Tips to Travel in Spain

If you are reading this, then I'm guessing that you are planning a trip to Spain and looking for what all to do, where to visit (you can check my itinerary) and some tips as well as to how one can survive in Spain.  

Tips to survive in Spain –

1. Tap water is safe to drink so no need to spend money on buying water from the local market. Get yourself a bottle which you can carry around.

2. Buy the travel card in each city if you are going to explore many places and are planning to stay in there for a couple of days. This will give unlimited access to the metro and the bus. Some travel cards also offer discounts at restaurants, museums and cathedrals and even on shopping. Overall it turns out to be cheaper. Some cities have a different card for public transport and a different card for tourist attractions.

3. Keep small pouches of nuts or maybe crackers and biscuits in the bag which you carry along with you while traveling in case you are hungry and there aren't options for food in the nearby area.

4. When in Granada it is a tradition that with every drink you buy, a free tapas is given so I would suggest drinking more (Just kidding). There are restaurants that might even give you the option of choosing a tapas as well but its quite rare.

5. Try booking your tickets for internal transfers, for museums and others attractions in advance as they might get full and if they are not, getting a ticket on the same day can be time-consuming as one might have to stand in the line for some time.

6. If you are into food, try the Paella in Valencia as they are known for it. You can try in other cities as well but its a must in Valencia. Do not forget to try the other local dishes like Patata Bravas, Bocadillo and not to forget Churros which is a must.



7. Churros ? the best ones that I had were at Chocolatería San Ginés were in Madrid but I also found a place in Barcelona near the Museo d'Historia de Catalunya (Museum of the History of Catalonia) which were being freshly made and topped with cinnamon sugar and dark chocolate sauce. They were good as well.

8. If you plan to visit La Tomatina, below are few things you should keep in mind

• Wear old clothes and shoes to the festival as most of the buses won't allow you covered in the tomato pulp. 
• Always carry an extra pair of clothes with you. 
• Waterproof phone or not, carry a waterproof pouch for the same unless you want your phone to smell like tomatoes also the pouch will help keep the money/change which you might need later to eat and drink. 
• Goggles for your eyes, they will be helpful and protect you from getting hit in the eye during the festival.
• There are many small shops which you might find on your way back to your buses which will be serving some good sangrias and beer and food, they are cheap and if you hit the right spot you might get yourself a huge glass of sangria for as low as 2 euros.

9. Do not forget to carry your travel adaptor. I forgot mine and faced some problems, to be honest. You can buy one of these at the Airports or in the local market but if you already have one at home, put it in the bag right away.

10. Purchase your sim card from the city and not the airport. You will get one at the airport, but if you are a person who needs lots of data, the sim at the airport might not be able to give you that much. The local brand Lyca for eg. is pretty good and offers exciting deals.

11. If you are in confusion and dont know something, always ask the people, they do help you out and will also guide you with the routes. Another option is to look out for the information desk, which is plenty in the tourist areas. They do help you out quite a lot and will also provide you with the map of the city for your ease and directions.

12. If possible, try learning some basic Spanish lines. All I knew were 'Hola'and 'Gracias'. Google Translate did help me to some extent in the country where it was difficult to communicate in English.

13. Google Maps and Google was my best friend in Spain. It will help you a lot to find places and reach destinations and which is the best route for the same.

14. Beware of the pickpockets in Barcelona, though it has become safe now it is still advised that you take precautions and keep the eyes open.

15. If you are a solo traveler and working on low budgets, opt for the hostels, they are not very expensive and quite good as well and will save you a lot of money. Most of the hostels are also centrally located giving you access to the city center, the happening area and are also easily accessible by public transport.

16. While making the budget for the trip, keep in mind that a minimum of 50 euros is necessary per person, per day which is only if you travel in public transport, stay in hostels, eat on the streets and not in fancy restaurants. This will go up if you want a bit of luxury. Also, the expenses for the tours, visiting the museums and other places of interests which are charged can cost you more which is anywhere between 2 euros - 30 euros.