Buying a SIM card in Madrid

[firstshirt]

Sounds just perfect to me exactly why im hitting the road again. You've summed it up perfectly

Not to hijack the thread but I will be looking to by a sim card in Madrid also. Is it available at the airport or do I need to find a store? Will be spending that night at Blue Socks Hostel.

 

[Robo]

What's the latest opinion on the best SIM cards to buy, in terms of carrier?
The last 3 Caminos I used Vodafone and was really underwhelmed.
Even the shop staff had issues getting the data to work as it should.......
The first time cost me a fortune in constant data top ups (like 300 euro)

 

[Mananath]

I used Vodafone in July and it was fantastic. It was like 100gb for 15eur. They were having a promo. And of interest to me it came with free roaming in the us so I could use it at home.

 

[OzAnnie]

@firstshirt
Vodafone are pretty reliable I’ve found.
They often have specials running.
Late April this year (see attachment); I took the ‘M plan’ for 15 euros- which had much more than I’d ever need. I also made use of a lot of the 800minutes of free international calls to family in Australia who don’t use wifi.

(I also have a Vodafone plan here in oz for mobile. If I choose to I can continue to use my home plan sim in most overseas regions ; for $5 au per day for any days I need to use it. - I generally use that idea on my arrival day and departure day but get Spanish sim in the middle. )

Then, of course you have free wifi in many places in spain , and I use ‘maps me’ app for my gps tracks - mostly quiet routes .. which will work without any sim. Ie. Leave my phone in ‘flight mode’ .

 

[Elizabeth C.]

Not to hijack the thread but I will be looking to by a sim card in Madrid also. Is it available at the airport or do I need to find a store? Will be spending that night at Blue Socks Hostel.

Anybody with knowledge of the Madrid airport? Now, off to check out the Blue Socks Hostel. Thanks.

 

[Cuttooth]

If your phone will take an eSim try airalo.com . I have used them with great success in South American and Europe (Spain earlier this year). Feel free to message me if you have questions.... I also have a discount code if you are interested.

 

[DoughnutANZ]

If your phone will take an eSim try airalo.com . I have used them with great success in South American and Europe (Spain earlier this year). Feel free to message me if you have questions.... I also have a discount code if you are interested.

This is much more expensive than the Vodafone package mentioned by @OzAnnie and only gives you data. I would not recommend this company.

 

[Elizabeth C.]

Not to hijack the thread but I will be looking to by a sim card in Madrid also. Is it available at the airport or do I need to find a store? Will be spending that night at Blue Socks Hostel.

This might help! https://www.traveltomtom.net/destinations/europe/spain/sim-card-madrid

 

[Dennis Pack]

Ask a local ...

 

[sawchugg]

Not to hijack the thread but I will be looking to by a sim card in Madrid also. Is it available at the airport or do I need to find a store? Will be spending that night at Blue Socks Hostel.

I purchased a Sim card at Vodaphone in Portugal for 20 Euros and 10GB of data for 4 weeks when we did the Camino Portuguese in May. I took a old iphone putting the Sim card in that phone while I still had and used my current phone with my current carrier for texting, facetime etc. It worked beautifully and it continued to work in both Spain and France

 

[DoughnutANZ]

This might help! https://www.traveltomtom.net/destinations/europe/spain/sim-card-madrid

That is a junk site that earns money from advertising and kickbacks when you follow the links to buy something.

There is much better advice on this forum that only takes a simple search to find.

 

[C.C.]

Have used Orange for 3 Camino’s…no problems. Bought at the Madrid airport … clerk even installed the SIM.

 

[peregrina2000]

If your camino is going to include some remote sections, Ender (camino angel of the Salvador and Olvidado) recommends Movistar. He and other Spanish friends say it has the best overall coverage in Spain. I had used Movistar for years, and found the staff to be rude in several different stores all over — Valencia, Bilbao, etc. So I switched to Vodafone, and have been very happy with their service. But I have had a few spots on the Olvidado where Vodafone had no coverage and I was able to use a local resident’s phone with Movistar.

Both Vodafone and Movistar have coverage maps, but it may be too much detail.

Consultar el mapa de cobertura movil 5G, 4G+,LTE 4G, 3G o 2G

Selecciona la cobertura móvil 5G, 4G+, 4G, 3G de muy alta velocidad o 2G y comprueba si puedes navegar a máxima velocidad.

www.vodafone.es

Mapa cobertura móvil 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G y LTE-M - Movistar

Consulta aquí tu cobertura móvil Movistar 2G, 3G, 4G y 5G por provincia, municipio y calle. Selecciona en el mapa tu ciudad y obtendrás la cobertura de tu zona

www.movistar.es

 

[Cuttooth]

This is much more expensive than the Vodafone package mentioned by @OzAnnie and only gives you data. I would not recommend this company.

That is correct, it is only a data sim. I only needed data as I wanted to use my regular service for calls/messages while on wifi. I used whatsapp for almost all other communications so your mileage my vary but for me this has worked extremely well.

 

[LauraL]

I came to Spain in July. I did my online research before the trip and found that getting a sim at the airport was a rip-off. I took a bus to Atocha (my hotel was around there) and bought a Vodafone sim at a newsagency at the train station. It's the 15€ plan mentioned above, including lots of data plus calls within Europe, for 28 days. It was easy to add another 15€ of credit a couple of days before expiry, and it was automatically renewed. Works great for me!

 

[lt56ny]

I have used both Vodafone and Orange. Never had a problem with either one. I just go to a shop in Madrid and check out the plans and pick one. Make sure you have your passport and they will do the rest. I now use Vodafone because it is super easy to recharge my phone at the end of the month. They both have options and just check them out before you go and pick the one that fits you best. I have never had a problem with either one. If you can speak some Spanish it will make things a lot easier when you are in the store.

