The Smart Travel Guide

It is summer and most of us have already booked their vacation. Romantic vacation or not, booked in advance or not, everyone seeks for the best rates of accommodation in top hotels, best flight ticket prices, best weather, sightseeings and so on. But how many of us do really know how to book a holiday for them or for the entire family, without skipping any important point and in the end saving some money? Due to the difficult period the world is getting through, cutting expenses is considerable for many also in matter of traveling. Below our travel experts have considered the best tips in booking your ideal holiday based on travelers’ experience before, during and after returning from their vacation.

1. Choose what fits you best – an adventurous vacation, maybe a relaxing or rather a romantic journey? This is the most important step you have to take into account before thinking of any destination. Make a full research.

2. Who do you go with in your trip – your boyfriend or girlfriend, your wife or husband, your entire family or maybe you are single. No problem, there are many traveling agencies that include singles in their itineraries for this purpose, to join others who are single as well and can meet their soulmate.

3. What follows next is the amount of money you have at your disposal and afford to spend. It is important to have the amount cash before your eyes. It is important to have also an additional amount of money in case of high emergencies, such as missing the plane flight or any unfortunate accidents.


4. What is your top destination on your list? Beware of the legislation in that country? Do you need a passport or an I.D.? Or maybe both. What other documents do you need to have with you?

5. Make a list of the items you want to take with you and revise it twice before your departure. It might cost you more if you buy the forgotten-at-home ones from the shops at the destination. Moreover, check the luggage policies of the airline company you are flying with. Exceeding the limit of kg usually costs you a lot.

6. It is very important to book in advance, this if it’s not a special occasion and you have to depart in few days time. If this is not the case for you now, then remember, you can save up to 70% if you book your holiday some months before setting off. What do you think? It really worths it. And especially because you have the possibility to choose from a wide range of hotels and airline companies. It is recommended to book your flight tickets immediately as the airline companies start selling them and it is advisable to buy them online. If you choose to go by car, then there is no problem if you take into account the most easiest routes and the price of gasoline. You can find the best guaranteed rates of accommodation here or in the form below.

7. After having settled everything, talk to a close friend or neighbour to watch your home, not to be the victim of robbery.

8. One or two days before setting off call all the companies where you have made a previous booking in order to confirm your seat or arrival the following days.

Tags: steps, tips

Las Ramblas or “La Rambla” is one main attraction in Barcelona, along with its great parks and museums. Everyday this boulevard is crammed with tourists from all over the world, going here and there in search of the best souvenirs, food, or just to enjoy the beautiful landscape. The name rambla refers to an intermittent water flow in both Catalan and Spanish, and is derived from the Arabic ‘ramla’ which means ’sandy riverbed’. The name of the city of Ramla, now in Israel, shares the same origin. It is possible that this boulevard can be full of tourists more than locals, and it became the first target for pickpocketing, so watch out especially when you sit and watch the painters or performers in the street. The length of the street is measured in 3 Metro stations,

bordered by the Drassanes Metro stop, where you can find Christopher Columbus memorial, situated in the Southern part of Las Ramblas, from where you can go for a stroll along the beach and admire the boats. If you want to discover more, then you can go by boat and visit the harbour, for about 35 minutes or by the fast boat, both offering a fascinating landscape. Las Ramblas hosts very many bars, restaurants, shops for all budgets. You should not skip eating the traditional dishes, paella or tapas, along with the famous Sangria. However, prices maybe a little bit higher than in other areas. It is very pleasant to visit Las Ramblas both during day and night, you will surely enjoy watching the live performers, acting like statues, with whom you can take photos and pay few cents if you wish, or the painters, who draw your portrait, caricature or your name, together with your friend’s.



If you want to have a more precious souvenir, than you can buy a painting. Flower shops are all around together with souvenir shops, it is good to know how to negociate, you can get a very good price for the items you want to buy. No doubt Las Ramblas is an open air market, it has very many other shorter streets, which make the connection with another parallel street, where big fashion names sell their clothes.

Going down to the beach, from the Plaça de Catalunya toward the harbor, the street is successively the Rambla de Canaletes, the Rambla dels Estudis, the Rambla de Sant Josep, the Rambla dels Caputxins, and the Rambla de Santa Monica. During night, the Southern part of Las Ramblas is populated by night women, just as on the Red Light District.

If you want to book a room just on Las Ramblas, then you can find plenty of accommodation possibilities, hotels and apartments are all around. However, you should take into consideration that noise may disturb you no matter day or night. If you pass by Placa Catalunya Square, then you will surely notice El Corte Ingles, a huge department-store with seven floors of shopping categorised by different genres.

If you choose to spend a couple of hours on Las Ramblas, then you should visit some, if not all of the cultural sightseeings of Barcelona, such as Gran Teatre del Liceu, that is Opera house, Mercat de la Boqueria, the famous market with fresh food, Font de Canaletes, near Catalunya Metro station, where late evenings are very pleasant while watching the beautiful fountains, especially after a shopping session in the famous brands stores on this boulevard. Moreover, Palau de la Virreina, a Baroque palace, is the place where many exhibitions take place. Just few minutes-long walk away from Las Ramblas is Centre d’Art Santa Mònica, the Museum of Contemporary Art, which is situated on the Raval side of Rambla de Santa Mònica. Besides the artists performing live on La Rambla, you should also go to Wax Museum, Erotica Museum ( Museu de l’ Erotica) or maybe Christopher Columbus monument.

Tags: Barcelona

Sagrada Familia (or Saint Family) is the church situated in the Capital of Catalonia, Barcelona. Its second architect was Antoni Gaudi, who also designed Casa Mila (La Pedrera) in Barcelona, too. He had always wished to build such a church, and his dream came true when he was asked to overtake architect’s Francisco del Villar project. Gaudi added gothic structures and chimney-like towers. This style was to be replaced by Gaudi’s modernist vision, which was based on shapes found in nature. The last version of the project measured 95 metres length and 60 metres width, with enough space for 13.000 people.

After Gaudi’s death, building La Sagrada Familia was difficult because of the lack of funds and the civil war. When it is ready, the cathedral will have 18 belfries, 4 on each sidde of the facade, between 90 and 120 metres. Sagrada Familia is due to be finished in year 2026, that is exactly 100 years after Gaudi’s death. In order to visit the basilica, visitors have to pay 8€ entrance fee to climb the stairs and visit the musem or 2€ more two go up by elevator till the top. If you belong to a group of more than 20 members, than the entry with a free tour is 5€. Visitors can spend hours seeing the walls and studying the modern architecture of the basilica in Barcelona. Those visitors who want to go up in the tower, need to go about 350 stairs, so those who suffer from claustrophobia are adivsed not to take this risk.

Tags: Barcelona