A trip to Spain can be a relatively low-cost getaway at any time of the year. Most of us now plan ahead and book flights, hotels and holiday packages online in advance. In most cases, this helps save money without sacrificing the overall holiday experience.
However, an unforeseen expense that often creeps up on foreign travellers in Spain is their phone bill.
Some of us make a few classic mistakes when it comes to using a mobile phone in Spain, which can be quite a shock when the next phone bill arrives.
No one wants to get an unwanted expense right after a holiday, it can be financially and mentally jarring. However, none of that should be a problem if you follow a few golden rules.
Understand the Potential Problems First
So, what are the factors that contribute to shockingly expensive phone bills during international travel? Let’s take a quick look at them.
- ISD calls and SMS rates (varies from nation to nation)
- Roaming calls, SMS and data charges (varies from network to network)
- Incoming international/local call charges (also vary from network to network)
Depending on who your network provider is, the charges will differ, but they would still be expensive nonetheless.
Unfortunately, most network providers have a tier system that is designed to charge their customers at increasingly higher rates for their international data usage.
You will be charged higher after crossing each of their pre-set data consumption thresholds.
Thankfully, there is a very easy solution to all this. All you need to do is find cheap SIM card-only deals, and choose the right one for your needs.
SIM Card Only Deals
There are a number of reputable SIM card providers that will work in Spain such as Lycamobile, Vodafone, Lebara, Orange and Movistar.
Let's take a look at Lebara, you can check their SIM-only deals and choose a plan that would best fit your expected phone usage in Spain.
You won't have to worry about being overcharged as all Lebara SIM-only plans are capped to the pre-stated limits, so as to prevent those super expensive bill surprises. Moreover, spending just £30 will remove all caps and provide you with unlimited national/international calls and data for 30 days!
Their unlimited and cheap SIM-only deals run on Vodafone, which happens to be the most reliable network in Spain.
If your smartphone is under contract from a network provider, invest in an additional SIM router to tether the SIM’s data allowance. With this option, you should only be making and receiving calls via the Internet.
There are many free-calling apps readily these days, including Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp.
Check the Network Provider Support in Spain
This is extremely important, and more so than most travellers realise in time.
If you end up in a foreign country without the right SIM card, the ensuing results can be both bothersome and unnecessarily expensive.
To get a better understanding of the consequences, check the following scenarios:
- You will realise upon arrival that your phone does not and will not have any signal during the entire trip
- You cannot activate your SIM while in Spain because your carrier doesn’t even have a presence there
- Consequently, you will not be able to use your phone’s GPS for navigation
- Real-time voice translation won’t be available in a nation where English is not the first language
- You will have to buy a local SIM card, a smartphone (if your current phone is contract-bound), and various recharge plans to activate and use it
- The incoming/outgoing ISD and roaming rates will cost you heavily
Make sure that your SIM card service is not disrupted by calling up your provider well in advance.
They will likely have a few plans to reduce international call/data charges during your travels.
Their plans will not be as pocket-friendly as cheap SIM-only deals, but it’s still better than going in unprepared.
As for cross-country phone compatibility, rest assured that British travellers have nothing to worry about in that regard. Spain and the UK use the same antennae bandwidth.
Limit International Data Consumption with a Few Nifty Tricks
If you did not opt-in for an unlimited international data plan, you will need to limit your use of the internet while in Spain. This is not that difficult if you keep the following tips in mind:
- Download and/or update all apps via Wi-Fi, on the night before your departure
- Go to settings, turn off auto-updating of apps via mobile data, and turn on updating of apps via Wi-Fi only
- Keep them updated or download new ones manually, but only when you have access to a local (flight, hotel, café, etc.) Wi-Fi network
- Keep your limited mobile data reserved for on-road navigations, real-time voice translations, and other important, on-road uses
- Keep your social media interactions, uploads, posts, video calls, etc. reserved for the hotel’s Wi-Fi connection
- Do not make video calls over mobile internet, as it will eat up your data allowance fast
- Even voice calls will eat through your data fast, so keep those calls to a minimum when not on Wi-Fi
- Set your phone to low data consumption mode in the settings from day one
- Use the inbuilt data counter of your smartphone to prevent crossing the data limit allotted to you by your plan
- If the inbuilt data counter can only offer a warning, download an app that automatically restricts your phone’s data usage on reaching the pre-set limit
- Go to settings and switch off background data consumption on the mobile network
- Switch off mobile data until the time you need it and do so again after the session is over
Some of the above might seem a little inconvenient but it’s well worth spending a few minutes to go through each one.
As an alternative, just go with an unlimited plan to use mobile data all the time. In fact, if you are travelling in a group or as a family, just get one unlimited SIM-only plan and then tether the SIM’s unlimited data from anyone's smartphone by turning it into a Wi-Fi hotspot. Connect all smartphones to the hotspot connection via Wi-Fi, and that should solve all problems.
Although tourism, in general, continues to be hampered in 2021, Spain has finally decided to open its doors to tourism. Most of those restrictions have been suspended for British and Japanese travellers by the Spanish government recently, but there is no telling when or if the situation may change again.
When your Spanish holiday is booked though be sure to follow our advice and take all precautions necessary to help keep your phone bill to a minimum.
