Tour Guide, Barcelona, Spain
| 8 mins read
Here are some tips for you when visiting Barcelona in particular and all European tourist cities in general. Don't think that any city is safer than another, don't think that Barcelona is less safe than Paris or London. All comparisons are inadequate because if you let your guard down, you will become prey for fraudsters no matter who you are. Moreover, they have been hunting for tourists for a year now; they know that tourists are EASY PREY because they carry lots of cash, watches, jewellery, branded goods, expensive phones. Currently, I don’t see any trace of big tourist groups around Barcelona, especially no Chinese. That’s why any sign of tourist will be paid attention to whenever they show up.
1. Travel from the airport to the hotel: You should not take the bus or train at night, especially alone or with the elderly and children. No matter how careful you are, there may be a split second where you drop your bag or phone or reveal your belongings. And it only takes 1 second of a misstep to be taken advantage of by bad guys. At night, the train and bus stations are places where drunks and thieves gather, and in many cases, there is also violent assault. So my advice is that if you arrive in Barcelona after 8 pm or need to go to the airport before 7 am, TAKE A TAXI OR RENT A CAR. If 2 people take a taxi, it will cost about 30-€40, but if there are more people, you can message me because we have a 16-seat car, which will be more economical. For example, 4 people taking a taxi costs €30, which is only €7.5 per person, and you also arrive in the front of the hotel, while taking the airport bus will also cost €5 per person, and you still have to walk back to the hotel with your suitcases. Which is more beneficial?
2. Choose hotels: Every city, not only Barcelona but even Lisbon, Paris, London and Rome, has slums, dangerous neighbourhoods, immigrant quarters, well-off areas and rich neighbourhoods. Unfortunately, dangerous regions are usually cheap and close to the center, so remember to stay away and don't book hotels in those areas. Of course, theft is not due to the hotel, as there are also hundreds of people there, which may be fine, but I want to remind you that tourists are easy prey. You don’t necessarily need to stay in the rich areas that are too far from the city center or in the mountains; you can stay in the well-off regions. In Barcelona, there is the Eixample neighbourhood, where the restaurants have hundreds of delicious dishes and the people are highly intellectual and polite. It only takes 15-20 minutes to go to the center, 30 minutes to the sea, and you can take a taxi to save time if needed. It is unnecessary to stay in the center area and always have to worry about thieves when you go out to the streets.
3. Choose restaurants: A few years ago, my guests went to luxury restaurants and had their bags on the seats spied on by thieves, to the point where the waiter had to remind them to put their bags away because they were being watched. Let me remind you, if your group has 1 or 2 people, then it’s okay, but if you go in a group of 5 or more people, then it’s very easy to make mistakes with your bags, baby strollers, toys, or coats. Thieves are everywhere, and even in restaurants, thieves can sneak in to take your belongings. So when you go to a restaurant, the first important thing is to bring fewer things, you can store your belongings at home, then stroll down to the beach in the evening to go to a restaurant; don’t bring along too many things, if you do, you must send someone to look after them carefully.
4. Choose clothes: This section may sound a bit funny because I don't dare teach anyone what to wear, but again, your jewellery and watches are the things thieves often pay attention to. The same goes for expensive bags, skirts and shoes; of course, they will not strip you off your clothes, except for watches as they can be quickly stolen, but they will notice and follow you. When the moment arrives, they will try to steal an item that you ignore. And wearing a fanny pack in front of your stomach is something that I see everyone has done, but you also have to be very careful with your cameras and phones, not just your cash and credit cards. Of course, your passport and residence card must be kept at the hotel.
5. Travel around in the city: During the day, travelling in groups is quite safe, but at night, you should not travel in groups or by yourself, if you do, you should avoid going to dangerous areas. If you take the metro or the bus, be extremely careful because thieves can close in on you, grab your things quickly, and then run to the door right away, making it very difficult to catch up with them. And even if you do catch them, they may throw your stuff at others. My advice is always to look around when getting on the train or bus to avoid anyone who looks suspicious immediately and not try to squeeze in a crowded train or bus. If there are no seats, you can take the next one; there is no need to rush. Besides your fanny pack, try not to carry anything else in your hand to avoid forgetting things. If travelling with more than 10 people, I recommend renting a car because the price is not much more than taking public transport. Also, the important thing is your sense of security, and you don’t have to go up and down many stairs of the metro, which is extremely tiring and hot.
6. Rent a car: It’s rare in Barcelona, but in Italy, there have been reports of vehicles with strange number plates being broken in to steal things. Even a rental car has a way to be differentiated, so it's not a good idea to leave your belongings in the vehicle. You should often park your car in the underground parking lot, don’t park on the street as you will have to take your vehicle away every few hours. If you only want to go around the city, I advise you not to rent a car because the parking cost will be higher than taking a taxi, and it’s hard to find a parking spot in many places that are near to each other. If you go to the suburbs, then you will need to rent a car.
7. Hospitals & Police: These are the two places that no one wants to go to, but consider what to do when going there if something unfortunate happens to you. Firstly, Spain is a country that rarely uses English, even if they can speak it, it’s not standard English, and they don't understand our English either, so if you need to go to these two places, hire an interpreter. Next, Spanish people have a very slow style, not like France, Germany, Switzerland; so don’t compare, they do their jobs and talk to guests really slowly, say a lot of things but don’t conclude. Last time, I had to report the loss of my phone 3 times before I finished the missing report. When going to the hospital, remember that you must have a European Health Card ready, so you don't have to pay hospital fees, as the card in your country can't be used. The doctors also don’t speak English, especially specialised words, so that it will take some time. In general, better safe than sorry, hopefully, you don’t have to visit these 2 places. Finally, this post is not intended to scare you or to stigmatise Barcelona, but they are the truths that I learned from my experience when travelling with tourist groups. If you find it challenging to plan where to go, what to eat, what to do, just message me or write a post in the group, I will answer. It doesn't matter if you use my service or not, I will happily answer your questions. I will be here waiting