BootsnAll Travel Community

I am headed to Salamanca, Spain this fall, and have been informed by friends that it would be wise to get a cell phone while I am over in Spain. My study abroad program has also provided some information on a specific company, but I am pretty sure that this is not the cheapest way to go. Any advice? Should I just wait until I get there?

You know a lot of Spaniards? Who are ya gonna call?
You may be jumping the gun a bit. Wait awhile.
If you need one, get one over there.

Hi-
I would also recommend waiting until you get there. I'm in Eastern Europe, where things are cheaper in general, but I still think a phone would be cheaper in Spain than in the US.

Also, mobiles in Europe (I assume all of them) work on the same system that the rest of the world uses...except of course the US. I bought my phone three years ago in one country, and have been able to use it for local rates by buying a new number/SIM card in three other countries. As far as I know you can't do this with most phones from the US, or you have to buy some service from your phone company if you want to avoid paying roaming. My new Sim cards cost between 5-25$ (the lowest one was in India).

Even if you don't have any Spaniards to call yet, you'd be able to receive calls from home and (probably)text messages. I think mobiles are so much more common in Europe, so if you get a phone there you'll have a number to give them.

Have a good trip!

If you're going to Salamanca as a student, and I assume you are, you'll have a students social life, and a phone will be a must.

You have two options:

1; Buy a phone in the USA that has GSM and takes a SIM chip. I got one from T-mobile, and it seems to work well in the USA. I DON'T have a USA compatible phone yet, and so, I had to go with a dual band. Plan plus phone: 154 dollars a year, single year contract, very minimal service. 10 dollars a year more would have gotten me far more weekday minutes and free night minutes. I'm told that if I pay my bill for three months, they activate my sim-chip.

2: Buy a single band in Europe. If you already have a USA phone and a USA plan, this will probably be the best way. Theres no plan price. I bought my GSM phone in Istanbul 4 years ago, and since then it has recieved calls in Turkey, Holland, and believe it or not, India.

Still, for 154 dollars plus activation fee, its hard to buy a cell-phone. Mine doesn't have all the options, but it sends text messages and recieves calls. Next time I'll break down and get a blackberry!!!

Hi,

I studied in Spain all last year and have some suggestions.

Get a phone over there, don't try bringing one from the states. You'll have to have it "unlocked" once you get over there, and that's a whole other can of worms.

The three main companies are Amena, Vodaphone, and Movistar.

You can either get 1. a contract or 2. a pay as you go plan

The companies rank as follows: Amena, is the cheapest, the most minutes for the best price, BUT supposedly has the worst coverage.

Vodaphone--Average coverage, average price for the time you get. (This is the plan I had and will be continuing when I go back in September)

Movistar--Supposedly the best coverage, but also the most expensive.

Depending on when you are heading over there, you might be able to get a sale price at a store like Corte Ingles. I got my phone for 50 euros and it included 20 euros of saldo (talk credit)

In Spain, any call you receive is free, as long as its from within Europe, to receive calls from the states, it costs you money.

Oh, another thing about movistar is that the pay as you go phones are significantly more expensive than the pay as you go phones that vodaphone or amena sell.

I hope this is helpful! Have fun!

I brought my phone to Norway, and I'm very glad I did. I researched it beforehand so that I got a quad-band phone from T-Mobile (so should be good to go anywhere, frequency-wise), found a local place to unlock it, then bought a prepaid Norwegian SIM card via Telestial.com (who were great, and I think someone on the boards here recommended them). I have been very glad to have a cell phone. I'm assuming you're doing study abroad, since you said fall and are going to Salamanca. All the European students there will bring their phones and will assume you have one, too. I gave my phone number for this orientation thing at school here, thinking it was for calling me, but nope, I get SMSes from the school here. It's nice to have a cell phone.

That said, unless you're a nerd like me, just buy a phone when you get there. Go to a service provider and get some cheap phone on a prepaid plan. Hell, there's a company handing out SIM cards on campus for prepaid cell service that come with like $10 of minutes for students to sample. You have less chance of being disappointed if you do it all once you get to Spain, I think. Good luck