Spain Travel

The euro-to-pound exchange rate is at the best it's been for British travelers since late 2008, as the euro crisis goes from really bad to even worse.

As Greece slides towards almost-certain exit from the European single currency, and with Spanish unemployment at an all-time high, Spain has rarely been as cheap to visit as it is now. Not only can British visitors to Spain get more euro for their pound, but prices in Spain have been static or falling as the country wrestles with mass unemployment.

The British pound is doing especially well right now, but all major currencies are strong against the euro. The Australian dollar peaked a few months ago, but it is still 60% stronger versus the euro than it was in January 2009. The US dollar is doing better than it has since the start of the year, and is stronger than it has been for most of the past year.

See current exchange rates here: Euro Converter

See also: Cheap Travel Tips for Spain

Icelandic singer Bjork has canceled her appearances at this year's Primavera Sound festivals, according to a press release from the festival organizers.

Citing medical problems, Bjork has canceled a number of concerts this summer, including her shows at the Primavera Sound events in Barcelona and Porto.

The cancelation is especially bad for the Porto event, which is holding its first festival this year. Smaller than the Barcelona event, with cheaper tickets, it was relying heavily on Bjork to bring in an audience.

The Primavera Sound organizers have promised to reimburse any ticket holders for whom Bjork's appearance was a key motivation in attending the festival. More information about cancelations will  be found at the Primavera Sound website when it is available. Read more: Bjork Cancels Primavera Appearances.

But it isn't all bad news, as there are some excellent festival line-ups this year in Spain and Portugal. The best, in my opinion, is the Optimus Alive festival in Lisbon in July. Radiohead, The Cure and The Stones Roses are headlining, and with tickets for under 100 euros, that's a little over 30 each for some of the biggest acts on the festival circuit this year.

Further Reading

• Rock Festivals in Portugal 2012
• Rock Festivals in Spain in 2012

As I said in a blog post a few days ago, Morocco is safe in 2012, despite problems in other parts of the Arab world. In fact, Morocco was never really hit by the Arab Spring. Some moderate protests were followed quickly by reforms from the Moroccan king.  But many people are still fearful of visiting anywhere where they speak Arabic.

For the rest of us, that means less tourists in the popular destinations in Morocco, making it easier to city hop without the best-value hotels all being filled up and evoking less of a feeling that you're in a DisneyWorld of foreign tourists.

Quite simply, there's never been a better time to visit Morocco from Spain.

So, how best to get to Morocco? Flight connections are actually deteriorating between Morocco and Spain. easyJet no longer flies between the two countries, and Ryanair still has a route on their site, but doesn't seem to have any flights scheduled.

But with just 14km of water between Morocco and Spain, a ferry is a great way to cross between the two countries. So which ferry route is the quickest? Which is the most frequent? Which drops you off at the best place in Morocco? Find out in my comparison of the Best Ferries from Spain to Morocco.

An article in The Times (that's the British newspaper, or 'The Times of London' as they call it in the US), has named its '50 greatest bars on earth' and two of the bars are in Barcelona, Spain.

I'm glad The Times restricted themselves to just the bars on Earth. I mean, which bar on our planet can compete with one that serves the Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster? But what of the article's selection from this world? Specifically, its Barcelona choices?

Lists such as these always need to be taken with a pinch of salt, particularly as it is likely that half the research was done using Google and not by drinking in the bars themselves. But, as it happens, I have been to both of the bars in Barcelona that they've included. So let's take a look at their choices.

One of the bars, the imaginatively titled Dry Martini, described by The Times as having "antique brands of gin and vermouth lovingly displayed", is sponsored by Bacardi. The bar specializes in three drinks - the martini, the mojito and the G&T. Each drink description on its menu is written by a poet rather than a mixologist and is high on metaphors, low on what is actually in your drink.

If you ask for a mojito at Dry Martini, the classic Cuban cocktail, it is served with Bacardi, rather than Havana Club. Order a dry martini or a gin and tonic and it is served with Bacardi-owned Bombay Sapphire, the over-marketed gin responsible for many people's aversion to the spirit. If you don't like Bombay, you won't want it here, and if you do like it, you probably own a bottle, so why would you want to pay 10 euros for a cocktail made with it?

The other entry on The Times' list is much, much better: Ohla Boutique Bar at the Ohla Hotel. I happened to sit myself at their bar just after they opened for the day, so I was treated to a ringside view of Max and Guiseppe's cocktail preparation. Ohla strikes the perfect balance between classic and inventive cocktails, taking time-honored standards and giving them a pretension-free twist. A bijou with tequila in the place of gin, a number of variations on the negroni and a spectacular unshaken-and-unstirred martini are just a few examples. See pictures of Max's amazing mixology: Cocktails at Ohla Bar in Barcelona.

