Page 626 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Spain

624  SUR VIV AL GUIDE

Communications and Media Internet and Email
Wireless hot spots are available
The telecommunications company Movistar dominates the in all airports, hotels and
industry in Spain, but companies like Orange, Yoigo and conference centres throughout
Vodafone also compete for the mobile-phone market. Despite Spain, although the majority are
the popularity of mobile phones, public telephones are still not free. Credit can be bought
online with a major credit card.
easy to find; most require simply a phone card. The postal The number of Internet cafés
service, Correos, is identified by a blue crown logo on a yellow (cibercafés) in most cities and
background. Correos offices allow you to send registered resorts is dwindling. Locutorios
post and they sell stamps, though most people buy them (privately owned call centres)
from estancos (tobacconists). often provide cheap Internet
access. Also, free Internet
access can be found in
public libraries, some public
Telephoning in Spain
areas (such as Madrid’s Plaza
When calling from a fixed line, Mayor), universities and most
there are four charge bands for restaurants, bars and cafés
international calls: EU countries; offering Wi-Fi service.
non-EU countries and North- The logo of Spain’s main telecom company
west Africa; North and South
America; and the rest of the cheaper and easier to use your Newspapers and
Magazines
world. International calls can be phone abroad than ever before.
quite expensive, especially when If you are visiting from Newsagents in tourist-oriented
made from a hotel, which may outside of the EU, and you’re town centres often stock
add a surcharge. Though now planning to make a lot of calls, periodicals in languages other
harder to find, a call from a phone the best option is to buy a than Spanish. The English-
booth, or cabina, costs 35 per Spanish top-up SIM card, or a language daily newspapers
cent more than from a private handset with a top-up SIM available on publication day are
phone, though using phone- card, at a department store or the International Herald Tribune,
cards, available at tobacconists, specialist phone shop. The most the Financial Times, the Guardian
supermarkets and newsstands, popular providers in Spain are International and the Sun, which
gives much cheaper rates. Most Movistar and Vodafone; each is printed in the south of Spain.
reverse-charge calls must be have their own shops with
made through the operator. experts who can give you
When telephoning Spain from advice. For a simple handset,
abroad, first dial the inter na tional plus SIM card (allowing free
code for Spain (34) followed by incoming calls in Spain), expect
the area code. to pay in the region of €50–€60.
To add more credit to your
phone card, purchase a scratch
Mobile Phones
card from shops and super-
In 2017, the EU ended roaming markets. Alternatively, you can
charges meaning European do it automatically with your
visitors travelling within the credit card by dialling a number
continent (including Iceland, from your phone – check with
Norway and Liechtenstein) can your service provider. Mobile
use their data abroad without phone top-ups are also avail-
incurring charges, making it able at most ATMs. A selection of Spanish newspapers
Useful Spanish Dialling Codes
• When calling within a city, within a province, or to • For operator/directory service, dial 11888.
call another province, dial the entire number. The • For international directories, dial 11825.
province is indicated by the initial digits: Barcelona • To make a reverse-charge (collect) call to
numbers, for example, start with 93; Girona with the UK only, dial 900 961 682. Inexpensive
972; and Tarragona 977. international calls can be made in locutorios, or
• To make an international call, dial 00, then dial call centres. These can be found in most cities
the country code, the area code and the number. and towns. Cheap phone cards can also be
• Country codes are: UK 44; Eire 353; France 33; purchased there.
USA and Canada 1; Australia 61; New Zealand 64. • To report technical faults, dial 1002 (Movistar only).
It may be necessary to omit the initial digit of the • For the speaking clock and for a wake-up call,
destination’s area code. dial 1212 (from Movistar landlines only).

624-625_EW_Spain.indd 624 26/09/17 11:03 am
Eyewitness Travel LAYERS PRINTED:
Practical template “UK” LAYER
(Source v1.6)
Date 7th January 2013
Size 125mm x 217mm