Travel Tips

[EdithKeeler]

Starting to plan a trip for next year from USA to Barcelona. Any bargain tips? If I start now, I think I can earn enough miles on my CC for a free or substantially reduced plane ticket.

We’d like to do 2-3 (probably 2...) weeks, and do Barcelona and surrounding areas. Looking at maybe November, which is not peak season, but we both really hate crowds, so willing to deal with cooler weather.

Tips for cheap travel, what we should do and see??

[RealPerson]

To stay: we had great lodging for very cheap with AirBnb. Barcelona is noisy. Thankfully we had well sound insulated room.

Eating: tapas! You can get very good meals for very little. Stay away from touristy places and eat where the locals eat. You probably won't find a good deal at Las Ramblas.

Walk: most of Barcelona is easy to walk. No need for taxis or Uber (not sure if Uber is in Spain). If Uber exists, it is much better than a local taxi.

Excursion: take the train to the famous Montserrat Monastery. Terrific day excursion. Bring your lunch along. There is really good hiking in the surrounding mountains.

Sagrada Familia: incredible, but watch for pickpockets. Some person stole about a quarter from my pocket. They are very skilled.

Highly recommend the Gaudi apartment buildings to visit.

Telephone: Google FI is really cheap overseas and works extremely well.

Quite humid, so bring warmer clothes than you think you need. The locals are bundled up. Down jackets, fleece layers, leggings, scarves.

ATM card: there is a Charles Schwab account with a free ATM use overseas. i have not done this yet but plan to use it in the future.

Credit cards: make sure you use a card without overseas usage fees. I use a Chase card with Ultimate Rewards.

Laundry: we use the setup recommended on the OneBag.com website. Has been all over the world. We always travel with a sink stopper as well.

AC: European adapter and voltage converter.

Don't get suckered into buying the bottled water Europeans love to buy. Bring a Nalgene water bottle. Fill it up with tap water.

Enjoy your trip! Stay out of political discussions about Catalonian independence.

[Seppia]

If you hate crowds, Barcelona really isn't the city for you, it's one of Spain's top destinations.
Certainly, November is one of the best months, early February being great as well in terms of potential savings.
Weather wise, probably late September/early October and late March/April are the best months.

I second all recommendations above, plus I would consider taking the Ave (Spanish Hi Speed Train) for a trip to Madrid (a very nice and lively cities, with a couple stunning museums), and/or the Andalucía trifecta of Granada Sevilla and Córdoba.

Not sure how 100% set you are on the destination, but while very famous, Barcelona would not be on the top of the Spanish list for me.
Too chaotic, too many tourists, of the worst kind (really, Barcelona probably has the worst tourists in soain behind only Benidorm in the summer).

My personal ranking goes somewhere like this:
1- Andalucía
2- Madrid
3- País Vasco
4- Galicia
5- Valencia

[RealPerson]

My personal ranking goes somewhere like this:
1- Andalucía
2- Madrid
3- País Vasco
4- Galicia
5- Valencia

Absolutely agree with Seppia: Barcelona is very nice but I greatly prefer Andalucia: Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada etc are fabulous. But it is Spain, so it would be hard to go wrong anywhere. As long as you avoid the crowd magnets of the Costa del Sol you should be fine.

[slowtraveler]

I second almost everything above as well.

A local ATM is 15-20 Euros with several GB of data and 30-60 minutes talk. Google FI is $20+$10/gb+$.20/minute so it comes out more expensive unless you're using next to 0 data or have a locked phone.

I found Barcelona to be very quiet. Almost no tourists at this time of year, at least where I am. The churches and restaurants have crowds but not much elsewhere. Also, colder than I expected. Seeing family here so I might not be in the touristy part of town. Gelato and pizza are great. Tapas with mashed potatoes and chorizo are great too.

Chase Sapphire bonus or another bonus you can get with a tax payment on pay1040 should be enough for a free trip. Walking, bus, metro, and bicycle for transport. Bicycle often comes out as the fastest option for travel, to my surprise and joy. You can get daily rentals for cheaper than an Uber or Metro.

Cannabis is also readily available at various collectives. Hash is cheap and nice there.

