Spain Travel Planning Help

Climbing Abroad In Spain!

Hi guys! I’m planning a solo climbing trip to Spain for a month in October. This is my first time going solo to any country in Europe so I’m pretty nervous!  I’m a male in my early 20s. So far I’ve set my eyes on the crags around Barcelona, Valencia, and Sevilla. 

I have so many logistics questions that I would love advice on. I am planning on backpacking around the country, staying in hostels, and taking public transportation. Would appreciate any questions answered :) 

1: Do I need to bring all the gear? full set of quickdraws, 70m rope, etc. Or would it be more advantageous to try to find partners there who have gear.

2: What’s the best way to find belay/climbing partners? 

3: If I do bring gear, should I bring a suitcase + climbing bag or would 2 backpacks be a better approach. 

4: Is it easy to get to the crags without a car or would I need to hitch a ride? When at the lodging near the crags do I need a car ato get to the start of the approach. 

General Spain Travel Questions:

5: should I purchase travelers health insurance? 

6: How are the communities in spain? Should I expect people to be kind and helpful if I don’t speak much Spanish? 

7: Should I be wary of thieves, pickpockets, trafficking? How safe is Spain.

8: How’s the public transportation? 

Also if you are also interested in or going to climb in spain during October feel free to reach out! I can lead into the low 7s and give soft attentive catches. 

1. I'd personally bring everything, especially if the focus is sport climbing. I don't want to climb just because one of us doesn't have a rope. That said, there are people who show up with just personal gear.

2. You go to climbing focused camping site. The camping sites are not like in the US where it's a publicly funded. It's usually a private one that has options of rooms, bungalows, camping, and parking. 

3. Depends on if you are getting a car, which I recommend - in that case, it doesn't matter. Just think about how much hassle you want to deal with moving from place to place. I did backpack + rolly suitcase/bag (but i had tons of stuff for attempting alpine adventures).

4. I would highly recommend a car. Other than El Chorro, the other places would be pretty hard to get to the crag, do groceries etc. I'm sure it will work, but i'ts not convenient. I do know of people who bikepack in Spain. doyouspain.com has a lot of good deals... only if you drive Manual. Learn how to drive manual before going will save you hundreds! 

5. I bought travel health insurance, specifically one that included mountaineering under 4000m, which covered my alpine activities as well.

6. You basically end up hanging out with mostly Australians, some British and other Americans.

7. I heard it was a problem, but I have not experienced it myself

8. Trains are more expensive than you think. Look into budget airlines. Barcelona was very efficient public/private transport

Aidan Tan wrote:

8: How’s the public transportation? 

The public transport as well as the AVE high speed rail network is a great and convenient way to get around quickly and reliably in Spain. Please avoid taking unnecessary flights inside of the country. Global warming is a huge issue for Spain, with increasingly severe droughts regularly destroying harvests and making everybody's lifes miserable. 

Aidan Tan wrote:

6: How are the communities in spain? Should I expect people to be kind and helpful if I don’t speak much Spanish? 

Outside big cities like Madrid & Barcelona you'll have trouble communicating with people as English is pretty much non-existent except for touristy areas like Costa Blanca, Costa del Sol, Mallorca-Menorca & the Canary Islands. Even in Madrid & Barna you'll have trouble communicating once you step away from the CBDs.

7: Should I be wary of thieves, pickpockets, trafficking? How safe is Spain.

Pickpockets and climbing equipment thieves bad in  certain locations:

1. Barna/Barcelona. The red triangle marked here:

https://metropoliabierta.elespanol.com/movilidad/20230708/asi-es-el-triangulo-rojo-del-metro-la-zona-con-mayor-actividad-carterismo-en-barcelona/777422300_0.html

Pickpockets hotspot

2. Madrid: Puerta del Sol, Cibeles, Plaza Mayor, Gran Vía, Palacio Real and and in the Metro network (subway) whenever there are crowded carriages. They target tourists/travellers/foreigners FIRST and locals next, and they'll know if you are a visitor from the get-go.

