Water bottle (1.5 liter) | USD 0.73 |
Imported beer at restaurant | USD 3.45 |
Taxi 1hour Waiting | USD 27.64 |
Coke bottle | USD 2.34 |
1 min. of prepaid mobile tariff | USD 0.20 |
Fitness club, monthly fee for 1 adult | USD 60.88 |
Apartment (1 bedroom) outside of centre | USD 572.81 |
Taxi 1km | USD 1.38 |
Cinema, international release, 1 seat | USD 11.06 |
Spain is a country to fall in love with. A country full of passion, dynamism, tradition, innovation, and, most certainly, contradictions. It is a country that the outside world consider to be a flamenco loving, tapas eating, hive of Catholicism and bullfighters, but the reality is that this is a country greatly divided along regional borders, where Catalans will adamantly tell you Catalunya is not Spain, and where further north, in the Basque country, the desire for independence is even stronger still.
Luckily for those who travel to Spain these conflicts are not usually overtly obvious and the visitor will find instead is a wild beautiful, eclectic country of beautiful costal lands, luscious mountainous forests, dry arid plains, intact access to worlds past, and vibrant, cosmopolitan cities.
Fligthub offer the cheapest flights into Spain and these will invariably take you into either Madrid or Barcelona. These two amazing cities represent all that is best and worst of this special country. For many Barcelona has the edge over Madrid due to its Mediterranean sea-side location and its close proximity to the Pyrenees in the north, not to mention the huge modernist architectural thumb print left by Gaudi. Madrid though more than holds its own. Devised originally as custom made capital positioned in the centre of the country as a symbolic unifying point, Madrid may not have the natural beauty or charm of Barcelona, but its vibrant nightlife, cultural capital, and dynamism make it a city that many return to over and over again.
With cheap flights to Spain being in abundance, and more and more low-cost carriers now operating internally, it has been easier to travel to Spain and experience a country which is much more than the opposing cities of Barcelona and Madrid.
The north of Spain is a delight that features the green pastors of Asturias, the picturesque delights of San Sebastian, the impressive Guggenheim museum of Bilbao, and the possibly the finest wine country in the world, La Rioja. For those brave enough there is also the opportunity to run with the bulls in Pampalona. Or for the more cerebrally minded there is the spiritual delight of the route of Santiago.
Easily accessible from Madrid the visitor to Spain can travel north to ancient university town of Salamanca, or south to the frozen in time wonder of Toeldo. In both of these places the memories of when Spain ruled the world are meticulously preserved in living. The visitor here will feel like they have stepped back into a time when Spain and its armada truly governed the world and walking these ancient streets gives one a real feel of exactly what it means to be Spanish.
The south of Spain is the home to the orange and olive groves of Andalucía where the visitor can experience the majesty of Seville, Granada, and Cordoba. Here the influence of the Moors is highly visible, especially in the UNESCO listed site of the AlHambra gardens in Granada. In this part of Spain life moves at a much slower pace, tapas regularly come free with your drink, and the people are some of the most welcoming and friendly in the country.
Cheap flights to the Balearic Islands are also something the visitor to Spain should consider when making a trip to this amazing country. Majorca, Menorca, and Ibiza are three jewels resting peacefully in the Mediterranean Sea. While these islands are undoubtedly well discovered, the visitor will be pleasantly surprised to find that not all of their corners have been taken over by rampant tourism. These islands offer pristine beaches and turquoise waters with the most amazing sunrises and sunsets.
Spain truly is a place to discover, but, be careful, it may very easily become an addiction. Olé!