Headed to Spain and not sure what to pack? Here’s the ultimate packing guide list!
Having to pack efficiently for an 8 day, 5 city vacation is not the easiest task, especially if you want to pack light. Here are our top tips for making this vacation stress free!
Also, for those who need an easy to read list, here’s a quick bullet point list of things you should NOT forget on your trip to Spain.
Here's the quick basic guide if you’re in a hurry to pack your bags and have 5 minutes to get out the door and not miss your flight! Because who would want that? Hurry up! Vamos!
- Jacket
- Shirts
- Pants
- Sneakers
- Socks
- Underwear (unless commando is your thing)
- Converter
- Phone (for camera and getting connected)
- Cash and credit/debit cards
- Passport (passport! Passport! passport!)
- Travel insurance
- Flight tickets (don’t forget to check in!)
- Phone and camera charger
- Prescribed medication (if you have any!)
Everything else that I’ve left out can basically be found in the hotel (most toiletries and a hair dryer) and/or shopped around in the different cities. Otherwise, here is a more detailed list if you have some more time and patience.
Let’s categorize this list to the 5 cities we visit in Spain. The five cities are Barcelona, Granada, Seville, Cadiz, and Madrid. Before we get started, I’d like to stress to you that you need to check the weather. I’ve had travelers show up without jackets and pants, and they froze their bums off and had to buy an entire new wardrobe. Let’s not make that simple mistake again. Here is a link you can use to check the weather.
Barcelona
Let’s start with Barcelona. It’s a windy and somewhat humid city so it’s a bit hard to predict what to wear. I don’t recommend dresses that’s for sure, unless you want to show off your cute undies of course. We also walk a lot in Barcelona, well, we walk a lot everywhere so prioritize comfortable shoes. Always. If you plan to go out at night and want to wear heels, just go back to the hotel and change into them and then go out. Otherwise comfort is key on this trip especially when it comes to footwear. That is the secret to happiness for the Spain trip.
- Jacket
- Comfortable footwear 100%
- Pants
- Shirt
- Small bag for your phone, camera, wallet and a photocopy of your passport
Granada
It doesn’t always rain in Granada but if luck would have it, it’s almost always raining one day of the trip that we’re there. Go figure. Especially if you come during spring and autumn. It’s a city nestled between the Sierra Nevada mountains so the weather can be quite cool and at times rainy. And no, not the light drizzle, but heavy rain. The streets we walk on are also very pebbly, a lot more narrow than we’re used to and quite steep, making it seem like we’re constantly on a hike. Remember what I said? Footwear should be comfortable. If you wear something with a thin sole, you’re bound to feel all those pebbles underneath.
- Rain jacket or umbrella (though the wind might make using an umbrella challenging) Layers to add or remove because it can get quite intense (hot and cold in a span of minutes and hours)
- Beanie
- Earphones (for the drive to Seville and Cadiz) and a subscription to Itunes? Spotify? Whichever floats your boat!
Seville
Ah, Seville. Seville is almost always hot. Yep, you heard that right. It’s almost always hot and if you come in May and June, it might even be too hot. So bring some sunscreen with ya, a hat, a water bottle and sunglasses. Oh, and it wouldn't hurt to bring some cute shorts and dresses because Seville is such a beautiful and charming city. You might wanna match with the background if you know what I mean. The Spanish in general like to dress smart casual so if you’re into fitting in, go right ahead! I mean, I know I do!
- Sunscreen
- Hat
- Water bottle
- Sunglasses
- Cute outfits
Cadiz
Beach town equals heat and endless sunny days basking under the Spanish sun, am I right? Unfortunately, not all the time. Cadiz opens up to the Atlantic Ocean and is pretty much as windy if not more so than Barcelona. So if it’s not a good day, we’d most likely be laying on the beach with a hoodie on, so (pretty please) pay attention to the weather. You can’t really tell with Cadiz-- it changes all year round. You might get a warm day in March or a cold day in May.
- Swimsuit and beach towel because you never know!
- Day bag to put your swimsuit, beach towel, sunscreen, jacket, etc
Madrid
Alas... my city. My home. Madrid. So this city which I hold very dear to my heart can be very cold and dry but thankfully not as windy as Barcelona and Cadiz. So dry you can look at your hand and watch a paper cut form just by opening it. I’m not even kidding. It actually happened to me during one of the winters. As long as you bring your layers with ya and have a scarf in hand, you should be all right. Oh, one more thing, that thing you take pictures with! What’s it called again? Yep, a camera! Bring one with you so you can have a frozen copy of the fantastic moments you’re bound to have on this trip!
- Scarf
- Camera (sd card and charger)
- Phone (charger)
- Converter (duhhhh!)
What you absolutely cannot leave behind:
- Your passport and a photocopy
- Travel insurance
- Phone and charger
- Flight tickets
- Prescribed medication
Well, and what if you leave something behind anyway?
Don’t fret! As long as it's not any of those 5 things up there, then we can figure it out. All the cities in Spain have amazing options for anything you could ever want and need. In fact, sometimes I pack extra light so I have an excuse to buy a few things. So don’t worry at all, everything is accessible.
