Planning to travel to Barcelona on your own? Find out about visa processing, how to get, prices for holidays in 2021. Travel tips and reviews.
How to get to Barcelona on your own
The cheapest flight to Barcelona is from Moscow - round-trip tickets usually cost from 9 thousand rubles (for example, for Pobeda flights to Girona). From the regions - a little more expensive. For example, tickets from Kazan, Rostov-on-Don, Ufa, Perm, Volgograd cost from 13 thousand rubles, from Yekaterinburg - from 17 thousand, from Novosibirsk - from 20 thousand. Flight from St. Petersburg
Sometimes there are very attractive charter offers - from 8 thousand rubles in both directions (for example, Nordavia). Also, airlines often arrange promotions and sales in this direction, as it is popular.
You can get to Barcelona inexpensively by low-cost airlines from the nearest European cities - Tallinn, Helsinki, Riga.
Where to find cheap tickets? This is most conveniently done using the search engines Aviasales and Skyscanner. To find the best price, check both and see tickets for different dates. Read also the instructions on how to search for cheap flights correctly.
Visa to Spain
To visit Spain in 2021, Russians need to obtain a visa: tourist (C) or national (D). It is easy to apply for a Schengen visa for a trip to Barcelona on your own - you need to collect the necessary package of documents and contact the visa center or consulate.
- Embassy address in Moscow: st. Bolshaya Nikitskaya, 50/8.
- The address of the embassy in St. Petersburg: st. Furshtatskaya, 9.
What documents will be required to obtain a tourist visa on your own:
- completed in English or Spanish and signed application form;
- a valid passport (from the end of the trip, it must be valid for another three months) and copies of all its pages;
- copies of pages of other passports (both old and current), where there are marks;
- copies of all pages of the civil passport;
- two passport-size photographs (3.5 x 4.5), one of them must be glued to the questionnaire;
- insurance with coverage of at least 30 thousand euros, covering the Schengen area (copy and original);
- certificate from the place of work;
- bank statement (at the rate of 57 euros per day);
- confirmed bookings of tickets and hotels or a rental agreement.
Consular fee - 2658 rubles.
Get insurance you can quickly and conveniently visit the Sravn.Ru or Cherehapa websites - they compare prices from all major insurance companies. Choose a policy according to the parameters you need and the best price. Cost - from 300 rubles per week.
Prices in Barcelona: hotels, food, transport
What to try in Barcelona. Food prices
Catalan cuisine is praised for a reason. What should you try? Catalan paella, tapas, gazpacho, jamon, crema catalana desserts, and panellets and much more. You can read more about what and where to eat in the capital of Catalonia (and most importantly, tasty and inexpensive!) In this article.
Now about the prices of food in Barcelona. If you went on a trip on your own, food, like hotels, will make up a large part of your expenses, because the prices in the city, to put it mildly, are not encouraging - so try to avoid tourist establishments. In a cafe for locals, breakfast is about 3-6 euros, lunch - 5-9 euros, dinner - 8-20 euros per person. In restaurants, prices will naturally be higher. Lunch (menu del dia) costs 9-12 euros and will save you a lot. Check food prices in Barcelona.
By the way, according to tourists' reviews, cafes owned by immigrants are cheaper and no less tasty than in Catalan establishments.
Grocery prices in stores: a loaf of bread - about 1 euro, water (1.5 l) - about 1.65 euro, cheese - 10 euro (per kg). For more details on the prices of food in cafes and shops, see the article "Prices in Barcelona" (in the same place we calculate the cost of a trip for two for a week).
Prices for hotels in Barcelona in 2021
We recommend booking accommodation in Barcelona in advance and on your own, because the Catalan capital is one of the most popular destinations, and good deals are quickly sorted out. You can find and book a hotel or hostel at the best price on special search sites - for example, on Roomguru.
It is best to go to the capital of Catalonia not during the peak season (May, June, September and October) - there will be significantly fewer people, and hotel prices are lower.
