DD is leaving for study abroad for 2 months and has been placed at her internship in Spain. Any advice for use of ATM’s? Communication (besides SKYPE and Whatsapp)? Eurorail? She’s been in constant contact with former Spanish professors and teachers about what to do and where to go, so that part is covered. We just need info on day to day living. Health coverage is covered through our insurance and the study abroad program, but is there anything extra we should worry about?
Not study-abroad advice per se, but I would get some euros before leaving the U.S.
Hope she has a great time!
I will be doing that today! Thanks!
Will she have phone service when she goes? And Internet access?
When I studied abroad (in Montréal, so not really all that far), my phone service was wonky and I basically couldn’t receive/answer calls (though I could make them). This drove my mom nuts and we resolved to me emailing her on my phone when I was in my apartment with Internet access (even though the access was spotty. I think I was tapping into the gym’s WiFi from across the street or something). This sounds trivial, but it’s a big deal when you’re used to doing everything on your phone whenever you want.
Skype and Whatsapp are good if she has Internet access. I would just caution both of you that she may have spotty Internet access when not at home or at school. Maybe she could buy a pay as you go phone for emergencies/inconvenient times? I sort of wish I had because I missed so many of my mother’s calls and it was annoying 
As far as money goes, I just brought a bunch of cash with me (but again, I was in Canada) and used an atm (abm there ha ha) a few times and just paid the $3 charge or whatever to use it. If she can take out money responsibly, it may be worth it to just do it this way rather than carry a lot of cash or worry about wiring money over or something.
Best wishes to her!
My D will be in London fall semester and I have been researching both $$$ solutions and cell phone options endlessly. It sounds like your D may already be over in Spain if this was a summer program, but for what it’s worth here’s what I’ve learned so far …
Best option for ATM access is Charles Schwab Bank. They refund all ATM fees at the end of every month and there is no foreign transaction fee on debit card purchases. We are in the process of setting this up for her now. Other options that you might look into are Bank of America and HSBC - both of which seem to have a relationship with ATM networks in Europe - The Schwab option seemed hands-down the best to me though.
You’ll also want her to have a credit card with no foreign transaction fees. Capital One, Chase Freedom, Barclays JetBlue and USAA are all options. You can either get her a card in her name (most likely with a lower credit limit) or add her to an existing account. We’ll also be getting about $500 in Pound Sterling for her before she goes.
As for cell phone, if you’ve got T-Mobile you are in luck!!! Your existing phone and number will work overseas. Just let them know you are going. Alas, we do not - so if you’re with Verizon, Sprint, AT&T (which sounded the worst from everything I read) you really have 2 options. First, to ONLY use your phone when there’s free WiFi for email, social media, etc. There were lots of caveats though about your settings and things that can happen that accidently run up big bills. Second option is to have your cell phone unlocked in the US and then buy a local SIM card overseas - there are different plans for these but it’s much more affordable than US plans! You will get a new phone number so you’ll need to let those who call/text know. I believe however that incoming phone calls are frequently free which is nice! We will be going the SIM card route and will be (hopefully) buying from a company called Three in UK. Their SIM card works in UK and also in select other countries such as France and Italy.
Granted, we’ve not put any of this into practice yet - but I do feel like we’re starting to come up with a plan.
Tell her to not be casual about her purse etc. Pickpockets are quite abundant especially in crowded areas and the metro. As long as she is aware and takes precautions she will be fine but don’t be randomly taking selfies and not be aware of your belongings and surroundings. There are money pouches that attach to the bra that she can keep a credit card or a larger sum of money for trips out of the area. Yes there are other kinds of pouches but this type is very unobtrusive and thus more likely to wear.