East coast of Spain road trip

Whether you are an Erasmus student in Spain or someone who is thinking about visiting this lovely country for a quick trip, in this post you can read about my low-budget road trip experience along the east coast of Spain. The trip starts in Madrid and continues to Alicante, Valencia and Barcelona. I am going to share with you tips on how to make most of only four days in Spain, what to see and what to do, as well as our experience with organizing all the necessary aspects of the trip, such as accommodation, moving around, or eating. You will see that we did not spend much time planning anything but were rather improvising from beginning to the end. Our experience proves that when it comes to travelling, the quote “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” does not necessarily apply. Being spontaneous is thrilling and makes your trip even more adventurous.

Moving around

Let's start with the most important part of the road trip. Having a car available all the time is definitely something I would plan and arrange before arriving. We rented a car on Rentalcars and picked it up at Madrid airport right after we landed. If you travel with friends in a group I would definitely recommend this option, as sharing the costs makes car renting quite a cheap solution considering how much freedom and comfort it gives you.

Tip: If you are picking up a car at the airport, always provide your flight number to a car rental company so that if your flight gets delayed they will wait for you even after their official opening hours.

Moving around goes hand in hand with navigation. You are in a new city that you don't know and to be able to get from one place to another successfully, the navigation tools are a must. We used Google Maps and the fact that we did not get lost, not a single time, proves this to be an efficient and reliable navigation app. Having Google Maps online all the time requires you to have internet in your phone. I recommend getting a local prepaid sim card upon arrival, in any phone company branch. Having data balance gives you freedom to plan your trip right at the spot. You might need to find nearby restaurants, arrange a place to stay overnight, or maybe you just feel a strong urge to share an amazing picture on Instagram; #Spain #vacation #summer #roadtrip.

Accommodation

Choosing a type of accommodation always depends on how many people are travelling, what relationship they are in, what they want to be able to do at a place, and their budget. You may consider booking a hotel room, Airbnb apartment, hostel, or CouchSurfing. If you are not familiar with any of those terms you can click on my previous blog on “Low budget travelling” and learn more. We were four people travelling; me, my boyfriend and my in-laws. In Madrid and Valencia we stayed in the hotels that we arranged just one day before our trip on Booking.com. In Barcelona we decided to rent an Airbnb apartment, which we only arranged a few hours before coming to Barcelona; actually while we were on route from Valencia. Renting an apartment puts your trip to the next level. As you share an apartment with your friends and you all hang out in a living room together, the whole experience gets more personal, more home-like. Having this apartment rented gave us the opportunity to invite our old friends from Barcelona over for dinner. We only stayed in Barcelona for two days but we definitely felt more like at home than in a foreign city.

Eating

We all love to eat, and in Spain especially. In our four day trip we not only intended to see as much as possible but to try as much Spanish food as possible, as well. Giving you the names of all the places we ate at would be impossible right now, so I rather share with you my top three tips on choosing a place to eat.

1. On TripAdvisor try to look for restaurants near you. Just type restaurants and select the option “Nearby”. Then “Filter” the options and choose a distance, how far you want your restaurant to be from your current location; type of cuisine or prices. I usually choose a place based on reviews and ratings.
2. In Google Maps type “restaurants“, “coffee shops“ or “fast food restaurants“ and you will get a lot of suggestions as well, together with ratings, opening hours, contact and other useful info.

   Tip: After you drop a pin at your location or location you are planning to go, hit the bottom bar “Explore food & drinks”. It will show you a lot of places, grouped in categories such as Coffee & snacks, Lunch, Dinner, Drinks. All of these categories have subcategories, “Best lunches“, “Cheap eats“, “Where the locals eat“ and many others. It is very useful feature when deciding where to eat, however it is not available everywhere.

3. Just walk around and sit in any place you like. I always like to choose a restaurant with a lot of people, not overcrowded though. Full restaurant with waiters running around have the unique vibes which I always enjoy.

Day 1. Madrid

We started our trip in Madrid where we arrived in the morning and stayed there for just one day. It was lovely sunny day so we decided to go first for a walk in the city centre, and have paella for lunch on a terrace of a small local restaurant. After that we thought it would be nice to learn something about Spanish culture so we visited two museums; Museo Nacional del Prado, which is national Spanish art museum featuring art collections from 12th until 20th century. It belongs to top art museums in the world. Another museum worth visiting is Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, which is the museum of 20th century Spanish art. It presents the masterworks of well-known artists such as Pablo Picasso and many others. I do not know much about art, but people who truly understand it should definitely visit at least these two museums.

