SIM Card in Pamplona

[Shanley]

Hey guys I am looking to purchase a SIM card in Pamplona but I have noticed a lot of stores closed as it is Winter. I believe there are stores that sell SIM cards in Pamplona but does anyone know if these SIM card stores will be open when I arrive ? And if so , what time will they be open ? I am just worried as it is winter and a lot of stores are not open this time of the year. Thank you !

 

[donalomahony]

I really don’t think this is an issue. Pamplona is a large city and the multinational Phone shops will all be open on usual shopping hours.

Most supermarkets also sell sims but in a dedicated phone store they will probably speak English.

Make sure ur phone is unblocked.

 

[C clearly]

I have noticed a lot of stores closed as it is Winter.

I don't know where you are getting this information, but Pamplona is a city of 200,000 people, most of whom probably have mobile phones. Only some tourist-specific businesses might close.

 

[naplesdon]

Corte Ingles is a good place to find a number of phone companies, they will surely be decked out for holiday shopping season

 

[Shanley]

I really don’t think this is an issue. Pamplona is a large city and the multinational Phone shops will all be open on usual shopping hours.

Most supermarkets also sell sims but in a dedicated phone store they will probably speak English.

Make sure ur phone is unblocked.

Do you know what these shopping hours are ? Thank you

 

[linkster]

+1 on making sure your phone is unlocked. I have an AT&T plan and it took me several days to get my phone unblocked before I left the states. In addition, I bought a prepaid SIM card from Vodafone in Madrid. It worked well in larger cities; however, I wanted to book a hotel in Burgos when I was in San Juan de Ortega and could NOT get a signal. I purchased a SIM that could only be used in Spain. It did seem like there were a lot of Moviestar WIFI spots on the Camino Frances. You might try to research which would provide better coverage. I think there were some rule changes that allow access across Europe, but I am not familiar with the details.

 

[jmcarp]

I realize that things change rapidly in the world of technology, but I can cite personal experience with coverage along the Camino Francés and Camino Portugués. First, When we walked the CF in 2013, I purchased a Spanish SIM card from Orange, while my wife simply added the international roaming plan to our home carrier (Verizon) on her phone. There was only one place way out the boonies--don't remember exactly where it was-- that I did not have an adequate signal. OTOH, my wife only had coverage in the major towns and cities along the way. It's my understanding that Verizon partners with Vodaphone, and thus uses the Vodaphone network in Spain. Here in the U.S., when you use a secondary service that buys airtime from one of the major players, or even in some cases if you use one of the main carriers "pay-as-you-go" plans, they sometimes electronically limit either your access or the level of service compared to their contract customers, and that may have been the case for her roaming plan.

When we walked from Porto to Santiago last spring (2017), I purchased Vodaphone SIM cards for both phones and had excellent coverage along that route in both Portugal and Spain. After completing the CP, we bused over to Carrión de los Condes to walk a short stretch of the meseta, and again, Vodaphone coverage was adequate, at least on the short stretch we walked at that time.

 

[jmcarp]

Do you know what these shopping hours are ? Thank you

It's stores are often times closed during the afternoon siesta hours, usually around 1300 to 1500 or 1600. Try in the morning or later in the afternoon. And I'd recommend dealing with the main carriers -- Vodaphone, Orange, or Movistar -- for the original purchase of the SIM card. I also used main stores for recharge, but it's probably OK to recharge at the supermercado or tobacco shops.

 

[Deleted member 43985]

I'm not sure where you are located or exactly when you will depart for Pamplona but an excellent option is to use this website: http://www.simcardspain.es/en/ . I have purchased my loaded, activated sim card from them three times and love this service. It is mailed directly to my home in Canada. I simply insert it into my unlocked iPhone and it is ready to go. If/when my credits are low I can easily go online to the same website and top it up whenever is convenient to me. The only caveat I have is that it usually take a month or so to arrive so if time is a worry this might not be the best option for you. If that is the case I'd recommend just googling the location of a Moviestar store in Pamplona and getting the address and business hours. I know there is a store directly on the Camino as you leave the old town. I'm sure Vodaphone, Orange and others are available but I only have first-hand knowledge of the Moviestar store. After that any of a thousand small stores across the country are available to add credits to your phone. Keep in mind that virtually every bar and Albergue has wifi so the necessity of a phone is probably limited to emergencies in remote areas. You know, that is unless you feel the need to post a selfie from Cruz de Ferro or some such place!

 

[jmcarp]

I'm not sure where you are located or exactly when you will depart for Pamplona but an excellent option is to use this website: http://www.simcardspain.es/en/ ....

Funny you should mention that. I also purchased the original SIM card used on our 2013 Camino from a stateside vendor located in Boston (who is no longer in business). It was delivered rather quickly, but then I had to send in my passport data so it would be pre-registered when we hit the ground in Spain, and that took a couple of weeks. I purchased an Orange card that did not include data because at the time I had an older CDMA phone that would not work in Europe, so I took an ancient flip-phone that was unlocked and used the SIM card in that. But the best thing was the plan--calls back to the US (and Canada) cost only €0.01 per minute, plus a €0.19 connection charge per call. I think calls within Spain were something like €0.07 each.

