[ajh94]

I am off to Spain on the 4th of July for 2 weeks and am wanting to use data on my Samsung Galaxy S3... I have no idea what I should do as the last time I went to Spain in 2010 and when I lived there for 4 years of my life I didn't have a smartphone. I have had a look into it and have found a few options, which are as follows...

I could use my Orange Pay Monthly UK SIM as Orange do £3 a day for 30mb usage which I could make do with.

Or for a better deal I found HolidayPhone SIM, 1GB data for €29 that lasts 30 days (First 300mb is 3G speed and then the rest is GPRS speed) not sure why. See here: http://bit.ly/sWpJMY

I could also pick up a Movistar, Vodafone ES or Orange Spain SIM and add a data bundle but i'm not sure where to get a Spanish SIM from and not sure how to go about adding a bundle for internet!

So...

What would you suggest is the best option for data (I dont need calls & texts!)?

Where can I get a Spanish SIM (preferably before I arrive in Spain)? And how would I add internet?

Finally are there any other great deals for data in Spain that I have missed?

Thanks in advance!

[Daveoc64]

The difficulty here is in determining how important data is to you.

If you can manage with the £3 per day offer from Orange, I don't see why you'd want to spend more on a local SIM and have to jump through all the hoops to get it (i.e. the passport scan).

There are sites (like the one that you've linked to) that take care of the difficult part (buying and registering the SIM), but they don't come cheap.

[grumpyoldbat]

Originally Posted by ajh94

I am off to Spain on the 4th of July for 2 weeks and am wanting to use data on my Samsung Galaxy S3... I have no idea what I should do as the last time I went to Spain in 2010 and when I lived there for 4 years of my life I didn't have a smartphone. I have had a look into it and have found a few options, which are as follows...

I could use my Orange Pay Monthly UK SIM as Orange do £3 a day for 30mb usage which I could make do with.

Or for a better deal I found HolidayPhone SIM, 1GB data for €29 that lasts 30 days (First 300mb is 3G speed and then the rest is GPRS speed) not sure why. See here: http://bit.ly/sWpJMY

I could also pick up a Movistar, Vodafone ES or Orange Spain SIM and add a data bundle but i'm not sure where to get a Spanish SIM from and not sure how to go about adding a bundle for internet!

So...

What would you suggest is the best option for data (I dont need calls & texts!)?

Where can I get a Spanish SIM (preferably before I arrive in Spain)? And how would I add internet?

Finally are there any other great deals for data in Spain that I have missed?

Thanks in advance!

Similar to Holiday Sim is a Tru Sim (truphone.com). Sim is £20 with £10 of credit pre loaded. It runs as PAYG and you can set it to auto top up as you use. It texts you when it auto tops-up. Data for Spain is 60p a MB, so not super cheap, but cheap enough to keep in touch, do a bit of browsing and email. It runs on Vodafone ES in Spain and I found the 3G speeds really usable in my Android phone. It allowed me to use twitter and Facebook, post the odd photo, check email etc.

[ajh94]

Thanks for the replies, I reckon i'll just go for the Orange £3 a day... It is enough, 30mb a day is fine, I mean i'm on holiday so it's not like i'll be streaming videos or anything, I just want it to keep in touch and do a bit of browsing now and again,

I was just wondering if there's a better deal but you're right, getting a Spanish SIM may be a nightmare and the ones like HolidayPhone are pretty expensive! I'll have a look at the Tru SIM but I reckon i'll use the £3 a day on my UK SIM, I can then still receive calls and texts too as it will be my normal SIM so I think that works out best.

[grumpyoldbat]

Originally Posted by ajh94

Thanks for the replies, I reckon i'll just go for the Orange £3 a day... It is enough, 30mb a day is fine, I mean i'm on holiday so it's not like i'll be streaming videos or anything, I just want it to keep in touch and do a bit of browsing now and again,

I was just wondering if there's a better deal but you're right, getting a Spanish SIM may be a nightmare and the ones like HolidayPhone are pretty expensive! I'll have a look at the Tru SIM but I reckon i'll use the £3 a day on my UK SIM, I can then still receive calls and texts too as it will be my normal SIM so I think that works out best.

The thing I found useful about the Tru sim is that it's not just for one country, so it saves me money whether I go to France, Spain or America. It's not perfect, some places are still mega expensive (Turkey for instance), but the places I go abroad regularly, it works for me, plus you get a phone number with the sim and you keep it, so you can give it to people as a permanent "I'm abroad" phone number.

