When you live in Spain – where do you go for your holidays?

Last updated on October 29th, 2019 at 09:21 am.

There are beaches on your doorstep and you can enjoy all the facilities available to the holidaymaker every weekend of the year, if you choose. If you live in Spain, chances are that no one you left behind in your native country would expect that you’d ever need a holiday at all. Instead, if you are not careful, you can get locked into a never-ending cycle of B & B catering for all those who still choose to come and visit you in your home in the sun.

It can be a real problem and making time for yourself, taking you away from the day-to-day chores, habitual views and resident neighbours, is just as important when you live in a holiday destination as it is in your home country. But where do you go?

Of course, some still choose to venture out into the wider world and more exotic climes. Travelling out of Europe and across the world is as possible from Spain as anywhere else. You might need to travel to Madrid or Barcelona to catch your flight, but the world is still your oyster.

Some residents of Spain consider travelling back to their home country as a holiday. However, some of the beneficial effects of taking a break are lost when you are rushing around to see relatives in a bid not to offend anyone before you go home.

Discovering Spain

However, there is real value in taking time out and exploring Spain and its neighbouring islands. Spain is blessed with a huge variety of landscape. From the green voluptuousness of the north to the arid deserts of Almeria; from the cosmopolitan excitement of Barcelona to the great history and tradition of Granada. Take your pick without even having to cross the sea or fly at all.

And if you do want to venture just a little bit further you have the ever popular Balearic islands and the Canaries to sample. In less than an hour you can be landing on a Spanish island that provides you with a new environment to discover, without facing the travel torment that can accompany a two-week break abroad.

There are lots of advantages to holidaying closer to your home in Spain:

• You don’t have to fly – there are plenty of accessible places of interest that are only a car journey or train ride away
• You can come to understand the country in which you’ve chosen to live a little more – each trip will see you learning more about Spain, its history and its culture  
• You don’t need your EHIC card – providing you are properly registered as a resident and are entitled to health care in Spain, there’s no need to worry 
• You can practise your Spanish – depending on where you journey to, you might find that there are more opportunities to put any fledgling Spanish to good use than back at home  
• No changes of currency are needed – although with the euro it’s less of a problem anyway
• There is something very special about going on holiday to somewhere warm, and then returning to somewhere just as warm
• It is likely that you can be more flexible in your choice of days and dates
• If you are a resident pensioner you might even be able to travel much cheaper than you had ever imagined.

Seeing Spain with Imserso

You might qualify for a subsidised holiday programme called Imserso. This is an enviable scheme that is supported by the Spanish government and allows resident pensioners of any nationality in Spain to take their holidays in Spanish territory at cheaper rates.

The holidays run for varying amounts of time from October to June – avoiding the peak season when you probably wouldn’t want to mix with the tourists anyway! They take place in three and four star hotels whose occupancy during the off-peak season is boosted. The holidays are full board and often include extras such as evening entertainment.

Whether you are a pensioner or not, Spain has so much to offer as a holiday destination – don’t ignore it just because you live there!