What to do in Spain, Spain Travel Transportation Guide

Spain has its own unique architectural style, the buildings here are really very beautiful. If you have the opportunity, go and have a look, and you can also enjoy the beautiful scenery in Spain. Such a life will make you yearn for it in the future.

Visa

There is a lot of information about visa preparation online. Spain is considered to be one of the easier European countries to get a visa for. We did not contact a travel agency, we prepared all the materials ourselves. After making an appointment online, we went to submit the materials and record fingerprints ourselves.
It took about four working days to get the visa.

It is worth noting that I applied for the visa in early December 2016. Soon after I got the visa, to be precise, “from 17 December 2016, VFS
Global will no longer be representing the Spanish Embassy to receive Spanish visa applications.” Therefore, now if you need to apply for a Spanish Schengen visa, you need to change the website and the place where you apply.

New Address: Room H, 24th Floor, World Square, No. 855 Pudong Nan Road, Pudong New Area, Shanghai

Transportation

SHA-BARCELONA, MADRID-SHA

The longest part of the journey, Shanghai to Spain round trip, I started paying attention to it one year in advance, and finally booked it half a year later. It cost 4300 for an Aeroflot round trip SHA-BARCELONA MADRID-SHA.
We had a stopover at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Russia. The price of Aeroflot’s official website is cheaper than Ctrip. It is also convenient to buy, and the customer service is all Russians who can speak Chinese. Just listening to their voices makes you feel that their looks are very high!

BARCELONA-GRANADA by VUELING

We chose Vueling, a Spanish low-cost airline, for this part. You can buy discounted tickets about four months in advance. The closer the date, the more expensive it will be. The website might be buggy. It is very convenient and fast to buy with the app. We bought it for 29.9 euros.
You also need to buy luggage, 15 euros for one piece of 23 kg.

GRANADA-SEVILLA by ALSA

We chose ALSA, a big name bus in Spain, for this part. It was a bit painful to buy tickets… The website jumped very slowly. After selecting all the points, it jumped wrong when I searched… So I bought it through the app. If you choose to pay by credit card, it is basically impossible to succeed.
To avoid trouble, it is best to pay with PAYPAL. PAYPAL’s exchange rate is a bit high, but luckily the tickets are not expensive. After conversion, it is not a few dollars different. After you pay successfully, you will receive an email.
Print it out and show it when you take the bus. (Everyone who can’t buy it, don’t give up! When I helped my friend buy it, the payment failed. The seat was locked. After waiting for half an hour to unlock it, I bought it again. It failed again and was locked. After repeating this four times,
I gave up using the credit card and changed to PAYPAL. It succeeded once. The next day, I bought it with PAYPAL again. The payment was successful but I didn’t receive the confirmation email. Later, I clicked in again and found that the seat was released.
I was shocked and contacted PAYPAL and also tried to contact ALSA by email. ALSA’s email reply was still very fast. After proving that the purchase failed, the money was fully refunded through PAYPAL. I bought it again and succeeded.
You need to note that when buying tickets, you need to fill in the traveler’s surname + first name + passport information. This is also why I bought them three times separately… If you need to buy tickets for your friends, please record the information in advance. )

SEVILLA-MADRID by RENFE

RENFE is also notoriously difficult to buy tickets. Although we researched the strategy two months in advance and found discounted tickets, we couldn’t buy the four-person discount… Later, we found that the four-person discount on the app couldn’t be bought.
It should be possible to buy it by entering the information of four people through the website. However, the website has been buggy for years and cannot be brushed… Well, when we realized this, the price of the tickets had risen from 30 euros to 34 euros. With no choice, we bought them one by one successfully.

First, connect to the VPN through your mobile phone. Open the RENFE official website on your browser and register an account. Then download the RENFE app and log in. Select the train you need to take, the date, and click “Buy”. Then choose PAYPAL for payment.
After success, a QR code will pop up. Take a screenshot and save it. Show it to exchange for a ticket before your trip. If it is a Promo ticket purchased in advance, it may not be refundable. Be sure to arrive at the station in advance. Don’t be late.
Otherwise, you may miss the train like us. Buying it on the spot is really super! expensive!

