The truth is, with rare exceptions, I know the answer to my own question. Inevitably most respond California (Los Angeles + San Francisco), Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon, or New York and Florida.

These are the big dogs when it comes to tourist attractions in the USA, and perhaps for good reason, though my heart always sinks a little thinking about all they’ve overlooked. What about the smaller cities? Or Yellowstone? Or highway 101 between Washington and California? I could go on and on.

Overlooked destinations in Spain

However, the same is true in Spain. The big tourism spots get most of the attention leaving many overlooked regions ignored by vacationers. While Barcelona, Madrid and Seville definitely warrant a visit and live up to the hype, savvy travelers will allow time to wander the road less traveled. Here are eight destinations in Spain that deserve more love.

Tenerife

The largest of the seven Canary Islands, Tenerife is situated just off the western coast of Africa. The island is best known for the spectacular volcano that rises up from the middle, the formidable Mount Teide. The volcano, and some of the area surrounding it, make up a World Heritage Site and are part of the larger Teide National Park. It’s easy to get to the top of Teide by catching a ride on the tram and then trekking a short distance to the crater.

Though Teide is by far the most impressive destination on Tenerife, the island offers much more than mountains. It’s also popular with beach bums and anyone who seeks year-round warm weather. Canarian food is different (and delicious) from mainland eats and sipping some locally produced wine is a good way to spend an afternoon.

While the Canary Islands are popular with Northern European tourists, they are largely overlooked by visitors coming from outside Europe. There are direct flights from Madrid or Barcelona, and then flights and ferries between the seven islands.

Related: Cheapo guide to the Canary Islands and search hotels in Tenerife

Granada

Seville tends to get more attention than Granada, but it’s fairly easy to visit both when you make a trek to Andalusia. The main draw in Granada is the Moorish palace La Alhambra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and one of the most important architectural wonders in Spain (find out how to get Alhambra tickets, even at the last minute). The city will appeal to those on a budget because tapas are served free (yes, free!) in bars whenever you buy a drink. This custom is true in other parts of Spain, but not in big cities like Barcelona, Madrid and Seville.

Another good reason to visit? There are several affordable hotel options, with many in the €50-100 range.

The Costa Brava

This region of Catalonia teems with adorable villages and snug, sandy coves unrivaled for swimming. Found about an hour north of Barcelona, Costa Brava is easily reached by car and worth the extra effort needed to rent wheels and navigate Barcelona traffic.

There are many sweet spots along the Costa Brava, and it would not be a bad idea to start at the French border and slowly make your way down the coastline, stopping wherever you feel compelled to for lunch and exploring. However, if you’re short on time make sure to have a paella along the shoreline in Cadaqués, wander ancient alleyways in Peratallada, and go for a hike to discover hidden beaches in Cap de Creus Natural Park.

Related: 5 Beautiful getaways along the Costa Brava

Asturias

One of the most ignored areas of Spain, Asturias offers up some of the best food in the country, including hard cider and excellent cheeses. You’ll find the Picos de Europa located here, a jagged mountain range providing some of the country’s top hiking. Along Asturias’ lush coastline, uncrowded beaches beckon vacationers in the summer months.

There is one caveat: book your hotel in Asturias and come in the summertime when the weather is good, otherwise, this area is known for being rainy and overcast.

Get away from it all with a beachy trip to Formentera. Photo: Nacho Pintos

Formentera

Transparent water and sugary beaches surround the smallest of the Balearic Islands. Known for its hippy and alternative culture, Formentera will please those who dance to a different drummer and anyone looking for a quiet slice of paradise. This is not the place to come to for wild parties (stay in Ibiza for that), but for a peaceful vacation away from the crowds and an opportunity to connect with nature.

To get to Formentera, take a plane or ferry from Barcelona to Ibiza and then a ferry to the island. Its remoteness is part of the reason it is so special. Search for hotels in Formentera.

Related: The best affordable seaside escapes in Spain

Queralbs is a mountain village in the Pyrenees with unique slate buildings. Photo: Jorge F.

The Pyrenees

From May to October head to the Pyrenees, which separate Spain and France, for hiking, poking around mountainside villages and dipping your toes into alpine lakes. There are numerous villages worth seeking out, but some of the best are found in Catalonia. For a unique base camp book a few nights in Queralbs, a town built of slate cobblestones and a good place to pick up the six-kilometer trail to the Núria Valley, a moderate day hike.