3. Theft of equipment left in unattended vehicles. Honestly it could happen anywhere in Spain. Use a lockup garage when parking in a hotel/hostel area. Ask management for such service. Or better NEVER leave climbing gear and any valuables in the car, end of story. 

8: How’s the public transportation? 

Excellent. Train and subway system is world class. Bus is also very good. 

2: Depends a little bit on the climbing area you stay. I was in Siurana and stayed at the campsite, it was absolutly no problem to find someone to climb.

Same in Chulilla, just stay in the local Climbing hostel and you ll be fine with climbing partners. 

Aidan Tan wrote:

4: Is it easy to get to the crags without a car or would I need to hitch a ride? When at the lodging near the crags do I need a car ato get to the start of the approach. 

I know most Spanish crags and you definitively need a vehicle except two of them which have an easy public transport connection:

-La Pedriza (Madrid) via bus service in Plaza de Castilla (bus 724). 1h drive + 45 min easy walk to the crag.

-Montserrat (Barcelona). Two options:

•Train from Plaza de España. R5 line.
•Bus (cheaper). Service by Autocars Julià located in Estación de Sants.

Chulilla is super easy without a car. You can fly into valencia and then take a cab or bus to Chulilla. Once in town a car is entirely unnecessary. (Though slightly more convenient)

I spent 5 years going back and forth between Spain and the US and barely spoke any Spanish until I finally moved here last year. There is a huge community of climbers from all over Europe who come to Spain (as well as some Americans, but fewer) and the lingua franca these days is English. I used to climb with mostly Germans, Italians, and french...and a handful of Brits until brexit and they couldn't stay quite as long anymore. 

One thing you should note is that a lot of crags in Spain require an 80m rope and you can get one relatively cheap at decathlon. If you only have a 70 depending on where you are planning on going it might not be worth it to bring. 

Max Tepfer wrote:

Chulilla is super easy without a car.

Indeed but to get to Chulilla ain't that easy as you'll be limited to stay there according to your suggestion and go nowhere else. Having a vehicle gives you the freedom of travelling between crags as Chulilla doesn't have nearly 3,000 routes like La Pedri or the 5,000 of Montse. So basically you climb in any of those two for three lifetimes in a row.

I forgot to mention Cuenca which is another great crag to stay since it quite close to the town itself, but you def. need a vehicle. Around 1,500 bolted routes.

giraud b wrote:

Indeed but to get to Chulilla ain't that easy as you'll be limited to stay there according to your suggestion and go nowhere else. Having a vehicle gives you the freedom of travelling between crags as Chulilla doesn't have nearly 3,000 routes like La Pedri or the 5,000 of Montse. So basically you climb in any of those two for three lifetimes in a row.

Couldn't someone traveling without a car (the OP's intended mode of travel) use Spain's excellent, world class train and subway systems and/or it's very good bus system to travel from Chulilla to either of those other two destinations? 

Seems like the OP was looking for recommendations for good crags that don't require a vehicle.  Chulilla is certainly that even if it only has one lifetime of climbing instead of two or three. (particularly if you're looking for steep limestone sport climbing with tufas) In the 6 weeks I spent there last year, I wasn't lacking for routes I wanted to try, (in fact the opposite: I'm considering going back for another 1-2 months this winter) but I could see running out if you were limited to climbing 7a and below and staying for a very long time.

Last time I was in Chulilla (I think this past February?) there were tons of people in the van parking trying to hitch hike to Valencia so that makes me think that the public transportation isn't amazing. I drove a couple of friends who live in Valencia to the closest metro station so they could get home and I assume they know what the transit options are since they are locals? There are great high speed trains between the major cities but a lot of the climbing areas are more rural without great transit options. The bus system also isn't super great...From my village there is only one bus a day at 7am to the city where I can take another bus or train to the airport or somewhere else in Spain. If you're on a longer trip it's not so bad but in a two or three week trip it sorta sucks to lose multiple days just trying to go grocery shopping. 

