Everything for your Spain trip: money, transport, tipping culture, when to go, insider tips from travelers, and the easiest way to get mobile data.
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Spain packs an astonishing variety into one country: Gaudi's Barcelona, the museums and nightlife of Madrid, Moorish palaces in Andalusia, pintxos bars in San Sebastian and hundreds of beaches from the Costa Brava to the Canary Islands.
Life runs on a later clock here. Lunch starts around 2pm, dinner rarely before 9pm, and many shops still close for a mid-afternoon break outside the big cities. Adjust your rhythm and the country makes a lot more sense.
Spain is also several countries wearing one passport. Catalonia, the Basque Country, Andalusia and Galicia each have their own language, food and stubborn pride. Learn the local name for things — txakoli, not just 'white wine'; pintxos, not tapas — and you will be treated like someone who bothered to notice.
Do not try to do Barcelona, Madrid, Andalusia and an island in ten days. Pick a coast or a city-and-region pair, eat late, nap if you need to, and let the heat dictate the afternoon. The travelers who love Spain most are the ones who stopped treating it like a highlight reel.
Essentials
Traveler tips
Real advice from people who have been to Spain, curated by our team with links to the original sources.
Spain is very safe, but Barcelona's Las Ramblas and the Madrid metro are famous for skilled pickpockets. Keep your phone out of your back pocket and be suspicious of anyone bumping into you or offering unsolicited help.
On weekdays most restaurants offer a three-course lunch menu with a drink for a fraction of dinner prices. It is how locals eat out, and often the best value meal in the country.
Tickets to the Alhambra in Granada are capped and sell out well in advance, especially the Nasrid Palaces time slots. Buy from the official site as early as your dates are fixed.
Kitchens that fill at 7pm are feeding tourists. Locals sit down after 9, and the good places only hit their stride then. If you are starving at 7, that is what tapas and a vermouth are for.
In Granada and parts of León a drink still comes with a free plate. In Barcelona and Madrid you pay for every bite. Ask, or watch the next table, before assuming the olives are a gift.
Rick Steves Travel Forum
A Renfe AVE or long-distance ticket includes Combinado Cercanías: suburban trains (and Rodalies / Alicante TRAM) from four hours before departure until four hours after arrival. In Madrid, scan the AVE QR at the Cercanías gates — including the airport C-1 from T4. T1–T3 do not have that station; use the airport express bus to Atocha instead of inventing a transfer.
View sourceRick Steves Travel Forum
Low-cost Ouigo tickets are a different company desk. Travelers who arrive early at Atocha cannot always change them at a Renfe window. Download the Ouigo and Renfe apps before you fly so the QR is on the phone; do not assume the station kiosk that sold your cousin an AVE will fix a Ouigo fare.
View sourceTripAdvisor Forums
Independent shops and some smaller sights close for a couple of afternoon hours, but kitchens stay open because that is when Spaniards eat. Plan a long lunch or a museum, not an empty wander through a village at three.
View sourceTripAdvisor Forums
Sunday is usually fine for cathedrals and day trips. Monday is when many museums, alcázars and historic houses lock the door, so do not stack Córdoba or Toledo indoor sights on a Monday.
View sourceFAQ
In big cities less than you think; in Andalusia and smaller towns, many shops still close mid-afternoon. Eat the menú del día at 2pm and save museums for the gap. Your unlocked phone (iPhone XS+, Pixel 3+, Galaxy S20+) can run maps and Renfe on an eSIM through that dead zone.
Plan on 1-2 GB per day for maps, metro routing, translation and photos backup, which puts a two-week trip around 15-20 GB. Heavy video streaming or hotspotting a tablet pushes that up, so unlimited plans are worth a look for longer stays.
Yes - Tenerife, Gran Canaria, Mallorca and Ibiza are covered by the same Spanish networks as the mainland, and coverage on the inhabited parts of the islands is strong. Note the Canaries run one hour behind mainland Spain.
You can, but airport shops charge more than city stores and add a queue to your arrival. An eSIM loaded before departure costs less, activates the moment you land, and means you can order your first taxi or metro route straight from the gate.
Hotel and cafe Wi-Fi is common, but you will miss data exactly when you need it most: navigating between sights, checking train platforms and calling rides. Mobile data in Spain is cheap enough that going without it rarely makes sense.
eSIM plans
From navigating tapas crawls to catching the right Renfe platform, data makes Spain effortless. Install an eSIM before you fly and you are connected from the moment the plane doors open, at local prices instead of roaming rates.
Renfe tickets, metro maps and the last-minute 'is this restaurant open at 11pm' search are why you want data from the gate. An eSIM means the first taxi or Cercanías train is a tap, not a hunt for airport Wi-Fi.