You can live not in the very center, but a little further away - the city center is quite compact, you can get around it on foot. A double room in the city center costs from 49 euros per night, a little further - from 41 euros. There are many hostels in the city (from 15 euros per bed).
If you are traveling to Barcelona with a company or family, it is cheaper to rent an apartment or house - many interesting options from the owners (and sometimes even completely exotic ones, such as a lighthouse or a castle) can be found on the popular Airbnb.ru service. You can rent an apartment from 79 euros.
Transport prices
A one-time ride on the metro, tram and bus costs 2.15 euros. To save money, you can buy a T-10 card (about 10 euros for 10 trips within one zone).
Taxi from / to the airport - about 30-40 euros (you can order online on the Kiwi Taxi website). Airport bus - from 2.15 euros. Read also about how to get to Barcelona airports and transport prices.
Find out also how to rent a car in Spain.
Last Minute Tours You can search for the best prices on the Travelata and Level.Travel services - they compare the offers of 120 tour operators and therefore are able to find the best option. You can buy a ticket online, which is very convenient.
Safety
When traveling on your own in Barcelona, do not lose your head from the beauties of the city and be on the lookout - although the resort is generally considered safe, here frequent cases of pickpocketing... Keep an eye out for valuables, especially in crowds (transport, lines, shops, etc.) and tourist spots. Avoid dark alleys late at night. It is better to keep documents and money separately, do not take a large amount of money with you. Wear backpacks in the front.
In cafes and restaurants, shops and beaches, it is also worth keeping an eye on things.
You should not walk around the city with a naked torso (you can even earn a fine), and even more so visit temples and other institutions in this form - observe decency. Religious institutions require closed clothing.
Beware of beggars, people inviting to sign something or offering something, and so on - as in other countries, it is not safe, with the help of such tricks they can distract your attention and try to steal things from you.
Do not buy counterfeits from street vendors.
See information on beach holidays in Barcelona >>
What to see in Barcelona on your own
Look for interesting excursions on the Sputnik and Tripster websites. Individual and group, no crowds of tourists and in Russian.
The city can be explored for a long time, one or two days for this city is clearly not enough. When planning an independent trip to Barcelona, we recommend that you draw up a route and a list of attractions in advance - we will give only a short list of what you can see in the capital of Catalonia.
In their reviews, tourists are advised, first of all, to get acquainted with the creations of Gaudi and the Gothic Quarter - the hallmarks of the city. Other famous places that you can see in Barcelona on your own are the Picasso Museum, the pedestrian Ramblas, the Tibidabo and Montjuïc mountains, the National and Royal Palaces, the Dali Theater Museum and so on.
You can save with the card BarcelonaCard... Another way is to visit free museums.
There are also many interesting things outside the city. For convenience and time saving, you can rent a car (from 40 euros per day) and go to Montserrat, Tarragona, Cadaques, Girona, La Segarra and other places. Find out all the nuances of car rental abroad. You can use a moped or bicycle to get around the city.
Travel tips and reviews
When planning an independent trip to Barcelona, it is worth listening to the reviews and advice of tourists who have visited the capital of Catalonia. They recommend the following:
- Eat where the locals eat, and find out the addresses of low-cost establishments in town (for example, the WOK chain) in advance.
- Choose menu del dia lunch in the cafe (usually from 12:00 to 16:00) - this will save you money.
- The T-10 card will simplify your life if you plan to actively use transport.
- The Barcelona Card is a great solution for those looking to save time and money when visiting attractions.
- Catalan and Spanish are spoken in the city (a little), not everyone knows English (mostly young people).
- Read the section "Safety" carefully and arm yourself with our tips.
- Currency - Euro, you can withdraw cash from the card at any ATM, but with a commission. It is better to have a currency card to minimize conversion.
- Exchange money at banks or special exchange offices, and not on the street.
- Please note: despite the fact that Barcelona is a resort city, locals do not allow themselves to wear beach shorts and tank tops.
- Tourists are advised to properly equip a tourist first aid kit.
