Spain remains as popular as ever to visit. Many people are fascinated by it diverse cultural heritage and many places to see. If you are planning on visiting the real Spain then listen to a few of these tips first.

I guess it's an obvious first tip, but if you plan to get off the tourist beat then you should learn Spanish. Indeed, even if you want to spend most of your time in the big cities, speaking Spanish will improve your stay.

Many people in Madrid and Barcelona will speak English but many more won't speak English. Speaking simple phrases will make you day to day life easier. If you have a good command of the language then you can even make friends and acquaintances on your travels. You may even get insiders or local knowledge on good things to see or do. You may get better deals too as they know you are not a naive tourist.

Next, try to get a plan of your travels together. Whilst it is more romantic to be spontaneous and travel here and there on a whim, it will also be more expensive. If you are back packing, your money may be tight so you want to limit the expensive. If you have a plan of where you will be on such a date you can pre-book trains, planes and buses. You can save upwards of 50% on advance bookings if you do this. Saving money means more time can be spent in Spain which is even better.

It has been known to rain in Spain, despite the best intentions of vocal coaches. This is more a case in the north of the country and in high ground. If you don't want your trip to be ruined by the weather then go to Spain in the spring or early summer. With this said, the south of Spain is probably one of the sunnier parts of Europe so you should be okay there. Best advice is start at the north and work your way down.

It goes without saying that Madrid and Barcelona are must do venues. You could spend more than a few weeks in each place and still not see everything they have to offer. But if time is not a luxury, write down all the places you want to see in these two cities and get organized. You don't want to leave Madrid with seeing the Prado or Leave Barcelona without seeing the Sagrada Familia.

With this said, there is much more to Spain than these two great cities. And Spain is a large country. The best way to see other parts of Spain is to use the fast train. You can get from one end of the country to the next in a matter of hours and still get to see the countryside as you go. This is something that you miss out on in an airplane.

Spain is a great place to visit and you will have a wonderful time if you make some simple plans before hand.