Travel tips
10 Travel tips you can’t miss!
1. Be flexible, leave room for spontaneity
You should definitely plan these 5 things not to miss in Madrid before you leave. But don’t worry if you don’t have time for all, sometimes the most charming places get discovered, and the best experiences happen when you get lost and have no other choice than improvise.
2. Learn basic words
It’s not only fun to learn other languages but it’s also a good opportunity try out what you’ve learned so far. For example: “una cerveza, por favor” will be one of the phrases you’ll need if you want to order a beer. Don’t forget “muchas gracias” to thank or “¿dónde está…?” if you ever get lost.
3. Make photocopies of important documents
You never know what can happen when you’re in a foreign country, so you better have copies of all your important documents just in case and take them with you. They’re won’t bother much and they’ll let you enjoy safely.
4. Pre-plan your outfits
This is a good advice if you don’t have too much room left for your things in your suitcase. Choose those outfits you like the most considering the weather, the days and the places you might be visiting. This way you will not only win space from your bags but also you’ll need less time to choose what to wear.
5. Put electronics, medications, toothbrush in your carry-on
Take always with you practical things as your phone charger, a power bank, basic medications and sanitary… because we all know that when we’re visiting a new city we like to get lost, improvise and discover new places, and we have to be ready for everything!
6. Stay hydrated
It sounds obvious but it’s very important to remark it, specially when you’re visiting hot countries. One of the main attractions of Spain for tourists is the sunny weather: hot days and warm nights, so don’t forget to drink at least 2 liters of water everyday. Wine doesn’t count!
7. Wear sunscreen in summer
As we just said, hydration is as important as wearing sunscreen, even though it’s cloudy. Madrid can reach very hot temperatures in summer, up to 45ºC (113ºF), and the sun rays are also strong, especially from 1pm to 4pm. We also recommend to take sunglasses with you and a hat or a cap.
8. Save your hotel address somewhere
Not many people has this habit. It’s a good idea to write down Heima Home’s address in case you forget. So you can write it down on your telephone or handwrite it down in any of the visiting cards you can find in the house, where you can also find our phone numbers if you ever need them. And don’t worry about the roaming charges, because you can call us with the Spanish phone we lend you while you’re here.
9. Ask the locals
If you’d like more of a local experience just talk to the locals and ask them for recommendations of places to visit, eat or party. They’ll surely tell you about different places that are not on the touristic guides and you’ll be able to practice your Spanish! If you’re a little bit more shy you can ask a waiter when you ask for the bill.
10. Keep an Open Mind
We have a saying in Spain: “there where you go, do what you see”. We have to travel with an open mind, knowing that if we’re in another country, culture or continent from ours, we might find some things strange or not even understand them, but it’s important to respect them.
