*UPDATE* Buying a SIM Card in Europe
So in London, Dublin, and Cologne, Germany… it’s a little different from my original post in that I never needed a passport and my credit cards worked. Best overall experience: Vodafone Germany.
In London, I chose O2 because of the good experience I had with my Spanish Orange SIM on their network. I paid around 15 quid for data and the SIM and had high quality 4G everywhere I went. A friend of mine had way more data on Vodafone for only 5 quid more, but he has issues with service in Camden. My card also worked really well when I crossed over into Northern Ireland.
In Dublin I went with Vodafone and didn’t have any trouble until I got to Northern Ireland and had to switch cards. Paid around 15 Euro for the SIM and a ton of data, but unfortunately the data didn’t transfer over when I went to Germany. Definitely left money on the table.
The Germany Vodafone was the real winner. 20 Euro got me a good amount of data that was guaranteed to work anywhere else in Europe I went. It worked when I went to Belgium, Iceland, and even a month later when I went back to Amsterdam. I was amazed I hadn’t yet run out of data considering I’m always on my phone! I don’t know how to top up quite yet so I’m sure I will have another update in due time…
Tip: I like to use my earring to pop the SIM out. Guys need some other alternative…
ORIGINAL POST: How to Buy A SIM Card in Spain
You don’t really appreciate the data plan you have in the USA until it’s gone. When I studied abroad in Spain in 2010, my roommate and I shared a really sad looking flip-phone. Most of my other travels I got extremely frustrated using slow, crowded free wifi networks. Flash forward to when I lived in Spain in 2015/2016, I was able to keep my iPhone and simply switch out the SIM to get a Spanish number.
I remember being a little worried about the process since my phone had been locked to Verizon’s network for most of my life. I couldn’t imagine having to spend 700 euro on a new phone! However a new law in 2014 meant that phones had to be unlocked. Lucky me.
I didn’t have to do a ton of research upon my arrival in Spain, mostly because I was not a fan of Vodafone after my 2010 experience, and my roommate gave me directions to Orange.
There are plenty of places where you can get a SIM. I recommend the Corte Ingles — they’re everywhere — or if you have a little neighborhood boutique that works too. The process was simple.
- Bring your passport. They need your information to set up your account.
- Bring cash. Spain is still a very cash heavy country. Although a lot of places take credit, it is just way less of a hassle to use cash. The SIM itself with some data, messages, and minutes included cost around 10 Euro, and I was able to top up online really easily. There was a promotion going on in August so I got additional data.
- Don’t lose your pin! Here is where things get annoying. To get into my iPhone after recharging it, I had to enter my SIM pin every time. If you forget your pin you are screwed. Also don’t mix up your passcode and pin. I got locked out of my phone for several hours making that mistake (alcohol may have been involved).
- Keep your original SIM in a safe place. They’re so small and easy to lose! When you go home, just switch it out. Do this in a safe place… maybe not an airplane seat with an earring… my SIM card flew into the aisle.
The great thing about Orange was that it worked really well in every other European country I went to. I had 4G in Germany, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Poland, UK, France, Malta, Italy, and Holland. I’m sure it would have been a lot more, but my phone was stolen, my replacement phone was then stolen, and then my next replacement phone was an old insurance lemon locked on the Verizon network.
If your phone is stolen like mine was… the SIM only cost 8 Euro to replace.
I’ll continue to update this page as I learn more about buying SIM cards in other European countries when I go back in December!
There Shaye Goes 