € / 14 GB / 40 min
Tarifa Prepago 5 — 10 € / 20 min / 10 GB
Tarifa Habla 6, no monthly fee — 6 s/min, 18 c/roaming, 5 €/GB
Moviestar used to be part of the national telephone company Telefónica, so there are shops almost everywhere in Spain. The nearest one can be found through the search engine on the site.
Spain: travelsim or travel sim card
If you are more often on the road than at home, the best option for you is a virtual GSM operator SIM card with which you can make calls and use the Internet in any country. One of the most convenient is Drimsim, which is compatible with almost all tablets and phones.
One of the main advantages is an application that keeps track of all your expenses and automatically shows how much communication costs in the selected country.
Drimsim has agreements with local operators regarding tariffs. For Spain 1 MB costs 0.01 €, 1 GB / 10.24 €.
Free Wi-Fi and other means of communication in Spain
Another interesting service is the rental of a Wi-Fi Vox device. The rental price is 6.99 €/day, in return you get unlimited mobile internet. You can freely distribute the Internet from your device to 10 gadgets – smartphones, tablets, etc. You can rent a device at one of the points of issue, as well as order delivery to your hotel or airport. More about Barcelona and Madrid airports .
If you travel mainly in big cities, then you will not have problems with Wi-Fi. You can see where the free access points are on this map . Here you can also download the free Wiman application, in which users share the found Wi-Fi networks around the world. The app has offline maps to help you get to the nearest hotspot.