If you’re not up for trekking, see the region by car. Stop off in Llívia, a little hamlet which belongs to Spain in the middle of the French Pyrenees. Ribes de Freser, a larger town with a tumbling river cutting through its middle, also makes for an idyllic lunch spot. From Ribes de Freser you can also catch a funicular up to the Núria Valley.

Galicia

For the best of Galicia, walk the last 100 kilometers of the Camino de Santiago and to get a taste of pilgrim life while experiencing the remote hamlets through which the trail winds. Even if you’re not interested in walking Spain’s most famous trail, plan a trip to the Camino’s endpoint, Santiago de Compostela, a university town rich in history and architecture.

Galicia is well known in Spain for its seafood and white wine, so make sure to eat well (and cheaply) in La Coruña or Vigo. Plus, Vigo is the perfect port from which to catch a ferry to some of Spain’s prettiest islands, Las Islas Cies, and spend a day at the beach.

Sunset over the innovative City of Arts and Sciences in Valencia. Photo: O Palsson

Valencia

Surrounded by long, beautiful beaches, Valencia is one of the biggest cities on Spain’s Mediterranean shoreline and an excellent cheapo destination. The city has an interesting downtown, fabulous food (this is where paella was invented) and the enormous City of Arts and Sciences (La Ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias ) complex designed by Santiago Calatrava.

Valencia is much smaller than Barcelona, and therefore, it’s much more manageable and less overwhelming. Check out our guide for visiting Valencia on a budget.

Search over 400 hotels in Valencia

A few more places

There are many other cities and regions that deserve a place on this list. After all, I haven’t even mentioned the wine of La Rioja, the white villages of Andalusia or the beaches of the Basque Country, which are rugged and popular with surfers. Save time during your visit to Spain for overlooked cities and small villages, because it may just be that in these ignored places you have the most memorable experience.

The post Spain: 8 Overlooked destinations worth adding to your itinerary appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

But don’t despair: there are still plenty of nicely priced options for Cheapos who crave a bit of sand and surf on their European vacation, and there are even ways to save at some of the most popular beaches in Europe.

Related beach tips:
• Best affordable seaside escapes in Spain
• Beating the heat in Rome: 4 Beaches easily accessible by train
• Four beach trips close to Lisbon

Our favorite budget beaches in Europe

Below we’ve listed six of our favorite budget beaches in Europe, with plenty of tips to help you save.

Montenegro

With its beautiful coastline, Montenegro is becoming popular with the Russian jet set, with yachts galore docking in the fancy new Porto Montenegro marina in Tivat. However, the area remains largely undiscovered by Western tourists, and there are still plenty of bargains to be had.

Some great places to check out are the town of Herceg Novi, located at the entrance of the Bay of Kotor, and Ulcinj, which has a lovely old town with a distinct Ottoman flair.

Budget Tips

• Hotels: Hotel rooms with easy beach access can go as low as $30 a night for a double room. Search and book over 5,300 hotels in Montenegro.

• Eating cheap: Food and drink, including excellent local beer and wine, is very cheap throughout the country.

• When to go: If possible, try to visit during the warm shoulder seasons from May to June and September to October, with an average high of around 70 degrees. The area gets very crowded in July and August and prices can easily double in some places.

The beautiful sands of Algarve, Portugal. Photo: Ricardo

Algarve, Portugal

Located in the southernmost area in Portugal, Algarve is very popular with beach-loving tourists from Europe and beyond. Besides frolicking in the waves and lounging in the sand, tourists in Algarve can indulge in a little lively nightlife, some of it directly at the beach, like Restaurante Bar | Caniço, a lively hangout which is nestled between two cliffs in a seaside cove in Portimão.

If you need a break from the beach, Algarve also has many charming villages such as Santa Luzia, famous for its octopus fishermen, who still use traditional fishing methods to catch “polvo” (Portuguese for octopus), a popular delicacy in the country. Algarve is also well-known as a family-friendly destination, so feel free to bring along the tots and sand toys.

Budget Tips

• Hotels: Algarve does have a number of hotels catering to budget tourists. If you want to splurge, there are vacation homes available with a swimming pool, so you can still take a quick dip even if you decide not to trek out to the beach every day. Search over 5,000 hotels in Algarve

• When to go: July and August are busy and pricier months to visit, so if you would like to visit during this time, make sure and book well in advance or the best deals will be gone.

