Spain - Jan 2025
- Kelly Davis
- Jun 24, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Jul 17, 2025
A two week adventure covering three countries (Part one)
What was originally a "scheduled" trip turned out to be our honeymoon!
It was Mark's first trip to Europe, and I was determined to give him an experience he will never forget. Success!
We started out flying into Barcelona, Spain for a few days. Landing at the airport, we got through customs and headed to the taxi stand to take us to our hotel. Low and behold the taxi drivers decided to strike that day and therefore our only way out of the airport was via city bus (ugh)! Thank goodness for google maps - you can enter your destination and select the bus option and it will give you the exact buses to take along with the transfer locations. Outside of managing our luggage, it was a piece of cake. The bus dropped us off two blocks from our hotel.
Unfortunately I only have some of the lodging details from this trip. When I changed my name I lost some of my past history when I consolidated my Expedia accounts. I promise to do better in the future and will be more detailed as we get used to blogging.
Our first day we spent walking around Barcelona. It is a very large city - a lot to see and do. Beautiful architecture and plenty of tapas restaurants. Tapas are great if you only want to try a bite or two of something before you order a full meal.
One of the first stops was to the Sagrada Familia https://sagradafamilia.org/en/home. One of the most iconic sites in Barcelona. It is currently under construction, however, you can still appreciate its beauty.
Many times I've traveled abroad I buy a "Hop on Hop Off" bus ticket to get a great overview of the city in a half day or so. During our ride, we found a great cable car ride where the views of the city were fantastic!
A friend recommended Vinitus https://www.laflautagroup.com/en for dinner. A nice walk from our hotel and we were there! Great tapas and wines.
The next day we did a tour of Montserrat, Girona and Costa Brava via Viator: https://www.viator.com/tours/Barcelona/From-Barcelona-Montserrat-Girona-and-Sitges-Full-Day-Tour/d562-6874P164. The scenery was amazing and the tour is worth taking as you can see from the photos (and yes, these are my photos :)).
One thing we noticed is that the crowds were quite sparse compared to what we've heard from other people. Going in late January is awesome if you want to get these photos, but be prepared in terms of clothing!! It was COLD and at times, quite foggy. But the sun came out and time to take advantage camera wise.
** NOTE: there may be instances where a stock photo will be inserted, but it will be noted as such.
The next day we rented a car and headed down the coast. Car rentals in Europe were new for us, and therefore we stuck with a worldwide rental company (Hertz) vs. a company we hadn't heard of. There are a lot of places to rent cars without going to the airport. So we took advantage of that! Getting out of the city was a bit challenging but we made it and headed down the coast.
The drive down the coast started out pretty frustrating... the highway was not close to the coast, and the towns we wanted to spend time in (Valencia and Murcia) we devastated by floods the previous year. Moreover, the road signs were not in English and it was very confusing... so after our frustrations were over, we improvised and decided to drive South and enjoy the scenery!
Finished our day in Almeria, and got a hotel room for the night.
The next morning, we headed out with the goal of getting to Tarifia in the afternoon to catch our ferry. As we traveled (now the southern tip of Spain), the landscape was just breathtaking... the mountains on the right, and the Mediterranean Sea of the left. Paradise!!!
Finally made it to Tarifa (Southern tip of Spain). Turned in the rental and caught an Uber to the marina to catch the Ferry. Note: There is nowhere to store your luggage, so if you get there early be prepared to cart your luggage with you (ugh). We did not know this and had three hours to kill before our scheduled time. We took a chance and went to the ticket counter to see if we could board the next ferry since it wasn't that busy. After showing our passports, existing tickets and a "pretty please" look on our faces, they complied and we were on the next boat to Tangier!
Before we leave Spain, some tidbits:
1). If you are on a budget, go off season. Prices are double in the summer (airfare, hotel, tours, everything!). It's very crowded in July and August, not to mention hot as hell.
2). Smaller crowds in the winter - however, the coastal areas are ghost towns. Not many shops or restaurants open during the off season.
3). January in Spain is cold - be prepared. The weather said 50's but we had to buy coats when we were there (I bought a ski jacket!!). If you are heading to the mountains, then bring a scarf, hat and gloves too.
4). I was disappointed in the lack of original jewelry stores in Barcelona. If you want Gucci, Pandora, etc. you're good. However, I love to find one of a kind pieces from locals... and I just didn't find that in Spain.
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