The guys at Ohla's also know how to make a mean gin and tonic. In fact, this bar made my list of the Best Gin and Tonic Bars in Spain.

See also: The Times' Great Bars on Earth (pdf)

Morocco, the gateway to Africa for visitors to Spain, lies just 14km away from Tarifa in Andalusia and there are regular ferries from Spain to Morocco from several ports in Spain. A lot of visitors to Spain travel to Morocco, either as a day trip or a longer mini-break, but these numbers have dropped in the past year due to the Arab Spring.

But is Morocco really dangerous? Isn't it safe to travel to Morocco in 2012?

The Arab Spring hit several countries in the Middle East and North Africa. The troubles started in Tunisia, resulting in a relatively quick people-led revolution. Egypt was next, toppling its leader, Hosni Mubarak, surprisingly quickly. Libya then descended into a bloody civil war. After the death of Colonel Gaddafi, the situation improved, but Libya has a long road to recovery. Syria is the focal point of the troubles today and despite recent peace efforts, the situation there is still very serious. Other countries to have suffered during the troubles are Bahrain, Yemen, Kuwait and a number of other countries in Africa and the Middle East. Including Morocco.

But what is the situation in Morocco in 2012? According to the Wikipedia article on the Arab Spring, troubles ended there in November 2011. By contrast, it lists Jordan, Mauritania, Egypt, Yemen, Bahrain and Syria as 'ongoing'. Even at the height of troubles, Morocco had 'protests' that never reached 'civil unrest'.

Though, of course, it wouldn't have been nice to have gotten caught up in the protests at their height, Morocco was safe throughout 2011 and continues to be a safe place to visit. As further evidence that it is OK to go to Morocco in 2012, the British and U.S. authorities say the following:

• British Foreign and Commonwealth Office: "there are no travel restrictions in place in this travel advice for Morocco"
• U.S. Bureau of Consular Affairs: No 'travel alert' or 'travel warning' for Morocco. However, alerts or warnings remain in place for Tunisia, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria and other Arab countries.

Hopefully, this information dispels any fears you had about visiting Morocco on your next trip to Spain. Read more about traveling from Spain to Morocco.

See also:

• Spain to Portugal
• Spain to France

When visitors to Spain want to head south from Madrid to Andalusia (or north from Andalusia to Madrid), it seems logical when looking at a map to go via Toledo. Medieval Toledo is one of the best day trips from Madrid and looks perfectly situated between Toledo and Granada, as the crow flies.

Unfortunately, crows don't drive buses and as a result there are no buses from Toledo to Granada or from Granada to Toledo. Crows haven't even heard of trains, where the situation is even worse. Internet forum users usually say there is no way to go from Toledo to Granada or vice versa and that you have to go via Madrid.

But this is not true.

While there are no direct buses or trains from Granada to Toledo, it is possible to make the journey with a change in Ciudad Real. The journey is quicker than going via Madrid and takes no longer than going directly from Granada to Madrid. If you had planned on visiting Toledo from Madrid before or after visiting Granada, I would certainly consider this two-bus option to save time and money.

Read more about how to get from Toledo to Granada (and vice versa).

Spring is turning into summer, particularly in the south of Spain, but we've not reached the fierce intensity of July and August yet - May and June are the perfect months to visit Spain.

Madrid and Cordoba are the cities to visit in May in Spain. The start of the month sees the Dos de Mayo festival in Madrid and the Cruces de Mayo in Cordoba. The latter's unique selling point is its patio decorating competition.  Madrid then has its San Isidro festival, the biggest celebration of the year in Madrid and then it's back to Cordoba for the Cordoba festival.

May is one of the busiest months of the calendar in Spain. Check out some of the other events on in Spain in May: Events in May in Spain. You can also add this calendar to your smartphone, computer calendar or tablet as a Google Calendar: Spain Events in May as a Google Calendar.

And then it's on to June! In this month, Barcelona takes center stage, with its Grec and Sonar festivals. There's also celebrations all over the country for San Juan, the longest day of the year. Cool down towards the end of the month with the water fight in Lanjaron near Granada and the stickier wine fight in Haro in La Rioja.

Read more about June Events in Spain.

Where in the world can you get the perfect gin and tonic? As this website is about Spain, you can guess where I'm going to say, can't you? But it's true: as Cognac-Ferrand president Alexandre Gabriel, who knows a thing or two about G&Ts, says: "Only Spain knows how to make a gin and tonic."

What makes Spanish G&Ts so special? The Spanish get all five elements of a G&T spot on.

1. They will take a great glass that looks amazing and keeps the drink cold with its long stem and plenty of space for...
2. Ice! Lots of it!
3. The Gin. Bars that specialise in gin (and there are a lot of them in Spain), often stock over 50 types of gin.
4. The Tonic they use will be of premium quality. A fresh bottle of tonic, at least Schweppes, but probably the all-natural Fever Tree.
5. The Garnish. Lemon or lime with that? Or how about coriander, mint, pink grapefruit, rosemary...? Spain's creative use of G&T garnishes has to be seen to be believed.