For all shopaholics I recommend Gran Vía, a shopping street which is popular not only for all its diverse shops and unique shopping experience, but for its busy nightlife as well. In Europe it is often called "the street that never sleeps". After spending the whole day strolling down the streets and parks of Madrid, and enjoying art in museums, we went to see Plaza Mayor. It is one of the main Madrid squares with a lot of restaurants and small coffee shops, all quite expensive but loved and appreciated by tourists from all around the world. At night we went to a dance club, the name of which I cannot remember but it was definitely a great way to enjoy everything Madrid has to offer. We did not stay long though because in the morning we were getting up quite early and setting out to Alicante.

Garden in Museo Nacional de Arte Reina Sofía.

Lovely Breakfast in Madrid.

Lunch in the city centre, Madrid.

Day 2. Alicante

Alicante was different from everything I had seen in Spain until then. It is a port city, but yet very hilly. The landscape is rockbound, with shades of orange and beige colours and wonderful sandy beaches. I absolutely loved this city. We spent the day on the beach where we enjoyed small tapas and fresh Sangría for lunch, we had a lovely walk in the city centre and visited Santa Bárbara Castle. It is a Spanish medieval fortress, definitely worth exploring if you are interested in history. Moreover, it overlooks the Alicante's bay, the view of which is absolutely mesmerizing. Alicante was just a day trip and at night we left to Valencia which is only two hours away by car.

Postiguet beach, Alicante.

Santa Bárbara Castle, Alicante.

View from Santa Bárbara Castle.

Day 3. Valencia

As I was stunned by Alicante´s landscape, in Valencia I was amazed by the city centre and its spirit; architecture, broad streets, parks, fountains, green vegetation and flowers everywhere evoked feelings similar to those when I visited Sevilla. For some reason I find these two cities similar. Valencia is a birthplace of Spanish traditional dish paella, so I definitely recommend trying it here. In Valencia I most enjoyed a small hand crafts market in the city where I got some nice presents for my friends. You can find there a lot of museums but since we saw two museums in Madrid we rather used our time to enjoy the city centre, paella and churros. However, The City of Arts and Sciences (Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias) is something you have to see when you are in Valencia. It is a modern complex combining science and art and belongs to 12 Treasures of Spain. We had such a lovely walk around it, taking a lot of pictures and enjoying warm May weather.

City centre, Valencia.

Hand crafts market, Valencia.

The City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia.

The City of Arts and Sciences, Valencia.

Day 4. Barcelona

There are so many things worth seeing in Barcelona that not even a week would be enough. We only had one day in Barcelona and on the second day, our fifth day of the trip we were already leaving. For me the first thing that comes to my mind when I hear “Barcelona” is Sagrada Familia, a famous Roman Catholic church, designed by Gaudí. It is still under reconstruction and you are going to notice it. It is so popular among tourists that we had to wait for quite a long time to get inside. We did not plan it very well as we did not get the tickets in advance so there was no way we could avoid long queues. Never mind, it was definitely worth waiting plus we learned the lesson: when you are sightseeing in Barcelona always get the tickets online in advance. Another famous work of Antonio Gaudí in Barcelona is Casa Batlló, located in the city centre. While looking at that building, I regretted not paying more attention at school when we were learning about modernism and Art Nouveau to be able to appreciate this masterpiece more profoundly.

Park Güell, another masterpiece of Gaudí, is a complex of the gardens and modernistic buildings with amazing view of the whole city. We did not have tickets, again, so we just saw the free zone and enjoyed a lovely afternoon stroll there. Park de la Ciutadella is probably one of the most beautiful parks I have ever seen; spectacular fountains, a lake, museums, and statues make this park an ideal place for spending the afternoon with friends and enjoy it while having a nice conversation and a cup of coffee. A day in Barcelona seemed to be so short, but we managed to see a famous Montjuic Castle, a military fortress, as well. I love visiting castles because it is such a nice physical activity to slowly climb the hill to get there. It is a great feeling to get to the top and then just quietly enjoy the wonderful views they all provide.

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona.

Casa Batlló, Barcelona.

View from Park Güell, Barcelona.

Park de la Ciutadella, Barcelona.

Montjuic Castle, Barcelona.

This trip was such an unforgettable experience. Weather, food, sightseeing, city centres, and beaches were all just one delight. Every time I look at those pictures I get excited and cannot stop thinking about places I am going to visit on my next trip to Spain.

Photo gallery