10 Days in Spain

Quick Tips:

Not a lot of people speak English in Spain especially in the smaller cities. It would help a lot if you know basic phrases in Spanish (ordering in the restaurant and asking for directions).

In Barcelona: if you are planning to take a shuttle bus from Plaza Catalunya to the airport leave a lot of time before your departure. At the hotel we were told that it takes about 30 minutes so we decided to save money and take it instead of the taxi. We barely made it on time. When we arrived to the bus stop we saw a long line of people waiting for the bus. We had to skip the first bus and wait for 20 minutes for the other bus to arrive. It’s a big bus, so by the time all the people pay for the ride and load their luggage more time passes. Then the bus makes another stop (Plaza Espanya) on the way to the airport. The bus was full when it got there so if you are planning to take a shuttle bus from Plaza Espanya be advised that you might not be able to get in.

To avoid long lines get train tickets in advance on www.renfe.es.

Alhmbra tickets get sold out very quickly. So try to order them online as soon as possible at www.alhambratickets.com. We tried to order the tickets one month in advance and they were sold out. We got a city pass, which is twice as expensive, but it includes entries to other places in Granada. Here is the website that we used to purchase the city pass: granadainfo.com/ticketsalhambra.htm.

Best Way To Get Around:

If you don’t have a lot of time it is best to travel by train instead of the car around Spain. You don’t have to deal with all the traffic in the cities and looking for parking and it is much faster to get to the destination. Taxis are relatively cheap. We mostly used them to get from the train station to our hotels and back. In Madrid and Barcelona we also used metro which runs often and can get you to any part of the city. In Toledo and Cordoba we used buses to get from the train station to the city center. Of course, if your hotel is in the city center nothing beats walking. It is the best way to see many parts of the city that you would not otherwise see. In Granada we walked from the train station to the city center and from there we took a bus to Alhambra.

The primary reason why I chose this hotel was because it was suppose to be close to the train station. It was a very long walk considering we were carrying our luggage. On the way back (from the hotel to the train station) we ordered a taxi, which arrived 15 minutes earlier than the requested time. The taxi driver charged us for the waiting time. It’s a 30 minute walk to the center from the hotel. We used taxi. The hotel is not a 3 star hotel! We stayed in a much better hotel in Spain that had a 2 star rating. The room we stayed in was very basic and had a lot of stains on the carpet. Other than that it was clean. The TV had only Spanish channels with bad reception. The bathroom was big and the shower had good water pressure. We also found a bottle with the roach killer spray in the closet although we didn’t see any insects in the room. The breakfast (which was included) was nothing special: yogurts, cereals, cheese, ham, jam, juices, tea, and coffee. No hot dishes.

The hotel is in a good location within easy walk to University metro station, Ramblas, and Plaza Catalunya. There are a few bars on the street so it is very active at night and can get noisy especially on the weekend. The hotel is very clean and there is a computer with Internet access by the front desk which you can use for free. The room we stayed in was small and consisted of one double bed, little desk, a chair, and a closet. There is also a nice size bathroom but the shower is a very tiny cabin. If you have a very large complexion you might not fit. Also, there is no place to put your toiletries. The flat screen TV has a lot of channels (Russian, German, Spanish, etc) but no channels in English.

The hotel is in a great location. Walking distance to a lot of attractions. The rooms are modern and clean with the beautiful bathroom. We had a little balcony with the nice view of the city. The hotel has tiny funny looking triangular shape elevators but the for of us could fit into them. Definitely I would stay there again.