Now, doesn't that sound delicious?

You can find  out about some of the best gin and tonic bars in Spain, as well as some tips on how to reproduce the drinks at home in my in-depth look at The Perfect Gin and Tonic

Judging by the emails I'm receiving, a lot of you are currently planning your trip to the Pamplona Bull Run 2012.

The bull runs take place every morning for a week each year in July. For each run, thousands of brave Spaniards and drunk foreigners line up in the streets of Pamplona waiting for six bulls to chase them down the street. Add that plenty of all-night drinking, singing, dancing and everything else that is great about Spanish fiestas.

If this sounds like your idea of fun, as a spectator or a participant, then you need to sort out three things:

1. How to Get to Pamplona
2. Pamplona Accommodation (book in advance!)
3. A Balcony to Watch the Bull Run From (Optional)

If you plan on running with the bulls, bear the following in mind. This is how the bull run goes for most first-timers:

1. The prospective bull runner says he won't run on the first day but gets very drunk and decides he will anyway (it is almost only men who want to do this). He is pulled aside by the police.
2. While arguing with the policeman, he doesn't get to see the run
3. On the second day, he lines up, relatively sober, having never seen a bull run before.
4. When the firework goes off to say the bull run has started, he runs through the crowd until he gets tired. He pulls over.
5. At this point, the bulls come into view.
6. The bull runner leaves the next day, dejected at having run 'way in front of' the bulls and not 'with' them.

Another possibility, is that he runs, drunk, trips someone or is tripped and gets injured. Or worse.

For this reason I do not recommend running with the bulls. But I accept that people will do so anyway, so I have compiled some advice from people who have run before: Pamplona Bull Run Advice. Stay safe and have fun!

The Spanish King, Juan Carlos I, has found himself in hot water recently over an elephant hunting trip to Botswana while his country suffers a severe economic crisis, with calls in some quarters for his abdication. So what are the chances of the King of Spain abdicating and what would happen if he did?

Though an abdication would be an extreme step to take, Spain's recent history and current economic and political climate means the threat is very real.

Juan Carlos I was named successor to Francisco Franco by the dictator himself, with the understanding that the new king would keep Franco's authoritarian state going after his death. Juan Carlos's 'betrayal' of the dying leader, a man still beloved by some elements of Spanish society, angers the far right and not-so-far-right to this day.

Add to that the strong Republican movement in Spain (Republican in the sense of wanting Spain to be a Republic and abolish the monarchy) and you have a sizeable minority of people at both ends of the political spectrum who would like to see the back of Juan Carlos I.

But how vocal - and how physical - could these demands become? After all, Franco died of old age, in power, the only dictator in Europe to do so (excepting perhaps Yugoslavia's Tito, though the Yugoslavs did later overthrow the system). It took the king himself to demolish the system from the top down, to the disapproval of many of his subjects. Will the Spanish of this century show their disapproval in the way their parents and grandparents didn't in the last?

Quite possibly. Spain took to the streets after the Madrid bombings of 2004, angry at the government's handling of the terrorist attacks. Who knows how the anger would have dissipated if there hadn't been elections days later in which to oust the government peacefully? More recently, the indignados, Spain's answer to the Occupy movement, have paralysed Spanish city centers with their peaceful protests. Spanish unemployment is at more than 20%, with more than half of under-25-year-olds out of work. A change of governments in the recent elections has done little to settle the nerves of the financial world or of the Spanish people. A general strike has already taken place.  Spain's debt costs have soared in recent days.

People need someone to blame and someone to hate. It is difficult to decide who to blame, but Juan Carlos I fits the bill as someone to hate.

So, a forced abdication is possible. But is it likely? Not at this stage, but who knows how the scandal will develop? We can be more certain that the calls for abdication will remain generally peaceful. In all of the turmoil that Spain has suffered in recent years, no protest has turned to mass violence. Arrests have been limited to a few extremists in most cases.   And if the rumours started by film director Pedro Almodovar are to be believed, Juan Carlos is a man who knows the limits of constitutional power (he set his own limits in the first place, remember) and is not likely to outstay his welcome.

But what would happen next if Juan Carlos was to abdicate? This is an easy one. The king's heir, Prince Felipe, is generally popular. He is married to a glamorous former TV presenter. A transition to Felipe should be smooth and, again, peaceful.

I have received a number of emails asking if Spain is safe to travel to at present. It is. Spain is not Greece. While Greece is verging on a failed state, Spain as a country is still functioning, even if its economy is not. As the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office website says, "Most visits are trouble free". That situation is not likely to change any time soon.

See also: Interesting Facts About Spain