Spain Tourist Traps

  Sam at the Placa de la Vila of Begur.
by Jerelis
  • Sam at the Placa de la Vila of Begur.
      Sam at the Placa de la Vila of Begur.
    by Jerelis
  • Beautiful facades at Placa de la Vila.
      Beautiful facades at Placa de la Vila.
    by Jerelis
  • The Sant Pere church at  Placa de la Vila.
      The Sant Pere church at Placa de la...
    by Jerelis
  • Do keep looking up to the beautiful facades.
      Do keep looking up to the beautiful...
    by Jerelis
  • The church in the early sunshine.
      The church in the early sunshine.
    by Jerelis

Most Viewed Tourist Traps in Spain

1.

Places To Avoid   Barcelona

Places To Avoid, Barcelona

 34 Reviews  If you tell Fernanda I wrote this I'm a dead man. I've been in Barcelona more than 30 years ago, in a rush to proceed to France and Germany. I got an excellent idea of the town, but, for one reason... 

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2.

Eating & drinking   Madrid

Eating & drinking, Madrid

 13 Reviews  Do not be influenced by all the hype surrounding this restaurant. It does have a colorful historical past. Today it is surviving on its past laurels. If you are interested in food and quality then... 

 See All 60 Tourist Traps in Madrid

3.

Dodgy deals / scams   Palma de Mallorca

Dodgy deals / scams, Palma de Mallorca

 6 Reviews  The Inca Market is something the tourist board advertizes as something to see. We went. It was nothing more than a large flea market at best. Nothing of real interest was sold here - leather purses,... 

 See All 20 Tourist Traps in Palma de Mallorca

4.

The West End, San Antonio.   Ibiza

The West End, San Antonio., Ibiza

 1 Review  Great if you like hoards of drunken Brits marauding around the streets looking for members of the opposite sex in a drunk enough state not to reject them, puddles of vomit and urine (I'm not... 

 See All 11 Tourist Traps in Ibiza

5.

Flamenco   Sevilla

Flamenco, Sevilla

 5 Reviews  Even though the flamenco show is meant for tourists, it features excellent bailaores, guitarists, and cantaores. The food is acceptable. What is not acceptable is that our camera with more than 300... 

 See All 28 Tourist Traps in Sevilla

6.

Beaches   Majorca Island

Beaches, Majorca Island

 2 Reviews  Beware of the very tall man 6ft 4" who slowly walks round the three beaches of Palma Nova pretending to look at the ladies when in fact he is looking for the ladies bags. He carries a towel over his... 

 See All 17 Tourist Traps in Majorca Island

7.

Las Ramblas   Barcelona

Las Ramblas, Barcelona

 40 Reviews  What else to expect at Las Ramblas? Maybe it is too much to mention, but let me have try. First off all I immediately noticed all the street performers the whole way along Las Ramblas. Most of them... 

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8.

Monuments & highlights   Madrid

Monuments & highlights, Madrid

 10 Reviews  It's just a big square plaza with very expensive restaurants, nothing to see, nothing to do. Only 'nice' thing is the Casa de la Panederia, wich is 400 years old, with nice fresco's. walk though the... 

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9.

Reality check   Palma de Mallorca

Reality check, Palma de Mallorca

 3 Reviews  There's some really irritating thing about Mallorca: "People see tourists as walking wallets". There are lots of really hard to reach beaches, that after some almost suicinding driving experiences... 

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10.

Cathedral and Giralda   Sevilla

Cathedral and Giralda, Sevilla

 6 Reviews  Giralda is an attraction for itself, in the marvel of the cathedral. It's easy to climb, because it has inclines instead of stairs, and they seem not too steep. That's right. But they are...... 

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11.

Soller & Puerto de Soller   Majorca Island

Soller & Puerto de Soller, Majorca Island

 1 Review  In my opinion Soller is almost a tourist trap. It is not an ugly town, but it's not a nice place. Do some shopping, have a rest or a stroll. You coud go to Biniaraix; a small village 1,5 km far from... 

 See All 17 Tourist Traps in Majorca Island

12.

People to Avoid   Barcelona

People to Avoid, Barcelona

 18 Reviews  La Rambla is very risky place. Lots of cheaters, beggars and pickpockets are roaming freely, in crowded place without any body protesting and there is no police watch. The worst and the most common is... 

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13.

Transports   Madrid

Transports, Madrid

 4 Reviews  In order to avoid the hassle with taxi drivers at the Madrid Airport, I had pre-booked the non exclusive shuttle service with Aerocity on GoMadrid.com. The web site stated 6 euro per person. We... 

