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Euro (Spain/Portugal) Trip advice
Gilbert0
North of SeattleRegistered User regular
North of SeattleRegistered User regular
The gf and I are planning on taking a trip this spring (April/May/June) for 2 weeks Spain and/or Portugal. I've done roadtrips but never any hostel/backpacking, so ANY travel advice would be much appreciated.
1. Any advice on WHEN we should go? I realize the later, the hotter.
2. We have passports, but do we need VISAS of any kind?
3. Any specific recommendations on an AREA to visit and why?
4. Best way to use MONEY? Just exchanging into a lot of cash is risky.
5. Best FLIGHT deals? (edmonton, canada -> anywhere)
6. Any essential SUPPLIES that we should have? In my mind, clothes, backpacks, camera, cash/plastic, maybe some first aid stuff is all we need.
Thanks, oh great hive mind of H&A.
1. Any advice on WHEN we should go? I realize the later, the hotter.
2. We have passports, but do we need VISAS of any kind?
3. Any specific recommendations on an AREA to visit and why?
4. Best way to use MONEY? Just exchanging into a lot of cash is risky.
5. Best FLIGHT deals? (edmonton, canada -> anywhere)
6. Any essential SUPPLIES that we should have? In my mind, clothes, backpacks, camera, cash/plastic, maybe some first aid stuff is all we need.
Thanks, oh great hive mind of H&A.
Gilbert0 on
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See a Barcelona FC game at Camp Nou. This is on top of my list for things to do in Spain. It is the largest stadium in Europe at nearly 100,000 seats. Soccer is a huge part of European culture, and they are mad for it in Spain. Every game is a celebration, streamers, stadium patterns, songs, lights, sometimes fireworks, and the roar of a hundred thousand maniacs rooting for their team.
It is home to arguably the best soccer/football team in the world. Barcelona. They are the current holders of the Champions League Cup, which is the most prestigious cup a team in Europe can win outside of the international level. While I'm not a fan per-say, they are a wonder to watch.
Drink Sangria at every bar you go to.
Head to Madrid and visit Royal Palace of Madrid, Plaza Mayor, etc.
Barcelona- Guadi, Sagrada Familia, Art Musuem.
Sevilla- Flamenco Dances.
Cordoba.
Toledo- Sword making factory.
See that's what we'd like to avoid if possible but we don't know WHERE the tourist traps are to avoid.
And MindLib....ummm YES PLEASE.... I've grown up playing/following/refereeing so that would be awesome. totally looking into that.
Here are a few photos from my trip in 2007:
Also worth a visit in my opinion is the Valley of the Fallen outside Madrid. It is one of the most marvelous monuments I've ever seen. It's basically a massive stone memorial built inside a mountain. There's stuff to see inside and out.
Photo:
i spent 5 or 7 days in Barcelona this year and found that that was about right to appreciate the city (so also have some time to relax..)
barcelona: i loved the palau de musica catalana, bueautifull building and well-made guided tour. If you're vaguely interested in art, architecture or music, this is one of the most beautifull concert halls in europe.
Gaudi's La Pedrera: the included minumuseum is very well made, and the in-house stores are nice. and of all the gaudi stuff i did, this was the least touristy and most worth a visit.
the sagrada familia is a bit overrated if you've got a lot of experience with cathedrals, but you kinda just have to go because it's must-see. longest queues in barcelona though.. if you go, do go up, yes it's an hour-wait, but its the most memorable part of my visit to la sagrada familia.
if you've visiting the picasso, think about visiting one of the side-exhibitions instead. Cheaper, less wait, and all of the major picasso pieces aren't in the picasso museum anyway... We saw a lovely Kees van Dongen exhibition.
avoid la ramblas, except for the market of st joseph (think that's what it's called), which is quite affordable.
the gothic quarter and a bit north of the gothic Q and such is very nice, great shopping and nice buildings.
buy a metro card in barce. easy and cheap. i just used 10-ride passes since it came out cheaper than 2 weekpasses.
lissabon: great city but not as much to see and do as barcelona.
