Mobile data in Seville: one bus in, the summer heat and trips over the border
Seville is flat, walkable and well covered. What surprises visitors happens elsewhere: the phone overheats on a summer afternoon, and some of the most popular day trips, to Gibraltar, the Algarve or Tangier, take you out of Spain without boarding a plane.
At a glance
- Does an eSIM work in Spain?
- Yes. It connects to Orange, Movistar (5G).
- Price
- From 4,29 € (3 GB, 15 days).
- For a one-week trip
- 5 GB for 30 days: 6,29 €.
- Does an EU phone plan work there?
- Yes: Spain is in EU roaming, so a plan from an EU country usually works at no extra cost, within your operator's fair-use limit. If your plan is from outside the EU, it charges international roaming.
- When does the plan start?
- When your phone first connects to a network in Spain. The QR code arrives by email within minutes.
San Pablo airport: the EA bus or a taxi
There is no train or metro to Seville airport. The public link is the EA (Especial Aeropuerto) bus run by Tussam, which stops at Santa Justa, the high-speed train station, and ends at Plaza de Armas, the main bus station by the river. The EA was the first Tussam line to accept contactless cards and phones. Taxis wait at the arrivals exit and charge a fixed fare to the centre rather than running the meter.
Arriving by AVE from Madrid, you get off at Santa Justa, east of the old town. Either way the phone's first jobs are the same: find the stop nearest the flat, and tell your host you are on your way.
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Will it work on my phone?
On iPhone: Settings → General → About, and scroll to EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Every iPhone from the XS (2018) onwards does.
On Android: Settings → About phone → Status, and look for EID. If there is an EID, your phone takes eSIMs. Most Galaxy S20, Pixel 3 and later do.
It also has to be carrier-unlocked. If you bought it outright or your contract is over, it almost certainly is.
Not sure about your model? Ask us before you pay and we will tell you — a person answers within 24 hours.
How it works
- 1Choose and payCard, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No account.
- 2Install it at homeThe QR arrives by email. Scan it on wifi in a minute.
- 3Connect when you landTurn on data roaming for the eSIM and you are online.
One metro line, a short tram and AppTUSSAM
- Metro: a single line, line 1, crossing the city towards the Aljarafe and Dos Hermanas. Useful for some neighbourhoods, rarely for sightseeing.
- MetroCentro: a short tram from Plaza Nueva past the Cathedral and the Puerta de Jerez to San Bernardo and Nervión.
- Tussam buses: AppTUSSAM shows the real waiting time at each stop.
- Sevici: the city's shared bikes.
Most visitors walk the old town and use the tram or a bus for the longer hops, so the phone is mostly maps and arrival times. Check the waiting time before you leave the shade: in July and August, waiting at a stop in full sun is the part nobody plans for.
Summer heat and your phone
AEMET's climate normals for Seville airport give an average maximum of about 36 °C in July, and Apple says iPhones are designed for ambient temperatures between 0 and 35 °C. When a phone gets too hot, Apple lists what happens: charging slows or stops, the screen dims, the signal can weaken, and during navigation a warning can switch the display off while the spoken directions carry on.
In practice, keep the phone out of direct sun on café tables and car dashboards, do not charge it in your pocket on an afternoon walk, and let the spoken directions guide you instead of a screen at full brightness. A phone that loses signal from heat recovers once it cools down in the shade or indoors; changing the network setting will not help.
Day trips that leave the Spain pack
- Córdoba, Cádiz, Jerez and Ronda: still Spain, so the Spain pack keeps working.
- Gibraltar: outside the Spain pack, and phones near La Línea can jump between Spanish and Gibraltar networks.
- The Algarve: buses from Plaza de Armas reach Faro. Portugal is outside the Spain pack, and the clock goes back an hour.
- Tangier: tours cross from Tarifa by ferry. Morocco is in neither the Spain pack nor the Europe pack.
For a trip that mixes Spain with Gibraltar or Portugal, the Europe pack covers all three on one eSIM. How the border confuses phones at La Línea is in the Gibraltar guide. Morocco has a pack of its own on the Morocco page; with it installed next to the Spain pack, you switch the data line in settings when the ferry docks.
How much data for Seville
Spain packs come in 3, 5, 10 and 20 GB. Three or four days in Seville fit in 3 GB, valid for 15 days: the city is walked, and most of the data goes on maps, bus times and photos. A week with day trips to Córdoba and Cádiz is a 5 GB trip. If Seville is the start of a longer loop through Andalusia, with Granada and the coast, 10 GB for 30 days gives you room. The plan starts at the first connection in Spain, the hotspot is included, and if you run short you top it up without installing anything again.
Is there a train from Seville airport to the city?
No. The public link is the EA bus, which stops at Santa Justa station and ends at Plaza de Armas. The alternative is a taxi at a fixed fare.
Why does my phone dim or lose signal in the Seville heat?
Phones are designed for ambient temperatures up to about 35 °C, and Seville summers go past that. A hot phone can dim, stop charging and weaken its signal until it cools down.
Does a Spain eSIM work in Gibraltar?
No. Gibraltar is outside the Spain pack. The Europe pack covers Spain and Gibraltar together.
Can I use it on a day trip to Tangier?
No. Morocco is not in the Spain pack or the Europe pack, so it needs a Morocco pack of its own.
Get your eSIM before you fly: the QR arrives by email in minutes and the plan only starts when you connect at your destination.
See eSIMs for Spain