Spain Trip
 

Hi,

I'm new to this board . . . USA resident here, planning my first trip ever to Europe, specifically Spain, and maybe Portugal. I'll be traveling solo and as you can tell from my name, I look for budget travel--youth hostels, college food hangouts, free tours, etc.

I've seen some helpful posts. Here are some questions:

1) Weatherwise, should I travel in October or November? I'd be visiting Madrid and Barcelona. I am thinking eight days total, four for each.

2) Are most youth hostels there age restricted? The websites give conflicting information and are confusing. I am over 29, so that is an issue for me.

3) How reliable/expensive is train travel between the cities? Or should I try a budget airline such as Spanair or Vueling? I do not plan to rent a car.

4) Is Lisbon, Portugal worth working into this trip (I'd expand the number of days)? Seems like to do it, I'd have to fly from Madrid to Barcelona, then Barcelona to Lisbon, then Lisbon to Barcelona, then Barcelona to Madrid. Seems expensive and complicated to try to incorporate Lisbon also.

5) Are there any youth hostels recommended? I'd want to be near the main strip in both cities as I like nightlife.

6) What are the smoking regulations in Spain? I am a nonsmoker and assume the hostel common rooms would be nonsmoking, but I wonder about the clubs, bars, restaurants, and other public places. Do any prohibit it? Do they offer nonsmoking sections?

Any answers that anybody has to any of these questions is appreciated. I have not yet purchased my tickets. $520 seems to be the cheapest US airfare round trip right now.

Thanks . . .

I can speak to the transportation between Barcelona and Madrid. The fastest train takes about five hours; the fastest flight takes about 1 hr and 5 minutes.

Spanair and Iberia compete HEAVILY on that route so if you reserve early enough you can often get a fairly inexpensive airfare..even fotr a one-way trip.

Barcelona will be more humid and damp than Madrid which tends to be much drier.

We flew on iberia between malaga/barcelona and then barca/madrid for 29e/person (one way). easy, cheap and lots of departure options. Beat the train prices and was certainly faster. can't say much about hostels as we tend to do great hotels with loyalty points or H10's if its on our own nickel in spain. 4 days madrid and 4 days barcelona would work - we did 2.5 days madrid, 4 days seville, 2 days malaga and 4 days barcelona. if you can work in Seville - do it!!!! skip malaga in my opinion.

Thanks for the replies so far . . . I did call Iberia, and their lowest rate for a round trip between Madrid and Barcelona was $422 US, which seems awfully high, and way more than the rates everyone else has mentioned.

budget--- congrats on taking on your first trip to Europe as a solo traveler and plan on your own! You are the soul of boards like this!! :-D WELCOME!!

Couple of words of advice for budget travelers:

1. Let's Go Europe is a fabulous guide for budget travelers. Published and edited every year by the Harvard's Student Association it has primo advice for solo travelers on a budget. I believe they have the Spain-Portugal edition for 2005.

2. Weatherwise, October is better than November, but not by much. Airfare on the other hand, does tend to go down quite a bit for Nov. Therefore, my advice would be travel in Early Nov. Depart-arrive Madrid.

3. If you are going for less than 8 days, stick to Spain, if you are going for more than 12 then (and only then) consider adding Portugal.

4. Madrid-Barcelona is a good combo. Madrid-Sevilla is a better one for a first timer travelling solo in Nov. Bus/train a good option. I took a bus from Madrid to Seville for $16 one way. The trip was about 4-5 hours. No complains whatsoever.

5. Stay away from Youth hostels in Madrid's Calle de la Montera (Street of the Mounted). Tons of cheap youth hostels on that street, but at night the street turns into a prostitutes (every sex and lifestyle) hang-out. I admit to walking that street one night with a couple of friends (one a retired Bank Admin and the other an architect; an eye opener for these ladies, I'll tell you that much...). Another lively neighborhood is La Chueca; great restaurants; at night some spots get a bit "rough". Beware of your surroundings and be cautious.

6. Make sure you understand the distinction between a youth hostel (age and student status may be required) and a hostel (designation based on amenities offered to travelers). Strongly recommend to visit the madridman.com website. He is an authority (without a doubt) on budget solotraveling for Madrid and has tons of reputable hostels listed on his website.

