Staying Connected in Spain

The short version

You will want data in Spain: for maps in the old quarters of Seville and Toledo, for train tickets on your phone, for WhatsApp (which Spaniards use for almost everything, including restaurant bookings), and for the QR-code tickets that most big sights now use. Mobile coverage is excellent in cities and along the main train lines, with 5G in the big cities, and patchy only in the mountains and some rural areas.

Most Americans choose one of three routes: pay their US carrier for a daily pass, add a travel eSIM for data while keeping their US number, or buy a Spanish prepaid SIM. For a trip of more than a few days, an eSIM is usually the best value. For a long stay, a Spanish SIM wins.

You will also need a plug adapter, and a few apps installed before you leave make everything from trains to taxis easier.

Choosing an option

US carrier plans in Spain

AT&T

The International Day Pass costs $12 a day in more than 210 destinations, including Spain. It gives you unlimited talk and text and uses your domestic data allowance. It starts automatically on any day your phone uses data or makes a call abroad, so a stray app refresh on the first morning starts the clock. AT&T has capped daily charges at a set number of days per billing cycle, and extra lines on the account cost less; check the current terms in the app before you go.

Verizon

TravelPass works the same way: a daily fee, charged only on the days you use your phone abroad, for your domestic plan's talk, text and data, with a daily high-speed data cap before speeds slow. It costs $12 a day in more than 210 countries and destinations, Spain included; confirm the current figure in the My Verizon app before you go. Verizon's top plan, Unlimited Ultimate, already includes international talk, text and data, so TravelPass does not apply to it; check what yours includes and how much high-speed data you get.

T-Mobile

Most current T-Mobile plans include texting and data in more than 215 countries, including Spain, at no extra charge. How fast that data is depends on your plan. Higher tiers include a set allowance of high-speed data abroad (5 GB on some plans, 15 GB or more on the most expensive ones), then drop to slow speeds of around 256 kbps, fine for messages and email but painful for maps. Basic plans may include little or no high-speed data. Calls cost $0.25 a minute unless you buy an International Pass, sold in 1-day, 10-day and 30-day versions. Plan names and allowances change often, so check your plan in the T-Life app.

Google Fi and others

Google Fi includes data abroad at no extra charge on its higher plans. Many prepaid and discount US carriers, such as those that resell big networks, include little or no roaming; check before you leave, or plan on an eSIM.

Travel eSIMs

An eSIM is a digital SIM card you download to your phone. Travel eSIM companies such as Airalo, Holafly, Nomad, Saily and Ubigi sell prepaid data plans for Spain alone or for Europe as a whole, priced by gigabytes and days. Your phone uses the eSIM for data and keeps your US line for texts and calls, so you can still get bank verification codes.

1. Check compatibility. iPhones from the XS onward and most recent Pixel and Samsung Galaxy phones support eSIM. Your phone must be unlocked.
2. Buy and install at home, on Wi-Fi, a day or two before you leave. You scan a QR code or tap to install in the provider's app.
3. Set the eSIM to start on arrival. Most plans begin counting days when the eSIM first connects to a network in Spain, so it does not matter when you install it.
4. On landing, turn on the eSIM line, set it as your data line, and turn on data roaming for that line only. Leave data roaming off on your US line if you are not paying for a pass.
5. Top up in the app if you run low. Unlimited plans often slow down after a daily fair-use amount.

For one or two weeks in Spain, 5 to 10 GB is plenty for most people who use maps, messaging and some social media. Choose a Europe-wide plan if you are adding Portugal, France or Italy; see Spain and its neighbors. Note that some eSIMs do not work in non-EU places nearby, such as Gibraltar, Andorra and Morocco, or charge extra there.

Spanish prepaid SIMs

Spain's main mobile networks are Movistar (Telefónica), Vodafone, Orange (now part of MasOrange, which also runs the Yoigo and MásMóvil brands) and Digi, a low-cost operator that has grown quickly. Prepaid is called prepago or tarjeta. All the big brands sell physical SIMs and, increasingly, eSIMs.