Playa Jardín en Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife. Photo: Jaume

Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

The largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, Tenerife is also the most popular with tourists, catering to everyone from the luxury traveler to the bare-bones backpacker. With nearly 7.5 miles of beautiful coastline stretching from Costa Adeje, Playa de las Américas, and Los Cristianos, beach lovers have plenty to choose from.

However, choose your beaches wisely, as the price for sun lounger rentals varies greatly. To save, make sure you choose a beach in the yellow zone, not the green zone, where sun loungers cost 20 percent more. Better yet, spread a towel out on the sand old-school style for an absolutely free experience.

For day trips, check out the old town and African market in the island’s capital city, Santa Cruz. And make sure to pack your hiking boots along with your sandals: No trip to Tenerife is complete without a visit to Mount Teide, the world’s third largest volcano, which you can reach easily by bus.

Budget Tips

• Getting around: One of the best ways to explore the island is by car, and luckily rental cars on Tenerife are inexpensive. However, be sure and book before you go to snag the best deals. Use CheapoSearch to find rental car prices.

• When to go: Although Tenerife belongs to Spain, the island is located off the coast of Morocco, so you lots of sunny days and warm temperatures throughout the year. The average high dips down to 68 degrees from December to February, stays in the mid-70s in spring and late fall and rises to around 80 degrees from July to September.

• Off-season: Because of the weather, the island is perfect for off-season budget travelers in search of warmth throughout the year as well as high season summer travelers who prefer the thermometer to stay well below 100 degrees.

• Meals: To save on dining, do as the Spanish do and eat your larger meal at lunchtime when prices are lower.

• Hotels: Search more than 2,800 hotels in Tenerife

Antalya, Turkey

Located in the Gulf of Antalya, Antalya boasts a beautiful stretch of Mediterranean coastline in southwest Turkey, an area known as the Turkish Riviera. Although technically in Asia, this area is incredibly popular with tourists, and many cheap flights are available from across Europe. The place is famous for mega-resorts, with a network of pools and gigantic buffets, which can be booked at a variety of different price classes.

Be sure and take a break from the beach to have a stroll through Antalya’s old town to take a walk through history. Many of the city’s winding streets and buildings hail from the Ottoman Empire and there are also many Roman Era highlights, like Hadrian’s Gate, which was built in the 2nd century.

Budget Tips

• When to go: Although highs in Antalya from July to September usually range in the mid-80s, the water also matches the temperature outside at this time, so don’t expect a swim to cool you down.

• Politics: The current political situation in Turkey these days has reportedly been very hard on the Turkish tourism industry, so this likely a good time to find some truly great deals. However, be sure to keep abreast of political tensions and travel warnings before you do.

• Hotels: If you’d prefer something in town, check out White Garden Hotel or Hotel Twenty, a budget hotel located six minutes from the beach. Want more options? Search over 500 hotels in Antalya.

Diving into the sparkling waters of Cala d’Or in Mallorca. Photo: Adria

Mallorca Island, Spain

Mallorca is particularly popular with British and German tourists, with hotel high-rises catering to their sun-starved populations since the 1960s. For Germans, it’s also a popular place to retire; in some places, you’ll be just as likely to see signs in German as in Spanish.

Unless you’re in the mood for some spring break-like partying, be sure and avoid places like El Arenal and Cala d’Or. However, if you are in the mood for lively nightlife to mix in with baking in the sun, Cala d’Or is the better choice.

Make sure and take a stroll through the old town in the island’s capital, Palma de Mallorca. A ride on the old wooden train to Soller and Valldemossa is also a fun outing and well worth the price.

And if you rent a car, be sure to check out the island’s east coast, where German jet-setters dock their yachts and have million dollar homes tucked away in the cliffs. This side of the island has some of the most breathtaking views as well as many less crowded, rocky beaches favored by locals.

Budget Tips

• Getting around: Like Tenerife, one of the best ways to see Mallorca is by car, and thanks to the great tourist infrastructure on the island you should be able to rent one with ease for a nice price. Check rates for rental cars.

• Hotels: Many budget priced hotels are available in the area. If you prefer to avoid the crowds, try for a place on the less touristy northern side of the island, like Sa Boronia in Banyalbufar, which is a five-minute walk from the beach.

