Visit Spain: Five Things You Will Love and Hate about Spain 

Shops close between 2pm and 3pm not because of siesta but because it's lunch time here. Siesta is more like 4pm or so, meaning people don't take breaks to have a siesta, few people can allow themselves to do that.

By the way, shops are closed from 2 to 5 to have lunch, not just because of the siesta!

Pick pockets are a problem... if you are a tourist. I've lived my entire life here and have never in my life had anything stolen, but that's because pick-pocketers specifically target tourists because they are careless and unalerted and carry their homes in backpacks and fanny bags in a very snailish way and are VERY easy to identiffy, we even have a word, it's Guiri. Always try to blend in, drop the socks and sandals, fishing hat, flowered shirts, cargo shorts and wear sunscreen to aboid turning pink. The moment you THINK you've blended in, you've lost your phone, wallet and the cheap phone you just bought after figuring out you lost your phone.

@tarlang85 Thank you. Yeah, I try to be as honest with my opinion about places in my videos because I got so tired of hearing how "Town X" was amazing and "City Z" was the New Prague but to find out they were nothing special. So I made this love and hate series to let people know the good AND the bad. And with Spain there is not too much bad :) Thanks for watching and commenting & please subscribe (and i will be back in spain this summer because it is such a great place)

@Adfrrrrrrwtf I am glad you like the video. I love Spain. THe people have always been great with me and my familly. I try to give an unbiased opinion on countries and cities (though sometimes it is hard when it is a country i really love like Spain). Thanks for watching and commenting!

Every time he said 'tapas bars' I heard 'topless bars'...

Gracias! I loved Spain every time I went there. I tried to see as much as I could and really, the people were amazing everywhere. The nightlife, the cities/towns/villages. Truly a great country! Thanks for having such a wonderful country!

wow, I have lived in Spain for 15 years (Malaga, Ronda, Sevilla) and I have NEVER EVER had problems with pickpockets, so it sure was a big surprise to see that in the top 5 list of things to hate about Spain...

@macrent2 Yeah the Spanish are super chill and great fun. You can't go wrong there for a good time. Thanks for watching and commenting. Please subscribe

In Spain we have lots of places for tourists: TRY TO AVOID THEM. I mean, I'm spanish and I always see restaurants with lots of tourists but the place is awful, everything expensive and bad, so try to go to authentic spanish places.

Just so you know, the pickpockets in Spain aren´t normally Spanish people...

@ninive207 i do like the weather but as everyone seems to think of spain as sun and hot i thought it would be good to note that it does get cold in spain and if you are looking for a warm spanish vacation in madrid in february you will be unpleasantly surprised :) thanks for watching and commenting!

@FishBrothersReturns No worries. I am very "big" on people learning the language or at least some basics of the language before they go to a country. It helps them enjoy it much more. That is why I have all the "Top 10 words for tourists" videos. I figure, hey you cant get fluent in a month before you go, but you can at least be friendly and polite :) Thanks for watching and commenting! All the best and good job in basketball today

@lmanerosanz Thanks. I am glad you like the video. Thank you for watching and commenting.

I lived in Spain for a year and not even once was I robbed. I think we should use common sense in every country we visit: be careful and take precautions.

I love Spain and I love the Spanish. I was there last year in Malaga, and I actually slept on the beach one night, after a falling out with a ex friend, I also was walking all over on my own, and even at night I would do so and I didnt see a hint of crime. Beautiful country and beautiful people. I go back tomorrow for 10 days and I am so happy I will get to see this beautiful country again. Peace from Manchester UK

thanks! I appreciate the support! all the best! I love spain. so much fun and great people!

The language? We americans know less languages than the spaniards. In spain they are bound to know more languages than us, they speak spanish, catalan, portugues, french, and the new generation and professionals speak english. All hotels, restaurants, nightclubs have english speaking staff, and there is an increase of spaniards taking english courses to find jibs abroad. We are the ones who should learn more languages to better understand and communicate with other cultures.

July and August Southern Spain heads for North coast. Galicia is warmer then Madrid in winter. Pickpockets are not found all over Spain. 5:16 we love the wind!

I love how friendly and laid back the people of Spain were to me when I was there.

You have to go to Sevilla or Malaga. Im from there and here all is soooo beautiful. Belive me

Thanks! We have so many new videos still to upload too. So I am trying to figure out what to upload next :) so lots of new videos over the next couple months. Mark

@ThePetroliumJelly Glad i could finally get it done. i had so many videos in spain but had forgotten to make the love and hates... so just was in sevilla for the week and had to make it. hope you liked the video. i love spain, and this trip was great like always.

You just can't get a break with the back ground noise LOL Extremely cool vid man !!

Im from spain and i understood you very well you speak such a nice english which is easy to understand

Great video and great tips. I couldn't agree more with you. Thank you for your videos.

