Solo Travel around Spain

Barcelona is a must! Such a great atmosphere. I love that there is a beach! Always people out in the streets and always people partying every night, great weather, great food! I want to move there! San Sebastian is more relaxed--kind of a surfer town. Great food--Basque tapas! Very beautiful city and beaches situated near the mountains. Granada is gorgeous too, surrounded by mountains, small streets with small stores, tons of tapas (which are free with each round of drinks), tons of young people, and nightlife. A must-see!

Quick Tips:

With trains you should reserve a couple days in advance in the off season. Hostels as well just to be sure a couple days in advance especially in Granada and Barcelona. To get train tickets try to get your tickets in small train stations as I went to get a ticket in Barcelona Sants Station and waited an hour to get a ticket! Also to reserve hostels I found hostelz.com a great website to use.

Best Way To Get Around:

Trains are a reliable way of getting around within Spain and not expensive. To save more money and if you don't mind spending more time traveling then bus is the way to go...but trains are more comfortable. Subway in Barcelona and Madrid are good, and the tram line in Valencia is fast as well as the bus system to get to the beach.

This youth hostel is clean and has lockers for your belongings. The area is safe as there are plenty of people in the streets all the time. It can get quite noisy at night with the party people. This youth hostel is good, but it's not the easiest place to meet people as there is no common room. It is a great location though. One of the most beautiful areas of Barcelona, the Gothic District (architecture) with small streets, boutiques, and bars and restaurants not far from Las Ramblas (touristy boulevard) and not far from the pier.

This was a great youth hostel. By far my favorite youth hostel I've ever stayed in. It's small (aprox. 16 beds), so it's very intimate--you get to meet tons of people. I literally just checked in and dropped off my bags when the whole crew staying in the hostel were going out for drinks and invited me to join! I have a lot of good memories thanks to this hostel. It's clean and in a safe area and has lockers. The only one problem would be that the guy who works there isn't there that often so you have to let him know when you'll arrive to make sure you can get in! But you have your own keys so once you're in you don't have to worry about being locked out. It's a great vibe!

This hostel was OK. It was pretty clean, but there weren't enough lockers for the amount of people staying in the hostel. The area was a cool area, though. Kind of arty, right close to the gay district. Not far from the major shopping area, and not far from the Puerto del Sol, where there's tons of things to do. I was booked for a four-bed, but was put in a six-bed. But I think it was better that way, because I saw the four-bed rooms and they're very cramped. The six-bed is more spacious and I got to meet a lot of people.

It is an OK place. The staff are friendly and helpful, so that was great (except for the cleaning lady who kicks you out at midday)!

I didn't stay here, but a friend of mine did, and I went to visit his place and it seemed so much nicer than the place I was staying! It was clean...it had a bar and common area and serves all meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner). I think from what I saw and what my friend told me that this place is a great place to stay in Madrid. Only down side is it's a little further from all the sights, but I think everything makes up for that.

This was a nice hostel. I shared a room with two girls. They had a bunk and I had a single bed. We had our own toilet, shower, and sink, which was really nice, as in all the other hostels you share either with the whole floor or with the whole dorm (depending of the size of the hostel). You can get dinner and breakfast, but you have to ask the front desk to get it. There's an internet room, and the location of the hostel is in the old part of Cordoba, which is by far the most beautiful area of Cordoba.

This is a cheap hotel. It cost me 20 Euros a night. I had a tiny little room just big enough to fit in a single bed, sink, and nightstand. It was a cute room covered in decorative tiles. I shared the toilet and shower with the rest of the floor. The hotel was situated in the old town, called Santa Cruz. This is an area full of small streets, little restaurants, and bars. Lots of character! The hotel is clean and is in a safe area.

A good vibe. This place had a bar and terrace on the roof. The staff are friendly and the place is clean, but the room was a bit small and cramped. Otherwise, it served the basic necessities. I was going to stay in the Oasis Youth Hostel, where a friend of mine works, but it was full. Funky Backpackers did the trick.

