belle006

I'm brand new to the forums, thanks to a darling friend who directed me here, and this couldn't have come at a better time.

In mid-August I will be in Barcelona for 12 days, and it will be my first time abroad (outside of North America that is.) I had a friend planning on joining me, but she bailed last minute for financial reasons. Because I'm a young college student, I'll be doing things a bit on the cheap, but definitely not scrounging around. I'll be staying at hostels instead of hotels, and doing all of my traveling alone, save one weekend when a friend from Paris is going to come see me for a few days. I'm definitely not looking to be a "tourist" per say. I don't plan on getting on any buses with any groups. I plan to spend a good amount of time at the beach, and obviously enjoying the amazing night-life Barcelona offers.

My family and friends are concerned about my safety traveling alone in Spain, and I was wondering if I'm wrong to be going alone??? I've done my research and know that I can carry pepper spray in Spain legally, so I plan on doing that, and I'm an incredibly loud person, so I know my screams can be heard very easily ha. I grew up with a father who taught me a lot about self-defense, and I'm pretty cautious on my own. Living in the NYC metro area I know how to be in a city safely and what to keep my eyes open for.

Are there any tips I need? Is there anything specific about hostels I should know (none of my friends have experience with them)?

If this has been addressed in another thread, please redirect me! I'd hate to be revisiting something. None of my keywords turned up in the search though

missydarlin

there are a lot of user reviews available online about various hostels. Some cater to the party crowd and some don't. Just do your research and you should be fine.

I've stayed at this place a couple times and really liked it. Kind of a hostel meets 1 star hotel feel to it. I was there in the off season so it was fairly quiet, but well located right off Las Ramblas.

http://hostallevante.com/indexe.html

And if you haven't already done so, spend some time at ricksteves.com reading the graffiti wall.

StewieD

If you live in NYC - you will be so relaxed in Spain - no worries, very safe there. Just watch it with weirdos in hostels.

colpuck

hostelworld.com is a good place to research hostels. Also a lot of hostels have women only rooms, which is worth looking at. Generally, if you go to a good hostel, there will always be a group of people you can link up with over the toast and jam at the breakfast table.

tfar

An American college student, single, in Barcelona can have an incredible amount of fun. That said, it is over all safe and you shouldn't worry too much. Just don't follow anybody home and always let others know where you are going.

It would be great if you could meet some nice people to hang out with already in the first two days. So don't do the beach then because it is not really a good place to meet people. The better meeting points are museums, cafes and the parts of town where people just come to hang out and watch street musicians and such. Of course, bars and clubs in the evening are very good, too, to meet people.

While I am not sure whether this is true for Spain, in other west-European countries (Germany, France, Italy) you should be somewhat suspicious of youngsters from Eastern Europe and the Maghreb countries (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia). Sounds pretty racist but, unfortunately, the crime rates show that a very high percentage is among people from these areas. Which doesn't mean that people from these areas are inherently criminal but that those who are come to the west to do their mayhem.

Till

travelmad478

Why yes, it does sound pretty racist. Not to mention completely misguided. This may come as a surprise, but just because someone has a lower income level than you do doesn't mean that he is a criminal.

I agree that the OP should be fine, if she is accustomed to being in New York. The rules of safety are pretty much the same everywhere: (1) don't be an idiot, and (2) if you find yourself in a situation or place that seems in any way discomforting, leave.

belle006

Thanks for all of the advice and encouragement! I'm glad to know I'm not totally unprepared.

I've actually watched a bit of Rick Steve's on TV haha, and the site has been so helpful, especially the graffiti wall, so thanks for the heads up on that

Also, thanks for the hostel sites and recommendations. I couldn't possibly be more excited to go!

tfar

I thought I had made it sufficiently clear that his wasn't the point. I also never said that somebody with a lower income level was a criminal. You implied that. I would however presume that criminality often arises out of the need that comes with a lower income level and is often directed against those with a higher income level. It's only logical. I'd find those criminals less despicable than somebody like Madoff.

As for the "completely misguided" part, if you mean that it would be wrong advice to not watch out for the indicated groups, that would be misguided.

As I said, I am not sure for Spain, but in the countries I mentioned crime statistics show that most of the crimes that tourists fall prey to are committed rather by the said groups. I can only imagine that it might be the same for Spain.

Be that as it may, I give safety advice to a young woman rather based on a well-founded assumption (I specified that I wasn't sure the situation was the same in Spain. It would be nice to get someone from Spain or even Barcelona to chime in.) than on political correctness.

Having lived in Paris, Berlin and Hamburg I have heard, seen, read and experienced myself enough to know what kind of people I need to be aware of. It has helped me more than once, particularly in Paris.

That said, the chances of becoming the victim of a violent crime (not pick-pockets) are much lower in Western Europe (and probably Eastern Europe, too) than in the US. If belle006 doesn't want to use her license to kill, the advice I and others gave will keep her out of trouble.

And don't watch "Taken" before you go.

