On my first trip to Spain in 1999, I used a calling card issued by my long distance company to call home. On receiving my bill, I was a little surprised to find the 10 minute call from Spain had cost me over $20 USD.

Since the trip in 1999, I have discovered there are much cheaper ways than calling cards to keep in touch with the people back home-some very inexpensive.

Internet Cafes - These cafes can be found rather easily in most business districts, in or outside of the tourist areas. The price for internet use can be very cheap (less than a euro for one half hour) to on the expensive side (e.g. 4 euros for 15 minutes). The less expensive internet connection could be at your hotel. When I stayed at the Green Prado in Madrid, the lobby computer and internet connection were free to all the guests of the hotel.

Prepaid Phone Cards - Prepaid phone cards appear to be one of the most economical ways to call home. Prepaid cards are availble in Spain, but I usually use a U.S. carrier phone card. In my case the U.S. domestic rate for prepaid long distance is 3 ½ cents per minute. When I call to the U.S. from Spain, 3 to 10 domestic minutes are used up on the card for every minute talking on the phone, costing me anywhere from 10 ½ to 35 cents for the international call. More minutes are consumed when using a phone booth or making a call to a cell phone in Spain than calling from a U.S. residence to a Spanish residence. Using prepaid phone cards does require one to shop around for the best value cards. You can contact the long distance carrier directly to find out how many minutes are consumed for international calling.
One other note: If you are planning to make long distance calls within Spain (i.e. Spanish city to Spanish city) you might do better buying your prepaid card in Spain. Once when my wife made a call from Southern Ireland to Northern Ireland, using a U.S. long distance carrier, she was hit with an exceptionally expensive charge. I suspect that by calling the so-called local access number for Ireland, she was connected to facilities in the U.S., which then re-routed her call back to Ireland. The long distance cost in this case was the combined total of the cost of the call to the U.S. and then the call back to Ireland.

Cell Phone - Cell phones are handy tools, indispensable for the business traveler. They may also provide additional security for all travelers. Some U.S. providers offer international calling at a rather steep price. Occasional international travelers may want to look into renting a phone in Spain. Regular international travelers might find it better to buy an "unlock" cell phone, able to use the prepaid cell phone minutes for the country visited. You can learn more about unlocked phones by going to my page about using a cell phone in Spain.

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Information on this page last updated April 2004