If you're visiting Spain for the first time this year make sure you watch this video because in
it I'll be sharing all sorts of tips and must knows for first timers. Hi I'm Christina from
HappyToWander.com and in today's video I'm going to be sharing all my best tips for visiting Spain.
Spain is honestly one of the most amazing and diverse countries to visit in Europe and I can't
wait to share all these tips with you to ensure that your first trip is an amazing success. Now
let's get started with some Spain travel planning tips. First things first if you are visiting Spain
as part of a trip with other European countries involved, then one program to potentially look
into is the Iberia Air free stopover program so long story short this program allows you to
book a free stopover in Madrid for up to seven nights which allows you to basically get two
destinations for the price of one because you're paying for a flight to one place but you get to
stay in Madrid for free up to a week which is a really sweet deal and definitely a great way to
get more value for money. Now in terms of where to go in Spain just know that your options are wildly
diverse.Spain is one of the largest countries in Western Europe with 17 autonomous regions made up
of 52 different provinces so needless to say there is a lot to explore. Within the country of Spain,
you'll find amazing coastline, gorgeous mountains, epic cities, unique islands and mind-blowing
scenery all over so don't assume you can just go to Barcelona once and say you've completed Spain.
As well keep in mind that not only are there tons of different places to visit they can also
vary a lot in terms of climate, culture, customs and even language, so on that note when you're
creating your Spain itinerary definitely try to spice it up with some places that are a bit more
off the beaten path if you're trying to decide where to go. One thing I would really recommend
is maybe picking one popular destination let's say Barcelona and then also adding on some more
off the beaten path explorations around that main central core. This way it's kind of like the best
of both worlds you get a taster that super famous place, but also you get a chance to explore some
places a bit more off the beaten path as well so when you're building your itinerary definitely
research for places that are a bit more off the beaten path. I'd recommend looking at local
Spanish blogs for this purpose because that way you can see where the locals are vacationing and
you can find some cool spots that you probably otherwise wouldn't have heard of. Now in terms
of when to go summer is definitely not the best time. I think a lot of people tend to romanticize
the idea of a Spanish summer but the truth is a Spanish summer particularly in the south is
unbearably hot and also in the month of August that's when a lot of Spaniards go on vacation,
so lots of places will be closed as well so it's not really the best time to be visiting ideally
for the best of weather and crowds. What I would recommend is going in the shoulder
seasons from September to November or March to May these are definitely great times to go,
but if you're just going to Spain for some of the cities honestly winter is a great time to
visit as well that's when the crowds will be at their lowest and also the prices. Now if you're
having trouble deciding where to go in Spain one thing I'd recommend you do is search up some of
the different festivals that take place across the country Spain has such a rich cultural heritage
and there are so many cool festivals that take place throughout the year, so there's definitely
something that caters to every interest. Some of the most famous ones include La Tomatina which is
known as the largest food fight in the world but then again there's like 800 options so definitely
have a Google see if there's any festivals that really pique your interest and plan your trip
around that. now another must know before you visit Spain is to brush up on your Spanish or
the local language of the destination that you're visiting. So unlike other countries in Europe I
found that in Spain English isn't as widely spoken as a second language so definitely try to learn
the basics when it comes to Spanish it can really help you a lot in terms of navigating the country
now it's important to note that depending on where you go in Spain Spanish as we know it
might not necessarily be the main language so the language that we know as Spanish is known
locally as Castellano and it is spoken widely across the country but depending on where you
go you might hear more Catalan like in Catalonia or you might hear Basque or Galician, Valencian,
etc so depending on where you're going it might be worthwhile to research the typical phrases for the
local language and not just Castellano. Lastly, on a related note I want to say if you're doing
research for your trip and you're trying to look at ticket prices or you're trying to find out news
one really good thing to do is actually use Google Translate and do all your searching in Spanish
rather than in English because I found that the Spanish versions of websites tend to have a lot
more information and you tend to find more current information as well now in terms of getting around
Spain from City to City there's a lot of different options when it comes to public transport honestly
there are a ton of airports across Spain that are serviced by budget Airlines so if you're looking
for a cheap way to get around flying is actually not a bad idea otherwise both buses and trains
do offer excellent links throughout the country the only instance where I'd recommend you hire
a car is really if you're looking to get a bit more off the beaten path. If you're looking for
more natural sites then in that case renting a car might make sense but otherwise public
transportation is perfectly fine. Now for the train, the best way to save money is definitely by
booking as far in advance as possible especially when it comes to the longer distance trains that
are high speed but if you need the spontaneity the national rail company does have a real pass that
you can use where you basically pre-purchase a set number of trips in advance and you pay
one set price so this can often save you money compared to showing up at the train station the
day of and just buying a ticket so be sure to look into that if you're looking to do some different
