In Catalunya,
post
offices are open
from 8am to noon and
again from 5 to
7.30pm, though the
main post office in
Barcelona (see
"Directory")
and big branches in
larger towns and
resorts have
considerably longer
hours; check the text
for details.
You can have
letters sent poste
restante (general
delivery) to any post
office in Spain: they
should be addressed
(preferably with the
surname underlined and
in capitals) to Lista
de Correos
followed by the name
of the town and
province. To collect,
take along your
passport and, if
you're expecting post,
ask the clerk to check
under all of your
names - letters are
often to be found
filed under first or
middle names. In
Barcelona, poste
restante letters will
go to the main post
office. Alternatively,
American Express in
Barcelona (see
"Directory")
will hold mail for a
month for card and
cheque holders.
Outbound post
is quite reliable,
with letters or cards
taking around three to
four days to a week to
the UK, five days to a
week to North America.
You can buy stamps
at tobacconists (look
for the
brown-and-yellow tabac
sign) as well as at
post offices (the
postcard rate for
Spain is ?0.24, for
Europe ?0.42 and for
North America and
beyond ?0.72). Use the
yellow post boxes and
put your post in the
flap marked províncies
i estranger or altres
destins . You can
also send letters
"urgent" -
ask at the tabac
for the latest price
and use the red letter
boxes; there's one at
the main post office.
It's not a
particularly reliable
service, but is worth
a try if you need to
speed things up a
little.
Spanish public
phones
work well and have
instructions in
English; you'll find
plenty of
cabinas
on the street. They
accept coins and
phonecards, which you
can buy in
tobacconists - the
phones display
instructions to help
you as you go. Avoid
using the old-style
green-coloured phones
which you'll find in
many bars and hotels,
their rates are higher
and you can't make
anything except for a
simple coin call. If
you have no option
then note that with
these phones you have
to rest the coins in
the groove at the top
and they'll drop when
someone answers (you
may have to push a
button when the other
party picks up).
Spanish provincial
(and some overseas)
dialling codes are
displayed in the
cabins. The
ringing
tone is long;
engaged
is shorter and rapid;
the standard Spanish
response is
¿diga?
(speak), or in
Barcelona, a less
linguistically
committal
¿Si?
.
For international
calls , you can
use any of the modern
cabins, paying with
either coins or a
card, with a credit
card , or a charge
card issued by
your domestic
telephone company,
whereby all calls made
from overseas will
automatically be
billed to your home
account. Contact your
home long-distance
provider to see if
they have an overseas
direct-dial service
(such as AT&T
Direct, Bell Canada
Direct or BT Direct)
from Spain. They will
provide you with a
number that you can
dial free from cabins
and which will connect
you directly with one
of their operators in
your home country.
Credit cards are not
recommended for local
and national calls,
since most have a
minimum charge which
is far more than a
normal call is likely
to cost. Without a
credit card, your
cheapest option for
international calls
are the now ubiquitous
locutorios -
private phone shops
which specialize in
overseas connections -
which you will find
scattered through the
old city. If the rates
to the country which
you want to call are
not posted, just ask.
You'll then be
assigned a cabin to
make your calls, and
afterwards you pay in
cash. If you want to
make a reverse-charge
call ( cobro
revertido ) via
the Spanish operator,
you'll have to go to a
Telefónica
office. Avoid making
any phone calls from
your hotel room, as
even local calls will
be slapped with a
heavy surcharge, and
"no charge"
calls to international
operators may be
charged as well.
The most convenient
(and cheapest) way to
make local and
long-distance calls
may be by using unidos
phonecards, issued by
one of Telefónica's
new competitors. These
rechargeable cards can
be purchased at
newspaper and tobacco
stands and have rates
which are much better
than Telefónica's. To
make a local, national
or international call,
dial the toll-free
number indicated on
the card (no coins are
necessary) and you can
proceed according to
English language
instructions. In
general, international
and domestic rates are
slightly cheaper after
10pm, and after 2pm on
Saturday and all day
Sunday.
One of the best ways
to keep in touch while
travelling is to sign
up for a free internet
email address that can
be accessed from
anywhere, for example
YahooMail or Hotmail -
accessible through and
. Once you've set up
an account, you can
use these sites to
pick up and send mail
from any internet café,
or hotel with internet
access.