south of portugal: wonderfull to just rent a car and cruise from town to town. highways are all in EXCELLENT condition, dispite my expectances.
money: Credit cards aren't as universal here as in the US. debet cards are. most airports do have exchange booths (altough their rates are not that good). i'd probably just take a wad of cash (euros), but that's just me... cards are always less reliable.
no visum needed for tourists i imagine (since it's a short stay)
http://www.barcelona-tourist-guide.com/en/attractions/museums-in-barcelona.html
The Figueres Dali Museum is absolutely amazing if you can visit it too
Choose one country and spend two weeks. I have family in spain, so we got to see a lot of cool stuff because of who they know, and I'll write up more about that later when I have time.
It has a bunch of stuff from ruins of an ancient Roman Temple, to a chapel in the side of the cathedral that's made of mortar and human bones. They literally didn't bury anyone for 100 years 'to remind people of their mortality.'
It may be a little out of the way.
I would recommend that quite strongly. Some points I noticed:
1. In Madrid (as opposed to other parts of Spain I've not been to) I did not find that English was widely spoken in shops/restaurants or public facilities. Hotels were fine though. This wasn't as bad as it seems though as many restaurants, even those that don't appear to be obvious tourist traps had an English menu of some kind if it was really obvious that it was needed. Failing that, in any of the big cities I'm sure you can find the tourist district which will have the restaurants in photo and multiple languages outside on the pavement.
2. The High Speed Rail system is pretty awesome - Spain, like a few other European countries has multiple rail networks - basically a mixture between high speed and normal speed, with the former being a very new network. I've used them a couple of times and found it pretty good, with the advantage the stations sometimes are in the middle of the city (although not always). The network is pretty good but doesn't always go where you would think, but it is expanding pretty quickly. You may even be able to go from Spain to Portugal by now.
3. People don't queue so much - I'm not sure what it is like in Canada but in Spain people will just walk up to the counter if they want to be served and if they see it is free, so you can do the same, usually.
Re your visa - you appear to be Canadian -so you don't need a visa
Can you give me more information on this? I am thinking of doing exactly this trip in a couple of weeks.
1. How did you get from Seville to Gibraltar? Did it cost much?
2. Did you fly out of Gibraltar?
3. The Visa - How does that work - is this because of where you are from (US?). I was looking at the Gibraltar tourism website and it looks like a special visa isn't needed (for NZ/US anyway) and an entry permit is given at the border. Is that right?
4. Did you spend long in Gibraltar?
1. I didn't go from Seville to Gibraltar, I went from Moron Air base (Yeah, I know) to Gibraltar. I can't remember how far each are in the relation to each other. I can't really comment on the cost, because it was all through the military. Seville was a separate trip. Several separate trips, actually.
2. No. We parked the car on the spanish side and walked across the border. Then we walked back and drove home. I'm not sure what exactly the stipulations are for flying in and out of Gibraltar, so you'll have to read up on that.
3. You should have no problem if you're anybody but a spaniard when it comes to entering Gibraltar. They'll check your visa, and there may be some customs, but that's basically it. Leaving is easier than entering.
4. We spent the day in Gibraltar. It's a small island. We also got a guide to drive us around and show us all the historical stuff. The guy knew his history and brought plenty of uncooked macaroni to feed the apes, so he was worth it.
Other things: They use pounds in gibraltar, not euros. And the apes can be pretty nasty sometimes. Oh yeah, it's also illegal to feed or touch the apes, so don't do that while there's a cop around.
English is a problem is Spain. Even in Madrid we had problems (like Kalkino said). I think it gets better in Barcelona, but I wouldn't know first-hand.
The inter-city rail system is badass. We just went to the stations and bought tickets whenever we landed somewhere. We didn't get train tickets ahead of time, but we did get hostel reservations. For the most part we had no problems with any of the hostels either.
We got a bunch of Euros and traveller's checks. The conversion rate on checks is kind of lousy. Keep in mind that pick-pockets, particularly in Madrid, area problem, so having tons of cash was probably not a great idea in hindsight.
Thanks for the advice