 

[Saint Mike II]

Hey guys I am looking to purchase a SIM card in Pamplona but I have noticed a lot of stores closed as it is Winter. I believe there are stores that sell SIM cards in Pamplona but does anyone know if these SIM card stores will be open when I arrive ? And if so , what time will they be open ? I am just worried as it is winter and a lot of stores are not open this time of the year. Thank you !

I would have thought that the major ones - Vodaphone or Movistar would be open all year round. Suggest you do a google search to confirm locations and opening hours. Cheers

 

[Mark McCarthy]

Hey guys I am looking to purchase a SIM card in Pamplona but I have noticed a lot of stores closed as it is Winter. I believe there are stores that sell SIM cards in Pamplona but does anyone know if these SIM card stores will be open when I arrive ? And if so , what time will they be open ? I am just worried as it is winter and a lot of stores are not open this time of the year. Thank you !

I found these guys very helpful:-
https://www.facebook.com/freemovilpamplona/
They are just off the main square Plaza del Castillo. If you want to check out the location on Google Maps the GPS location is 42.816116, -1.641744. It maybe worth giving them a ring to ask their advice on which is the best network to use and pre-order a SIM. Their number is +34 948 22 98 20. They are also just round the corner from Bar Gaucho which has great pintxos.

 

[SabsP]

Vodafone store , also close to El Corte Ingles.
Vodafone
Calle Sancho el Mayor, 4

Open from 10am till 2pm and then 5pm till 8pm.

Pamplona has almost two hundred thousand citizens so some of them will need a phone time to time.

To the OP : have a lovely Camino , Pamplona is a wonderful town to start and has everything you need to begin your walk.

 

[See You Soon]

Word to the wise - do not pay the employee until your phone is functional. Some of them might not see your model of phone too often. If they tell you the need the payment before you proceed, ask for another rep or find another store.

At some stores, the employees know that they cannot get your phone working right away but they take your money anyway. Then you are stuck with a useless SIM card (except for WiFi). Tell them politely that you can only pay them after you can make calls/use the internet/SMS/whatever. I had a few couple reps try to get the money, and then I would have been out of luck.

 

[See You Soon]

Or the phone is difficult to unlock, but the rep already has your money so does not care about "your problem."

 

[Praorn]

I had quite good experience with Vodafone. Here is the list of all Vodafone in Pamplona: https://www.tiendeo.com/Tiendas/pamplona/vodafone

Buen Camino!

 

[GPeachy]

I purchased a sim from Orange in Pamplona and was very happy with it. It worked everywhere. Although many places had wifi along the route, I found that it was often very slow and was happy to have an alternative way of connecting.

 

[timr]

I found these guys very helpful:-
https://www.facebook.com/freemovilpamplona/
They are just off the main square Plaza del Castillo. If you want to check out the location on Google Maps the GPS location is 42.816116, -1.641744. It maybe worth giving them a ring to ask their advice on which is the best network to use and pre-order a SIM. Their number is +34 948 22 98 20. They are also just round the corner from Bar Gaucho which has great pintxos.

Mark Greetings from near León. I need to get your advice on connectivity issues before embarking on Canterbury-Rome. I'll give you a shout over Christmas. But first off have you any experience of using a tablet with a SIM 'sur le continent'.

 

[Mark McCarthy]

Mark Greetings from near León. I need to get your advice on connectivity issues before embarking on Canterbury-Rome. I'll give you a shout over Christmas. But first off have you any experience of using a tablet with a SIM 'sur le continent'.

Try this:- https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01CMD4VKC/?tag=casaivar-21

 

[Robo]

I'm not sure where you are located or exactly when you will depart for Pamplona but an excellent option is to use this website: http://www.simcardspain.es/en/ . I have purchased my loaded, activated sim card from them three times and love this service. It is mailed directly to my home in Canada. I simply insert it into my unlocked iPhone and it is ready to go. If/when my credits are low I can easily go online to the same website and top it up whenever is convenient to me. The only caveat I have is that it usually take a month or so to arrive so if time is a worry this might not be the best option for you. If that is the case I'd recommend just googling the location of a Moviestar store in Pamplona and getting the address and business hours. I know there is a store directly on the Camino as you leave the old town. I'm sure Vodaphone, Orange and others are available but I only have first-hand knowledge of the Moviestar store. After that any of a thousand small stores across the country are available to add credits to your phone. Keep in mind that virtually every bar and Albergue has wifi so the necessity of a phone is probably limited to emergencies in remote areas. You know, that is unless you feel the need to post a selfie from Cruz de Ferro or some such place!

I have used this company before, as I prefer to have rhe SIM before I leave home so that I have internet coverage from the start. But this site seems to no longer work.

http://www.simcardspain.es/en/

Have they gone out of business?

Is there another site that supplies SIMs via mail?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

https://www.vodafone.es/c/particulares/es/tienda/movil/tourist-in-spain-vf/

 

[Deleted member 43985]

I have used this company before, as I prefer to have rhe SIM before I leave home so that I have internet coverage from the start. But this site seems to no longer work.

http://www.simcardspain.es/en/

Have they gone out of business?

Is there another site that supplies SIMs via mail?

Hi @Robo - just went to site and seemed like everything up to the actual payment of a product was working. Maybe the site was down for a bit for maintenance or ? Hoping it will work for you but if not surely there must be other sites available. Good luck.