I shall be in Spain for two weeks next October. Plan to arrive in Madrid, stay 3 or 4 days and on my way to Galicia visit Segovia and /or Salamanca, then go to Santiago de Compostela and visit family in Vigo and Orense. Need advice on Hotels/Hostales in Segovia, Salamanca and Santiago:clean, safe, not expensive, with character, in historic/old area, with elevator (I am 69). In Madrid will stay in Hotel Plaza Mayor . Shall I need car or can I make it with public transportation? Can I rent a cellular phone while in Spain? Suggestions/advice will be appreciated.

Buseca

jer from www.multimadrid.com rents out cellular phones.

check out his website for more information
beckham

Don't bother with the car! Public transportation will get you EVERYWHERE! And besides that way instead of paying attention to the road and making sure you turn on the right street or the right exit, you'll be able to take in the scenery and rest from place to place! (which no matter how young or old, in Spain, its ALWAYS a good thing to catch some rest when you can- as one always needs PLENTY of energy! )

I have the name of a hostel in Santiago, but I have to search for it. I have their business card somewhere...I think. I'm not sure if it had an elevator, which with many of the buildings especially near a historic location, will not have, but you can probably ask for a room on the closest floor to the street. I will search and post later if I can find the name of the hostel.

I would definately visit both Segovia and Salamanca on your way to Galicia. In Segovia I highly recommend the Hotel Infanta Isabel:
Infanta Isabel

It is right on the main square and we requested (and received) a wonderful room overlooking the square with a balcony and perfect view of the cathedral. I still have my little slippers that we received and everytime I wear them think of this lovely place.

There are lots of postings on hotels (and restaurants) in these cities, just do a search and you'll come up with lots of ideas.

I had originally thought to rent a cell phone while in Spain, as we would be in extremely remote areas on bicycle and thought we would need "contact just in case". I decided against it...and our cousins in Spain even offered us the use of one of theirs that we declined. We never needed it.

I bought a 10 euro phone card at the Palacio de Comunicaciones (Central Post Office in Madrid > Pza. de Cibeles) and 14 days later still had "talk time" on it...even after calling back to the US four times with it. You'll find that most booths now accept the cards (with a smart chip) and that there are enough of them available for you not to need to bother with a cell phone...charging it (with $$$ and battery juice), keeping track of it, not breaking it, etc.

Not all hotels in Madrid have user friendly phones in rooms. At the Hotel Suecia, which is an otherwise excellent hotel, they did not have telephone card accessible phones, so I had to go to the lobby and talk to my family next to the reception desk, which was awkard, when I was telling sweet nothings to my Hubby

Renting a phone is a personal decision. I wish I had rented a cell phone. I did regret it, particularly for Madrid.I didn't do it because I did not want to stand out like a guiri. But when I was there I noticed everyone had a movíl. The convenience of making a call at any time balances the high cost of rental, at least for me. I wasted a lot of time looking for phones and then finding I had the wrong card, etc.

Calibasco is right that they are expensive to rent compared to the calling cards which were very economical, and all the other inconveniences, Calibasco is ALWAYS Right .

re the cell phone. There are always 'deals' on cell phones going on. I don't know how much it costs to rent them, as I have my own. But it may be a possibility to buy one. Ususally the deal will cost you 15,000 pts. but that includes the phone coming with 10,000 pts. it calls already. Depending on the time you're going to be there, the convenience, as you won't have to be stuck by a phone somewhere waiting for someone to call you... you may want to do that. If you won't need it for a long time afterwards, you can give it to a friend or family there (which I think you said you had????) or if you plan on going back, just leave some $$ on the card, and keep it charged. It will be good for up to a year without using it.

Almost two years on the board and I'm finally recognized by other "board members" for what I really am: Always right.

It's about time!

"Always right"
Is that refering to PP tambien?