• Where to buy: carrier stores in city centers and shopping malls, El Corte Inglés department stores, and some phone shops. Airport kiosks sell tourist SIMs too, often at higher prices than stores in town.
• What to bring: your passport. Spanish law requires every prepaid SIM to be registered to an identity document, so you cannot buy one anonymously.
• What you get: a Spanish number, a monthly bundle of data, and usually calls to Spanish numbers. Prepaid bundles often run €10 to €25 (about $11 to $28) for 28 to 30 days with tens of gigabytes. Some include a small allowance for calls to the US.
• Across Europe: an EU SIM works in the other EU countries at no extra cost under the EU's "roam like at home" rules, with fair-use limits. That makes a Spanish SIM useful if you are going on to Portugal, France or Italy.

Ask the shop to set the SIM up for you before you leave the counter, and to explain how to top up (recargar) online or at a shop. Some prepaid lines expire if you do not top up for several months, which matters if you plan to come back and want to keep the number.

Wi-Fi in Spain

Wi-Fi is free and usually good in hotels, apartments, cafés and most restaurants; ask for the contraseña (password) or look for it on the menu or receipt. Older buildings with thick stone walls, including some paradores and hotels in historic centers, can have weak signals in some rooms.

• On trains: Renfe's high-speed trains offer onboard Wi-Fi and its PlayRenfe entertainment portal on many services, and Iryo also offers Wi-Fi. Speeds drop in tunnels and remote stretches, so download what you need before you board.
• In cities: Barcelona runs a free public network with hotspots in parks, libraries and other municipal buildings, and Madrid has free Wi-Fi in some squares and on many city buses. Speeds vary.
• At airports: Aena airports, including Madrid and Barcelona, offer free Wi-Fi.
• On the metro: the Madrid and Barcelona metros have mobile coverage in most stations and tunnels.

Plugs and voltage

Spain uses the round two-pin European plugs: Type C (thin pins, no grounding) and Type F (the "Schuko", with grounding clips on the sides). Standard voltage is 230 volts at 50 Hz, about twice the US 120 volts.

• Phones, tablets, laptops and camera chargers are almost all dual voltage. Look for "INPUT 100–240V" on the charger. These need only a plug adapter, not a converter.
• Hair dryers, straighteners, curling irons and electric shavers are often 120 V only. Plugging one in with an adapter can burn it out. Buy a dual-voltage model, or use the hotel's hair dryer, which almost every Spanish hotel provides.
• Plug adapters: a simple Type C adapter fits both Type C and Type F sockets. A grounded Type F adapter is better for laptops with three-prong plugs. Recessed sockets in Spain can be deep, so slim adapters fit better.
• USB: many newer hotels and trains have USB sockets, but bring a compact multi-port USB-C charger so one adapter can charge everything.

Our packing list covers adapters and power banks, and the converters page handles voltage, temperature and money.

Calling, numbers and WhatsApp

Spain's country code is +34. Spanish phone numbers have nine digits with no separate area code. Mobile numbers start with 6 or 7; landlines start with 9 (91 for Madrid, 93 for Barcelona, 95 for much of Andalusia).

• From your US phone in Spain: dial +34 and the nine digits. To call the US, dial +1, the area code and the number.
• Toll-free and premium numbers: 900 and 800 numbers are free within Spain; 901 and 902 numbers are charged at higher rates and often do not work from foreign phones.
• WhatsApp: the default way Spaniards communicate. Restaurants, apartment hosts, guides and taxi companies often use it for bookings and directions. Install it before you go and keep your US number registered on it.
• Emergencies: 112 works free from any phone, with operators who speak English. National Police is 091 and the Guardia Civil is 062.

Useful apps for Spain

Install these at home, on Wi-Fi, and set up any accounts you need before you leave. Most work in English.

Before-you-go checklist

• Decide: carrier pass, eSIM or Spanish SIM. Check that your phone is unlocked if you need it to be.
• Install your eSIM at home, on Wi-Fi, and set it to activate on arrival.
• Turn off data roaming on your US line unless you are paying for a pass.
• Install WhatsApp, Google Maps with offline maps, Google Translate with Spanish offline, and the train apps.
• Pack two plug adapters (Type C or F) and a multi-port USB-C charger.
• Leave single-voltage hair tools at home.
• Save the US Embassy's number and 112 in your contacts. Details are on safety.
• Read the rest of our planning pages: plan your trip, entry rules and money.