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 Athens, Greece

Metro

Exit customs first before going to the baggage area to get your luggage.

Turn right after you exit and you will see a sign for trains. Go outside and cross the road. Take the elevator to the second floor and take the long escalator and you will see the ticket station in front of you. Buy the metro ticket for Euro 9 one way and the platform is on your right after you finish buying the ticket.

Take the elevator downstairs and you are at the blue line platform.

The metro has a fixed schedule and it takes almost 40 minutes from the Athen airport to Syntagma.

There are a lot of police around, some in cars, some in motorcycles and some in bicycles. I feel safer in Athens compared to Paris Or Italy where I didn’t see much police presence. Most of the stores have a security as well even Starbucks has a security standing inside the store. But looks like Athens also has a high rate of stealing like other European countries, so still need to be watchful of your valuables.

The prices here is like other European countries where it already included all the taxes and tips are optional. Notice that stores in Athens charge extra for plastic lids which is different than U.S.

Has to pay an accommodation tax/climate fee of Euro 15/night per room and it depends on the number of stars of the hotel. For 5 stars, it is Euro 15/night per room.

Tax refund for purchasing LV bag is 12%.

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.

Day 8 — Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

  7/20/24 Saturday

Itinerary:

• Room service for breakfast 
• Blue Mall
• Lunch at El Mercado
• Water park
• Dinner

We woke up early and ordered room service as we were tired of the same food selection and had a long line yesterday at the breakfast. We started getting ready while waiting for room service and they came 30 minutes later. So we were able to quickly eat our breakfast in our room and leave around 9:20am so that we can get on the shuttle to the Blue Mall. 

We waited in the lobby and the bellman signaled us to come when the bus arrived. We got in the bus and they went to another hotel to pick up 2 guests before heading to the Blue Mall. We arrived just a minute before the mall opened at 10am. We were at the East Entrance and saw the employee opened the gate. First shop we went was Zara and we were able to found some jeans that Madison likes. We also went to get a stamp at the store as we needed 3 stamps on a paper ticket in order to ride the shuttle back to our hotel. We didn’t have the paper, so the security at the mall gave us the paper ticket. Next Anthony went to the other 2 stores to get the stamp while we shopped at Zara. I thought the mall was big but it was actually not that big. There were not many stores that we are interested, so after shopping for 45 minutes, we just sat at the mall waiting for our shuttle to come in 2 hours to pick us up. We also grabbed some snacks at Taco Bell while waiting. They take actual credit cards and Apple Pay. Also do not take American Express. I had to call Anthony to pay as I didn’t carry any actual cards with me.

Around 11:50am, we walked back to the East Entrance where we were dropped off this morning to wait for the bus. There were many others waiting there and luckily they were on other buses as our bus wouldn’t be able to fit everyone. 

When we reached our hotel, we went straight for lunch and afterwards, we took a rest before heading to the water park for one last time as we are leaving tomorrow. We had lots of fun going down the water slides and lazy river.

After the water park, we went back to our room to take a shower before heading out for dinner.

Day 7 — Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

  7/19/24 Friday

Itinerary:

• Breakfast at El Mercado 
• Adventure Boogies
• Dinner at Noodle & Thread

We woke up early today at 8am as we have a booked tour with Adventure Boogies at 10:40am. After a quick breakfast, we went upstairs to get ready for the tour and went to the lobby at 10:30am for the bus to come and pick us up. The bellman asked us to just wait and he will call us when the bus is here. Once the bellman calls us, we proceed to the bus and there was already 10 other people on the bus. We waited a bit as there was another family from our hotel and they were late. After they came, we left to pick up another group of 8 people at Westin hotel before driving about an hour to the Macao area. 

The tour that we booked at the hotel was Adventure Boogies and they have their own ranch in the area of Macao which is the Dominican countryside. We had booked the Honda car which is more expensive than the Boogies but more comfortable and also higher so that we wouldn’t get as muddy. After we arrived at their company, we were given a wristband and also sign a waiver before they led us to our car. They told us to go to the Can Am vehicle, so we just followed and the first 2 cars that we tried were broken so had to change to the third one that worked. We then followed the leader and drove about 20 minutes to Domitai Park. We parked the car and walked to the cave called Cueva Iguanaboina which is the largest private cenote to cool off and Mason did a quick swim there while we just watched him. After the swim, we were shown their local products and offered to taste their chocolate and coffee.

After the tasting, we were asked to go to the village where the island’s indigenous people performed their dance and it was very entertaining.

When the show finished, we were asked to return to our cars and someone took Anthony’s car, so they gave him another car to drive. This time, we were taken to a route with muddy trails and Mason went a bit wild and the mud was all over our face and body but it was so fun. Along the way, there were many local kids waiting on the side asking for money. The car in front of us slowed down to give money to one of the kids and it was dangerous as we had to stop suddenly. On another instance, the money flew off and the kid just ran across to pick it up. We went through a couple of the muddy trails and it was so fun. There was also a lot of dust along the way, so our face and clothes were all covered in dust. I couldn’t even recognized Anthony and Madison when they drove past us as their face was covered in dust. I think if we were to do this again, we definitely need to wear the eye googles as dust went into our eyes and there were times that we can’t see.

