Archive for September, 2009

September 11th, 2009

Spain Travel Deals


Finding the best Spain travel deals is an important consideration for many people when planning a vacation to the country.  Spain is an exciting and varied place, and you will undoubtedly want to take cost into account so that you can enjoy as much of the country as possible for your money.  This blog will strive to offer you a wide assortment of the best travel deals and tips to make your Spanish holiday the best it can be.

We will cover things like, getting to the country and traveling around at a reasonable cost, finding attractive but affordable accommodation at a wide variety of levels, and getting the best deals for seeing some of Spain’s most popular attractions and events.

Another goal of this site will be to bring you information about as much of what Spain has to offer as possible.  Clearly, the interests and intentions of travelers vary quite a bit.  It is with this in mind that this blog is being created.  It will be designed to serve a a reference for travelers with many different interests to learn more about the sights and amenities available in Spain, while hopefully discovering some great Spain travel deals in the process.

Are you a beach lover?  Spain has some beautiful coastlines, offering good opportunities for surfing or just enjoying the sun.  It’s possible to find some good seaside accommodation at a reasonable price if you know where to look.  We will be discussing some of these options with you in the future.

Perhaps you are a history buff or art lover.  If so, you will find that Spain is home to some amazing cathedrals and other historic sites.  It has also been home to some of the world’s most famous artists, and as a consequence, the country has some fine museums that are not to be missed by the art patron.

If you’re interested in trying out some authentic Spanish cuisine, there are countless options available within a wide price range.  Whether you are looking for a good seafood meal, or you’d like to try out some tapas at a local bar, Spain has something to offer you.  I hope you will come back to this site soon, as I will be adding a lot of new content to help you find some good Spain travel deals that will save you money on anything you might want to do during your vacation.

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September 28th, 2009

Spain Travel Deals: Budget Dining in Barcelona


Barcelona is one of the most popular destinations for tourists to Spain, and it boasts a large number of reasonable Spain travel deals for anything you might want to do or see.  Dining out can be one of the most expensive activities associated with any holiday, so it stands to reason that a tourist visiting Barcelona will be interested in finding good quality food at a reasonable price.  In this article, I want to highlight what I think are a few of the best options for an inexpensive meal in the city.

We will start with a small restaurant in the Gothic Quarter of Barcelona.  In my opinion this is one of the nicest areas in the city.  You will need to find a good place to eat here, as it takes some time to explore all of the wonderful areas of interest that are found here.

The restaurant I would suggest is Con Conesa, located at carrer de la Libreteria, 1.  The specialty here is the bocadillo, or baguette style sandwich.  These sandwiches offer a hearty lunch that is quite popular with tourists and locals alike.  Be advised that because of its popularity with the locals, and the small size of the establishment, there will often be lines to get in.  That being said, the food is of a good quality, and the atmosphere is friendly.  Incidentally, if you are not in the mood for a sandwich, La Conesa also serves up a variety of tasty pizzas.

Next, I would like to suggest a good café for anyone interested in trying tapas (appetizer like fare commonly eaten as a lunch and served with wine or beer), or paella (a rice based dished with meat).  Both of these food items come in several varieties throughout the country, but Café de la Radio is an excellent place to sample them if you are in Barcelona.  The café is located at Calle Casp, 4 in the city, and is a popular dining option for budget travelers.

The tapas can be had for just a few Euros, and the top quality Paella is a bargain at just under 7 Euros.  Either of these options will make for an authentic Spanish lunch that you won’t forget.

Finally, no stay in Barcelona would be complete without a visit to one of the seafood restaurants that dot Barceloneta Beach.  These restaurants offer some of the best Spain travel deals on seafood meals that you will find in Barcelona, with establishments to suite a variety of budgets.  One good place you might want to try is El Rey de la Gamba, located at Paseo de Joan de Borbo, 46.

This is a large restaurant with even larger portions.  You will find a variety of dishes including several shrimp plates, clams, mussels and other typical seafood fare.  If you prefer, they also serve good quality paella.  With meals starting around 20 Euros this restaurant is a good value no matter what you select.

I hope you have found this article useful, and that you will return to the Spain Travel Deals Blog again soon for more money saving tips and travel planning advice.

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September 25th, 2009

Spain Travel Deals on Train Tickets


In planning your trip to Spain, you may decide that you would like to visit a number of cities while you are there.  Luckily, there are many Spain travel deals on different forms of transportation within the country.  One mode of transport that often offers significant discounts is train travel.

Spain has an extensive rail network that will allow a visitor traveling by train to reach major destinations quite easily.  If you are looking to use the train as your primary form of transport between Spanish cities, you may want to look at purchasing a rail pass so that you can travel at a reduced cost.  This article will give some details about what a rail pass does for the traveler, and the kinds of deals you can expect to find.  Primarily, we will look at information from Rail Europe (a US based site).  Other countries offer similar sites where you can buy rail passes to use in Spain.  Before making any purchase, be sure that you are eligible to buy a ticket from the site you are using.

Before giving more details about Spain Travel Deals with Rail Europe, it is useful to define what a rail pass is.  With normal train tickets, you purchase a ticket every time you need to travel.  This ticket entitles you to travel from Point A to Point B, and back again (for roundtrip tickets).  With a rail pass, you buy one travel document with which you can use the train as much as you want within a given period.  This means, you will be able to get on and off in different cities throughout the duration of your trip without buying additional tickets.

