Spain eSIM

More of Spain's visitors come from the UK than from anywhere else, and since Brexit, UK networks charge their own rates there, so the first question for most travellers is what their own plan costs in Spain. This page covers that, plus the places a Spain plan doesn't reach: Gibraltar, Andorra, the open sea and the ferry to Morocco.

What a week of data costs in Spain

Prices for 7 days of data, checked on 2 November 2026. Daily passes charge for each day you use the phone abroad, per phone.

For a family of four on Three, that's £77 for one week; on Verizon, $336. EE also charges a daily fee for Europe on pay-monthly plans taken out from 7 July 2021. EE's price page didn't load for us and published figures disagree, so check your rate with EE before you go. Orange also sells a Holiday Maxi for €35 with 28 days of unlimited data.

If your SIM is from an EU country, it already roams like at home in Spain, as long as you spend more time at home than abroad. You usually don't need us for Spain.

Landing at Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, Palma, Alicante or the Canaries

Switch the kimsim line on as the plane taxis to the gate and turn on Data Roaming for that line only. Then go through passport control, collect your bags and walk out through customs.

At the border. Since 12 October 2025, the EU's Entry/Exit System records non-EU visitors' fingerprints and a photo, and it has been fully in place since 10 April 2026. Spanish officers may also ask for a return ticket, travel insurance and a hotel booking confirmation. Save those to your phone before you fly, because the queue is no place to wait for a download. ETIAS isn't running yet, so don't pay any website that offers one.

Into town:

• Madrid (MAD): Metro line 8 runs from T1-T2-T3 and T4, with a €3 airport supplement on the ticket. Cercanías line C1 runs from T4 to Chamartín, Atocha and Príncipe Pío.
• Barcelona (BCN): metro line 9 serves both terminals, the R2 North train leaves from T2, and the Aerobús runs from T1 and T2 to the city centre.
• Málaga (AGP): Cercanías line C1 reaches Málaga centre in about 12 minutes and Fuengirola in about 34.
• Palma (PMI): EMT bus A1 runs from arrivals to the centre of Palma.
• Alicante (ALC): bus C-6 runs to the city centre and the railway station every day of the year.
• Tenerife South (TFS): line 40 goes to Los Cristianos and Costa Adeje, and line 343 links the two Tenerife airports in about 50 minutes.
• Gran Canaria (LPA): line 1 runs to Las Palmas and on to Puerto de Mogán, about every 20 minutes at peak times.

Networks and coverage

Spain has four network operators. Movistar is Telefónica's. Orange merged with MásMóvil in March 2024 to form MasOrange, Spain's biggest mobile operator, and took full ownership in June 2026. The company now calls itself Orange España, and brands such as Yoigo and MásMóvil carry on. Vodafone Spain keeps its name but has belonged to Zegona since 31 May 2024. Digi is building its own network and uses Movistar's where it has none.

This plan uses Orange and Movistar, and your phone shows whichever it's on, not kimsim. Coverage is generally strong in cities, along the coasts and on the main motorways. Expect gaps in the thinly populated interior, in mountain valleys in the Pyrenees and Picos de Europa, and on quiet stretches of the Camino de Santiago. Download offline maps before you head inland.

The networks your plan uses are listed above.

Region by region

• Madrid: the capital and the hub for high-speed trains, so most rail trips start or change here.
• Barcelona and the Costa Brava: the city and coast are well served. Signal can get patchier inland, towards the Pyrenees.
• Andalusia: Seville, Granada, Córdoba and the Costa del Sol, flying into Málaga. Gibraltar and the ferries from Tarifa and Algeciras to Morocco are here, and neither Gibraltar nor Morocco is on a Spain plan.
• The Balearics: Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera are Spain, so they're on this plan. Baleària sails to them from Dénia, Valencia and Barcelona.
• The Canary Islands: Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, Fuerteventura, La Palma and the smaller islands. They're one of the EU's outermost regions, off the coast of Africa, but part of Spain. This plan covers them as Spain; we haven't tested signal on each island ourselves.
• The Pyrenees and the Camino de Santiago: Andorra sits in the middle of the Pyrenees and isn't on this plan, so add an Andorra eSIM for a ski trip. Pilgrims on the Camino walk long rural stages, so download each day's route the night before.
• Next door: for Spain and Portugal on one eSIM, the Europe plan covers both. For Gibraltar, see the Gibraltar eSIM; for Tangier, the Morocco eSIM.

Trains, ferries and roads

• High-speed trains run from Madrid to most big cities. Signal comes and goes in tunnels and cuttings, so save your ticket offline before you board.
• Ferries to the Balearics and between the Canary Islands use land networks near the coast. In open water, phones can switch to a ship's satellite network, which EU price caps don't cover. Your kimsim line won't use it, but your home line can.
• Driving: using a phone while driving is illegal in Spain even when you've pulled over, and so is an earpiece; only fully hands-free units are allowed. Set the sat-nav before you set off.

Apps worth having

• Uber works in Madrid and Barcelona. Cabify books cars or taxis in Madrid. It added Barcelona's taxis to its app on 23 February 2026. FREENOW books taxis too. Set accounts up at home, because sign-up can text a code to your usual number. The UK Foreign Office says unlicensed taxi passengers can be fined up to €600.
• Renfe is the official app for AVE, long-distance, mid-distance and Avant tickets.
• AlertCops is the Spanish police app for reporting a crime discreetly, and the UK Foreign Office points visitors to it.
• WhatsApp is how many holiday flats, restaurants and guides message you. Keep your WhatsApp number working abroad.
• Payments: contactless cards work widely. Some banks text a code to approve a new device, so keep your home line on for texts.

SIM and phone rules

Spanish law makes every operator that sells prepaid cards keep a register of buyers. The shop records your name, nationality and ID document number before the card works, so visitors show a passport. A Spanish SIM also takes your home SIM's place in a single-SIM phone.

A travel eSIM installed at home skips the counter and the paperwork. It's data only, so your home number stays in the phone for calls and texts.

Common mistakes

• Walking into Gibraltar on a Spain plan. The land-border booths went in July 2026, so you can cross without noticing, and Gibraltar's network isn't on this plan. How regional plans work
• Leaving Data Roaming on for your UK line. That's where daily charges start. Roaming goes on for the kimsim line only. Why roaming goes on for the kimsim line only
• Starting the plan on a stop-over. If you connect in another country, keep the kimsim line off until you land in Spain. If your plan started early
• Using your home SIM on a ferry. Satellite networks at sea aren't capped. When to use Airplane Mode
• No way to call for help. Spain's emergency number is 112. A data-only eSIM can't dial it, so use your home line or any local phone.

More on Spain

• eSIM for Europe: a guide for US, Canada and Australia
• eSIM vs roaming: which is cheaper for your trip?
• How much data do I need for a week abroad?

How we put this page together

We checked carriers' roaming price pages, Orange Spain's prepaid pages, Spanish law, Aena's airport pages, UK and EU government sites and the other sources noted above on 1–2 November 2026. EE's and T-Mobile's pages block automated checks, so we read them from their search listings. We haven't measured speeds or coverage in Spain ourselves, so coverage notes are general guidance, not a map. kimsim sells the eSIMs on this page.