Travel Insurance for Spain
For decades, Spain has been one of the most popular destinations for UK holidaymakers. Whether you're heading for cosmopolitan Barcelona, the party island of Ibiza, or perhaps the beautiful history-drenched Basque region, it's important to take out travel insurance before you set off.
When booking travel insurance to Spain, you'll be protected against the unexpected. Nobody ever wants anything to go wrong on holiday, but unfortunately these things do happen from time to time. With Holiday Extras, you can make sure you have the best travel insurance policy suited for your personal needs with a choice of flexible cover levels that can protect you against loss of baggage in transit, repatriation, cancellations, declared medical conditions and unforeseen, emergency medical expenses.
Compare types of cover
With Holiday Extras travel insurance you can choose between either a single trip policy or an annual policy. From here, you can then decide how much cover you require for your holiday to Spain; with the choice of three flexible levels of cover, you can personally tailor your travel insurance policy to suit your needs:
| Emergency medical and repatriation expenses | |||
| Cancellation | |||
| Curtailment and loss of holiday | |||
| Personal possessions | |||
| Passport and other documents | |||
| Personal money | |||
| Baggage Delay (outward journey) | |||
| Missed departure | |||
| Missed connection | |||
| Personal liability | |||
| Legal costs and expenses | |||
| Scheduled airline failure | |||
| End supplier failure | |||
| Pet Care |
*Or as specified on your schedule
Do I need travel insurance for Spain?
Other than insuring your luggage in the event of theft or loss, or insuring your journey against delays or cancellations, the majority of holidaymakers take out holiday insurance largely for the medical cover.
Nobody ever wants to expect the worst, but having a European travel insurance with up to £15 million worth of medical cover will give you that much-needed peace of mind on your holiday to Spain. While this amount seems outrageously high and you might think you won't need anywhere near this amount of medical cover, for situations that require emergency medical treatment or repatriation back to the UK, you'd be surprised how much this can cost without insurance.
Some of the most common injuries Brits suffer from abroad are:
- Ear infections
- Food poisoning
- Broken bones
Medical treatment abroad also stems from declared pre-existing medical conditions such as:
- Respiratory conditions
- Diabetes
- Chronic conditions
- Heart conditions
- Stroke conditions
While most medical staff in urban health centres will speak English, you might have to pay an interpreter's fee who can charge from €9 per hour. In addition to this, the cost of a hospital room is Spain is approximately €200. For further information about Spanish health care please visit the website of the online bank TransferWise.
Extra activity cover for Spain
Whether it's hiking up the Sierra Nevada or rafting along the Noguera Pallaresa, there are a ton of outdoor activities to get stuck into. If your holiday to Spain will be an action-packed, white-knuckle adventure, then you'll need to make sure you choose a travel insurance policy that covers you properly. With Holiday Extras travel insurance policy, you are covered for over 100 sports and activities. Just check out our adventure travel insurance page for more information.
Water sports insurance
Spain is an extremely popular destination for water-sport enthusiasts, with Tenerife, Fuerteventura and Tarifa being some of the most sought-after surfing locations in the world. If you plan on riding the waves, it's important to make sure you are covered for water sports under your travel insurance policy.
With Holiday Extras travel insurance you are covered for a range of water sports activities. Here's a list of some of the activities you are covered for as standard, at no extra cost to you:
- Water polo
- White water rafting
- Scuba diving (Not solo, up to 30 meters)
- Windsurfing
- Sailboating
- Snorkelling
For more information on sports insurance and the activities covered as standard with our travel insurance policies, visit the water sports insurance page.
Travelling in Spain
Driving in Spain
As well as the usual documentation required for driving a vehicle in most foreign lands (being aged 18 years and older, having a full valid driving license, proof of insurance, proof of ID, proof of ownership) there are a few extra requirements for driving in Spain that you may not have been aware of:
To avoid a hefty on-the-spot fine, you will need to carry:
- Reflective jackets - although not mandatory to carry, it's advised to have one in the car, as someone walking on the road or hard-shoulder can be fined for not wearing one.
- Headlamp beam deflectors- depending on your car you may need deflector stickers or have to adjust manually adjust the beam.
- A warning triangle - this is compulsory in all vehicles of four wheels or more.
Discover Spain by rail
Another way to discover Spain is to hop onto a train and watch the landscape unfold from out of your window. Perhaps the cheapest way to do this is by getting yourself an interrail ticket. This handy ticket allows you to travel anywhere in Europe on selected railway and ferry lines. Check out our interrail travel insurance page for more information on interrailing, and how to get the most out of your interrail trip.
Important travel tips to remember
Passports and visas: British citizens do not need a visa to enter Spain. This applies for stays of up to 90 days. You must have your passport with you to travel.
What to pack: Spain has a varied climate, from the continental temperatures inland to hot and dry conditions in the south-east. Research the area you're intending to travel to and plan accordingly.
Spain: at a glance
- How long is the flight to Spain from UK? The average direct flight time is 2 hours 30 minutes
- How many hours ahead is Spain? Spain is 1 hour ahead of the UK (GMT)
- What is the main language spoken in Spain? The national and most popular language is Spanish (Castillian), as well as Catalan, Galician and Basque
- What is the currency in Spain? Euro (€)
- What is the emergency number in Spain? Europe's emergency number is '112'
- What is the main religion in Spain? Catholicism is the largest religion in Spain
Places to visit in Spain
- Pick a coastline: Spain offers the Costa Blanca, Costa Brava, and the Costa del Sol for sand and sunshine.
- Take out our winter sports insurance and go skiing in the beautiful Sierra Nevada.
- Do some island hopping: Spain's largest Balearic Islands are Majorca, Minorca and Ibiza, and the Canary Islands include Tenerife, Lanzarote and Gran Canaria
- Soak up Spanish passion and excitement at a summer festival like Primavera.
- For a more traditional experience, visit Andalusia. The southernmost area of Spain contains some of the most popular tourist attractions and Renaissance architecture.
Holiday Extras Travel Insurance is sold and administered by Holiday Extras Cover Limited who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under registration number 828848.
Holiday Extras™ is a Trading Name of Holiday Extras Cover Limited
Holiday Extras Travel Insurance is provided by Taurus Insurance Services, an insurance intermediary licenced and authorised in Gibraltar by the Financial Services Commission under Permission Number 5566 and authorised to passport general insurance intermediary services into the UK and registered with the Financial Conduct Authority in the UK under registration number 444830.
The insurance is underwritten by Great Lakes Insurance SE. Great Lakes Insurance SE is a German insurance company with its headquarters at Königinstrasse 107, 80802 Munich. UK Branch office: 10 Fenchurch Avenue, London, EC3M 5BN, company number SE000083. Great Lakes Insurance SE, UK Branch, is authorised and regulated by Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht. Deemed authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority. Firm Reference Number: 769884. Subject to regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and limited regulation by the Prudential Regulation Authority. Details of the Temporary Permissions Regime, which allows EEA-based firms to operate in the UK for a limited period while seeking full authorisation, are available on the Financial Conduct Authority’s website.