7. I can't comment on the fare; no idea of your departure city. Typically, Continental offers good fares Newark-Madrid during Low Season. To top it all, the oil situation and reduced number of transatlantic flights presents an added challenge.

Best of luck in your planning. Spain is a wonderful country!!:-D

If you go to Iberia.com, you can book one way tickets between Barcelona and Madrid for as little as 19e - it depends on the time of day you travel.

Quoting:

"If you go to Iberia.com, you can book one way tickets between Barcelona and Madrid for as little as 19e - it depends on the time of day you travel."

I went to the website . . . I cannot find fares even close to 19e. The closest was 62e one way, for an inconvenient time, and 43 coming back. It looks as though I'll have to take the train. :(

Hi - I stayed at a great place in Barcelona last summer: The Barcelo Sants is right above the main train station. This proved to be very convenient because the Metro comes in there too. It was clean and nice for $100 US/nt. The train station is beautiful and has lots of nice places for breakfast.
Do the Bus Touristica - which stops outside the train station to zoom you to all the sights.
Enjoy

Well, this isn't a hostel or a hostal, but I stayed in a 2* hotel in Madrid in June that I was happy with: hotel Mexico. It is about ten minutes walk from Atocha station and Retiro park, near the Prado and other museums. It is located just off of calle Huertes (spelling?) which is a good pedestrian street that will lead you to lots of little bars/restaurants and on into many of the plazas of Madrid. I walked everywhere from there (bus stop is right there as well).

Nightlife in Madrid is great! You will find plenty to do, just remember that it starts late late late.

Re: smoking. Every night after I went out I had to either wash out the clothes I wore or hang them near my open window to air out. Heavy smokers.

budget--- agree w/Anabelle, the Calle Huertas mentioned in her post is a very good location, about 10-15 minute walk to Plaza Mayor, plenty of tapas bars around the neighborhood.

By the way, the name of the street Huertas means "vegetable garden". In the old days, that whole zone was kind of the outskirts of town and there were vegetable gardens all over the place tended by the monks living in the surrounding monasteries. The monasteries are long gone, obviously.

By the way, El Prado Museum is free on Sundays, but get there early.

Revamp your trip. First, Madrid is not very interesting. It is the dullest capital in Europe. Spend minimal time there or just use it as a base for Toledo and Segovia. It will also likely be cool in Oct and Nov. Forget Lisbon. Not that great a place

Focus on Seville and Andalusia. Places like Ronda, Nerja and Granada, etc. Better weather, much more intersting. If you can fly cheap beyween Barcelona and Anadlusia, fine. Otherwise, forget it.

Completely disagree with Imhornet when calling Madrid dull.....obviously he hasn't party in Madrid. The original poster sounds of the younger persuasion and he will find that the young Madrileños definitely know how to have a good time. When it comes to sightseeing, Madrid has beautiful plazas, monuments, museums, and restaurants. IMHO, anybody that says that Madrid is dull didn't do their homework.

Hmm, have to say I agree with the above poster. Madrid has a great night-time scene; lots of options and lots of energy.

budget4me mentioned nightlife; I would recommend Toledo and Segovia as fabulous places to visit, yes, and all of Andalusia, of course. Wonderful. But Madrid at night is great.

Yes, definitely young . . . last night I got home at 6 A.M. this morning. And I still made it to the office today. ;) So I look forward to the nightlife in Madrid, will be good to be among people who can keep up with me, heh.

My trip is set--yes to Madrid and Barcelona, hopefully to Segovia and Toledo as well. I have my reservations in "hostales" already. The only issue I have is how to get between Madrid and Barcelona . . . I really hadn't budgeted on that being so expensive. Spanair is the worst, 146 Euros each way between the cities, and Iberia is slightly better, but not quite cheap enough, and their low fares are all very early morning or very late at night. Neither will work for me, with the type of accommodations I'm booking. Trains are surprisingly high as well; Renfe wants 60 one way.

So, if anyone has any suggestions for getting those elusive 19 euro one way fares, I'd love to know . . .