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Ten brilliant travel plans for Semana Santa in Spain

Want to do something over the Easter holidays but keen to avoid all the religious fervour? The Local gives you a rundown of the best alternative Easter travel plans.

Published: 3 April 2019 15:40 CEST
Updated: 5 April 2022 10:59 CEST
Ten brilliant travel plans for Semana Santa in Spain
Patios will be blooming in Cordoba during Easter Week. Photo: AFP

Semana Santa (Holy week), April 10th – 17th 2022

Easter week is one of the year’s biggest celebrations in Spain, where towns and cities stage processions and passion plays to reenact the last days of Jesus and his resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Andalusia is home to some of the biggest and most elaborate processions, but wherever you are in Spain, there will be plenty going on for Semana Santa. 

If you haven’t ever seen it, then make this the year you seek out a procession.
 
 
 
But if the crowds at the Easter processions don’t tempt you but you still want to make the most of an Easter break in Spain here are some of our favourite ideas.
 
For the art lovers
 

Photo: moof/Flickr 
 
Figueres (Catalonia) is the birthplace of the eccentric artist Salvador Dalí. Visit the quirky Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, designed by the surrealist himself.
 
For the beach lovers
 

Photo: adriagarcia/Flickr
 
The least overrun and most tranquil of the Balearics, Menorca has 99 pristine beaches and countless coves to discover along its 216 km coastline.
 
 
For the foodies
 

Photo: Pug Girl/Flickr 
 
The Basque seaside city of San Sebastián has a long list of attractions in its favour, a romantic old town and cityside beaches to name a few. But by far the greatest reason to head there is the food. Check out our recommendations for the top ten ultimate pintxos to devour in San Sebastián.
 
For the hikers
 

Photo: Pilar/Flickr 
 
Picos de Europa in northern Spain is one of the most striking mountain ranges in the country – its jagged limestone peaks rising to 2600 metres. Explore the unique countryside with its abundant wildlife, wide glacier valleys and awe-inspiring rock formations.
 
 
For the romantics
 

San Estevo parador in Galicia. Photo: parador.es
 
Book a few nights in a parador, the chain of hotels located in some of Spain’s most beautiful historic buildings, such as the San Estevo parador in Galicia (pictured). Here is our list of the top ten in Spain.
 
For the history buffs
 

Photo: Jose Aleman Asensi/Flickr 
 
Mosques, synagogues, churches and museums – all within the ancient walls of ‘The Imperial City” – Toledo and just a short train ride away from Madrid.
 
For the adrenaline junkies
 

Photo: Sortware/Flickr 
 
Kayaking down the fast-flowing rivers of Navarra is enough to get anyone’s pulse racing. Find out about kayak trips which take you from the Pyrenees to the ancient city of Pamplona.
 
 
For the nature lovers
 

A griffon vulture posing at the Monfragüe National Park. Photo: Vince Smith / Flickr

If you love nature and feel happiest with a pair of binoculars hanging from your neck then Easter week is one of the best times to consider a birdwatching trip. Whether it’s a trip to Extremadura’s Monfragüe, home to the biggest colony of Black Vulture and Spanish Imperial Eagle in the entire world or the wetlands of Donaña with over 300 bird species, you won’t be disappointed.

If theme parks and fast cars are your thing…

Photo: ParkAventura

Ferrari Land, an adventure park in Catalonia based on the high end Italian sports car brand  promises thrill seekers the ride of a lifetime on the highest and fastest rollercoaster in Europe.

A race track, Formula 1 simulators, and replicas of Rome’s Colosseum, La Scala opera house in Milan, Piazza San Marco in Venice and the Palazzo Vecchio in Florence, the theme park also includes Italian themed restaurants and a building based on the real factory owned by Enzo Ferrari.

READ ALSO: Road-tripping in Spain: A whistlestop tour of six cities in six days

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TOURISM

FACT CHECK: No, Spain’s Balearics haven’t banned tourists from drinking alcohol

Over the last few days, there have been a slew of sensationalist headlines mainly from UK media stating that Mallorca and Ibiza have banned alcohol.

Published: 16 May 2024 11:35 CEST
FACT CHECK: No, Spain's Balearics haven't banned tourists from drinking alcohol

Anyone having read the news about Spain in the UK over the past few days would be forgiven for thinking that drinking alcohol had been completely banned on the ‘party’ islands of Mallorca and Ibiza, but that’s not exactly the case. 

GB News went with ‘‘I cannot believe this!’ Britons fume at ‘tough’ new alcohol restrictions in popular parts of Spain’, while the Daily Mail wrote: ‘A kick in the Balearics for boozy Brits’.

Euronews reported ‘No more ‘sun, sex and sangria’ tourism in Ibiza and Mallorca under new alcohol laws’ and The Drinks Business simply said ‘Balearics bring in booze ban’.

It’s easy to understand why holidaymakers are confused and there has already been quite a lot of backlash, particularly from Brits.

Most of these articles concede further down that the truth is that the islands have only updated and toughened up laws on drinking in the street, and have also put a stop to shops selling alcohol late at night.

All this is in a bid to try and curb anti-social behaviour which many locals have been protesting against recently.

In fact, the rules don’t even apply to the whole of the Balearics or even the whole of Mallorca and Ibiza, they only apply to three resorts in Mallorca – Palma, Calvià and Llucmajor and one in Ibiza – Sant Antoni de Portmany.

As well as a ban on drinking in the streets in these areas, shops in these locations will also be forced to close between 9.30pm and 8am.

It’s not only that they will be banned from selling alcohol between these times, like many reported, but that they will have to close completely. 

The Governing Council of the Balearic Islands approved the modification of the Decree Law 1/2020 at the proposal of the Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sports, which regulates ‘excess tourism’.

The changes aim to promote responsible tourism and the improvement in the quality of tourist areas.

The ban also extends to one nautical mile or 1.85km off the coast, in a bid to put a stop to party boats from coming in too close to shore or picking up extra passengers.

This doesn’t mean that you can’t drink at all at night. Bars, clubs and restaurants in these resorts will still be serving booze late into the night, you just can’t walk down the street with your bottle of beer.

Anyone found breaking the rules will be subject to fines between €500 to €1,500.

The government of the Balearics also approved an annual spending of €16 million from tourist taxes which will be allocated for the modernisation and improvement of these areas and enforcing the ban.

The new laws came into effect on May 11th and the government has confirmed that they will be in effect until at least December 2027. 

What has changed from before?

The new decree reinforces laws that were brought in in 2020 banning alcohol offers such as two-for-one drinks, happy hours and bar crawls in these areas. These will also be extended until 2027. 

The prohibition of alcohol sales between 9:30pm and 8am was also already in place, but now the shops will be forced to close entirely.

The main change that will affect holidaymakers will be the ban on drinking alcohol on the streets.

Nothing new

But this is nothing new when it comes to Spain. Aragón, the Canary Islands, Cantabria, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Valencia, Extremadura, Madrid and La Rioja all have some type of ban on what is known in Spain as botellón, essentially drinking alcohol with friends in a public place (street, square etc).

The Balearics are simply catching up to a large majority of the country, where this is already the norm.

All of this comes on the tail of mass complaints from the locals, particularly in Ibiza, where residents are planning to take to the streets at 8pm on May 24th to call on authorities to act on the impact tourism is having on locals’ living standards.  

It started with calls online to “imitate the protests that took place in the Canaries” in April, with many locals feeling that the issues that Ibiza faces are even worse than those of the Atlantic Archipelago. 

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