troyhouse

@Luis71. thanks for the site suggestion, will check it out.

Are you guys familiar with veltra.com to get discounts and special on spain attractions? is it reputable and can i book it through there?

FlyerWx

Veltra is fairly reputable and you can book/pay online through there.

They seemed to mainly resell other tours, and the quality of the day trip or attraction definitely seems dependent on the operator. We never used it because we found it was cheaper to book directly with a tour website, but Veltra and Viator were good starting points to see what types of tours existed.

troyhouse

thanks for the quick reply. are there any other similar sites for discounted tickets, or this is the only good one?

FlyerWx

Veltra and Viator (by extension, TripAdvisor) are the main large companies I can think of. Otherwise, it really depends on what kind of discounts you're looking for. After doing some research on Google, we could tell where to book a specific tour to save the most money. And sometimes, it really doesn't hurt to email the tour company and ask for a discount. IIRC, it worked >50% of the time.

In terms of attractions (museums, cathedrals, etc), I used the student discounts, so I never looked into other types. Sorry

troyhouse

Some more questions:

1. I was checking the direct sites for Sagrada Familia, Park Guell and other attractions, and the tickets are cheaper then on Veltra or Viator. The difference might be between transportation and the guided tour part. So apart from these 2 items, does it make sense to buy tickets directly from the respective attractions website? I am staying in city center and most of the locations are not too far, which I can just use uber or taxi?

2. Does the basic Sagrada Familia from their website is skip the line ticket or even with the tickets purchased in advance, I will have to wait in the line, and would be better to buy the skip the line tickets.

3. Is visit to Basilica at Montserrat must or can be skipped?

troyhouse

Sorry to bump it, any feedback will be highly appreciated. thanks in advance.

FlyerWx

1. I just bought the Park Guell tickets from the website. If you don't need a guided tour, I think it makes sense to buy it from the attraction website. We used Cabify for the most part in Spain, which is, IMHO, much better&cheaper than Uber.

3. Unless you are really tight on time, I'd at least glance inside. Especially since you're already there and you may not go back. The line to touch the Black Madonna is long, but it's separate from the normal line to enter the basilica.

troyhouse

thanks a lot, you have been very helpful. one last question, if i buy the basic ticket for sagrada familia, it is fast track right? I dont have to wait couple of hours for my turn?

mauld

I was just in Madrid late May, and did a day bus tour to Segovia & Toledo. The tour was through Viatour (part of TripAdvisor), I paid US$ 73 for the full day trip encompassing both cities. We left Madrid at the Venta Metro station (across from the Bull Ring), and it was about an hour to Segovia. We spent about 3 hrs there visiting the city, the Aqueduct, the Alcazar with time to explore on our own before getting on the bus for the 90 min ride to Toledo, where we were free to get lunch on our own before meeting back up for a tour of the city and the cathedral. Before entering the city, the bus stopped at a good vantage point for the fantastic view of the city. My tour had about 24 people on it, most speaking english and the guide gave us lots of time to see the sights on our own, as well as directing the important sights. I was traveling solo, and had never really done tours before, but I would recommend this one for a good overview, without the burden of driving and finding parking. We got back to Madrid about 6:45 pm.

troyhouse

Thanks for all the recommendations, went with Viator, and used their 10% off booking and got the Toledo/Segovia Tour for US $70 pp, not bad. Will try to complete the rest of the tour bookings using the same way,

troyhouse

any promotion codes for new users signup for cabify? just checking to see if they offer any signup bonuses like uber/lyft?

LupineChemist

There is a promotion for going to/from the airport in Madrid on cabify. That said in Madrid, Uber is running a 15€ fare promotion for the airport to the center so that's better. (enter code VERANO2018 to get the option)

troyhouse

any feedback on Museo del Baile Flamenco show in Seville? I was reading reviews on Tripadvisor, and had great reviews and was visited by Harrison Ford. So, I am assuming this show should be good, and it is also quite economical compared to others in Seville and Barcelona. What do you guys think of this?

mauld

The direct bus to city center (Cibeles then on to the main train station) is E5, the metro is E1.50.

LupineChemist

Metro is certainly more than 1.50 to the airport. It's 5€ in fare plus the 4€ (I think?) for the tarjeta multi that is required to use the metro system, though you will need that to use metro regardless.