Spain is home to the must see cities of Barcelona, Seville and Granada, plus it has mountains, deserts, beaches and stunning hilltop towns.
Here’s our gap year pros and cons to this fascinating country:
Pros:
Spain rivals many countries in terms of historical and cultural cities. Barcelona, Seville, Granada, Cordoba, Madrid, Bilbao, Valencia and Salamanca make up a formidable list.
Spain’s long coastline (north, south and east) has an abundance of lovely beaches.
The mainland has good connections to the attractive Balearic Islands of Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca and Formentera.
There’s no shortage of spectacular landscapes from the deserts of Almeria to the Sierra Nevada mountains in Andalusia.
Spain has a low cost of living.
The Spanish are very welcoming and friendly.
Spain is a tolerant and progressive place for LGBT travellers.
Cons:
Some areas are very over run with tourists: in the Costa Del Sol, tourist bars and cafes have taken over and you rarely hear Spanish voices on the beach; and in cities, like Barcelona, popular areas like the Ramblas are so rammed with visitors that it can be difficult to have an authentic experience.
There is a large ex-pat community – especially on the south coast – which can limit your interactions with the local community.
The pace of life is slow, which can be a plus, but be aware it takes a long time to organise anything – including jobs.
There is high unemployment and so there is limited job availability.
Drink spiking and sexual attacks are rare but can occur, other tourists are usually responsible, not the Spanish.
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