Tips for Barcelona and Madrid, Spain

Use Uber instead of arranging car beforehand as it’s much cheaper using Uber as they also use Taxi which is the same as arranging a car with aviator beforehand. Make sure you get enough days of data plan as you need data for Uber.

It cost Euro 33 fixed rate from city to Madrid airport and Uber only costs Euro 23 or so depending on the time.

Metro ticket for one way is Euro 2.65 and can be paid by credit card. It was only a couple Euro more for us taking an Uber/Taxi from our hotel to Sagrada Familiar. However during peak hours, we tried calling an Uber and waited for 10 minutes before Uber cancelled on us as they can’t find a driver. We tried to flag a taxi but none stopped for us, so we ended up taking the metro.

For taking the train to Madrid/Barcelona, you need to be at the train station 30 minutes before your train leaves but try to be there 1 hour beforehand to give yourself ample time as it does get very crowded and line starts forming 1 hour before the train departs. They will allow you to the platform about 30 minutes before the train leaves and closes the door 2 minutes before train leaves. It’s about 3 hours to go from Barcelona to Madrid by high speed train and the train could travel up to almost 300km/hour.

At the train station in Madrid, you can just go outside where there are lines of taxi waiting for you and cost about Euro 11.50 to get to hotel in Gran Via as they run the meter.

Sun sets late in Spain at around 9:20pm.

Rolex gets 15.7% refund same as Chanel. LV gets 13.7% refund. You can also get refund if you provide your passport at Primor which sells skincare and cosmetics.

Mercadona supermarket closes on Sunday, so if you need to buy anything, make sure you don’t wait till Sunday. Most shops open late same as restaurants but restaurants also stay open late till midnight or 1am.

Souvenirs or snacks can also be bought at the supermarket inside El Corte Ingles.

Barcelona has a lot of artistic buildings by Gaudi and is near the beach while Madrid has more shopping areas and restaurants has better food in my opinion. Madrid is also hotter in the summer as it is inland and not near any ocean.

For tax refund, go scan your receipts at the kiosk machine first, then line up at the Global Blue counter. The guy will scan your receipts again and tells you that that’s all you need, no need to mail any forms as refund will be credited to my credit card. One of the candy purchase needs to be done by downloading the app on the receipt.

There are 2 dedicated aisle for business class and you can go there to check in your luggage and get your boarding pass. Then you can go through the fast lane for x-ray security check. After that, since we are in Terminal 4 and needs to go to Terminal 4S, you need to take the elevator downstairs and take the train for 7 minutes. Then you take the escalator to go through customs and get your passport stamped by the police. After that you walked toward the gate and the lounge.

For the ride from city to Madrid airport, it’s about 22 minutes for Terminal 4, no direct drop off to Terminal 4S, you will need to take the train at Terminal 4. If you go to Terminal 1-3, it will be 5 minutes closer to the city. Cost for a taxi is fixed rate of Euro 33 and there should be no surcharge. Taxi tried to scam me and asked for extra surcharge but hotel booked the taxi for me and told me to pay only Euro 33.

Tips for Santorini, Greece

One way bus ticket from Oia to Fira and vice versa cost Euro 2/person and runs on a schedule that you can check online. For us, since we were there in peak season, the bus runs every 30 minutes. You will pay the person at the bus station and he will have change and also print you the receipt.

If you are taking the bus from Oia to Fira and wants to see the Aegean Sea, then you should sit on the left side of the bus behind the driver.

If you are taking the bus from Fira to Oia and wants to see the Aegean Sea, then sit on the right side of the bus opposite of the driver.


For sunset in Oia, there are so many people and hard to see unless you go early and wait but it’s very hot while we were there even though weather forecast was only 75F but it felt like 80s, not sure why? So I actually went to see the sunrise instead and only a few people were there with me. I didn’t even have to arrive too early to get a good spot at the 3 blue domes in Oia.

To get a good picture of the 3 blue domes in Oia, walk straight towards Amoudi Bay and once you past the church on the right and see the first blue dome, turn left to the small alley. This is where I saw the beautiful sunrise and took the picture with the 3 blue domes. 

Another place to take the picture which seem more popular is the second left after the blue dome and I had to queue up for a short time even though it was only 7am. The earlier spot had no line at all and I love the spot better.

After taking the picture early, we continued walking towards the North and was at the most Northern side of the Island and saw some pretty windmills.

Sun sets around 8:20pm.

Tips for Barcelona and Madrid, Spain

Use Uber instead of arranging car beforehand as it’s much cheaper using Uber as they also use Taxi which is the same as arranging a car with...