Travel Through Spain

[Arvy]

Hi, Has anyone recently travelled through Spain without any hassle. I say this because I have been reading a few threads here and there and it appears that this may be the case. I intend to travel through France down to San Sebastian and then make my way down to Murcia. My route I believe would go through Pamplona, Calatayud, Cuenca and Albacete. Any views would be much appreciated. :-D

[mgain]

dont get paranoid about travelling in spain, its no worse than any where else, just keep your wits about you as you should do any way, and anywhere, it is a lovely country, and they have good roads, enjoy your trip .

[Arvy]

Thanks for the reassurance :-D

[Guest pelmetman]

Went all the way down through France, Spain to Gibraltar in January, no problems:D

The only problems I seem to encounter are in the UK*-)

[hallii]

I have done the trip many times, just be a bit more aware at places like motorway services and anywhere around big towns /cities. There are no more problems than anywhere else. I often stay in small town and villages on the way down, usually park up for the night at a local bar or church or my favourite, cemetary, very quiet!

 

Spanish people are friendly and helpful, so don't be afraid to ask for help.

H

[BGD]

Hi Les; and welcome.

 

To answer your question: Yes, we travel around Spain all the time - we live here.

 

In all the 8 years of very regular travelling around this beautiful country, on motorbikes or in the MH, we have NEVER once had any sort of "problem" (other than a 100€ ticket for shooting a red light in Barcelona....oops!).

 

We have a lot of Spanish friends, and also many friends from the UK who come down here in their MH's, or in cars; not one of them has to my knowledge EVER had a problem either.

 

The crime rates in Spain are FAR lower than in the UK.

 

Now, no country is crime-free.

Everyone knows (or should know) for example that Barcelona, as well as being simply the most fantastic city) is also the unofficial pick-pocket capital of the world.

 

So, one word of caution about Barca: If wandering around there, DO NOT carry anything other than small cash, spread around various zipped up or inside pockets.

Men: DO NOT carry your bulging wallet in your back trouser pocket, and ladies, DO NOT carry anything of value at all in your handbag.

I'm serious about this.

Two of our friends, DESPITE knowing all this in advance, still thought "it won't happen to me" and got pick-pocketed there within the last year - one lost her handbag in which she'd put all her credit cards, lots of cash, keys, passport etc. Just plain daft.

 

 

 

Now, having given the above words of dire warning; do please remember that the crime rate in Spain is MUCH MUCH lower than it is in the UK; and the incidence of violent crime (assault, mugging etc) is almost unheard of here.

 

Remember also that is is a BIG country - bigger than France I think; and thus there is the most fantastic variety of scenery and cultures between the regions........so please DON'T just think of the crowded "Costas" as destinations; consider the beautiful national parks, the northern top-left-of-Spain Galicia coastline (think Cornish fishing villages, with cheap seafood to die for; and the fantastic city of Santiago...........but go in summer as we have just done over the past 12 nights, it gets damn wet and damn cold most of the rest of the year!).

Also the fantastic Gothic towns and cities elsewhere in Spain such as Toledo, Salamanca, Granada. etc.......

 

 

The Cuenca-Albacete route is a good one, and very scenic, so long as you are travelling outside of winter - it gets a LOT of snow in the winter over the top of the Cuenca region - in fact it's a big skiing resort in winter.

 

Dunno if you've been down this way before, but Murcia is not one of the prettiest regions of Spain. It's a very dry region, almost barren by the autumn once the summer sun has had a chance to burn almost all the vegetation that isn't irrigated.

However what you do get there is relatively high temperatures all year round, so it's very popular for winter-sun-hunting types. It's also generally far less crowded than the Costa Blanca coastal strip to the North of it.

 

So, don't be worried.

Come and enjoy this country.

Simply follow the same common-sense approach that you would use when travelling anywhere in the UK.

[Arvy]

Thanks for your replies. Going down in the middle of September so hopefully will not encounter snow. :-D

[neilmac]

BGD - 2011-07-24 7:04 PM

 

Hi Les; and welcome.

 

To answer your question: Yes, we travel around Spain all the time - we live here.

 

In all the 8 years of very regular travelling around this beautiful country, on motorbikes or in the MH, we have NEVER once had any sort of "problem" (other than a 100€ ticket for shooting a red light in Barcelona....oops!).

 

We have a lot of Spanish friends, and also many friends from the UK who come down here in their MH's, or in cars; not one of them has to my knowledge EVER had a problem either.

 

The crime rates in Spain are FAR lower than in the UK.

 

Now, no country is crime-free.

Everyone knows (or should know) for example that Barcelona, as well as being simply the most fantastic city) is also the unofficial pick-pocket capital of the world.

 

So, one word of caution about Barca: If wandering around there, DO NOT carry anything other than small cash, spread around various zipped up or inside pockets.

Men: DO NOT carry your bulging wallet in your back trouser pocket, and ladies, DO NOT carry anything of value at all in your handbag.

I'm serious about this.

Two of our friends, DESPITE knowing all this in advance, still thought "it won't happen to me" and got pick-pocketed there within the last year - one lost her handbag in which she'd put all her credit cards, lots of cash, keys, passport etc. Just plain daft.

 

 

 

Now, having given the above words of dire warning; do please remember that the crime rate in Spain is MUCH MUCH lower than it is in the UK; and the incidence of violent crime (assault, mugging etc) is almost unheard of here.

 

Remember also that is is a BIG country - bigger than France I think; and thus there is the most fantastic variety of scenery and cultures between the regions........so please DON'T just think of the crowded "Costas" as destinations; consider the beautiful national parks, the northern top-left-of-Spain Galicia coastline (think Cornish fishing villages, with cheap seafood to die for; and the fantastic city of Santiago...........but go in summer as we have just done over the past 12 nights, it gets damn wet and damn cold most of the rest of the year!).

Also the fantastic Gothic towns and cities elsewhere in Spain such as Toledo, Salamanca, Granada. etc.......

 

 

The Cuenca-Albacete route is a good one, and very scenic, so long as you are travelling outside of winter - it gets a LOT of snow in the winter over the top of the Cuenca region - in fact it's a big skiing resort in winter.

 

Dunno if you've been down this way before, but Murcia is not one of the prettiest regions of Spain. It's a very dry region, almost barren by the autumn once the summer sun has had a chance to burn almost all the vegetation that isn't irrigated.

However what you do get there is relatively high temperatures all year round, so it's very popular for winter-sun-hunting types. It's also generally far less crowded than the Costa Blanca coastal strip to the North of it.

 

So, don't be worried.

Come and enjoy this country.

Simply follow the same common-sense approach that you would use when travelling anywhere in the UK.

 

Great and accurate summary BGD :-D

 

Exactly our own experience too having travelled thousands of miles in the country. Its a great shame that folks portray the place almost like its bandit country. We've met UK motorhomers in the past who dash through, non stop, enroute to Portugal because of scare stories that have been spread around and embelished each time they are recounted *-) .

[scramblers]

Like most men I put my wallet in my back pocket, I've tried putting it in a front pocket and nearly done myself a mischief when sitting down.

 

However, I do take a couple of precautions:

1) the backpocket always has a zip and, more importantly,

2) my wallet has a fixed chain which I put around my belt.

 

I'm a great believer in that thieves tend to shy away from a visibly potentially difficult target as there are so many easier targets available (fingers crossed)