r/spaintravel

I’m flying Lisbon to Barcelona and have a few “important” airport questions:

1. Is there anywhere in that terminal to buy white port duty free?

2. I’ve never done the tax refund thing in Portugal. Would I do that in the Lisbon airport prior to going to Spain or do I do Portugal and Spain as a convo when leaving Spain? Fly flight back to US and last in Schengen departs from Amsterdam, however… so is AMS where I would have to do the tax refund thing?

3. Any special rules about the tax refund in Portugal or Spain ?
   I’ve only bothered in France before and it was €100 at a single store to get the refund.

Obrigada & gracias!

We have travel booked for northern Spain in mid-June, and plan to then take a train from Santander to Madrid. I keep checking the Renfe site to book, but when selecting this route it tells me no trains are available. Is it too early to book, or maybe I need to be more specific in my search? I have been choosing all/todas departure and arrival locations.

Hi I will be going abroad for the first time ever and was just wondering what hidden gems/ best places would you guys recommend in Spain? It’s always been my dream to visit since I was a kid

Would be going with my mom and sister so would need to be family friendly

Feel a bit confused where to go since I’ve never been anywhere so would like it to be special and not something overly touristy

Thanks

Hello friends! I am very excited (and nervous) to say that I am about one month out from my 8-week (ish) solo trip through Spain that will be ending in Portugal around the first week of August. This is my first solo trip and I would love all of the help/feedback/suggestions that I can get!

Here is some context:

• I’ll be starting my trip at Primavera Sound in Barcelona on June 3^(rd)
• I am a 27-year old solo female traveler who is... (sorry) American
• Need to be as budget-conscious as possible (hostels, trains/buses, meals)
• I am trying to avoid renting a car if possible; give me all the train/bus travel tips you have!
• I love nature of all kinds: mountains, beaches, forests, etc. and would love to see the best sights this beautiful country has to offer. Even though I know the heat will be brutal.
• I’m trying to balance a blend of culture + social (enjoy bars/clubs but hesitant about going alone) + nature
• I speak conversational Spanish (though mostly stemming from Mexico/Latin America) and can read a decent amount but this will be a big test for my actual abilities
• I strained my ACL a couple months ago (horrible timing) and am actively rehabbing it but it potentially could limit some walking (hopefully not too much)
• I have 1 carry-on and 1 personal item (backpack) (bonus if you have any packing tips)

Current rough route:

Barcelona → Valencia → Madrid (planning to do some day trips within this region such as Toledo, Segovia, etc.) → Córdoba → Granada → Málaga → Ronda → Seville → Portugal

A few specific questions:

1. Pacing.
   • I am planning on spending 3-7 days in most of these cities on my route depending on their size, but I’m very flexible. Is this a good pace to set for myself or are there certain areas where I should be more/less structured?
2. Are there any must-see stops I’m missing that fit naturally into this route? Within that, determining day trips vs overnight stays?
   • For places like Ronda, Toledo, and Segovia — are any of these significantly better as overnight stays rather than day trips?
3. Favorite experiences?
   • neighborhoods
   • viewpoints
   • food spots
   • local experiences
4. How much should be booked ahead of time, and what is acceptable to be more flexible on?
   • For example, I know certain attractions like the Sagrada Familia and the Alhambra require bookings much further in advance.
   • I will likely have some hostels pre-booked so I can have *some* structure to my trip, but I also don’t want to be too rigid and miss out on places I might just stumble upon.
5. Any tips for how to respectfully and responsibly be a tourist, anything I should know about general cultural norms

Thank you so much for taking the time and having the patience to read my post, and thank you SO much for any advice/suggestions you have for me. This trip has been a dream of mine for as long as I can remember 😊

Hi everyone,

I’ll be landing in Seville in the evening during the first week of August and flying out from Lisbon 7 days later. I’m planning to rent a car in Seville and do a road trip.

I’m looking for a mix of nature (beaches, parks, scenic spots) and fun/nightlife. My main question is how to structure the stops along the way. I was thinking of heading to Cadiz first, but after that I’m not sure where to stop and for how long.

Ideally, I’d like to choose a few “base cities” where I can stay 1–2 nights, enjoy good nightlife, and still have nice natural spots reachable by car during the day.

