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Verizon ( phone company) international calling ...?

Cliff175

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
April / May Camino Frances 2013
Portuguese Camino May of 2014
St. jean to pomplona, - Santander to Oviedo, SAN Salvador to Leon , to Santiago in 2015
2017 March -- VDLP Seville to Santiago
I'm coming for the USA, my phone company is Verizon. The company has international calling plan (40.00) for a month which I can add to my service plan.

I was wondering if anyone has used the service , and the quality of the coverage ?

Just trying to decide if I should use the service or purchase a sim card when I arrive in Spain.

I would appreciate any feed back, if anyone has used the Verizon International Calling plan.

Respectfully
Cliff
 
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
I have Verizon too.. an Have NOT used the International Calling Plan..but the Verizon Store Manager told me I can add Spain for $5.00/month.
 

If you have a LTE Verizon smartphone, it is truly unlocked.
http://www.verizonwireless.com/aboutus/commitment/safety-security/device-unlocking-policy.html

A Spanish SIM will be cheaper than anything Verizon has and will have better coverage. Verizon can be spotty when used outside of the US.
Lebara would be a good deal and they are on the Movistar network, works the best on the Meseta.
http://www.lebara.es/todo-en-uno

Here are other carriers to choose from:
http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com/wiki/Spain
 
Camino Jewellery
A selection of Camino Jewellery
When my wife and I walked the CF I had a Spanish SIM card (Orange network) in my phone and she had the Verizon international plan, which uses the Vodafone network in Spain. There was only one remote location where I did not have a useable signal. On the other hand, my wife's phone could only be used in or near the larger towns and cities. I found this surprising since Vodafone is known to have a very good network. The only thing I could conclude was that the agreement with Verizon was based on a somewhat crippled version of the Vodafone network. In the US, that's the case with some of the off-brand pay-as-you go plans that buy network time from the major carriers.
 
In 2014 I got the Verizon international plan and found coverage (though Vodafone) was perfectly adequate. I called home quite a bit and recall only one area where there wasn't a good signal. (I was exclusively in Galicia). I did, however, rack up several hundred dollars in charges with texting (both to home to family/friends and with others in my waking group).

This year I instead paid €20 for a Spanish SIM from Orange upon my arrival to Spain and advised family / friends that I'd be using Facebook messenger and Whatsapp for communicating and it worked out perfectly. I even spoke to my husband on several occasions (including once from a lively soccer match!) via the call feature on the Facebook messenger - all conversations were crystal clear! I made many local phone calls too and still had a credit from the original €20 when I went to buy a few more GBs of data. The Orange plan also included a decent rate for calling to the U.S. (Something like €.39 to connect and a few cents per minute), but I figured out the FB calling early on so didn't event bother.

Buen camino to you!
 
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
robertgordon said:
Wow, great to know as I do have a Verizon LTE phone and had assumed it was locked. Thanks for sharing the link.
Click to expand...

All my friends who have Verizon LTE smartphones have had no issues when using foreign SIM cards, there are only a few countries where you can't get a local SIM card.
Here is the worldwide list. http://prepaid-data-sim-card.wikia.com
 
I too have Verizon as my carrier. Their overseas plan is a waste of $$. I purchased a world wide SIM card through National Geographics Talk Abroad Network. I can use my phone in 200 countries, I get free incoming calls from 70 countries and a lot more. Its a prepaid service with no contract. You get your own US phone number and a UK phone number. If your going to stay in Spain a SIM card that covers only Spain would be best. Buen Camino

Happy Trails
 
Like others have said, if you have an LTE phone from Verizon, it should be unlocked and you just have to buy a SIM card once you get to Spain. If you have an older phone, you're really better off just buying a cheap GSM phone.
 
Camino Jewellery
A selection of Camino Jewellery
I took the $40. International deal 100 texts , 100 calls, worked perfectly the only thing you have to watch for is to turn off roaming, data is very expensive, but being there is free wifi every where not a problem. Honestly the whole locked-unlocked, sim card thing confused me so I took the easy way out. As I age I usually go the path of least resistance.
 
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