@kcamp111060 no worries ;) thanks for watching!

Its a bit south of the cathedral area. You have to cross a pretty busy road, but maybe 10 minutes walk from the cathedral

@kcamp111060 Well I think this guy knows Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, English and Lithuanian... but I am not sure. Just saw a bunch of his language videos on here... But you are probably right. The guy probably may only know cerveza and bano... maybe... MAYBE!!! ;) Thanks for watching and commenting!

@KiCkFLiPKiCkFLiP I freaking LOVE Sevilla!!! Thanks for having a sweet ass awesome city that is ALWAYS a good time. and spain ain't too bad either ;) let's get your economy running again so i can come teach there :) htanks for commenting and watching. please subscribe! gracias!!

Excellent video and very helpful. Your enthusiasm is contagious!

To be honest 4 euros for a large beer in a topless bar doesn't sound extortionate. You can't expect one for 1.25 euros.

Spain is so great and rich. Love it!

@TheSpiritOfTheTimes well... the topless does happen quite often at the beach... though not always with the people that one would want to see topless (like me, the poor people in cadiz had to see my fat hairy back :) thanks for commenting and watching!

After watching the majority of Marks new videos i loved this intro. Although possibly my favourite part of the videos is the super happy "HELLO FELLOW TRAVELLERS" this hey guys really made me laugh. I love all the videos mate 😄😃

Depends where you go with regards to language. People who live in tourist resorts typically have decent English/German skills. When it came to cities, I just opted for speaking to younger people and found no real problems with communication. Not that it matters anymore since I learned how to speak conversational (not fluent by any means) Spanish after my parents retired to Majorca.

i am trying to figure out a way down there. just met a nice Australian at a conference I was at and we are hoping to set something up so I can come to Australia for a couple weeks. I loved Australia when I lived there as a kid in highschool. so much fun, the people were fantastic too. so many outdoor activities (and I need it to lose my gut :) all the best!

AN excellent advise for people like me who had not much time living in spain!

Good video, but how is the siesta a disadvantage? I you want aspirin at 2 o clock you can't buy it but after the siesta they stay open until late in the evening. So if you need a aspirin at 8 oclock in the evening you are lucky to be in Spain. In the rest of Europe you will have to wait till the next day.

Thank you for your advice! I will be visiting Madrid and Barcelona in April for ten days, and I am very excited!

Last time I went to Spain, I was getting my passport stamped and sheepishly apologized in Spanish for my lack of speaking skills... The guy laughed and said "don't worry, you won't go without eating"... Then he asked me where I was heading and I said Galicia and the guy yelled with glee "GALICIA" and commenced to dance arm in arm with a coworker. I guess I scored some points with those dudes, huh? lol, Spain is fantastic. The weather doesn't bother me, the siesta not an issue, I don't drink alcohol, and I place mousetraps where one least expects them... The thing that bugged me were the beggars in the big cities...

Sounds like he's saying topless bars LOL After reading some of the other comments I guess I'm not the only one LOL. Oh and my cousin was stationed for a couple of years in Spain in the Navy and he loved. Funny thing is the other than the beaches on the Costa de Sol they call it or southern Spain is that when you buy beer at the local store they give you a whole keg of beer and you can keep getting it refilled!

I have a page on visiting barca for a day, but i have not put togehte rthe love and hates or top ten for barca yet. i am hoping to get to barca this summer so then you will get some great stuff. all the best!

Thank you for the video. I'm Spanish and I'm so proud of it, even the things you won't like are not a real problem!! If you wanna visit beautiful places, meet nice people and party...come!!

You can go to Spain in the winter with nice weather. You need to go to the Canary Islands. 22°c in February

@DJacqu8351 as my mom says... if you dont have anything to say, you can always talk about the weather :)

Great video man, like your enthousiasm! The beer in Spain's not that bad though...

Im spaniard too, and I can tell you you did a great rewiew. All you said its true. Good job!

@KiCkFLiPKiCkFLiP Hey, i have a five love and hate for sevilla video too. let me know if you "agree" with them or if yo uhave some more ideas :) thanks again!

Really good analysis. Concise and correct, everything is right (something difficult to find on youtube by the way...). Congrats. And of course, as other pleople sure have told you already, you will always be welcome to come back whenever you want to.

ITS HERE!!! WOLTERS WORLD AND FIVE THINGS YOU WILL LOVE AND HATE ABOUT VISITING SPAIN!!!!

I like people who are happy and I want people to be happy. Good luck my friend! We all need it

I want to speak about the pick-pocket thing. Im spaniard and I've never been robbed ever, in any way. Theres not a robbery problem, but there are some bad dudes that are specialized in stealing from tourists, they only steal from tourists, they follow tourists, they take advantage of tourists being disoriented, lost, distracted... if you are a foreign tourist you just have to be aware of not getting distracted, and thats all. You're not gonna have any major problems, plus, spanish police (specially the Guardia Civil) are very professional and will help you anytime.

