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With its beaches and mountains, its cities and farmland, Spain has plenty more to offer than the coastal package holidays most people are familiar with. In fact, we’d recommend not going near the resort towns – avoid them and you’ll have a much better Spanish experience.

Spain sits in the westernmost part of Europe, connected with France and Andorra in the north and Portugal in the east, with Ireland and the United Kingdom not too far away. Across the Mediterranean there’s Italy, Malta and Northern Africa: Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt.

Bordered by the Pyrenees mountains in the northeast, with the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea on either side, and just about touching Morocco at its south-western tip, Spain is a large, geographically diverse country containing mountains, hilly farmlands and large urban centres.

Camino de Santiago

While Spain’s cities are amazing (and all well worth a visit), many travellers are choosing a different way to see the country. The network of pilgrimage pathways known as the Camino de Santiago is growing in popularity, and is an amazing experience that’s worth trying at least once in your life.

Popular in the middle ages, the Camino fell out of popular consciousness until the 1980s, and now thousands of people a year make their way to the end point in Santiago de Compostela, in the northwest of Spain. While most people walk the Camino, you can also cycle or travel by horse; accommodation along the way cheap and easy to find, as almost every small town boasts a pilgrim hostel or two.

The Camino Francés, which passes over the Pyrenees at the border with France, is the most popular of the many routes you can choose from, but you can start from many different locations in Spain, Portugal, or other European countries.

Read more about the Camino de Santiago.

More Spain Travel Stories:

  • Spain travel
  • Top ten things to do in Spain (podcast)
  • What to eat (and drink!) in Madrid
  • A Coruna Itinerary: The Best Day in A Coruña, Spain (travel podcast)
  • Rail Passes, Buying Tickets and How To Plan Your Train Travel in Spain COMPLETE GUIDE 2022
  • Why you shouldn’t move to Spain

Top Tours in Spain

Getting to and from Spain

Most European and many international airlines fly into Spain. Madrid and Malaga receive the most general-aviation traffic with Barcelona catering mostly to budget airlines. Iberia is the national airline, but most worldwide airlines as well as regional European budget airlines service airports in Spain.

Getting into Spain by land is also easy as Spain is a member of the Schengen Open Borders agreement, along with most of its neighbours. Train, bus and car travel is easily available from Portugal and France, and while the small city-states of Gibraltar and Andorra are not members of the Schengen agreement, overland access by car is also easy. Gibraltar also has a walking border, for those only wishing to come over for a day, or for those wishing to avoid the entry taxes placed on vehicles upon entry and exit.

Ferries are available from Northern Africa and some other Mediterranean countries. Spanish ports are generally straightforward and clean, but can have very strict border controls garnering several passport checks (and stamps!) on both sides of some African ferries.

Spain travel resources

Book accommodation in Spain and travel insurance for Spain through us — we love it when you do that!

Check out our Alcalá de Henares podcast or browse the articles below.

This page by Craig Martin and Abbey Hesser

Top 5 free things to do in Madrid

Reading Time: 4 minutes
Our top 5 free things to do in Madrid, Spain include visiting the Prado for free, getting 360 views of Madrid, seeing an Egyptian temple and more.
Bread and wine are often included.

Spain travel tips: What is a menu del día? How to order lunch in Spain

Reading Time: 5 minutes
Looking for an affordable, filling lunch? Want to experience Spain like a local? A menu del día is a great way to save money and experience local Spanish food.

Top 5 free things to do in Cadiz

Reading Time: 4 minutes
Free self-guided walking tours, art exhibitions, and a great museums: there are plenty of great things to do in Cádiz in southern Spain.

Top 5 things to do in A Coruña, Spain

Reading Time: 5 minutes
A Coruña, Spain, is full of great things to do: visit the tower of Hercules, explore the tapas bars, and take part in the epic summer festival of San Juan.

How to get around in Spain podcast

Reading Time: 6 minutes
Spain is a large country, and there’s a lot to see in the different regions that form the country. There are plenty of ways to get around in Spain, including land, air and sea — check out the options in our Spain transport podcast.

How to get from Lanzarote to Fuerteventura, Spain

Reading Time: 5 minutes
Sometimes it makes sense to fly to an alternative airport and make your way to your final destination by ground transport. In the Canary Islands, if you’re going to Fuerteventura, you might want to fly into Lanzarote.

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