But, what kinds of passes are available for travel in Spain?  Rail Europe offers a number of different passes, with varying prices for adults, children, youths (age 12-25), and seniors over age 60.  To give you an idea of what you might expect to pay, at the time of this writing, Rail Europe offers a 7 day Spain Pass for adults at a price of $351 (second class).  The pass allows you to travel for 7 days total within a two month period.  For these seven days, you can use the Spanish train system as much as you like.  Youths age 12-25 would pay $337 for the same pass, and both children and seniors currently pay $177.

There are also deals for travelers wishing to visit more than one country during their trip.  15 day Global passes for youth travelers cost $482, and allow the bearer to travel in more than 20 European countries (including Spain).  A similar pass is available to those traveling together in groups of 2-5.  The Global group pass sells for just $315 per traveler.  There are many good deals for travelers headed to Spain and beyond on sites like rail Europe.  To get the best price, try to plan where you want to go ahead of time, and decide how long you will be traveling.

Check back to this site often for more Spain travel deals and guidance to help you plan your trip.

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September 22nd, 2009

Spain Travel Deals – Save Money with Spain Package Holidays


Sometimes the best way to get good Spain travel deals is by looking into a package holiday.  When you buy a package holiday, you are paying a travel agency or tour company to set up all the major aspects of your trip for you.  The company will usually handle things like the purchase of your airline ticket, your accommodation during the trip, your sightseeing tours, and perhaps some or all of your dining arrangements.  When you allow a company to do this, you can often pay much less than you would have had you booked all these things separately.  There are a number of things to take into consideration before booking a package holiday for your trip to Spain.  This article will highlight a number of questions regarding financial obligations and scheduling that you need to be concerned with.

What’s included: If your package tour includes your travel ticket, are airline taxes also included in the price, or will you need to budget separately for them?  If meals are included throughout the trip, how many are included per day?  All of your meals may be included, or you may need to set aside additional money for breakfast or lunch.  What accommodation options do you have with the package?  Can you downgrade the accommodation to save money, or can you upgrade if you’d like more amenities?  When sightseeing, are your tickets to each destination included in the package, or does your tour group only cover transportation costs to each location?  Knowing what is and is not included is a major part of finding the best Spain travel deals with any touring company.

What will you schedule be like: Apart from considerations pertaining directly to money you will want to know what your sightseeing and travel schedule will be like while in Spain.  Will you tour all day long, and see many sites each day?  Will you stay with a tour group all the time or have time to yourself?  How many different cities will you visit, and how long will you stay in each one?  These are all important questions to ask.  Many people prefer to take more leisurely vacations and would not be happy with a package that is jammed packed with touring.  You may also want to explore the country a bit yourself when you do tour, rather than following a strict schedule of pre-selected activities.  The Spain travel deals that any company offers may also be less than desirable if you are taken to too many areas of the country in a short time, and don’t get to see much of any city.

When looking at any package deals, always look out for extra cost that may not be covered, and always look carefully at the itinerary your package tour will follow to make sure that you are really getting what you want for your money throughout the trip.

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September 13th, 2009

Spain Travel Deals: When to Travel to find the Best Airfares


When looking for the best Spain travel deals for your next vacation, one of the first things you are likely to be concerned with is finding a good deal on your airline ticket.  Indeed, transportation to the country can be one of the largest expenditures associated with a trip to Spain.  That being said, there are some things you can do to significantly decrease the amount of money you will need to pay for your travel ticket.

In this post, we will begin to look at how taking the time of year you plan to travel into consideration can have a big impact on ticker price, and how traveling outside of the main tourist season can have a number of other unforeseen cost benefits.

As you may already be aware, Spain’s summer months, (mainly June through August), tend to be the most expensive period of time to visit the country.  The most obvious reason for this is clearly the weather.  Indeed, if you are primarily interested in a beach holiday, this is the best time to visit any Mediterranean country for swimming and surfing.

If however the beach is not going to be the primary reason for your holiday some great Spain travel deals can often be had by visiting the country in the winter months.  In some countries, traveling during this time period will not make for the most pleasant experience, however, Spain’s winters can be considered quite mild as compared to say the northern United States.

In my most recent trip to Spain, I actually visited Barcelona in early January, and found the weather to be quite pleasant.  Even the beaches were still very active during this trip, and enjoying lunch at one of the many seaside cafes was particularly enjoyable.

During this time period, in addition to the possibility of finding airfare discounted by a significant amount, you will also find that crowds at many popular tourist sites will be noticeably smaller.  More reasonably priced accommodation can frequently be has in the off season as well.

If you go at the start of January as I did most recently, you will also be pleasantly surprised with the shopping deals you can find throughout the country.  This is because after the Spanish holiday of Three Kings Day (January 6), stores tend to offer some of their best sale prices of the year.  This is the perfect time to go looking for any special souvenirs you may want to purchase.

In doing your next online search for Spain travel deals, I would suggest looking at some winter dates using the calendar feature of any major airline ticket site.  You may find airfare discounted by several hundred dollars as compared to the fares on offer for the summer months.  I hope you will check back to this blog often, as we will be going into much more detail about how to find cheap airline tickets, and how to save on many other aspects of your Spain vacation.

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