This was a great youth hostel. Great location: young, eclectic neighborhood with small boutiques and cafes everywhere. The hostel was clean and the staff were very friendly. The beds are singles, not bunk beds, which was nice for a change. It's safe, with lockers and a guy buzzing people into the building 24 hours a day. Met a lot of people, as there is a kitchen and common area with a TV. Cool decor.

I really enjoyed the Picasso Museum, because I have seen a lot of Picasso's works, but I haven't seen so much of his earlier works (before the blue period). I loved the way they presented his works, from his earliest works to his blue period and then Cubist. It really puts the progression of the process in focus. I feel that the way the works are presented gave me a better idea of his thought process and puts his works into context.

Crazy! I waited an hour (very eagerly) for the surf shop to open after siesta, around 4pm. Finally we got in, and they only had shorties! Not only that, but the real thin ones! So basically, I went in and froze my butt off. Mind you, I was in San Sebastian in mid October so it's not summer water temperature. The surf was great--decent-size swell, about 6 feet. Started to rain at one point, but it's a picturesque place to surf. Tons of other surfers in the water, but they're all friendly guys. If you go to San Sebastian to surf be smart (not like me) and bring your own wetsuit!

Beautiful architecture. It's amazing to see. The tunnels and arches, towers covered in mosaics, and an amazing view of the city of Barcelona. To get there from the metro, you walk a few minutes and then up several escalators to the top where the park is located. Quite an experience!

I went to a bar called Zebibo Bar (Plaza Sarriegi 8), which has really good sangria and good music (hip-hop and dance-hall reggae). It has a good vibe, but doesn't pick up until after midnight (as all bars do in San Sebastian).

I also went to Mendaur (St Fermin Calbeton), which has a dance floor and plays house music. Then I went to Amabost Rock Bar, but I don't have many memories of what the place was like, as I was pretty drunk by this point! Hehe...

Everyone is quite well dressed when going out in Madrid...especially in this area of Puerto del Sol. Throughout this whole area, there are tons of nightclubs. I went to one called Joy on Calle Mayor right near the Pluerto del Sol. This was a fairly large place with several rooms and is really busy on the weekends...not weekdays. The music on weekends is good: one room with Spanish music and one with hip-hop, dance hall, and pop.

Quite packed. A well-known place for flamenco. The musicians are amazing, especially the pianist/singer. He composes his own flamenco music... you can't miss him - he's dressed to stand out! He's quite young and very talented. The dancers are also amazing... my first flamenco show! And you have to try the drink Agua de Sevilla (which is wine and rum, topped with whipped cream and cinnamon)... it's quite delicious... but you can only order by the pitcher. Salut!

On Tuesday nights, there are flamenco shows. If you are staying at the Home Youth Hostel, you can get coupons for free drinks. Monday nights, the youth hostel throws a party there. When I went Tuesday night, the place was packed with not only tourists but locals as well.

The flamenco dancer was a guy... first time for me to see a male flamenco dancer. The energy of the place was charged as the show went on. There were several encores, and at the very end, four other men came on stage and performed flamenco. After the show was done, these four men continued to show off their skills on the dance floor. Then they played reggae and people continued to dance.

This is a lookout point that will leave you in awe. Just getting there is an adventure in itself, climbing up the steep, narrow, winding cobblestone streets that go up the hillside clustered with small white buildings. When you get up there, not only can you see the whole of Granada, but the mountains encircling it and the valley, and on the other side, the Alhambra. It's breathtaking.

Tip: for the Alhambra, you need to book in advance - at least a day. So buy a ticket for the following day so you can get in!

The most amazing thing about the Ciudad de las Ciencias is the architecture. After passing the Palau Musica you get to the new opera house, which is yet to be opened to the public. Its futuristic design is amazing. It looks like something out of a sci-fi movie.

Then there is the Imax theater, the Science Museum, and the oceanography building, all of which are incredibly designed architecturally. I would say if you don't want to spend a lot of money, the building that is most worth visiting would be the oceanography building where they have a large aquarium and an Antarctica exhibit. Also, you must try the horchata stands... this is a drink that looks like milk, but is much sweeter and made from some kind of bean. Delicious!