Till

pentaphobe

I myself am actually debating going to Spain the last week of August, my best friend and I had originally planned to travel to Costa Rica but due to her work schedule we had to cancel. So I'm considering making arrangements to travel to Spain on my own. It would be the first time ever and I started to do some research and it definitely sounds like other single woman find it pretty easy to travel on their own. I think its just the idea that one isn't able to share the experience with someone else that dissuades me from going. But other than that I'm all for it.

Daisygirl

How exciting for you! I traveled solo for years and never once felt endangered anywhere I went. (Well, only once actually - it was at the bus station in Dar es Salaam at 3am.)

Barcelona was wonderful, and I felt entirely safe there. Just don't be an obvious outsider- study what people are wearing and dress similarly- nothing ostentatious.

I stayed at a pretty basic hostel while I was there, and wouldn't recommend that one, but I did go to eat at a restaurant at a hostel that looked and felt wonderful. The restaurant was Middle-Eastern food, I will see if I can find the hostel online. Everyone was really friendly, too!

Hostels are great places to meet people when you're traveling alone- as long as you're gregarious and open to meeting people. Don't be afraid to start conversations with others at breakfast. You'll meet tons of people that way!

But be careful with your belongings- after having my bag stolen in the night from a hostel I was staying in in Harare, I always sleep with my main bag under my bed (or if I am in the top bunk, at the foot of my bed, 'cause I am short), and my purse/wallet/wherever my money and passport are under my pillow.

Be sure to check out the Gaudi stuff around town! And relax one day on Las Ramblas with a pitcher of fab sangria!

escholander

I have a timeshare exchange that will expire if not used by the end of this month. Because I just realized that I had extended the week to it's max, I have no time for planning & will be traveling solo in 2 days. I have several options of resorts to chose from around the world & will be making a final decision today. I've never been to Spain & as at 25 years old, I see Ibiza as a now or never experience. Has anyone stayed at the Marina Palace in Ibiza? I plan on spending most of my days on the beach & nights at the clubs. I haven't had time to think this one through... is this a bad idea?

bluebird09

.. I have passed several months there and the only thing that happened once to a female friend of mine (early in the morning after a club tour) was that she got robbed her bag - The guy asked her for a cigarette, she denied..

and believe it or not - she beat him!

But he run away...

So do not carry to much cash, make just a copy of your passport to carry on, but take care of your luggage in the hostels, get them out of reach of the hotel people - there are safer places for your luggage than the hostel or the room provided to the luggage of the guests.

Pepper spray on the hand is really exaggerated - you won't need it. And if you do not really know how to use it..


The only danger I see will be the cocktails, that you might get as drunk as I got and that you might go out with a guy or take drugs without even knowing.

The beach for instance is a mess. So do not dream about it too much. It's dirty and the dealers ask where do you come from and according to the country you will be able to buy a kind of drug. (France= cocaine)
I was really shocked !


So don't worry and follow your instinct, do not go alone by night on LAS RAMBLAS, take the cab or even the bus - in EUROPE, everybody (even the upper class) takes the night bus in contrary to NYC and it is full of the party crowd and totally safe.

ENJOY, have fun and do your luggage

thiefhunter

I can chime in… as a woman who studies global street crime and loves no other city as much as Barcelona. I'm only sorry I missed Belle006 before her trip.

First of all, tfar's advice was sound. I agree that it's difficult for us non-prejudice North Americans to generalized negatively about specific nationalities, but there are hard facts that substantiate tfar's comments. And travelmad468 certainly overreacted without providing any backup comments.

Barcelona's crime situation is incredibly complicated, with immigration, budget, taxation, political will, proximity, and weather all embroiled to make the city what it is. Which is, mostly, exactly what we love. On the other hand, there is a constant flow of legal immigrants coming from the east, and illegal ones coming from North Africa. That's a fact. It is also a fact that a large percentage of the street crime (pickpocketing, bagsnatching, mugging) is perpetrated by these immigrants and others (particularly from a few South American countries). How do I know?

Well, no one disputes the fact that Barcelona has a high level of street crime. It's an excellent place for my studies because of that (and because I love the city for everything else it has). I find, follow, and film thieves in action. Then I often talk to them. I find out where they come from and often much, much more about them. I've met many of the same thieves repeatedly over 15 years. I also talk to the police and see the mugshots and records of the thieves they have arrested. There are complicated and unpleasant reasons why the police can't/don't get rid of these perpetrators. Too much to explain here, but I've written a lot at http://bobarno.com/thiefhunters/2008...-street-crime/ and elsewhere on Thiefhunters in Paradise. Search "Kharem" there, to read about one talkative, multi-talented thief.

tfar

Thanks for corroborating my statements. I have looked at your website and found it very interesting, indeed.

The bottom line for me is that while Barcelona has a lot of petty crime it is still a city very much worth visiting. One just has to apply a bit of common sense. It would be great to hear back from the OP how she liked it!

Till

biggestbopper

Based on my recent trip to Barcelona, the street crime situation is really out of control. I would not bring anything of even modest value on a return trip.

Check out the threads on Crime in Barcelona in the Europe forum here on FT.

Interestingly, other places I have been in Spain do not appear to have the same problem. Bilbao and Madrid, for example.