Hi guy! I,m enjoying your videos a lot. I find your point of view on the differents coutries you visit very interesting and I mostly agree as I've also traveled a little. I'm a Spaniard (Madrid) and I quite agree with your comments about my country. I've been to the USA three times and loved the country and the people there although this is not a perfect country neither. There is NOT a perfect country anywhere but all the countries have good things to offer and travelling makes people wiser . Please, keep travelling and telling us your 5 hate-love things you find over there. Thank you!

I'm from Galicia, Spain completely agree with you (the beer is not that bad though hahahaha, have you ever tried Estrella Galicia? ) Now I'm staying in WA for a year, all is really different "as in the movies" Thank you for your video;))

I forgot i was subscribed to you! You are still uploading i am happy. Keep it up. God bless!

No no no. Agree with the weather issue, and shops are closed from 2 to 5. But Siesta nowadays is not that popular. Few people take it at least in towns, and almost nobody from Madrid northwards. No. And pickpockets. Another big clitche. Of course there are a lot but nothing particular alarming in Spain compared to other coutries.

I cannot wait to get there. Especially since I speak fluent Castillian. Looking forward to hearing the regional dialects. Really enjoy your work. Keep it up!

Thanks. Sharing this on FB for my American friends, so they know what it's like to visit my country. All the best.

I cant wait 2 come ere 1 day it sounds like a ace place to visit and I

I went to Spain 2 years ago and one day it was like 50 degrees Celsius

Spain is nice place to visit.

How's the weather in between mid February through mid May? I'm studying abroad so I would like to know if there'a a way to prepare for the weather.

I'm heading to Spain on a short 5 week internship this summer and I'm super excited. Your videos have helped so much. I'm just worried I won't be able to see everything I want to in 5 weeks! Also, how many languages do you speak? You have a ridiculous amount of language tutorial videos.

I agree. I try to purge them every so often, but it is hard to keep the trolls at bay. The Germany and Portugal videos tend to have the worst comments and worst trolls so I mostly try to keep those under control. It is horrible some of the things people put on here. And now that youtube has them use their real names it has gotten a little bit "better" but still bad.

topless/tapas both quite good things :)

I went to Madrid in December. Weather was cold but tolerable. There was only one problem we encountered - service in a restaurants. It was absolutely horrible, unfriendly, snotty and outright bad.

My friend off course in winter time the weather is cold!

yes indeed :)

Most Spanish people do not drink Sangria. Never in my life have I.

If you like Sevilla you definately have to watch: Ven a Sevilla / Come to Seville. It is marvellous and the images are taken from the air. Hope you like it!

you forgot to talk about the bull fighting as a negative point

I was in Spain just this May and there are points a agree and disagree to: Points I like to disprove: 1. Siesta - I've been to 5 Spanish towns and cities, and for a tourist, you will not have a problem with the siesta culture. Most museums and sights are well open throughout the afternoon, public transportation doesn't rest and majority of shops remain open, except Sundays and Holidays. What you may probably need to contend with are the times restaurants or cafes serve lunch or dinner. Lunch is usually never earlier than 1PM while dinner is never usually earlier than 8PM. Nevertheless, it won't be hard to find small cafes or tapas bars to get meals at standard time. 2. Possibility of getting ripped off - Never happened during my 2-week trip nor I've been in a situation where I felt vulnerable. Was I just lucky? I read up on tourists scams in Spain, and realized, it is unnecessary to develop any fear or worry when coming. I'm not saying it can't happen, but I think you have to be a 'dimwit' to fall victim to possible scams. 3. Language barrier - I say 50% of people you walk up to can understand and communicate well with you in English, and mostly people under 50. That said, small efforts to learn useful Spanish phrases for tourists can get you a long way. Points I attest to: Spaniards are good people - It was my first trip to Spain, solo at that, but every person I've met in every Spanish city or town I've been to, was amazingly warm and hospitable. Spaniards appreciate how interested you are about their country and culture and will get out of their way to show you around. It's not difficult to warm up to them. I even got invited to a private party by a local I met the first time. That's how friendly they are. From hotels to bars, I never experienced any local being snotty out of the ordinary. Though I've only been in the Southern part of Spain, so I am not sure if this kind of hospitality is unique to Andalusians.

Thanks ,I will remember it

Favorite cuontries in the world; ITALY, SPAIN, FRANCE. Salutations from, USA.

