I am planning a trip to Barcelona, and am going by myself. I am a single female,ealry 30's, and have heard that it is fairly safe for women to travel alone there. Of course being smar
I am planning a trip to Barcelona, and am going by myself. I am a single female,ealry 30's, and have heard that it is fairly safe for women to travel alone there. Of course being smart, and using your brain always helps. This is also going to be my first time overseas. I am planning on a 7 day stay. Any advice, or things that I need to know?
I traveled to Spain twice by myself. (I am in my 40's) If you peruse these forums, you find some wonderful trip reports from women traveling alone. I found that people were friendly , but not too bothersome, especially in the cities. In the small town, they were more forward, but still polite. I would just suggest doing a lot of reading up on the area you are visiting. Map out an itinerary, but don't be a slave to it. Allow yourself time to explore and have some downtime, too. Barcelona is a magical city, but be careful of certain areas such as Las Ramblas. Always guard your purse and be aware of your surroundings. Spain is really a wonderful country and for the most part, very safe.
Thanks teachertraveler! I have been reading a lot about Barcelona, and planning where I want to go. I have visited cities like NYC and live in a fairly big city now, so watching the purses and bags, is almost second nature. And I figure if you are out at night, you do not want to be far from your hotel, and not stay out til the wee hours of the morning. Any ideas on where to stay, as most the travel agents want to put me in a hotel on the Las Ramblas, as it is close to everything? I have tried to get them to move me farther away, but they dont seem to want to listen!
If I were going to travel to Spain again, I would look into renting an apartment. They seem to be less expensive than a hotel and I would want to have the feeling of living there, not just being a tourist. I have stayed in hostals which are like hotels, but usually family run. I like those a lot. I don't know Barcelona well, I'm more of a Madrid girl, but the one time I stayed there, I was just off Las Ramblas. It is centrally located. I would read some of the other posts about where to stay in Barcelona. It all depends on what appeals to you, too. If I remember correctly, the Gothic Quarter is not far off Las Ramblas and that is very interesting. Perhaps someone with more Barcelona experience will post.