 

[lt56ny]

If your camino is going to include some remote sections, Ender (camino angel of the Salvador and Olvidado) recommends Movistar. He and other Spanish friends say it has the best overall coverage in Spain. I had used Movistar for years, and found the staff to be rude in several different stores all over — Valencia, Bilbao, etc. So I switched to Vodafone, and have been very happy with their service. But I have had a few spots on the Olvidado where Vodafone had no coverage and I was able to use a local resident’s phone with Movistar.

Both Vodafone and Movistar have coverage maps, but it may be too much detail.

Consultar el mapa de cobertura movil 5G, 4G+,LTE 4G, 3G o 2G

Selecciona la cobertura móvil 5G, 4G+, 4G, 3G de muy alta velocidad o 2G y comprueba si puedes navegar a máxima velocidad.

www.vodafone.es

Mapa cobertura móvil 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G y LTE-M - Movistar

Consulta aquí tu cobertura móvil Movistar 2G, 3G, 4G y 5G por provincia, municipio y calle. Selecciona en el mapa tu ciudad y obtendrás la cobertura de tu zona

www.movistar.es

I now use Vodfaone. Last year on the VDLP I never had a problem anytime I had to open my phone to have a signal or for data. I have to say I do not refer to it that much when I am walking. Only when I am confused on which way to walk or to call ahead to see if an albergue/hostel is open.

 

[sradana]

Not to hijack the thread but I will be looking to by a sim card in Madrid also. Is it available at the airport or do I need to find a store? Will be spending that night at Blue Socks Hostel.

I arrived on Monday, Aug 29. Have a US iPhone. Waited in line at Vodafone Pamplona for an hour then they told me they were all out of pre-paid cards! Went to Movistar, waited 5 min for clerk, 10€ for 30 gb data per month, pre-paid sim card. (not e-sim) They were great, I had the Spanish plan up and running 10 min later.

 

[Robo]

I arrived on Monday, Aug 29. Have a US iPhone. Waited in line at Vodafone Pamplona for an hour then they told me they were all out of pre-paid cards! Went to Movistar, waited 5 min for clerk, 10€ for 30 gb data per month, pre-paid sim card. (not e-sim) They were great, I had the Spanish plan up and running 10 min later.

My research seems to point to Movistar as well.
Are they easy to do data top ups? I use a lot of data! (uploading video)

I wonder if I can buy a Movistar SIM at Atocha station in Madrid?
Will be passing through en route to Sevilla.

Circling back to the OP's question!

 

[lt56ny]

I arrived on Monday, Aug 29. Have a US iPhone. Waited in line at Vodafone Pamplona for an hour then they told me they were all out of pre-paid cards! Went to Movistar, waited 5 min for clerk, 10€ for 30 gb data per month, pre-paid sim card. (not e-sim) They were great, I had the Spanish plan up and running 10 min later.

My research seems to point to Movistar as well.
Are they easy to do data top ups? I use a lot of data! (uploading video)

Looks like a really good plan. I too wonder how easy it is to recharge? The reason I switched from Orange to Vodafone was the ease of recharging. I will be walking for more than four weeks and if Robo is walking the VDLP and uploading video he will be gone for more than 4 weeks too.

 

[Becky 59]

Vodaphone is currently running a special for 50 GB at 10 euros for 4 weeks, with ability to top off easily. Working well for me on the Francés right now.

 

[sradana]

Looks like a really good plan. I too wonder how easy it is to recharge? The reason I switched from Orange to Vodafone was the ease of recharging. I will be walking for more than four weeks and if Robo is walking the VDLP and uploading video he will be gone for more than 4 weeks too.

Very easy to add more data for another month. Text a number they give you, enter credit card info, auto add another month for 10€. I asked them that question.

 

[Canche]

Not to hijack the thread but I will be looking to by a sim card in Madrid also. Is it available at the airport or do I need to find a store? Will be spending that night at Blue Socks Hostel.

Available at the airport and easy to find. I just asked around and someone finally directed me to a store upstairs.

 

[AnneMarie1]

Not to hijack the thread but I will be looking to by a sim card in Madrid also. Is it available at the airport or do I need to find a store? Will be spending that night at Blue Socks Hostel.

In Madrid now, bought a sim today. I wanted one with a Spanish number, although you can get by pretty well with just data. I got an esim at Orange today (no need to remove my own sim and make sure I don't lose it because phone allows both). I will be in Spain after the Camino, too. This one was 20 euros for 28 days, with some ridiculous amount of data (I want to say 100 gb or something), but she said that when I renew it for the next month, it will give me other options that involve lower data and a lower price for the next month. I didn't think 20 was all that bad for 28 days of basically unlimited calling (5000 minutes, I think), texting, and tons of data, so I just went with this one rather than shopping around more. I have used Orange before and had a good experience.

 

[DwainS]

In Madrid now, bought a sim today. I wanted one with a Spanish number, although you can get by pretty well with just data. I got an esim at Orange today (no need to remove my own sim and make sure I don't lose it because phone allows both). I will be in Spain after the Camino, too. This one was 20 euros for 28 days, with some ridiculous amount of data (I want to say 100 gb or something), but she said that when I renew it for the next month, it will give me other options that involve lower data and a lower price for the next month. I didn't think 20 was all that bad for 28 days of basically unlimited calling (5000 minutes, I think), texting, and tons of data, so I just went with this one rather than shopping around more. I have used Orange before and had a good experience.

i'am landing at Madrid airport this Tuesday May 16 and taking bus to Atocha Train station so good to here I can can a SIM card at either.