Generally I would say that climbing in Spain without a car is pretty much the same as if you tried that in the US - definitely possible but it will limit your options. I spent years living in NYC and taking the bus to the gunks and then hitch hiking but never managed to get to anywhere else because I was too broke in grad student stipend and paying NYC rent to afford a rental car. You can also take the bus to Fayetteville, hitch hike to the AAC campground and then walk to the climbing... In most places in Spain you should probably expect a similar amount of logistics. 

The other thing to be aware of is that stores and restaurants staying open 7 days a week is pretty rare and it's nice to have a car to drive to the big city if you need groceries or anything. I think in Chulilla everything is closed on Sundays and Tuesdays and I was always randomly running out of food, crag snacks etc because I'm so used to things just being open. Especially if you're camping it's hard to keep a lot of food on hand but you can't even go out to eat if nothing is open. 

claty wrote:

From my village there is only one bus a day at 7am to the city where I can take another bus or train to the airport or somewhere else in Spain. If you're on a longer trip it's not so bad but in a two or three week trip it sorta sucks to lose multiple days just trying to go grocery shopping. 

That's also how it is in Chulilla.  A bus to Valencia every morning and a bus back from Valencia every evening.  Kind of all you need if you're trying to get to and from a climbing area, no?  Also, I shopped locally for the entirety of my stay.  There aren't super diverse grocery options, but if you want to spend a month without paying for a rental car, it's a great way to go.  Additionally, a fun rest day activity is to go into Valencia for the day (easily doable via bus) and it would be a simple add to finish your day in town with a stop at a bigger grocery store before hopping on the bus back to town.

Max Tepfer wrote:

That's also how it is in Chulilla.  A bus to Valencia every morning and a bus back from Valencia every evening.  Kind of all you need if you're trying to get to and from a climbing area, no?  

For sure... I think it just really depends on how long you have and how much time you want to spend getting to climbing vs climbing? My trip doesn't have an end date so I don't mind spending a couple of days here and there. If I were super psyched to climb every day it would be a bummer. 

The one thing no one mentioned is if you know how to drive a manual rental cars in Spain are dirt cheap! Also buying a used car is crazy cheap as well. 

If you want carless climbing places like Kalymnos are also a great option. Amazing food, everything is walkable, cheap accommodations, and suuuuper friendly and welcoming locals. The climbing is... vacation climbing but that's fun, too!

As mentioned in passing in an earlier post in this thread, and in more detail in other threads, El Chorro is a very good car less option in Spain. While it is not in one of the regions mentioned by OP---though not that far from Sevilla, it is very easy to reach by train from Malaga ( one hour, several trains a day)--which has an international airport. While the shopping in the village itself is quite limited, as are the restaurant options, it is easy to take the train ( or a taxi or hitch) to nearby towns, such as Alaro, with much bigger supermarkets, or back to Malaga. The accommodations are easily walkable from the train station, as are most of the climbing sectors.  There are plenty of both single and multi pitch options, and a very good spread of grades--more easy, moderate routes than usual for a limestone area, though plenty of harder ones as well ( though maybe not as many options in the uppermost grades as in some other Spanish areas). It is an international climbers 'hub', so usually easy to find partners. Weather conditions should be fine in October.

claty wrote:

Generally I would say that climbing in Spain without a car is pretty much the same as if you tried that in the US - definitely possible but it will limit your options. 

End of story. Let's use the example of [url= climbing.com/places/hammer-…]Riglos[/url]. Dead set: 10 min walk-in from town basically (obviously a bit more). But try to get to Riglos by public transport from either Madrid or Barna. You'll quickly become a "peregrino" rather than a climber.

Damn a car will make your life easier. It's just too much hassle as crags are located in regional areas except some exceptions; eg. La Pedri, Montserrat, Cuenca.