Hi all,
I will be traveling to Spain soon and will be staying in my aunt's home while there. I need a calling card to be able to call to the U.S. while there. Should I buy a card there vs buying one in the states, and if so what is a good one to buy?

Thanks,
Angela

You will find plenty of places to purchase a calling card once you arrive at your aunt's and settle in. There are a number of calling cards available with rates as low as 3.5 cents per minute.

I used a Eurodirect card that I found through leads from this forum. The cost of calls (within Spain or to the US) from a home, hotel, or office phone in Spain was 2.3 cents/minute (260 minutes from the 6 Euro card). It is about 15 cents/minute from pay phones.

http://www.europhonecards.org/

I bought the card over the internet before leaving the US (that added a dollar or two to the cost) -- no card actually, just an e-mail with the codes. All worked smoothly; it was especially helpful to have instructions offered in several languages when I dialed the toll-free number in Spain.

If you will not need the card for a call the minute you land, you can take your time about buying one after you get to Spain. However, the convenience of having it before you leave home might be worth the slight extra expense.
Buen viaje.

How does a phone card work?

The card has numbers on it. You call the first phone number, then follow instructions to enter the card number, then dial the number you want to reach. It can involve entering 20 or more digits, but it is cheap and effective.

Europedirect is the best I've found. I use it all the time. No need to order it in advance if you don't want to - you can get them at most Tabachs. 6Euros will get you about 260 minutes back to the states without any charge to your Aunts phone. You can read more about them on Madridmans website. I've put the info in one of my other posts too if you just click on my name you should be able to find it. Enjoy Spain!

One more thing, no need to worry about how to use it. You just dial the Freephone number (900) on the back of the card and it will tell you to press 1 for Spanish, Press 2 for English, etc. then you can follow the directions in english. Its easy to use.

PJI,
Thanks so much for the info. I will look on Madridmans site to get info on the card. What is Tabachs? Any chance I can buy this card somewhere in the airport?

Thanks,
Angela

Angela, the Web address for Eurodirect is in my message above. Here it is again

http://www.europhonecards.org/

Angela, I really haven't heard here in Spain something translated as Tobachs. But I suspect it refers to a tobacconist, to say, Estancos in Spanish. There are plenty of them so you won't have any trouble to find one

kenderina is right, I'm just a terrible speller (in Spanish especially). Its just a simple little store that sells cigarettes, magazines, candy, etc. The one I buy mine from is a outdoor kiosk. There everywhere. Don't worry.