Best eSIM for Spain

Spain is rarely a one-city trip. A typical itinerary strings Barcelona and Madrid together with an AVE train, then heads south to Seville, Granada and Córdoba, or out to Mallorca, Ibiza or the Canaries; others come purely for the Costa del Sol or to walk the Camino de Santiago. Every one of those legs leans on data: Renfe tickets on your phone, timed entries to the Alhambra and the Sagrada Família that sell out weeks ahead, Cabify or a taxi app late at night, and maps through medieval lanes where street names are tiled onto walls. Spanish prepaid SIMs are sold at Madrid-Barajas (MAD) and Barcelona-El Prat (BCN) and in city shops, but Spanish law requires the SIM to be registered to your passport at purchase, and airport counters price for a captive audience. A data eSIM is installed before you leave, connects as you land, and rides the same national operators in the Balearics and the Canaries as on the mainland, while your home number stays in the other slot for calls and OTPs.

Plan around ten to fourteen days, because that is how long most Spain itineraries run, and around a fairly heavy data day: Renfe and Alsa bookings, Google Maps in cities built before cars, translation for menus outside the tourist strips, and a steady stream of Andalusian photos going to the cloud. Streaming on the AVE between Madrid and Barcelona or Seville is the one habit that can empty a small plan, so download beforehand or pick a bigger allowance.

Movistar, Orange and Vodafone all run 5G in the main cities and along the costas, so a 5G phone will be on it much of the time; inland Extremadura, Aragón and the Camino's rural stretches are 4G at best. You will not need a Spanish number. Cabify, Uber and Bolt all run in the main cities on your existing account, restaurants take bookings through apps or by walking in, and the Renfe app accepts a foreign card.

If the same trip crosses into Portugal for Lisbon and Porto, or up into France, the Europe bundle covers the lot on one eSIM and is easier than two single-country plans. The Spanish operators run one network across the mainland, the Balearics and the Canaries, so nothing changes when you fly to Tenerife. Hotspot is allowed on most plans. Check your phone at the device checker before buying.

Spain's main networks are Movistar (Telefónica), Orange and Vodafone, alongside the Yoigo and MásMóvil brands that are now part of MasOrange. Your eSIM uses the partner network on the plan card and picks the strongest 4G or 5G available. Coverage is excellent in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Málaga and Bilbao, along the Mediterranean and Costa del Sol resorts, and across the tourist parts of Mallorca, Ibiza, Tenerife and Gran Canaria. Both the Madrid and Barcelona metros have mobile coverage on most lines, so maps keep working underground. Signal thins in the interior: the empty stretches of Extremadura and Castilla, the Pyrenees and Picos de Europa above the villages, the high trails of the Sierra Nevada, and the Camino's quieter sections across the Meseta and through Galicia's hills. On the islands the volcanic uplands, including much of Teide National Park, are patchy, and boats between the Balearics lose signal mid-crossing.

• Barcelona — 5G across the city, the metro and El Prat airport; Montserrat is covered at the monastery, less so on the trails.
• Madrid — dense 5G, and a metro that stays connected underground.
• Seville, Granada and Córdoba — strong 4G/5G in the old towns; the Alhambra site is covered.
• Valencia — full coverage, including the beaches and the City of Arts and Sciences.
• Málaga and the Costa del Sol — continuous coverage from Nerja to Marbella.
• Palma de Mallorca and Ibiza — good in towns and resorts; mountain roads in the Tramuntana have gaps.
• Tenerife and Gran Canaria — resorts and towns covered; the volcanic interior is patchy.
• Bilbao and San Sebastián — solid coverage; the Basque coast road is 4G.

For a two-week holiday the eSIM is the simplest route: no passport at a counter, and the same plan works from Madrid to Mallorca. A local SIM earns its place if you are staying for months or need a Spanish number for deliveries and bookings. Roaming suits only EU visitors whose home allowance already covers Spain; everyone else pays daily rates that quickly exceed a prepaid plan. See the airport SIM comparison for the counter reality.

1. Buy a Spain plan above; the QR code and install details land in your inbox within minutes.
2. iPhone on iOS 17.4 or later: tap the direct install link. Older iPhones: Settings › Mobile Data › Add eSIM, then scan the QR code.
3. Android: Settings › Connections (or Network & internet) › SIM manager › Add eSIM, then scan the QR or type in the SM-DP+ code.
4. Label the line Spain so it is easy to find in your settings.
5. Turn on Data Roaming for the Spain line and switch mobile data off on your home SIM.
6. After landing at Madrid-Barajas, Barcelona-El Prat, Palma (PMI), Málaga (AGP) or a Canary Islands airport, choose the Spain eSIM as your data line; it connects within a minute or two.
7. Your validity starts at that first connection and runs for the plan's number of days.

Install at home on Wi-Fi a few days ahead; the plan only starts when the eSIM first connects in Spain, so early installation is free. Leave the home SIM as your data line until you have landed. If you are flying straight to Tenerife, Gran Canaria or Mallorca, the same plan starts there. Arriving by train from France or Portugal, the plan begins as you cross the border. Cruise passengers boarding in Barcelona should switch the eSIM on in port, and expect it to go quiet once the ship is well out to sea.