The Travel Spain mailing list is a free, non-commercial, spam-free source of information for people interested in discussing any
aspect of travel in Spain. Many subscribers have extensive experience of travel in Spain and some actually live here.
Information can be found for all budgets on hotels, restaurants and sights.
Since the list is an opt-in, closed group,
external spammers can not send to the list. Ask the many list members for their own opinion regarding the best hotel, places
to see and how to prepare your trip; or simply share your experience in Spain with others.
Decide for yourself - check out a summary of the previous posts at:
https://www.gomadrid.com/travelspain/
... or continue reading this FAQ for more information.
About
the TravelSpain Mailing List
1) What is a mailing
list ?
A mailing list is a closed
group of people who receive information by e-mail on a particular topic - in this case,
travel in Spain. Once subscribed, you send your questions to the list by e-mail at
travelspain@googlegroups.com.
Everybody on the list receives your message and has the opportunity to answer. You will
receive all the messages everyone else sends to the list, whether they interest you or
not. All messages will be received at the e-mail address you used to subscribe.
2) Sounds great - how
do I subscribe ?
Easy - just send a blank
e-mail (no text needed) to : travelspain-subscribe@googlegroups.com
or use the subscribe box below
3) Hang on a minute -
can I un-subscribe whenever I want ?
Of course! Again, it's easy -
just send a blank e-mail (no subject or body text needed) to :
travelspain-unsubscribe@googlegroups.com
And don't worry, every message
carries an automatic footer reminding you how to unsubscribe.
4) How many messages
does the list receive ?
It varies,
sometimes several per day, sometimes none. You can see how many messages
have been sent in the past months on the
Travel
Spain homepage. Or check out a summary of the
last 100
posts.
5) That's too many for
me, but I'm still interested - what can I do ?
Google Groups allows you to
select one of three options for viewing messages. You can receive all messages via email,
only a daily summary or select to view messages on the travelspain web-page at
googlegroups. You can select these options after registering at Google Groups here :-
http://groups.google.com/
Apart from that, every message
to the list contains the text [travelspain] as part of the message
subject. Since most e-mail programs allow you to specify rules depending on the subject
text, you could program a rule to send all travelspain messages to a separate folder. This
way, you won't clutter your Inbox. Alternatively, you could subscribe with a different
e-mail account than your normal one, to be used only to receive the list messages.
6) I'm still not sure
- How can I see previous messages to the list to help me decide ?
Again, you
can read a summary of the last 100 posts to the list
here, or
check the homepage at
http://groups.google.com/group/travelspain, where all previous
posts can be viewed.
7) Who owns and runs
the list ?
The list was started by Go
Madrid in February 2000, and the Go Madrid webmaster has a few administrative
responsibilities, but the list basically runs and moderates itself.
The list is a free service run
by Google Groups.
Go Madrid receives absolutely
no payment for the use of this list.
8) I've heard about a
Travelspain mailing list on YahooGroups - what's that?
That was the
previous version of the Travelspain mailing list. The moderators decided
to switch the list to Google Groups, due to better message searching
facilities and other functionality. The list was was switched to
Google Groups on 21st December 2004.
Travel
Questions
1) How can I find out
how to get from A to B ?
Trains - check RENFE's site here. Online booking in
English
here.
Cars - check Spain's official
traffic site here
Itineraries - check http://www.mappy.com
You may also
like to check out this
Transport information compiled by one of the list subscribers.
2) Can I book train
tickets in advance ?
Yes.
Available in English here.
You can also book over the
phone by calling RENFE on (+34) 902-24 02 02 or buy tickets at one of the main train
stations (e.g. Atocha in Madrid).
If you reserve your ticket by
phone, RENFE gives you a reservation number and you have 48 hours to to collect the ticket
at any of the major train stations. After 48 hours, the reservation is automatically
cancelled.
3) I want to rent a
car, but I'm worried about insurance
Almost all car rental
companies offer insurance as part of the rental, but may charge extra. Check with that
particular company when you go to rent. Many credit card companies also offer car
insurance if you use their card to pay for the rental. However, please check carefully
with your credit card company, since you could be covered only for collision
insurance and may have to take out additional liability insurance before renting a car in
Spain.
Questions
about specific places
1) Granada - can I
book tickets for the Alhambra in advance ?
Yes. You book to enter the
Palacio Nazaríes part of the Alhambra, since other areas - El Alcázar and the Generalife
gardens - are included in the entrance fee and do not suffer entrance restrictions.
You
can book in several ways :-
- via Internet, at
http://www.alhambratickets.com
- in person at the Alhambra
ticket office, situated at the east end of the complex.
- by phone, calling Alhambra
administration on (+34) 958-220-912
- in person at any BBVA (a
Spanish bank) office, including those in Paris, London, Milan and New York.
- by phone, calling the BBVA
ticketline on (+34) 91 346 59 36 from outside Spain and on 902-22-44-60 once you're
in Spain.
If you book using the BBVA,
they will give you a reservation number which you use to pick up your tickets at any
branch throughout Spain.
2) Madrid - can I book
tickets for the museums in advance ?
In a way, yes. Madrid's Avenue of Art
consists of the Prado, Reina Sofia and Thyssen museums. you can buy an
"Abono Paseo del Arte", a special voucher allowing you to visit all of these 3
first class art museums once at any time during the year.
You may also purchase a "Tarjeta anual
múltiple" f - this allows you to visit these 3 museums as many times
as you want during 1 year. Purchase these vouchers at any of Madrid's major museum ticket
offices.
3) Any city - do you have any
hotel/restaurant recommendations ?
The best thing to do here is send a
detailed question directly to the list. We have received many recommendations in the past,
much too numerous to include here. You could also search past archives at http://groups.google.com/group/travelspain/.
For hotels, you might like to check out one of the list members
Spain accommodation recommendations from his travels in Summer 2006.
General
Questions about Spain
1) Are travellers'
cheques accepted ? What about credit cards ?
Generally speaking travellers
cheques will not be accepted in Spain. While it will be possible to change traveller's
cheques in banks and possibly some of the larger hotels, the best idea is to bring your
credit cards, an ATM card or exchange money before you leave for Spain. Credit cards are
universally accepted in hotels, restaurants, gas/petrol stations, etc. A bank debit card
will normally give you better exchange rates than a credit card, but
please check with your bank first. Cash and small change
will be needed for bars and daily necessities.
2) So are ATM's
generally available in Spain ?
Absolutely - there are
hundreds of them throughout the country. At airports, major shopping centres and outside
bank offices. Major ATM card companies include VISA, AMEX, Mastercard, Cirrus, 4B,
Maestro, Plus, etc.
Spanish ATM cards use a
4-digit PIN code but it has been reported that 6-digit PIN codes used in other countries
will also work - please check with your bank.
3) I don't know any
Spanish - will I be able get by with just speaking English ?
To a large extent, yes.
English is spoken in the larger hotels, restaurants and stores. You will need to practice
a bit of Spanish in smaller bars, shops and cafeterias. Most Spaniards will make the
effort to understand if you at least make the effort to try to say the odd word in their
language. Castillian Spanish is spoken throughout Spain, even in those regions with their
own idiom (e.g. Galicia, Basque Country, Catalonia, etc.). Where all else fails, use sign
language as a last resort.
4) I have many more
questions about X, Y and Z ....
Fine, so why don't you
subscribe to the list and ask them there? Send an email now to :-
travelspain-subscribe@googlegroups.com
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