Spain Travel Tips for First-Timers

I am so excited you are planning on visiting Spain for the first time! You are going to love it. From the bright flashes of a flamenco dancer to the snail’s pace of the afternoon hours — from the tumbling Atlantic to the cradling Mediterranean — to the greens in the north to the browns in the south — my goodness there is so much to see and explore and to love in this Iberian country. But, before you set off on your first trip, here are 10 tips for visiting Spain you are going to want to know to make your time there easier.

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Learn Basic Spanish Phrases

If you are traveling to spain, a bit of the local language goes a long way — here and just about anywhere else! If you’re only going for a few days I recommend simply learning how to say “hello” and “thank you” in Spanish that is “hola” and “gracias”. If you’re planning to spend more than two weeks in Spain I’d recommend going beyond those basics.

Study some food words so you can read a menu and don’t miss out on the best food in Spain. Look into how Spanish actually great each other. Because, while “hello” is a start, most Spaniards will actually use “good morning”, “good afternoon”, and “good evening”.

A little bit of effort with the local language goes a long way in helping you feel more welcome and comfortable in the country. 

Do Not Book Airbnbs

When Airbnb really took off around 2017, the fabric of cities across the world changed. Housing was no longer for the locals, it was for tourists. This meant that city centers (and increasingly beyond) were also not for the locals. I won’t get into all of the different aspects of why Airbnb is bad here, but I’ll simply say it has played a huge role in ruining locals lives by taking away their homes — literally and figuratively — and making their lives unaffordable. So don’t support it.

Don’t book an Airbnb or any other short term apartment rental. Allows those homes to be used by long term, local residents. Book a hotel. 

Try All the Food

Spanish cuisine is one of my personal favorite cuisines from around the world. It’s full of decadent meats and fresh seafood. Vegetables aren’t normally a highlight, but you have to try padron peppers. There is also some amazing cheese from Spain and of course the egg-based Spanish tortilla. Check out my complete list of all the Spanish food you have to try. 

It is far from necessary to go to the most expensive, top rated, fanciest restaurants to find the best Spanish food. Often it is simply at the little spot on the corner, or the shack on the beach. So give yourself plenty of time and budget to explore the different food spots and try all of the amazing dishes the country has to offer.  

Summers are Extremely Hot

Spain is a big country, and the temperatures vary, but only to a certain extent. Summers across the country can be counted on to be sweltering. In Madrid you can expect summertime highs to reach into the 90sF (around 32-33C). Down south, along the Mediterranean coast, you have the ocean air to keep things a bit cooler — so for example in Malaga, highs usually stay in the upper 80sF (around 31C). One of the hottest cities in Spain is Seville, with regular temperatures going all the way up to the high 90sF (around 35-36C).

Generally, I would not recommend summer as the best time to go to Spain. It’s far too hot for sightseeing throughout the day, and even if you do head to the beaches, you’ll find them jam packed with all sorts of European tourists. 

Winters are Cold in Some Areas

On the flip side, Spain has surprisingly cool winners. Madrid, for example, is a city of extremes, nighttime lows throughout winter can dip close to freezing — and though it is infrequent, the city also does occasionally see snow. However, most of the snow in Spain falls in the north. You can visit small, snowy towns in the Ancares mountain range. Or if you want to go skiing, aim for a winter visit to the Pyrenees, which stretch along Spain’s border with France. 

Plan to Eat Late

The Spanish eat late. Dinner is often not eaten until 10:00 or 10:30. My normal dinner time is 7:30 or 8:00, which is way too early for Spain. Some restaurants aren’t even open at that hour. But one of the reasons why Spaniards are able to eat dinner so late is because they also eat lunch quite late, often not sitting down until around 2:00 PM.

Of course, you can eat whenever you want, but know that if you plan to stick to a 12:00 lunch and 7:00 dinner schedule, you may need to be getting the makings for sandwiches at the grocery store as the vast majority of restaurants won’t be open at those times. 

Do Not Tip

This is not just one of the most important travel tips for spain — it applies almost everywhere. I’ve written extensively about why tipping culture is so terrible. Do not tip. I cannot say this often or loud enough. Do not tip. I get it, you think you’re being generous, and you can afford it, right? Sure. Today. But if you and others around you all start doing the same, two things happen. First of all, if tips become the norm, they can be used, as they are in the US, to lower wages. Second, if it becomes the norm to leave a 20% tip after dinner, that means dinner becomes 20% more expensive for everyone, including the Spanish. And if the Spanish don’t follow suit and leave that tip because they can’t afford it, guess what? Restaurants start to favor foreigners. Unfortunately I’ve seen it happen. If you have standard service at a standard restaurant in Spain, do not tip. If you have amazing service, leave €2. Think of it as a thank you, not as a part of a wage. 

Visit the Tourist Attractions!

Don’t let anyone convince you that the best tourist attractions in Spain aren’t famous for a reason. Sure, some of them are full of tour groups and long queues and aren’t cheap to access. But there’s a reason for all of that. Whether it’s the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona, or the mesquite in Cordoba, go. Make a list of the tourist attractions in all of the cities you are visiting, decide which ones you think look interesting, and go. I promise they will be worth it, especially on a trip to Spain for first timers.  

But Also Get Away From the Tourist Attractions

But also! Do something else too. Don’t let the hottest spots on Tripadvisor be the only things you see. The problem is that the non-hot spots aren’t nearly as easy to discover. So get lost. Make no plan the plan. Give yourself plenty of time so you’re not hustling from attraction to attraction completely blind to everything else you are passing by.

Maybe that means visiting the Sagrada Familia in the morning and then having no other plan for the rest of the day and walking slowly back to your accommodation. Stopping in at little shops, wandering down quiet alleyways, finding perfectly inviting cafes. As much as the tourist attractions are stunning and always worth seeing once, the real magic in life anywhere is right where you’d expect it — on the street, carrying on between the big moments. 

Enjoy Siesta

Siesta is more than just a nap in Spain, it is part of the day to day fabric of the country. Enjoy it. Every Spaniard is not the same, and these days work schedules are much more varied, but generally after a long lunch the Spanish will retreat to their bedrooms or the couch. Sometimes that down time results in a nap, sometimes just a bit of time to relax. Either way, many, many shops, attractions, etc will be closed from about 2:00 PM – 5:00 PM — especially if you are in smaller towns.

So enjoy siesta time. Have your long lunch and then relax. Life will pick up again in the evening. And if you want to keep up with the Spanish going late into the night then you’ll need the mid-day break.  

After spending many months in different regions around the country, this is what to know before visiting Spain.