spain holiday homes
Travel tips
Travellers from the UK are entitled to free or reduced cost emergency medical treatment on production of a completed E111 form. However, this only applies if the medical practitioner you consult works within the Spanish State Health service. Take photocopies of the E111 with you, as you will need to show the doctor the original and hand over a copy. Dental treatment is not generally covered under the state system.
Make sure that you have some Euros for the motorway. We believe that it is possible to pay the tolls using a credit card, but have not tried it yet. The Spanish speed limits are based around 120kph on toll motorways and dual carriageways, 90kph on "other" roads, and 50kph in built up areas. If these do not apply then there will be signs, for example some very narrow streets in villages are only 40kph.
Drink driving regulations in Spain are very similar to those in the UK.
The use of
seat belts is compulsory, and children under 12 must not travel in the front seat.
Phone
boxes have all converted to Euros. Local calls appear to start at 24 Cents (0.24Euros),
whilst the minimum charge for a call back to the UK is 60 Cents. Mobile phone reception
is very good in the villa, although calls work out far more expensive than using
the phone boxes.
Banks are generally only open from 9am to 2pm on Monday to Friday.
Most
shops close for lunch from around 1pm until 3pm or 4pm.
Shops will be closed all day
on Sundays and the many national and regional holidays. The national holidays are
January 1 & 6, March 19, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday & Easter Monday, May 1, July
25, August 15, October 12, November 1, December 6, 8 & 25. Regional holidays vary
from town to town, but a significant one is Valenciana Day which falls on October
9th.
If you want to eat at a particular restaurant, it is advisable to book a table
as most are very busy right into the late evening, even out of season. We have found
that there tends to be two groups of diners at the restaurants. Often the tourists
or English residents go to the restaurants around 7pm (when most of them open), whilst
the locals often don't arrive until after 9pm.
Tea or Coffee after a meal is not included
in the "Menu de la Dia" price.
Tipping in restaurants is usually up to 10%, but "servicio
incluido" means that it is already in your bill.
If you are looking for some musical
nightlife, beware of establishments which call themselves "Clubs", allegedly these
are usually brothels. What you should be looking for are "Discos".
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