I've enjoyed my time in Barcelona but another city may be more interesting if you don't have family here.

[Chris]

What slowtraveler said: nab a credit card sign-up bonus to help with your airfare. You can also get a hotel credit card signup bonus to cover some accommodation; Marriott currently has a 100k signup bonus, and IHG has a 80k signup bonus.

I've been to Barcelona several times, and even though I don't like crowds, I do like the city. The different districts provide some variety.

[RealPerson]

I just remembered another thing about bullet trains. The AVE train mentioned by Seppia is very nice and a great way to travel through Spain. I took a fast train between Sevilla and Cordoba. The AVE was very expensive but there was another train, almost as fast, that was much cheaper. I don't remember the name and I don't know if it runs on all the lines. But it is worth looking into if the AVE is expensive. Also, bullet trains generally are much cheaper if you can plan ahead. The later you buy, the more expensive the ticket.

I hope you enjoy wine. The wines in grocery stores are much cheaper in Spain that in the US. I was really surprised by the price difference. I also think that the laws pertaining to consuming alcohol (except DUI!) are way more relaxed in Spain than the US. No "no alcohol beyond this point" signs there. But check on that with the locals before walking on the street with an open bottle.

A cheap way to do lunch is to go in a grocery store to the ham department ("jamon"). They have the leg of a pig mounted in the store and will cut off as many slices as you like. It is quite an experience. (I apologize if your religion bans pork). You can buy some bread, cheese and ham and make a delicious sandwich for very little money.

Many places in Spain serve breakfast in little cafes or even as street food: churros and hot chocolate. The churros we had were deep fried on the spot. Not my favorite but it is an experience to have.

About Barcelona: I was turned off by the TONS of graffiti everywhere. This is mostly an eye sore when the stores are closed and the solid metal window covers are down. I wish they would respect the city more and remove the stuff. We did not see the same in Andalucia.

Marijuana: I imagine it is readily available but as far as I know it is not legal. You are subject to the laws of Spain if you commit an illegal act. Again, check with the locals if that is your thing.

Tapas: if you go during a typical dinner time of 6-8 PM, you will be eating with other tourists. The Spaniards eat dinner at 9 or 10 pm, so the places really start hopping around that time, but they also get really noisy.

[RealPerson]

One more thing on the markets in the historic district: there is a produce market near Las Ramblas, the main tourist street. The atmosphere is very nice and lively. You definitely want to check out the street and the market. But that market is a tourist trap. The locals go to another market that is much closer to the cathedral of Barcelona. We shopped at both markets and the one by the cathedral offered better quality at competitive prices.

[Gilberto de Piento]

For all travel, research the local scams and security issues. It won't help you get bargain but it might help you save money by not having your wallet stolen or whatever.

[Seppia]

What Gilberto said.
Definitely pay attention to pickpockets on the Ramblas at any time of the day, and in the most crowded areas of barrio gotico at night.

[saving-10-years]

I went to Barcelona for a conference a few years back. Two things I particularly enjoyed (in the short space of time available). The conference was in the Science Museum (CosmoCaixa), not central and I was able to visit its stunning rainforest (small scale but fantastic enclosed space with rainforest habitat to explore). Not expensive and could satisfy your inner geek?

I also developed a very soft spot for ice cream shaped into flowers - discovered this for the first time in Barcelona and its more available now. There is an Amorino shop at the top end of the Rambelas. Picture of ice cream flower in case you are unfamiliar with this concept.

https://www.amorino.com/en/products/gelato.3.html

Have a great trip.

[FruGal61]

I've traveled a few times to Italy and France using miles on the United MileagePlus Explorer card and the business version. They both had 50K mileage sign on bonuses (which is worth waiting for, I think the bonus is currently 40K) and there are various other tricks to get up to 60K miles (needed for round trip) if you are not a big spender, which I am not. My tickets were about $100 round trip and it was very easy since I flew in and out of the same airport.

Interestingly, I may be going to Spain this fall and although I canceled the card (to avoid the yearly $95 fee) I still have over 60K miles so will most likely be using these to buy a ticket. The destination is Valencia as a friend's daughter is spending a semester there.