trips while you're in Spain now if you're visiting multiple countries in Europe getting a Euro pass
might also make sense but this really depends on your specific situation so be sure to watch my
europass review video for some key considerations to keep in mind no matter what though I'd highly
recommend getting your tickets online in advance before you go to the train station and the reason
for that is I just find train stations in Spain to be quite confusing trying to buy a ticket in
person I've always had trouble with it I'm not sure why so buying online in advance really just
helps you know mitigate that anxiety if you're anxious like I am another thing I'll note though
is that sometimes I have trouble with the National Rail website in Spain I'm not sure if it's just me
but I feel like some sometimes they have trouble with international cards so what I've started to
do is use third-party websites like trainline or omeo both of these are super easy to use really
user friendly and they offer their services in English so I actually prefer using these to book
trains in Spain just because from my experience trying to do it on the official Rail website
and also in person can be really confusing the last thing I'll say about train travel is just
keep in mind if your train is delayed you might be entitled to compensation so how much you get
back really depends on the type of train and how long you're delayed but on longer distance trains
with the national network for instance you can get a full refund if your train is more than 30
minutes delayed so just keep that in mind if you're on a budget that could be a great way
to recoup costs all right now let's tackle some tips for attractions in Spain the first
thing that I'll say is if you're visiting big attractions make sure you book your tickets in
advance especially for really big name attractions like the Alhambra for instance you sometimes have
to book months in advance because that's how busy it gets during Peak tour season and if you see a
skip the line option always go for that because time is money another thing to potentially plan
around is free hours so this is something I haven't really observed in other countries but
in Spain oftentimes there's different hours of the day where certain attractions will be free
so be sure to look into those if you want to save a bit of money during your stay another
way to save money is looking up for City passes or combo Deals they have a lot of these all across
the country especially in touristy cities like Madrid or Barcelona and Barcelona for instance
you have something called the Barcelona card which basically gives you access to a bunch
of the different attractions in the city for a set price so if you're planning on doing a lot
of sightseeing going to a lot of paid attractions then it might be worthwhile looking into whether
or not they have one of these combo cards just because they can save you a ton of money all
right now let's move on to the fun stuff food and drink tips for Spain now first things first know
that regionally Cuisines can really differ across Spain I know in North America we think of Spanish
food as Tapas and paella and sangria and that's it but really there's a lot of cultural diversity
within the country itself so make sure that you research the regional specialty specific to the
place that you're going because that way you're going to get to enjoy a lot more dishes that you
probably never have heard of before on a similar note I know that Spain is super famous for Sangria
but it's actually interesting because not a lot of locals really drink sangria oftentimes they
find it overpriced and in place of it they drink something called cinto de Verano which is honestly
very similar to sangria except it doesn't have the fruit so it's made up of wine soda and ice
and it's honestly super delicious and much cheaper than sangria so be sure to keep an eye out for
that on the menu otherwise just drinking wine is very popular and affordable as well now when in
Spain is also very important that you are able to recognize tourist trap restaurants because many of
them are all over the place especially in popular tourist cities so needless to say you don't want
to get ripped off by a tourist Trout Restaurant so here's a few different ways that you can recognize
them the first one is if they advertise free Wi-Fi in really big letters or if they have really large
pictures of their food or if the menu is written in English and a bunch of other languages that's
probably not a great sign that it's going to be the best meal of your life oftentimes if they're
located in a really busy area that's close to tourist attractions that's not a great sign either
and the nail in the coffin for me is if there's a host outside that's like really aggressively
trying to get you to sit down at their Terrace odds are the food there is probably not going
to be the best definitely expand your search and try to go to places that are a bit farther from
the main tourist drag and you're going to be able to find food that's way better and more
affordable as well now let's talk about Tapas Tapas are small dishes in Spain that are meant
to be shared and they are often known abroad as the quintessential Spanish meal of course what's
offered at tapas restaurants does vary regionally but there are a few items that are Universal
the first one is potatoes bravas which are fried potatoes that are slathered in this very delicious
spicy tomato sauce and these are super simple and super delicious and they're so ubiquitous in fact
that often what people will do is they'll use this dish as kind of like a tester dish to see what the
quality of that restaurant is like so often the orders the potatoes bravas for the table and if
it's good it's usually an indicator that other dishes at that restaurant are also good so be
sure to use that trick and try it out now one of the biggest Regional differences when it comes to
Tapas is whether or not you need to pay for them so in some regions it's actually still common for
you get a free tapa when you order a drink but in other places Tapas are more or less just dishes
that you would typically order from any restaurant so it's important before you go to kind of
research what the Customs are in your destination so that you're not just sat there waiting for your
free tapa that's never going to come similar to Tapas or Pinchos which originate from The Basque