After about 45 minutes of riding, we returned to the place where we started and took a quick rinse before heading to our bus so that the driver can bring us back to the hotel. We were missing some group members, so we had to wait quite a bit before the bus could leave. Once he gathered everyone, we started to head back. On the way back, the driver got into a fender bender with another car but he wouldn’t stop, so the other car chased after him and blocked him from driving. The bus driver had to get out and talk to the other driver. Then he left without exchanging any information. The other driver was so mad that he hit the bus but our driver just ignored him and drove off. 

After about an hour, we finally reached our hotel and headed back to our room to take a shower as our face were all covered in dust. We were also supposed to go to the souvenir shop but since we returned later than expected, we missed the shuttle and had to rebook it for tomorrow. After we all took a shower, we took a few family pictures before heading to Noodle &Thread for dinner to celebrate Anthony’s birthday. We didn’t have a chance to eat lunch, so everyone was super hungry and ordered a lot of dishes.

When we finished dinner, Mason and I went to the beach to take more pictures while Anthony and Madison went to El Mercado for some fruits. We joined them later and has some coffee as well before heading back to our room.

The lady came to our room for turn down service to refill our snacks, towels and unfold our bedsheets for us. It’s a really nice gesture that they do every night.

Day 6 — Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

 7/18/24 Thursday 

Itinerary:

• Breakfast at El Mercado 
• Lunch at The Pier
• Lunch at El Mercado
• Republic Coffee
• Gym
• Dinner at Templest Table
• Dinner at Brando’s

We woke up around 9ish as this is our usual waking time since it’s only around 6ish West Coast time. We got ready quickly to have breakfast as they close at 11am. After breakfast, Maddison had to get ready for her SAT class. This will be her last class for this week and I feel so bad for her that she’s studying while we are on vacation. We stayed at the room a bit with her before heading out.

We went to the Hyatt Zilara for lunch at The Pier which is a buffet style. The food selection was similar to El Mercado but the crowd was so much less and we had a lot more attention from the servers as they kept checking on us and refilling our drinks. It was such a different feeling from the Ziva side as the buffet restaurant was mostly crowded and we usually have to wait a bit before someone comes to take our drink order or we have to flag someone sometimes if they don’t come.

I was planning to try our the Indian restaurant called Journeys for dinner tonight but it was under renovation.

After Maddie finished her classes, Anthony went to lunch with her at El Mercado while we were trying to book a shuttle to the souvenir shop and museum. But unfortunately we booked it too late, so they were full for today, so had to book it for tomorrow afternoon.

It started raining pretty heavily, so we couldn’t do much. Mason still wants to swim in the rain, so he left to go to the beach while the 3 of us got some ice cream and coffee and sat around the lobby to enjoy the nice breeze -and people watching.

About an hour or so later, Madison and I went upstairs to change to go to the gym while Anthony waited for Mason to return as he’s worried about him. Finally, Mason came back to the room right before we returned from the gym and we all got ready to have dinner. There was a long line today at the Templest Table, so while we were waiting, I went to the Rum bar outside the restaurant to order us some drinks. I had the lychee martini which didn’t really have much lychee flavor.

Before long, our pager vibrated to let us know that our table is ready. We checked in with the hostess and she took us to the table. We ordered some sushi rolls and also got some Mongolian grill where we choose the ingredients and the chefs will cook for us on the grill.

We had a good dinner and the kids went back to the room while Anthony and I went to Brandi’s for food as I wanted to bring Anthony there since he didn’t get a chance to go there last night. We didn’t even have to wait today and the food was pretty good and this time, I tried the dessert and it was delicious.

Day 5 — Punta Cana, Dominican Republic

 7/17/24 Wednesday 

Itinerary:

• Breakfast at El Mercado buffet
• Lunch at Prontoz
• Book tours
• Lunch at El Mercado
• Water park
• Juanillo Beach
• Gym
• Dinner at the beach
• Dinner at Brando’s
• Dinner at El Mercado buffet

We woke up early today to have breakfast as it’s the first full day that we have as a family since Madison doesn’t have any SAT class today.  

Then we went to hang out by the pool and have lunch at Prontoz. I had the green salad which was quite refreshing and a good change after eating so much food this past few days. After lunch, we went to book our buggy tour this Friday before heading back to our room for some rest. 

Since we had a light lunch, so we went to El Mercado for more lunch. We then went to the water park to spend some time going down the different slides that they have. It was so lunch and we ordered some nachos at the food truck. 

After the water park, we went back to our room to change and went to the beach by the hotel. We walked along the beach to the beach club and head to the gym afterwards. We had a good exercise and went back to take a shower before heading to the beach for dinner. They changed the venue from the front lawn to the beach today as they have a movie night by the pool area and also some acrobatic activities nearby. It was seafood dinner and they even had lobster. The food wasn’t that great, but we stayed a bit to listen to the live singing. We didn’t eat much as the food was very salty and dry. So Mason and I headed to the Zilara for more dinner while Anthony and Maddison went to El Mercado since Madison is a minor and can’t go to Zilara. The first restaurant that we saw at Silars was Brando’s which is a French Polynesian restaurant. So we decided to try it and the restaurant is very nicely decorated. We were seated within a few minutes of checking in and the food was quite good but portion size is very small.

After dinner, we just walked around the facilities to enjoy the ice breeze before heading back to our room.