I'll be living in Spain for 4 months come september and I want to know the best option for buying/renting a cell phone and a plan? any suggestions?

i'll be mostly using it to call the States once a week at most, and probably every day, possibly multiple times a day, to other spanish cell phones in spain.

when/where should i buy this phone? in the states, from a website, or shoudl i wait till i get to spain? thanks!

You have two basic options. One, wait until you arrive in Spain and buy a pre-paid GMS phone, either at a MoviStar or Vodafone store. You will not be able to purchase a regular cell phone plan unless you have a bank account in Spain. Even if you do open a bank account, a pre-paid plan makes more sense if you will only be for four months. You can recharge the phones (add more time) as often as you like, but the MoviStar account is only good for 6 months before it has to be recharged, while the Vodafone service is good for 9 months at a time before it needs to be recharged.

The second option is to visit "On Spanish Time" (http://www.onspanishtime.com/web/index.htm) and check out what they has to offer. Their rates are the cheapest and they are in Madrid in case you need any help. You can sign up ahead of time and have your phone number issued before you leave for Spain.

As far as calling back to the States on a regular basis, I would suggest you use phone cards. They are the most affordable way to "call home" and are available just about everywhere, including through "On Spanish Time".

thank you that was very helpful. would you say that onspanishtime, has better prices than the vodafone/movistar stores in madrid?

The cost of the phone would depend on which phone you're planning on purchasing. OST may be able to offer you a better deal than either the MoviStar of Vodafone store, but I couldn't say for sure. The last phone we purchased, we use two when traveling, was through the MoviStar store in Pamplona and is a tri-mode world phone. You only need one that will work in Spain and should be able to pick up an inexpensive one through either OnSpanishTime or through the regular stores.

The pre-paid phone plans are pretty much the same, except for some minor differences. Going through OST gives you the advantage of taking care of everything a head of time, before you leave home, and either have the phone sent to you in the mail, or they can meet you when you arrive to explain how the phone and the Spanish system works. Even if you're familiar with the different services offered, it might be nice to have someone put everything together for you, including calling cards. OST can also explain the various ways to recharge the phone.

This is not an answer to your question, but if I were going to Europe for ths kind of (sorta) extended stay, I think I woud get familiar with one of the various expatriate websites

Several listed here:

http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=spain+expatriates

Best wishes,

Rex

we have mobal phone (www.mobal.com)
which cost us $50 (paid only once). Works when going overseas. Only pay for calls made overseas, no plans. UK phone number, so keep in mind if somebody will be calling you let's say while you are in Italy, from Italy, they will pay UK long distance calls.

do you guys think that this offer is a good one?

i appreciate all the help so far!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...sPageName=WDVW

only option for non resident in spain(six months prior bank details necessary in spain) for mobiles is prepaid.

also, if you are in the country your phone is frist registered in, you do not pay when people call you form overseas. however, if you leave spain, and are in france, you will also pay a fee to receive the calls forwarded from spanish satelitel system to france.

to call usa and europe from normal phone, buy a phone card at international kiosks which comes to a mere 3 cents a minute including tax. (mr. card, and many oher names i cant recall)use your cell phone for emergencies and to receive text from friends in spain and you will be fine with any inexpensive phone you see on offer here. they are always ons ale tempting you with many prepaid free minutes when you buy certain models.