[LostFool]

Personally when I go on holiday just make sure data roaming is turned off and enjoy myself away from technology.

If you are that tied to your smartphone then I'm sure you will find most bars offer free Wifi.

[Daveoc64]

Originally Posted by grumpyoldbat

Data for Spain is 60p a MB

That's crap!

In a few days it will be illegal for networks to charge more than £0.67 per megabyte of data in the EU/EEA.

Presumably they will reduce their rates at that time.

[wavejockglw]

Originally Posted by Daveoc64

That's crap!

In a few days it will be illegal for networks to charge more than £0.67 per megabyte of data in the EU/EEA.

Presumably they will reduce their rates at that time.

Hold on..... isn't 60p a MB less than 67p? Or am I missing something?

[BMR]

Originally Posted by LostFool

Personally when I go on holiday just make sure data roaming is turned off and enjoy myself away from technology.

I

That would be my choice. i can see the need for phones on holiday, but not data.

What is the point in travelling abroad if all you are going to do is watch East Enders and go on Facebook

[grumpyoldbat]

Originally Posted by BMR

That would be my choice. i can see the need for phones on holiday, but not data.

What is the point in travelling abroad if all you are going to do is watch East Enders and go on Facebook

When I'm on holiday I use my mobile to enhance the experience - look up places to visit, use maps to find things etc. Earlier in the year we rented a car and the 12v socket didn't work so my satnav couldn't charge and the battery gave out. Google maps on my Android phone with the Tru SIM got us back to the hotel. We'd have been a bit lost otherwise!

[heskethbang]

Try maxroom. 42 per mb.

[Daveoc64]

Originally Posted by wavejockglw

Hold on..... isn't 60p a MB less than 67p? Or am I missing something?

Barely!

All of the UK networks now have some sort of data roaming bundle that's better value.

We've also yet to see what prices the networks will actually go with for per megabyte data consumption.

[ajh94]

I don't watch eastenders & I don't have facebook

I am just gonna be enjoying my holiday which is why i dont need much data, I just need to be able to keep in touch and do a little browsing here and there in the evenings, nothing heavy. I won't use it much at all hence how 30mb is way more than enough

[planetf1]

Can't help you directly but as an FYI on the other networks, other options include
- Vodafone Eurotraveller (contract)- £3/day for contract customers, allows useage as at home - so uses normal data, text,phone allowance
- Vodafone datatraveller europe £2/day for 25MB, free on some tariffs over £40/month, PAYG
- 3 contracts - £5/day for unlimited data (no tethering)

all apply in spain

It still adds up, especially for a family, but it's a big step forward.

[ajh94]

Originally Posted by planetf1

Can't help you directly but as an FYI on the other networks, other options include
- Vodafone Eurotraveller (contract)- £3/day for contract customers, allows useage as at home - so uses normal data, text,phone allowance
- Vodafone datatraveller europe £2/day for 25MB, free on some tariffs over £40/month, PAYG
- 3 contracts - £5/day for unlimited data (no tethering)

all apply in spain

It still adds up, especially for a family, but it's a big step forward.

Thanks for looking at that, the £2 for 25mb or Orange £3 for 30mb is fine... Wouldn't do the 3 £5 a day one, that's too much, would really add up!

[qasdfdsaq]

Meh, if you use 5MB of data more than your allowance it'd pay for itself - hell a single speedtest can use up 10MB or more.

Course for normal usage without streaming or downloads 25-30MB is generally fine. Planning a trip on Google Earth? Good luck!

[ajh94]

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

Meh, if you use 5MB of data more than your allowance it'd pay for itself - hell a single speedtest can use up 10MB or more.

Course for normal usage without streaming or downloads 25-30MB is generally fine. Planning a trip on Google Earth? Good luck!

I'm going on holiday so won't be streaming and especially won't be doing speed tests, I want to pay as little as possible and 25mb/30mb is fine as I only really want it for WhatsApp and the occasional browsing/twitter etc...

[LostFool]

Originally Posted by ajh94

I don't watch eastenders & I don't have facebook

I am just gonna be enjoying my holiday which is why i dont need much data, I just need to be able to keep in touch and do a little browsing here and there in the evenings, nothing heavy. I won't use it much at all hence how 30mb is way more than enough

That's why I would just find a bar that offers cheap beer and free wifi - and use that for my evening surfing session.