 | Barcelona Pickpockets Reviews | 41 - 50 of 111 |  |
Although having no personal experience, pickpockets are meant to be rife as well as muggers in Barcelona. Did hear of mugging near football stadium on night of match near shopping area.
Also, i found for a major european cosmopolitan city, not many people speak a great deal of english!!
|
Visiting Barcelona?
Read reviews about Barcelona Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
Aparenlty pickpockets are rife in Barcelona. Personally we didn;t have any problems but we heeded this advice -
1) don't keep anything in your pockets (especially wallets)
2) wear your bag crossways and keep one hand on it at all times
3) if you get jostled in a crowd, stay together
4) leave credit cards etc in your hotel (if you have to use an ATM it really is worth going back to drop it off)
5) always hire a safe
6) don't wear cameras over your shoulder
7) don't flash money about Leave a Comment
|
Avoid Arc de Triomph Metro & Cercanias underground station if at all possible. Also watch your pockets and bags if you are stopped or approached by what appears to be a beggar and child or anyone trying to sell you anything in the street.
My wife and I were caught twice by distraction pickpockets. Both times on Platform 2 of the Cercanias line - this is the line that takes you to and from the Airport.
First time was a non event - I felt the hand go into my pocket and they only got my metro ticket. The second time they took my wife's handbag from within a zipped travel bag - how?
they work in gangs....they let me onto the train and then someone walked in front of my wife and stopped her getting on.....in the pushing and shoving that followed someone behind her unzipped the travel bag and removed her handbag and allowed her on the train just as the buzzer went for the door to shut. She didn't notice anything until she sat down on the train and found the travel bag open. By this time the train doors had shut and the train was moving.....too late to do anything.
We have also heard of bags being taken off the beach while a beach trader distracts you.
Bag snatching in Terminal B at the airport.
If you think these are one offs think again......we spoke to six people in the airport of different nationalities and four had been mugged or pickpocketed.
The police said this was a normal occurence at the airport, train station or Barcelona. Leave a Comment Phone: 01480 392239
|
 | |  |
Barcelona is a totally amazing city, but beware - the pickpockets are professionals and there are lots of them. They work in pairs or sometimes teams of 3 - one distracts you, #2 does the grab and if there is a third one, he (or I guess sometimes she) is waiting in a car to drive away with the goods. I am a very savvy traveler and they got my laptop this way - it was all over in the blink of an eye, and no one was running, nothing looked amiss at all. Hours and hours of headache (not to meantion the expense and fears of identity theft) and it can absolutely ruin your vacation.
Its a funny thing about Barcelona - there isn't a lot of eye contact or interaction on the street. People are pretty private and keep to themselves. Not unfriendly at all, just private. So beware - don't fall into the trap that I did - it is very, very rare for anyone to approach you for any legitimate reason. So if someone asks you for directions, secure your stuff first (instantly), don't point to where the person asks to be directed because that one second of friendly lapse is all they need.
Another thing - these scam artists work the airport and train stations too, and of course the Ramblas, which is notorious - don't show anyone your passport or identification unless it is an official, uniformed person (and none of them will ask you for ID unless you are going through customs or security anyway). Remember, they work as a pair - someone else watches where you put your passport or wallet while the first person has a seemingly innocuous conversation with you, says thank you and disappears. Then later, they know just where to go to get what they want.
On the bright side, I (a female) never felt that my personal safety was at risk, and I would go back to Barcelona in a second.
When you go, take just the minimum that you need - one credit card, an ATM card, a little cash (euros), your passport (and keep that totally out of sight in a waist belt).
Have a great time and I hope this helps someone not get ripped off like I was. Leave a Comment
|
| | |
Be awae of the pickpockets moving by bi/motorcycles and trying to steal your handbag!! Leave a Comment
|
Visiting Barcelona?
Read reviews about Barcelona Hotels
Real Reviews from Real VirtualTourist Members.
Before we went we were told to mind our bags! We were lucky enough not to be 'hit on' probably because there were 10 girls together!!! I could easily imagine lots of pick pockets as there were lots of people 'lottering' around. Leave a Comment
|
Beware of Pickpockets! I have never been robbed in 25 years of life in America, but have come to Barcelona and almost been taken twice. Shady looking Arab men come out of nowhere in groups and try to distract you and litterally pick your pockets. My husband was stepping into a metro and just as the doors were closing, two men "tripped" in front of him. As my husband was trying to get his bounds and get out of their way, two other Arab men tried to steal his plam piolot out of his velcroed cargo pant pocket. They are crafty and very quick. If the doors would have closed before my husband realized what was going on, they would have gotten away. Beware!!! Leave a Comment
|
Beware of pick-pocketers especially on train/ subway.
|
Bewere of pickpockets as they can be everywhere and personnel objects are constantly being stollen Leave a Comment
|
Don't get me wrong, the Cathedral is a lovely place to visit, but it can get very busy at times. On one visit to the cathedral with my mother, the crowds were very large, and a side door was opened in order to allow more people access, however, whilst being herded into the doors, my mother felt someone touch her shoulder bag, and attempt to pickpocket her. She turned around sharply, only to witness a guy turning around, and making a hasty exit - thankfully, she'd realised what was happening in enough time, and nothing was stolen. Please be careful when being 'bottlenecked' into small areas/doors, as theives and pickpockets are obviously using this as an opportunity to steal from unsuspecting tourists.
|
|
- Vincci Condal Mar Hotel
C/ Cristobal de Moura 138, Barcelona - Hostal Hmb
Bonavista, 21, Barcelona - Hotel Del Mar
Plaza Palacio 19 PLA DE PALAU, Barcelona - Barcelona House
Escudellers, 19, Barcelona - NH Les Corts
Travessera de les Corts 292, Barcelona - Hostal Gat Raval
Joaquin Costa 44, Barcelona - Triunfo
Passeig Picasso 22, Barcelona - City Park Hotel
C/ Nicaragua 47, Barcelona - Arkupe Apartments Barcelona
Mirallers 16, Barcelona - Bahia Apartments Barcelona
Montserrat 1, Barcelona - Continental Barcelona
Rambla de Canaletets, 138, Barcelona - Hotel Icaria
Avenida Icaria 195, Barcelona - Catalonia Princesa Hotel Barcelona
Rec Comtal 16-18, Barcelona - Hilton International - Barcelona
Avda Diagonal 589-591, Barcelona - Madanis
1-3 C/ Once de Setembre, Barcelona
|