 See All 60 Tourist Traps in Madrid

14.

Overpricing   Palma de Mallorca

Overpricing, Palma de Mallorca

 4 Reviews  Don't go to the Nu-parc bar / cafe beside the lake opposite the Cathedral unless you want to order the most expensive beer or coffee in Palma. The waitresses need a lesson in customer service and the... 

 See All 20 Tourist Traps in Palma de Mallorca

15.

Gypsies and Pickpockets   Sevilla

Gypsies and Pickpockets, Sevilla

 4 Reviews  Around the touristic places there use to be people (usually gypsis) looking for tourist to read the hand or tell them any other story with the aim only of asking you for money. As everywhere, just... 

 See All 28 Tourist Traps in Sevilla

16.

Caves   Majorca Island

Caves, Majorca Island

 2 Reviews  Wonderful flyer pictures and descriptions which are overrated. Nice enough for those that like caves but very large groups are ushered through the cave system on hard on the feet paths. Very crowded... 

 See All 17 Tourist Traps in Majorca Island

17.

Overrated Sites   Barcelona

Overrated Sites, Barcelona

 28 Reviews  Poble Espanyol was built for the 1929 International Exhibition as an open air museum that was meant to showcase different Spanish architectural styles and crafts. Today, you pay an admission fee to... 

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18.

Shopping   Madrid

Shopping, Madrid

 5 Reviews  Wealth Warning: Avoid using Chequepoint to change money in Madrid or anywhere else for that matter. Some of my British and American friends have told me horror stories of the rip-off rates charged by... 

 See All 60 Tourist Traps in Madrid

19.

More tourists than inhabitants   Palma de Mallorca

More tourists than inhabitants, Palma de Mallorca

 2 Reviews  Overall we really enjoyed our holiday to Majorca but we did find it very british and lacking in culture in the resorts.There were british pubs,amusements and everything was in english so it sometimes... 

 See All 20 Tourist Traps in Palma de Mallorca

20.

Purchases to Avoid   Barcelona

Purchases to Avoid, Barcelona

 10 Reviews  If a 20 euro Messi jersey sounds too good to be true, it is! Avoid purchasing the cheap jerseys on Las Ramblas, unless you're buying it for someone who you don't really like, haha. The jerseys are... 

 See All 198 Tourist Traps in Barcelona

21.

Flamenco   Madrid

Flamenco, Madrid

 3 Reviews  This is supposed to be one of the best places to watch flamenco. Unfortunately, the service, food and view were so bad (as well as the stage) that it took the enjoyment right out of the evening. Not... 

 See All 60 Tourist Traps in Madrid

22.

High Prices   Barcelona

High Prices, Barcelona

 14 Reviews  Although we liked walking along the promenade at Barceloneta beach the target group of all the cafes there is the tourists. This means high prices, bad service (we were waiting 25 minutes to order in... 

 See All 198 Tourist Traps in Barcelona

23.

Security   Madrid

Security, Madrid

 3 Reviews  Madrid is very safe and not a place to get violently robbed, but pick pockets problem remains. The fast city has certain locations where you should watch out. These are Sol, Plaza Mayor and El Rastro... 

 See All 60 Tourist Traps in Madrid

24.

Getting Around   Barcelona

Getting Around, Barcelona

 10 Reviews  The main square (called Placa de Catalunya on which all these beautiful historical buildings are situated, is the natural centre of the city of Barcelona: a stage for various minor and major events, a... 

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25.

Nightlife   Madrid

Nightlife, Madrid

 3 Reviews  Like all con merchants and charlatans, these Chinese street masseurs can be found at popular tourist spots in Madrid such as Plaza de Santa Ana and Plaza Mayor. My wife and I got conned by them.... 

 See All 60 Tourist Traps in Madrid

Comments

Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Ferry tickets to Morocco.

by cachaseiro

If you are travelling from Algeciras to Morocco then buy your ticket directly at the harbour and not from the travel agents.They are all very freindly, but many do not know what they are talking about.Several agents were selling tickets to a ferry that had mecanical problems and therefor didn't run, when i was there.

Ferry Tour to Tangiers

by wegass

FRS ferry company offers a tour that is the same price as the ferry ride to Tangiers. What they don't tell you is that your tour guide will take you to varioius places within Cazbah where they do very, very high pressure sales. We were the only people on the tour and I didn't think we were going to be about to leave a carpet "factory" that they took us to. Once again proves that there is no free lunch!