@woltersworld Im spanish, from Madrid. I liked your video. People around the world think we are faint, we are poor, we are....and you have showed the "world" the reasons why people can live here without having the best economy of the planet. The money isnt the most important thing in life (and, by the way, we have a good universitys, health, and culture "for free"). We have defects, but sometimes we need you to show why people is happy here, and why we have the third biggest heritage of the world and why we are the third most vissited country. We thank you the encouragement that people like you give to us sometimes, becase we need it and (i think), we deserve it.

Planning a trip to Coruña, Spain. Thoughts? I’m from Jersey.

@jpferpe Thank you. I have nothing really bad to say about Spain. I have always loved visiting there, whether it was Galicia, Andalucia, or Catalonia everyone has been amazing to me, my family, my friends... i just have always enjoyed it. YOu have a great country and the only real bad thing about it is probably trying to find a job there right now :( good luck with the economy and thanks for watching adn commenting and having a cool country

I live here in Spain and I like all about Spain.

Very helpful video.

Totally agree! (although I was kinda dissapointed when I found out it was tapas!)

thanks :)

no tienes que aprender ingles, que quis decir es que los turistas que van a espana tienen que aprender un poco de espanol antes,

It depends on where you come from to compare, and it depends on where you wanna go in Spain. Spain, last years, is more expensive than before, if you go to big cities like Madrid,Sevilla,Barcelona or Valencia, or any other turistic areas. Anyway, it also depends on the way you decide to have your holidays, because Spain gives you a large range of things to do (in an economic or an expensive way). As a general rule, it isn´t such a expensive country in comparisson with the UK,Germany... WELLCOME!

I'm a dude from Málaga and I very much agree with almost everything you said. Those were really good points that many tourists don't usually get, which is really sad because many people I've met when living abroad were pretty disappointed with their journey to Spain. The Spanish mindset is focused on being smart, not intelligent; which makes Spanish people prefer to improvise when necessary (but remember, Spain is different, this changes from place to place). My point is that most of the negative traits from us Spaniards come from this fact: If the spoken English needed to attend a tourist is not very high, people don't bother studying it. If the restaurant's earnings are low that month, be smart and cheat on the tourist. If one is desperate and needs money... well, tourists are not the only victims of pickpockets. The last point I want to make is that the Western way of living is different that the Spanish all over. One midday nap, a siesta, would allow you to stay up working until late and avoid working at the hottest hours of the day. This allows many shops to open until late from Monday to Saturday, so most of them close on Sunday (don't worry, almost all restaurants close on Monday). The Spanish clock time doesn't fit it's supposed Time Zone, which should be London +0 GMT instead of Berlin +1 GMT, making us getting up in the morning way before sunrise and have some places see the sunset past 10pm. I hope all this information helps any future tourist to have a more enjoyable trip to Spain. Cheers!

@FishBrothersReturns This has nothing to do with USA. I am just noting that Spain is not strong in its foreign language education and that tourists heading there should learn a bit of Spanish before they go. Whether they are from the US or Germany (the number one country in terms of visitors to our website and youtube site) or wherever. Just warning people they should learn. Thats all.

and its funny I did not write back to you when you posted this :) I do not get notified to all comments just probably half or less. I hope you like the videos too. all the best!

2 to 4-5 p.m. is not siesta time, it's lunch time. It's mostly old people or kids who sleep siesta.

Question : for a family of 7. Is it easier to rent a vacation home or hotel?

I'm from northern Spain and the 3rd problem doesn't seem to apply here.

Wolter, which month of the year is best to visit Spain. Thank you

Spain does have the best weather in the world though, imo... only it's in the Canary Islands. :P Eternal spring, couldn't be better! I go there every winter for a couple of weeks. And there are some beautiful places too, as long as you don't just stay in the tourist villages. It's been a long time since I visited mainland Spain though , so I really have to do that again some time. It IS really nice! And Spanish really isn't that difficult. Nice video! Viva España!

Thank you! Very informative :-)

Sad but True, thats what we have around here in Spain.

Our beer isn't bad... It may not be the best but it's nice!

Nice vid. Not everywhere close their shops between 2 pm and 5 pm.? So strange... Here we love it and we hate it at the same time.

I'm spanish and I agree with most things you say, but one is clearly not true, shops are not closed at 15:00 due to siesta... are closed at 15:00 because then are opened until 20:30 or 21:00. Most spanish people have lunch at 15:30 and dinner at 22:00.

Amazinggggg

Are tourist sites open on Sundays?

I'm proud you like our country! An other think you should say is that there are many diffeent languages all over spain (I think 12, theres also a lot of northafrican people. so there's also Arabic languages), in my case, I speak Catalan and Spanish every day:) I live in Tarragona, Catalonia (it's 80 km next to Barcelona) and every time I visit Barcelona is awsome, I think it's the most cosmopolitan city of spain and you never get bored there, there's always something to do :D