Spain: Before You Go Guide (Printable + iPad)

Spain is easy to love, but it runs on its own clock and its own rules: dinner at 21:00, Alhambra tickets that sell out months ahead, a Barcelona tourist tax that doubled in April 2026, new street-drinking and swimwear fines, three competing high-speed train companies and the EU's new border system.

This 19-page printable guide puts everything you should know before a trip to Spain in one place, in 102 short, plain-English points with real prices, researched fresh in September 2026 with links to the official sites so you can double-check anything.

WHAT'S INSIDE

• Entry and paperwork (Schengen, the new EES border system, ETIAS status, proof-of-funds rules)
• Money (ATMs, tipping, menu del dia, tax-free shopping)
• Getting around (Renfe, Iryo and Ouigo trains, Madrid and Barcelona metro and airport transfers, driving)
• Phone and internet
• Etiquette, meal times and regional languages (Catalan, Basque, Galician)
• Food and ordering
• Weather and when to go (including summer heat)
• Health and safety (pickpocket hotspots and common scams)
• Accommodation and tourist taxes (Barcelona, Catalonia, the Balearics and more)
• Book ahead: sights and tickets (Alhambra, Sagrada Familia, Park Guell, Prado, Real Alcazar, Mezquita, Teide)
• Local rules, fines and beaches
• Choosing where to go
• Sample daily budgets
• What things cost: 20 prices, from a cafe con leche to the Alhambra and airport transfers
• A month-by-month calendar: weather, crowds, festivals and what to watch out for
• A pre-trip countdown checklist, from 3 to 6 months out to travel day
• A tick-box packing checklist (34 items)
• A first-day checklist for arrival day
• 20 useful Spanish phrases with easy pronunciation
• Emergency numbers
• Two editions: a printable PDF and an iPad edition with a tappable contents page

PERFECT FOR

• First-time visitors to Spain
• Anyone who wants the practical details in one place
• Travellers who like to arrive prepared
• A thoughtful gift for someone with a Spain trip booked

PAIRS WELL WITH

Our Spain Travel Guide (the best things to do) for what to see once you're there.

DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

You'll receive 2 PDFs. No physical item will be shipped.

• Print edition (19 pages): US Letter, prints fine on A4
• iPad edition (25 pages): tappable contents, room to write

Sample budgets are per traveller per day and assume two people share the hotel room (a solo traveller pays the whole room).

This guide is general travel information, not legal, medical or immigration advice. Entry rules depend on your nationality: always confirm with the official sites before you travel.

PLEASE NOTE

Rules and prices were checked in September 2026 and are subject to change: admissions, fares, menus, hotel rates and taxes can change without notice. Please confirm important details with the official sites before you travel. Photos are illustrative. Researched and written with the help of AI tools.

Made by Global Trip Insight. For personal use only.