• Search hotels: Know your dates? Search over 5,000 hotels in Mallorca.

Related: Beyond the beaches in Mallorca and Sun, sea & schnitzel in Mallorca

The sun sets over a beach on Kos Island. Photo: Mycatkins

Kos Island, Greece

A European beach guide is simply not complete without a shout out to Greece, so here we go. Famous for its sparkling blue, gentle Aegean sea, Greece has many options for beach-loving budget travelers.

Budget Tips

• Just ‘Kos: Our favorite Greek island beach? Kos Island. Some recommended and budget-friendly places to stay include Ilios and Irene and Philippos Studio & Apartments, which is located almost directly on the beach and is less than five miles from Kos International Airport.

• Ferry tickets: If you decide to do some island hopping, be sure and book your ferry ticket in advance to save.

• Choosing islands: Although Santorini and Mykonos are among the most beautiful of the islands, they are also the priciest, and therefore better for short day trips.

• Day to avoid: If you can, try to avoid traveling to Greece on August 15. This is a major holiday in the country, and prices always skyrocket.

• Search hotels: Know your dates? Search over 375 hotels on the island of Kos.

Your favorite budget beaches in Europe?

Have an affordable beachy escape to add to our list? Tell us about your favorite budget beach in the comments section below!

The post Our 6 favorite budget beaches in Europe appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.

So where are the most ideal spots in Spain to spend the winter season? Here are my five top picks:

Fuerteventura. Photo: Regina W Bryan

1. The Canaries

Known and well-loved by Northern Europeans, the Canaries are overlooked by many travelers from the US and Canada. I assume this is because Mexico and Central America is where most North Americans go to escape January’s chill. The Canary Islands offer a summery getaway and make for a smart add-on to any trip to Spain. For example, if you’re coming to Spain this March when most of the mainland is still pretty frigid, tour around Madrid, Barcelona, San Sebastian and Seville, and then end your trip on Tenerife, where it’s currently 70°F. Tenerife is my favorite of all the islands, though Fuerteventura is a close second with some beautiful white-sand beaches.

A wintry scene in Andorra la Vella. Photo: Roberto Al

2. Andorra

Right, it’s not Spain! But hey, it’s nearby—just a two-hour drive from Barcelona to the north. Andorra is famous for its skiing, winter sports, and shopping (less tax there). A visit to the tiny, mountainous country makes for an interesting junket and the countryside between Barcelona and Andorra is gorgeous. A few fun facts: they speak Catalan in Andorra as well as Spanish; a country made up of mountains the highest peak in Andorra is over 9,500 feet; it is the sixth smallest nation in Europe. If you’re a skier or snowboarder put Andorra on your list this winter.

3. Madrid

It’s true that Madrid is frosty in the winter, and it can snow there, but the country’s capital deserves a place on this list because cities are excellent destinations when the weather is unpredictable. Madrid’s nightlife, art museums, and many festivals and events provide plenty for visitors to do rain or shine.

4. Barcelona

Of course, we can say the same about Barcelona, Spain’s most popular city. Wander around the Gothic Quarter, marvel at the organic shapes inside the Sagrada Família, and run your fingers over Roman walls. In both Barcelona and Madrid it can be cold, but more often than not the sun is shining. Soak up some vitamin D on a terrace with a café con leche, or cozy up inside with a hot chocolate.

Hot springs in the Pyrenees. Photo: Regina W Bryan

5. La Garriga and other hot spots

Winter is also a superb season to take a dip in some of Catalonia’s abundant thermal hot springs. Many of these springs have been used since Roman times (or before) and are contained within elaborate, historical buildings. In the village of La Garriga, just forty-five minutes from Barcelona by train, there are two hot springs open for day-use or overnight stays. Further north there is Vichy Catalan and Sant Hilari Salcalm’s deluxe spa Font Vella, plus a handful of other thermal springs spas in the Pyrenees Mountains. For a complete list of villages with thermal hot springs, check out the Catalan Spa Towns website.

Spain is a diverse country with a wide range of travel options. With a bit of planning, you could ski, soak in thermal springs, catch a show in Madrid, see Gaudí masterpieces in Barcelona and then hit the beach on the Canaries — all on the same vacation!

The post 5 winter escapes in Spain: Beaches, mountains, museums & hot springs appeared first on EuroCheapo's Budget Travel Blog.