Category: TRAVEL TIPS & TRICKS

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Get to Know About These 5 Hidden Treasures of Spain

Home to over 8,000 kilometers of beaches and diverse cuisines that will make your mouth water, Spain is a great place to visit on vacation.

The European country is best known for its sandy beaches, and almost any tourist headed there wants to enjoy an afternoon in one of these beaches.

However, there’s more to Spain than just beaches and cuisine. The country is home to several hidden treasures that are sure to whet any traveler’s appetite.

If you are an enthusiastic traveler, Spain is undoubtedly on your bucket list. With 44 UNESCO world heritage sites, choosing where to start off can be a daunting task.

Well, here are 5 hidden gems to give you a headstart. So, pack your bags and head over to the country that boasts of the oldest restaurant in the world.

  1. Squeeze through the second narrowest building in the world located in Valencia
the second narrowest building in the world record

 

Did you know about the narrowest house in Europe? You will be amazed by how beautiful a 107-centimeter wide building can look.

Although just a facade today, this was once an apartment building which lies in the middle of Valencia in the Plaza Lope de Vega, in the central neighborhood of Santa Catalina. The interesting building is a little wider than a normal-sized door…if you are claustrophobic, please stay away!

The locals insist that a girl who lived in the building had to put her communion dress on outside of the building since she could not have fit through the door in while wearing it!!.

Make a point to explore this tiny building if you ever take a visit to Valencia.

2. See amazing ship structures in the Basque Maritime Museum in Donostia, San Sebastian

Image courtesy Basque Maritime Museum

San Sebastian is maybe best known for its foodie culture these days, but maybe you’ve had your fill of pintxos and 3-star Michelin restaurants??  If you are a maritime lover, then this is just the place you should make some time for when you are in San Sebastian.

Located in the port of San Sebastian, the Basque Maritime Museum (formerly Museo Naval) deals with ship history. It was used as a warehouse by sailors and merchants in the eighteenth century. After a period of renovations the museum re-opened in April 2019 with a new name (Basque Maritime Museum) and 3 floors of exhibition space.

The first and second floors pay tribute to temporary fisheries and naval exhibitions. The third floor hosts educational workshops and a library open to everyone where people can learn more about the naval history of the country.

One of the best exhibitions includes the San Juan Basque whaling ship that sank near the Canadian coast in 1565. An exact replica of the ship is currently being build in Albaola.

While passing by the museum, check out the San Sebastian aquarium, peek inside and you will be amazed by the naval history of the area.

3. Go shopping in the Mercado de la Ribera market in Bilbao

Night view of the Ribera market in the spanish city Bilbao

The ultimate shopping experience is waiting for you in the largest indoor market in Europe! The Mercado de la Ribera is a 10,000 square meter market located on the right bank of the Nervion River, next to Casco Viejo.

It was recognized in 1990 as the most complete municipal food market by the Guinness Book of Records. You can be assured of finding everything you need in here.

Besides the wide array of products you can find in the market, you will be glad to discover the restaurants, bars, and gastro bars.

Looking for a food shopping experience? Visit the Mercado de la Ribera whenever in Bilbao and enjoy some shrimp over good jazz.

4. Enjoy a quiet walk on the sand in Aguas Blancas Beach, Ibiza

Tired of the hassle of Ibiza town and craving a quiet getaway without worries of noisy surroundings? Then Aguas Blancas is the best place to go and have a chill day.

After a long day in Ibiza, the beach situated in Santa Eularia will rejuvenate your spirits. The clay rocks of the area will give you the perfect spa experience when applied to the skin. You can expect your skin to be nicely purified and exfoliated after.

Do not limit yourself to the lively Ibiza center. Enjoy the quiet white sands of the lovely beach.

5. Go back in time and meet Don Quixote in Toledo

Toledo is known for its medieval look. But if you are a lover of ancient literature, this is where it comes to life.

Meet the madman who wrote and read about everything romantic, lost it and got on a mission to civilize people, speak for the weak and save the world.

You will find his pictures all over Toledo and experience his journey all around Spain.

3 useful tips for your stay in Spain

As much as you are ready to have a good time in Spain, keep in mind that safety is key. Here are some tips to ensure you have a fantastic visit.

  • Study some Spanish!

As much as you may have a travel guide, it is good if you know a word or ten in Spanish. You cannot always depend on people for translation. You may be in real need of a plate of good seafood. So go ahead and grab a Spanish-English dictionary to be on the safe side.

  • Have a OneSimCard for exemplary cellular connectivity

Stay in touch with family and friends during your visit to Spain at much lower costs. Save on making extremely expensive international calls by getting a OneSimCard for this exact purpose and have fun without wasting money.

  • Organize your accommodation beforehand

A last-minute hassle to get a place to rest your head for the night is unnecessary. Since you have an idea of where you are visiting, make sure you make accommodation arrangements while you are sorting out your travel. This will definitely save you a lot of time and money.

Wrapping Up

Spain is undoubtedly one of the most common tourist destinations, and it’s clear why. The European country is home to diverse cultures and geographical scenes. If you are looking for a great experience in Europe, be sure to include Spain in your itinerary.

Rather than head over to where the crowds are located, why not have a unique experience? Include these 5 hidden treasures in your bucket list to get the most out of your trip to Spain.

Credits:

Aguas Blancas Beach, Ibiza by Federico Capoano

 

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Should International Travelers Buy Local SIM Cards when arriving in a Foreign Country?

For many years, international travelers thought the best way to reduce the costs of international roaming was to immediately seek out a mobile phone store after touching down on foreign soil and buy a local SIM card. Sure, it could be a bit of a hassle to find a store. You also needed to set up a mobile phone account in foreign country and perhaps in a foreign language and get a phone number which none of your friends, family or colleagues knew, but the savings seemed to justify it. Well, times certainly have changed and the key reason for this change are International Roaming SIM cards.