MADRID-TOLEDO by ALSA

You can buy the round-trip tickets from Madrid to Toledo directly on ALSA, and you can buy an OPEN ticket for the return trip, so you can play until any time, as long as there is a bus, you can go back to Madrid. The purchase method is the same as above.
It is relatively easy to buy with the app. It is worth noting that it is best to register before buying. The first time you buy, you need to pay a transaction fee of several euros. The fee is calculated based on the price of the ticket. The more expensive the ticket, the higher the fee.
But from the second time onwards, you don’t need to pay if you are registered. Therefore, if you need to buy ALSA multiple times, it is the most cost-effective to buy a relatively cheap ticket for the first time. Unfortunately, I found out about this small bug after I bought it…

In addition, the bus from Madrid to Toledo needs to take the bus at Elíptica Station. Take Line 6 or 11 of the metro to Plaza Eliptica Station, then follow the signs.

MADRID-SEGOVIA by LA SEPULVEDANA

I don’t know why there is no ALSA bus for the Segovia section. You can only choose La Sepulvedana. You can buy an OPEN ticket for the return trip as well.
When you come back, go to the window to exchange for the nearest bus. Buy tickets directly through the link, which is very convenient~ But the bus is not as new as ALSA and the price is higher than ALSA…

Tickets

Sagrada Familia

The most worry-free. The website is easy to log on. Choose the date, entry time, tower climbing time, which tower to climb, and pay. It is worth noting that every Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday from 4 pm to closing time.
Under 30s enjoy half price. But the sun in the afternoon may not be as good as in the morning. In this way, you can’t feel the beauty of the sunlight shining through the stained glass. The days are long in summer, so you might still have it. It’s up to you!

Casa Batlló / Casa Milà / Park Güell, etc.

Tickets for some of Gaudí’s more mature attractions in Barcelona can almost be found on Baidu and bought from the official website, which is very convenient. Of course, you can also buy them directly on site. When I went, it was the off-season, so there were not many people. The advantage of buying on site is that it is more flexible.
If you want to go, you can buy it. If you don’t want to go, you can just pass it. You won’t encounter the situation where you have to go because you bought it in China…

Barcelona Cathedral

Free hours: 8:00-12:45 I personally think it is very beautiful and worth a visit. It is right next to the commercial street. After visiting, you can go shopping~

National Art Museum of Catalonia

It is really worth going to. The ticket is a bit expensive, 12 euros, but you can go and grab a free ticket. Although the time is short, it is enough for art beginners!

Free admission times: After 3:00 pm on Saturdays, the first Sunday of every month

Palau de la Música Catalana

I heard that the entrance ticket is 18 euros. So everyone decided to watch a performance. Unfortunately, there was no flamenco scheduled for those days. So, we chose a performance based on pictures, as we didn’t understand what it was about.
It turned out to be a very formal symphony concert with a handsome conductor! And it only costs 22.5 euros per person! Super value! So the way to buy tickets is to click on the link to the music palace, then choose the date,
then choose your seat and pay. I bought it directly with my credit card and it was successful. It is recommended to buy with your mobile phone. The computer website is not very stable…

Alhambra

You can buy the tickets yourself. Search for ALHAMBRA on Ticketmaster and choose GENERAL tickets. Then choose the date, number of people traveling, entry time,
and pay. But unfortunately, when I paid, the page kept spinning and couldn’t jump out. After retrying three times, I gave up… Finally, I easily finished it on Mafengwo and even caught the end-of-year promotion. It was only a few dollars more expensive than buying it myself.

Cathedral of Seville

You can buy tickets directly online. It is much faster than buying them on site. The website is also very beautiful and thoughtful. It is in Spanish, but you can still buy it by guessing and understanding it~

Prado Museum

I highly recommend it. It is one of the must-sees in Madrid! The ticket costs 14 euros, but you can grab a free ticket. Although it starts at 6 pm, many people will line up in advance. Actually, foreigners are also very thrifty… The museum is quite large.
Two hours is not enough! After taking a ticket and entering, you have to line up to go through security and check your bags. It starts clearing people at nearly 8 pm, so it is best to line up in advance. That way, you can at least watch for an hour and a half.

Free admission hours: 6:00-8:00 pm, Monday to Saturday; 5:00-7:00 pm, Sunday and holidays