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Mobile Phones

Even if you are coming to Spain for a holiday it’s best not to use your UK phone – it will cost a fortune. You will not only be charged for outgoing calls, but for receiving calls too. Either buy a new phone with a Spanish network, buy a new SIM card and put it in your existing phone, or rent a mobile or SIM card.

Buying a new mobile phone

There are many mobile phone shops, I found the best in Barcelona was El Corte de Inglés, the department store in Placa de Catalunya. They had the best offers and the widest choice of phones, pay-as-you-go and contract. A lot of the shop staff here also speak English. www.elcorteingles.es

As soon as you have entered the PIN (which comes with your new mobile) you can switch the language to English. The messages from your service provider will be in Spanish though. The only trouble I had was accessing my voicemail messages. Initially you have to set up your own message before you can access any messages. I eventually asked a Spanish person to do this for me.

Buying a new SIM card

All of the mobile phone shops will be able to sell you a SIM card. It’s a good idea to put your new SIM card into your mobile whilst you’re in the shop. If you have problems understanding what to do, or things aren’t working out, you can ask for help then and there.

Internet cafés and telephone booth shops also sometimes sell SIM cards.

Renting a mobile or SIM

A company called Bright lets you do just this. They have two shops in Barcelona (and more across Spain) where you can talk to someone in English, German or French. They accept all major credit cards as well as Paypal transfers. They offer different plans depending on how much usage you require, starting at €5 per month with contracts for as short as one month.

Bright
Calle Lincoln 1, Barcelona 08006
tel: 00 34 93 238 6727
www.thebrightco.com

Topping Up on Pay-as-you-go

It’s very easy to top up your mobile if you have a Spanish credit or debit card. You can simply go to any cashpoint and credit your phone (you need your mobile phone number).

Otherwise you can top up your mobile very easily in any of the Tabac shops; buy pre-paid cards from newsagents, Tabacs, supermarkets and petrol stations; or go to any mobile phone shop for your network. You always need to know your mobile number to top up. ◊

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