We are considering a return trip to Spain next March. We are planning a drive from Madrid (we have seen Madrid already) to the northwest coast and driving west to east along the Atlantic coastal towns and circling back to the Madrid airport. We just read in the paper that Spain has a 1st quarter unemployment rate of 27.2%! We are concerned that high unemployment also means high crime rate. If you have visited Spain in the last year, have you experienced crime or attempted crime there and if so, where in Spain? Of course, we always follow Rick's advice and use money belts and never carry a purse or wallet. Thank you!
Posted by
LaGrange, Ga, USA
1178 posts
Go!!! You will enjoy the trip and will be as safe, if not safer, than you are in Florida! The area you will see is completely different from what you have seen before. Be sure to see the Caves of Altamira, Santander, and all of the coast. Great place: Palacio de Sommes..old castle, interior country from the coast, updated and unexpected. Also Santander and its beaches, as well as the other beach routes.
Posted by
victoria, Canada
11532 posts
Gale we were in Spain last July -August. We didn't feel it was any worse then Paris and Rome. We loved loved loved our visit to Tossa De Mar,,tiny town 1.5 hours from Barcelona and felt very safe there, in Barcelona I did feel I had to be on my toes a lot more, but that's a big city for you. I carry and use a purse , where does one keep their lipstick , comb, antiacids and maps otherwise, lol I just carry a days cash only , and leave cc and atm cards in hotel safe or wear them in a moneybelt while in transit.
I have carried a purse for last 35 years why would I stop just for Europe, Europeon women carry them all the time, so perhaps by not carrying one you stand out even more!!!??? And Gale, if you never carry a purse or wallet where do you carry your day use cash,, please tell me you don't carry it all in your moneybelt????
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
I agree with HJ. I was there last year, and am going back next month. The part of the country you are considering seeing is particulary tourist-free compared to the big cities of Madrid and Barcelona. But even there, I have never felt unsafe. And if you are driving, you aren't going to encounter potential pickpockets on public transportation. The crime rate in Spain has not increased as a result of the unemployment rate.
Posted by
Tel Aviv
15806 posts
I was in Madrid and Andalusia for 3 weeks in February, no problems anywhere. I did not leave anything visible in the rental car when I parked it - but not because I was in Spain, just because it's a reasonable precaution anywhere.
Posted by
OP
Melbourne Beach, FL, USA
18 posts
Thank you all, for your input! Pat, I usually travel to Europe off season and wear a coat with lots of pockets for combs, Chapstick, Kleenex, camera, etc, so I don't need a purse. I use the money belt for passport, extra credit card & extra cash, and a neck wallet that hangs inside my shirt for 1 days cash & debit/ATM card. My neighbor had her purse picked twice on different trips! The thieves can easily spot Americans and they know we carry cash!
Posted by
Bloomington, IL, USA
9371 posts
Yeah, it's not too hard to tell you're a tourist when yo are pulling a neck wallet out of your shirt to buy lunch. Neck wallets are a form of money belt - not meant to be accessed in public. Your money for the day should be kept somewhere else.