Any recommendations on which cities to pick as bases and how to split the 7 days?

Thanks!

I’ll be in Seville in July and could use help with my itinerary. I arrive around 6 PM and have two full days to explore before heading to Córdoba on the third day.

I’m running into a scheduling issue because one of my full days is a Sunday.

On Day 1, I have an early access tour of the Alcázar from 8:00–10:00 AM. My original plan was to visit Seville Cathedral and La Giralda on Day 2, but since that’s Sunday, I’m seeing fewer early morning tour options.

Would it make more sense to do both the Alcázar and Seville Cathedral/La Giralda on the same day? Is that too much for one day, or is it manageable? I’d especially appreciate advice from anyone who has visited in July and dealt with heat/crowds.

Before i consult chat gpt and the family about our vacation and itinerary I thought i would ask the experts here first!

It is my father's 60th birthday and we are all meeting in Barcelona this summer. Me and my wife and her mother are flying from south korea and my mum and dad are flying from the UK. We have all the hotels and apartments booked and flights etc, but we haven't locked in what we are doing yet.

We will be starting in Barcelona for 5 days. So anything we must see or must avoid, anything is a possibility, maybe one excursion outside of a day would be great too.

Then we travel down to Valencia where my aunt lives we will meet up with her for a day and probably go to Alicante for a day and the other 2 days we are free.

Then we travel again down to Sevilla where we will spend 5 more days and then plan to fly back up to Barcelona for the last day to say goodbye and go back to Korea and the uk.

Very open to suggestions of places to go, places to eat!

Thanks in advance!

I got my tickets for entry, my time for the Nasrid is 15:00 (3PM). Does it still make sense for me to enter The Alhambra at 8:30 in the morning? I'd like to look around before the sun is fully out, the go into the Nasrid during my time block. How long do people usually spend there?

I decided to do a spontaneous 2 week solo trip to Spain. I don’t have too much planned out get but as of now, the plan is Madrid -> Seville -> Barcelona. Would love to grab a drink or coffee with any locals or other vacationers ! Any advice on how many days I should spend in each city and recommendations for day trips ? Thank you

Hi, I'm planning a trip to Spain end of September beginning of October and I'd like advice on my Itinerary.

We will be arriving in Barcelona from the states on Sept.28th staying for 4 nights. Flying to Granada to stay 3 nights. Potentially renting a car to driver through Ronda on the way to Sevilla where we will drop the car and stay 4 nights. Then we will take the train to Cordoba for 2 nights and finally end out trip with 3 nights in Madrid. Flying home on Oct. 14th

Thanks for any and all advice.

Is there a need to get IDP for hiring and self driving a car in spain. Or does the driving license from Indian RTO work.

Hi y’all, I’m looking to do a trip to the northern coast of Spain. I’ll mainly be biking around just taking in the sights, but I’m wondering, what part of the coast is the most dense with great things to see: beautiful beach, hills/mountains, historical buildings, etc? Thanks for any help.

Hi! My girlfriend and I are booking a one week vacation to Spain. We will fly into Barcelona, spend 5 nights there, breaking it up with 2 nights in Costa Brava in the middle. We are struggling to pick which town is the best for our purposes. We want to be able to go to beautiful beaches with a scenic town, great restaurants, etc. we won’t have a car either, plan to take a bus from Barcelona to wherever we choose (and then taxi if we have to). Please help us choose a place!!! Thank you for your tips!

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How chaotic is the city going to be? I had no idea Pride would be going when I booked it 😅 I’m queer myself, so I am partly seeing this as a happy accident. But I’m not a big party person…

¡Hola! Mi esposa, bebé de 3 meses y yo estaremos en España y estamos planeando un fin de semana (viernes al lunes) idealmente en los alrededores de Tarragona.

Me encantaría tener recomendaciones de lugares rurales que pudiéramos visitar. En un mundo ideal, nos encantaría poder caminar y conocer lugares pequeños, sabiendo que con nuestro bebé no disponemos de todo el día.

Como dato adicional, el día 10 de Mayo estaremos celebrando el día de la Madre por primera vez, en caso de que tengan alguna recomendación en particular.

¡Muchas gracias!