Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport (AGP) SIM Card Buying Guide

Málaga – known for its beaches, arts culture & museums.

It is also home to Spain's fourth-busiest international airport (behind Madrid-Barajas Airport, Josep Tarradellas Barcelona–El Prat Airport & Palma de Mallorca Airport).

Writing a list of all the cool things to do in Málaga would require another blog post (or a dedicated Málaga blog), so I will save you from that because you want to know what SIM card and eSIM options are available at the airport.

Anyway, which SIM cards are available at the airport?

You can get a Vodafone Spain SIM card for 15 EUR or 30 EUR at Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport from resellers (El Avioncito de Oro and TravelWifi).

These… are suspiciously low prices for SIM cards sold at airports (which are often overpriced).

Just wait until I tell you that you get at least 50 GB of data if you only spent 15 EUR on a SIM card.

Yes, SIM cards and plans are dirt cheap in Spain 😎.

Anyway, let's review all your options and see if getting a SIM card at Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport is even worth it.

Original publication: 8^th of July 2023. Last updated: 15^th of January 2024.

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Table of Contents

Mobile Operators in Spain

Before I tell you about the SIM card options you have at Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport, you first need to know about all the mobile operators in Spain.

Spain has four mobile operators offering prepaid services easily accessible to travelers:

• Movistar Spain (España)
• Orange Spain (España)
• Vodafone Spain (España)
• Yoigo

Spain is also home to various Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs), such as Lebara Spain and Lycamobile Spain.

The SIM cards of other MVNOs are not sold at (most) Spanish airports, so I will not give much attention to them (but you can read about them in my Spain SIM card buying guide).

Alright, back to what Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport offers us.

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Where to Buy a SIM Card at Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport

Currently, only two stores sell Vodafone Spain SIM cards at Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport: El Avioncito de Oro (departure hall) and TravelWifi (at luggage claim).

If you want a Vodafone SIM card from TravelWifi, do not leave the secure area because you cannot re-enter the area.

Both El Avioncito de Oro (in the departures hall) and TravelWifi have only one starter pack, but they are different from each other.

Yeah… that is it – and I was expecting more options at Spain's fourth-busiest airport.

Foolish of me 🤪.

Anyway, let's see what the two resellers have to offer at the airport.

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What SIM Cards & Plans Does Vodafone Spain Sell at Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport (+Prices)?

Vodafone Spain sells two SIM cards at Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport through El Avioncito de Oro (departure hall) and TravelWifi, costing 15 EUR or 30 EUR.

Let's start with TravelWifi, as that is the store you will see first when arriving at Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport.

I arrived at Malaga at 23:45 – the store was already closed at 22:00 (although Google Maps says it closes at 21:00, unlike the TravelWifi site).

But the folks at TravelWifi were kind enough to email me their current plans upon request.

Note that these plans change every few months, as TravelWifi used to have three plans in late 2022/early 2023.

For 30 EUR, you get 100 GB of data and unlimited local minutes for 28 days.

Of which 14 GB or 19 GB can be used in other European Union (EU)/European Economic Area (EEA) member states + a few other countries (new):

Yes, you indeed do not get any text allowance (but you would not get those if you got a Vodafone SIM card from Vodafone Spain directly).

If you were to buy a Vodafone SIM card from Vodafone Spain, spending 30 EUR on a starter pack would get you 120 GB of data (+40 GB = 160 GB during a summer promo at the time of writing).

But there is a plan giving you 100 GB of data (+40 GB because of the promo – Vodafone Prepago L) costing 20 EUR, and another costing 15 EUR and giving you 50 GB (+50 GB – Vodafone Prepago M).

So you either pay 10 EUR or 15 EUR more for Vodafone SIM cards sold by TravelWifi.

On the other hand… there are few countries where you can get so much data for just 30 EUR (32.10 USD).

Let alone data allowances this generous.

Moreover, the reviews TravelWifi gets are ridiculously good for an airport store selling SIM cards, with only one four-star rating of 299 317 reviews (at the time of taking the screenshot below).

Okay, that is TravelWifi – let's go to the departure hall and see what El Avioncito de Oro offers.

While this poster shows it has three different starter packs (40 GB, 50 GB & 100 GB), only one starter pack costing 15 EUR was available upon questioning.

There is only one plan that costs 15 EUR – and if you remember from the TravelWifi section, it is the Vodafone Prepago M plan.

Vodafone Prepago M gives you 50 GB of data (100 GB at the time of writing – and still the case in October 2023), unlimited local minutes (+ to Romania) & 800 international minutes to various destinations ¹.

¹ to Argentina (fixed), Australia, Bangladesh, Belgium, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile (fixed), China, Colombia, Costa Rica (fixed), Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco (fixed), the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan (400 minutes), Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico (fixed), Romania, Russia (fixed), Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey (200 minutes), the United Kingdom, the United States, Uruguay (fixed) & Venezuela (fixed)

One thing El Avioncito de Oro and TravelWifi do not give you are Vodafone eSIMs.

Mostly due to the fact that Vodafone Spain does not have eSIMs for prepaid customers (yet).

Travel eSIMs for Spain are available for reasonable prices.

Although most do not have the same generous data allowances as Vodafone Spain, you do not have to deal with Spain's SIM card registration (which is mandatory – even at El Avioncito de Oro and TravelWifi).

I write about the best travel eSIMs for Spain in my Best Spain eSIM buying guide.

I even tried many of them extensively for my Spanish eSIM review series.

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