country in the north of Spain so if you're in the north of Spain you'll often find Pinterest on the
menu as well and these are very similar to Tapas in that they're little bites but often they're
served on sticks and they're never free with a drink so just keep that in mind now for many
visitors a huge culture shock is just how late people in Spain eat dinner so depending on where
you are it's not uncommon common to be starting dinner after 10 o'clock which I know is way later
than I typically eat my dinner and so just be prepared to eat a little bit later than you're
used to now a lot of restaurants will even close between lunch and dinner so from 4 to 8 PM so just
be sure to plan around that if you're the type of person that gets hangry now another common culture
shock for visitors is just the pace of meals and also the pace of service in Spain because meals
tend to be really savored over several hours and servers will never rush you which in my opinion
is a huge plus but if you're from a country that's not used to that that might be quite
a culture shock this is why you definitely need to flag your server down if you want the bill or
if you want anything extra they're never going to come back and check on you because that's just not
what they do so if you're wanting anything else or you're hoping to get the bill just be sure to flag
them down otherwise the bill is just never going to come in terms of water at restaurants make sure
you're ordering something called unvazo de Aguas with a glass of water otherwise if you just order
water it's often assumed that they're going to bring you a bottled version which can cost a bit
more money and if you're looking for a deal make sure to look out for something called the menu
Del Dia which is like the menu of the day or the combo of the day this is often a set meal that
includes a starter a main course a drink a dessert and a coffee for a really good price all right now
let's move on to some culture and etiquette tips for Spain as I alluded to before one of the most
important things to keep in mind really is that Spain is made up of so many different
diverse regions and many of these regions will have their own proud national identity so the
Traditions that you might observe in Andalusia for instance aren't really going to be things
that you see up in Catalonia a really big example of this is Flamenco a lot of visitors come from
abroad hoping to catch a flamenco performance but really this is An Andalusian tradition it's
not something that you would see in Barcelona and if you do find a place in Barcelona that does it
it's probably because it's catering to tourists so just keep in mind that each region tends to have
its own cultural tradition so before you head out and try to find a cool cultural experience make
sure it's the right one in terms of tipping tips are definitely not expected in Spain to the same
extent as North America but these days a lot of tourists are tipping so people working in towards
the areas are starting to expect the tip a little bit more first things first though make sure that
there isn't already a service charge that's added to the bill sometimes this is already
added in which case you don't need to tip extra otherwise we for good service five to ten percent
is definitely good enough all right last but not least here are some tips to keep in mind once you
arrive in Spain now the first is to plan around Siesta time I think a lot of visitors have already
heard of the Siesta but contrary to popular belief it's not actually just about a nap it's not like
everybody in Spain takes two hours off in the middle of the day to go take a nap really what
it refers to is just kind of a break in the middle of the day where people might be able to rest have
a long lunch so a lot of shops and potentially attractions will be closed during this time so
just be sure to plan around them now another must do is to bring cash with you so Spain is still
predominantly a cash Society some places will take card but really you'll get by a lot easier
if you have cash but on that note bring smaller bills and also don't bring more cash than you can
afford to lose because unfortunately in busier places in Spain pickpockets are definitely an
issue especially in Barcelona the pickpockets in Barcelona are honestly Next Level I do have a full
video all about how to avoid pickpockets in Europe if you want to watch that just to get a feel for
all the different techniques that they use but generally speaking just make sure when you're in
a busy place to always have an eye and a hand over your valuables and also to just keep your distance
because for the most part pickpockets thrive on distraction so just kind of have your wits
about you and make sure that you're Vigilant when you're in busier areas especially train stations
and popular tourist destinations now another tip in terms of what to wear is to keep in mind
that Spanish locals tend to dress for the season rather than for the weather so for me personally
if I'm visiting Spain in the off season if it's like 20 degrees I'm gonna go out and I'm gonna
wear a dress maybe with a jean jacket or something because to me that is the appropriate temperature
to be wearing a dress but in Spain they dress according to the season not to the weather so
if you want to blend in you shouldn't be wearing summer clothes even when the temperatures are
summer temperatures for you but at the end of the day I don't really think it matters that much so
just wear what makes you comfortable but just keep in mind if you're trying to blend in a little bit
more Spaniards tend to dress for the season not for the weather and lastly be aware that in Spain
it can get a little bit noisy so unlike central European countries where people tend to keep
their voices down and if you speak too loudly like North Americans often do it kind of disrupts the
peace in Spain that is not a concern Spain tends to be quite a noisy place in the best possible way
people will be speaking loudly there's going to be music it's quite chaotic but embrace the chaos
embrace the noise it's definitely really fun alright thank you so much for watching I hope
you enjoyed those tips and as usual if you have any more comments or questions be sure to leave
them in the comments and for more practical travel videos just like this one be sure
to like And subscribe for more thanks again for watching I'll see you guys next week bye