Typical Spain is only in Andalucia, no more.

by diamond7

The real typical Spain as you can see in many postcards you only can see it in the Andalucia province. If you are looking for that atmosphere that you can see in tourist publicity, you must go to south, just to Andalucia (Sevilla region). If you are going to other regions you will never find that typical Spain. You can find lots of lovely places all over the country, as Barcelona, Galicia, the Islands, and many other places! anyway don't be trapped for some international travel agencies, the TYPICAL SPAIN is only in the southern part, just in Andalucia province.

Sun and Beaches

by DanielF

Being on a peninsula with thousands of kilometres of sun-blessed coasts, Spain was an easy prey to speculators and the kind of tourism promoted for decades has, in the long run, brought more havoc than profits. Millions of Europeans could not care less for other places' cultures, but do need their annual fix of UV rays. Therefore, such places as Lloret or S'Arenal do have to exist, even if they represent a brutal exposure of the ugliest face of our society. For decades, mass tourism has boomed in Spain and many coast resorts have mushroomed with little regard to planning. To make things worst, many of these tourists have decided to settle more or less permanently in the place where they have spent their enjoyable holidays. This has brought along not so desired collateral effects such as overpopulation, lack of water, waste disposal problems... in a few words: a brutal attack on the...

Mi playa
The Costa del Sol

by blint

It's full of Brits abroad, English shops, food and culture. It's a replication of Britain in the sun. It is not Spanish any more. It is built for English holiday makers and that's it.Great for a beach holiday and very beautiful, but it's not really a good taste of Spain. If you want to go to sunny Spain and the Costa del Sol, then my advice is to travel around Andalucia and see what Spain and the Spanish really have to offer. Go to Cordoba, Granada, Vejer, Ronda, Cádiz or Sevilla for example. Though some of these places are being over run by tourists too. The least touristy has to be Cadiz capital. For a beach holiday try the Costa de la Luz (Cadiz, Andalucia). The beaches there are stunning and they aren't built up like in the Costa del Sol. They are also Spanish holiday destinations so you'll get a better taste of Spanish culture.If you aren't just interested in a beach holiday but...

El Zoco Cordoba
Madrid money/Check your Euros

by auzzi

On arrival in Madrid,first thing,some money,first stop,Cambio money exchangeThat is fine but you should check for counterfiet notes. I was given some and nearly arrested for dealing in false currency.The only thing that saved me is i had just flown in from Heathrow and maybe being Australian helped.Almost every shop will check your hand/over currency until you get to smaller towns,where you can quit it.t Learn SOME Spanish and be friendly,it helps

taxi drivers

by interjambo

they pretend not to know the note size youve given them and try to short change you be very careful they all do it, i too am a taxi driver so would not have a go if it was not deserved. the police try to rob you aswell if you dont give them they attack you full force in broad daylight, its an absolute disgrace. ask the taxi drivers if they can change the size of note you are about to give him/her so they know that you know leave spain and go to portugal instead iam told it is far better.

Toilets!

by timtregenza

Please note that this tip is written from a male perspective, you will understand that I lack the knowledge of what goes on in the other side...Toilets in Spain are a trap for the unwary. In particular, lighting is an issue. Usually, you haev to grope around on the OUTSIDE of the toilet to find the hidden lightswitch, although it can also be located inside cunningly disguised as a loose bit of derelict wiring.Having sucessfully located the lightswitch, your troubles are not yet over, as many lights are on a timer that can vary between 10 seconds and infinity. And you can guarantee that those on short timers are located out of arms reach from the "shooting position".It gets worse: some toilets are on motion sensor lights. So, having groped around for half an hour to find there is no lightswitch, you enter the toilet and start performing, only for the lights to go off because you are...

Service Sucks

by gripdxd

Wait service in Spain is crap, every where I went the service was horrible and terribly slow.Basically don't expect a lot and bring your patience you will need it.Many do not speak english (in case you assumed) so be prepared. Just be patient and firm. There is none, other wise get take out :)

Don't rely on ATM cards

by gripdxd

Bring Traveller's Cheques and cash them all in for cash. ATM's are hard to come by and with foreign bank cards you may find that you have trouble. Many friends had trouble getting $. Plus, there aren't many places to cash Traveller's cheques.

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Spain Tourist Traps

Reviews and photos of Spain tourist traps posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Spain sightseeing.
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