Traveling to Spain; The Do's Dont's and Must See's!

Spain is absolutely gorgeous!

I went to Spain back in June 2019, and it sparked a love of travel that can never cease. We visited 5 cities; Barcelona, Girona, Madrid, Malaga, and Seville. 

Sagrada de Familia Barcelona

While traveling internationally for the first time, I learned quite a few things about traveling to Europe:

  • Take a flight with the least amount of layovers as possible and upgrade to first class. My mom and I made the mistake of doing the cheap route and ended up staying up for 2 days straight.

  • Pay for the international phone plan while you are abroad so you can use the internet without wifi (my mom and I made this mistake and had to go around each city asking “Tienes Wifi?” which they pronounce as wee-fee btw)

  • Get an outlet adapter so you can charge your phone, laptop, etc. In Europe, their wall outlets are completely different than the ones in the US.

  • Plan itinerary in advance (main sightseeing locations, cities, Airbnb/hotels, train transportation) We used the Renfe train and the tickets were reasonable. We also booked the Hop On Hop Off bus in Madrid Hop on Hop off Bus

  • Book train tickets in advance and keep the QR code on your phone. We used this website https://www.renfe.com/es/en

  • Get Euros from your bank before you leave for Spain (this avoids money transfer currency costs and credit card fees for being abroad. I pulled out a couple hundred dollars)

  • Be able to speak basic phrases in the language and/or have a translation app (though a lot of people in Spain speak English)

  • For Transportation, use Cabs (Cabify), the electric scooters, trains and busses. My mom and I did not think it was worth it to get a rental car and I’m glad we didn’t because we stayed pretty central in each city. However, do what works best for you! 



Now, story time!

After staying up for 2 days straight on 3 miserable plane rides in Coach, my mom and I finally landed in Barcelona. We found a shuttle to take us to the nearest train station and took the Renfe straight to Girona. In Girona, my Uncle met us at the train station and took us to his boyfriend’s apartment so we could drop off luggage. Then continued to walk around the city and got Tapas and Sangria at multiple restaurants. That night my mom and I took the train back to Barcelona and checked into our Airbnb. 


Barcelona: 

We finally were able to sleep. The Airbnb was super cute but in a multiple-story building somewhat like an apartment, but more dorm-like. It was strange because we have to let ourselves in with a key and out with a key. My mom got up to pee at like 4 in the morning and got locked out of the room. Turns out that the owner of the Airbnb gave us the wrong key! It was pretty scary, as my mom was in an alley as a lone woman, in a different country, at 4 AM with multiple men around her. I stood hopelessly on the balcony watching her and was thankful when one of the street cleaners helped her get back in safely. 

If you are looking for fun bars and nightlife in Spain, then Barcelona is your place. We went to a couple of really neat bars, like Paradisio, El Busc de les fades, and Espit Chupitos where you can try a hilarious Monica Lewinsky drink. One of our favorite places to visit in Barcelona is the famous Cathedral, Sagrada de Familia. It’s super gorgeous, and they provide tickets and tours if you are interested here Sagrada Familia Tour

Sagrada de Familia

 We also went to the Picasso museum and it was super fun! Tickets were super cheap and you can get them here Picaso Museum

Two days later, we made our way to Madrid.


Madrid:

Madrid is one of the most popular cities in Spain because of the Royal Palace, the art museums, archeology museum and much more! If you plan on going to Madrid, I definitely recommend getting a Hop on Hop off bus ticket, as it takes you around the city and shows you the most popular attractions, as well as information on them. I really liked this because the busses were on a scheduled route, and you can literally hop off the bus to check out a specific attraction and get back on another one when you are finished. It’s a very efficient way to see what you are interested in! Check it out Hop on Hop off Bus

The Mercado San Miguel was really neat because they have so many different food and market vendors all within a building. We got Margaritas in a bag and seafood! Definitely check it out. The food in Spain is absolutely delicious! 


Malaga:

We arrived in Malaga and headed straight to the beach after dropping our luggage off at the Airbnb. It caught us off guard because the beaches are topless! We actually ended up getting drinks and massages on the beach which was very relaxing. I would say that the shopping and restaurants in Malaga were personally my favorite. We ran into a couple of locals who gave us recommendations on where to go and I got sangria at every single place! As for you literary lovers, I stopped at a bar downtown and had absinthe and water, like in the story “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemmingway.

Beaches in Malaga


Seville:

Seville was my favorite spot for seeing different buildings. I also recommend doing the hop on hop off bus in Seville as there is a decent amount of things to see and the attractions are quite spread out so the Hop on Hop off Bus very useful. My favorite part was for sure the Plaza de Espana, which is absolutely beautiful. This is a great photo spot.  

Overall we stayed in Spain for 10 days, 2 days for each city. I definitely recommend going longer, but if not you can definitely make due! Spain is amazing and you should definitely visit. 

Emma Howard