International Roaming SIM cards, like OneSimCard, offer travelers excellent roaming prices in over 200 countries with many more benefits and much more convenience. Lets begin with price. Today, most international travelers are focused on data and then run a VoIP service like Skype on the data to make their international phone calls. OneSimCard offers data rates as low as $0.02 per MB. At this rate, OneSimCard’s data price is usually better or at least equal to local SIM cards. Since price was the only reason to purchase a local SIM, that reason no longer exists.

In addition, OneSimCard offers numerous additional benefits and much more convenience. OneSimCard is easily purchased on line and shipped to your home or office address prior to trip departure. This allows you to both test the SIM and your phone before traveling and distribute your new international phone number to friends, family and anybody else who needs to reach you. In addition, many countries are now making the purchase of local SIMs more bureaucratic (and time consuming) due to terrorism concerns.

OneSimCard also offers better quality services at your foreign destination. When purchasing a local SIM card, you are buying access only to that carrier’s national network. If their service is weak in some areas, that is the level of service you will receive. OneSimCard is different as they almost always have at least 2 or more network roaming partners in each country. OneSimCard will choose the better signal strength in order to provide its roamers the best possibility service at their current location.

The correct choice is quite clear. Based on price, convenience and quality of service, International Roaming SIMs, like OneSimCard, are the easy choice. There is no need at all to buy a local SIM card ever again.

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Should Enterprises use International Roaming SIM cards?

When many people consider International Roaming SIM cards they usually are searching for ways to save money on their next vacation. It is certainly true that International Roaming SIM cards, like OneSimCard, are fantastic tools to reduce the telecommunications cost of vacation by about 85%, but in many ways businesses and enterprises of all sizes have even more to gain by using International Roaming SIMs. The 3 key gains are cost savings, quality of service and ease of use.

Let’s begin with cost savings. OneSimCard offers data packages which bring down the international roaming cost per MB to less than $0.02. When using voice services, incoming calls are FREE in over 160 countries. The major carriers’ data cost are many times more expensive than OneSimCard and their voice rates are much higher too and they always charge for both incoming and outgoing calls. International Roaming SIMs like OneSimCard clearly offer excellent saving, but this is only the beginning of their advantages.

OneSimCard roams on many different networks in each country. The chosen network at any given time is the one providing the best signal strength and coverage. OneSimCard usually has at least 2 network partners in each country and often many more. This is very different from the major telecoms who just put their international roamers on their main partner network. When roaming with OneSimCard, you are assured the best quality service and coverage available in your destination country. The major carriers are not able to make this guarantee.

Finally, OneSimCard offer enterprises an outstanding administrative portal which allows easy management of thousands of individual SIM cards. OneSimCard corporate accounts also feature pooled account balances, full control of deployed SIM cards and easy addition of airtime and data packages. Enterprises considering an international roaming SIM should also keep in mind that they do offer “Direct Dial” calling and most GSM devices are now “Dual SIM.” “Dual SIM” devices with 2 SIM slots can easily accommodate the domestic SIM in one slot and the International Roam SIM in another slot. Both SIM cards will work automatically in this kind of phones and the user just pick the service that suits him the best.

Enterprises can and should use International Roaming SIMs like OneSimCard to substantially reduce their telecoms bill and enjoy much better international roaming services. In addition, OneSimCard is very easy to use for both cooperate administrators and travelers. International Roaming SIMs are certainly the best way to go for Enterprises.

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Does Verizon’s International Data Travel Pass Offer Good Value?

Recently, Verizon has launched a new “Travel Pass” program where their customers can take the data, minutes and text messages they have already purchased from Verizon for US domestic use with them to about 100 countries for an additional $10 per day. On the surface this may seem like an OK deal, but when one delves deeper the real cost of the $10 per day “Travel Pass” is actually quite expensive and many times the cost of using an International Roaming SIM card like OneSimCard. In addition, the international Roaming Services provided by Verizon Roaming are inferior to OneSimCard’s in 2 very important ways.

Let’s focus on data, as most international travelers want to use their smartphones abroad and many run a VoIP service like Skype for their voice calls. Using an average of 35 MB of data per day, (Enough for surfing about 60 web pages or 60 minutes of Skype voice calling) a 14 day European trip would consume 490 MB of data. Using Verizon’s “Travel Pass” this would cost $140 in addition to the regular monthly Verizon costs. Compare this to the data packages offered by OneSimCard. Using OneSimCard’s Europe & More data package, 500 MB of data would cost only $25. If your trip involves travel to France, the UK, Germany, Israel or any of the other 20+ countries included in the OneSimCard’s new “Super Select Data Packages,” 1000 MB of data will cost just $19. That is less than US $0.02 per MB and makes using Verizon’s “Travel Pass” more than 7 times the cost of using OneSimCard. Plus, all major US carriers will be charging taxes on your roaming of around 10%, while OneSimCard only has to charge taxes on residents of Massachusetts and California.

In addition to the dramatic cost savings, OneSimCard also offers better international roaming service. Here is why. When using a major carrier’s international roaming service, they almost always roam on only their partner’s network in the foreign country. OneSimCard is different. Typically, OneSimCard roams on 2 or more different networks in each foreign country and switches networks based on signal strength in order to give our customers to best possible service always.

Finally, OneSimCard offers numerous other international roaming benefits such concierge services, extra phone numbers in 60+ countries, Mobiles Miles for calls and no contracts required to use OneSimCard services.

So is Verizon’s $10 per day “Travel Pass” worth it? No, it certainly is not. An international roaming SIM, like OneSimCard, is a far better alternative, providing superior service at much lower cost.