Travel Risk Atlas

Spain

Southern Europe · Capital Madrid

Level 2 United States Exercise Increased Caution FCDO United Kingdom No advisory against travel Green Netherlands Green — you can travel Level 2 Canada Exercise a high degree of caution AA Germany No warning in force

Each opens that government's own advisory for Spain — the authoritative version, updated far faster than this page.

15.9 Very low risk
Atlas Risk Score · 44th safest of 220
aerial view of city buildings during daytime
Photo: Logan Armstrong / Unsplash

Spain is among the safest countries in Europe for violent crime and one of the worst for street theft. Barcelona in particular has a long-standing pickpocketing problem that is organised, skilled and almost entirely non-violent.

Heat is the underrated risk. Southern Spain now regularly exceeds 44°C in July and August, and wildfire evacuations have affected tourist areas in recent summers.

Where the risk actually is

Checked by hand against all five government advisories in July 2026: no part of Spain currently carries a warning against travel. The colour shows the general caution level only.

Albacete — No specific warningAlicante — No specific warningAlmería — No specific warningAsturias — No specific warningBadajoz — No specific warningBaleares — No specific warningBaleares — No specific warningBaleares — No specific warningBaleares — No specific warningBaleares — No specific warningBarcelona — No specific warningBizkaia — No specific warningBizkaia — No specific warningBurgos — No specific warningBurgos — No specific warningBurgos — No specific warningCantabria — No specific warningCantabria — No specific warningCastellón — No specific warningCeuta — No specific warningCiudad Real — No specific warningCiudad Real — No specific warningCuenca — No specific warningCáceres — No specific warningCádiz — No specific warningCórdoba — No specific warningGerona — No specific warningGerona — No specific warningGipuzkoa — No specific warningGranada — No specific warningGuadalajara — No specific warningHuelva — No specific warningHuesca — No specific warningJaén — No specific warningLa Coruña — No specific warningLa Rioja — No specific warningLeón — No specific warningLeón — No specific warningLugo — No specific warningLérida — No specific warningMadrid — No specific warningMadrid — No specific warningMelilla — No specific warningMurcia — No specific warningMurcia — No specific warningMálaga — No specific warningNavarra — No specific warningNavarra — No specific warningNavarra — No specific warningOrense — No specific warningPalencia — No specific warningPalencia — No specific warningPontevedra — No specific warningSalamanca — No specific warningSegovia — No specific warningSevilla — No specific warningSoria — No specific warningTarragona — No specific warningTeruel — No specific warningToledo — No specific warningValencia — No specific warningValencia — No specific warningValladolid — No specific warningValladolid — No specific warningValladolid — No specific warningZamora — No specific warningZaragoza — No specific warningZaragoza — No specific warningZaragoza — No specific warningÁlava — No specific warningÁlava — No specific warningÁvila — No specific warningEmbalse de EntrepeasEmbalse de OrellanaEmbalse de CalaEmbalse de Buendía
What governments advise No specific warning

Overseas territories, shown separately so the main map stays readable

Las Palmas — No specific warningLas Palmas — No specific warningLas Palmas — No specific warningLas Palmas — No specific warningSanta Cruz de Tenerife — No specific warningSanta Cruz de Tenerife — No specific warningSanta Cruz de Tenerife — No specific warningSanta Cruz de Tenerife — No specific warning
Canary Islands

What this means in practice

  • Whole country — No specific warning. No part of Spain carries an advise-against-travel warning. Wildfires are the seasonal risk — a national emergency has been declared for fires in parts of Madrid and Ávila, with others inland.

Advisories change without warning. Check the official one for your own nationality — linked at the top of this page — before you book.

What drives the score

Each pillar is scored 0–100 against every other country. Longer bar = more risk.

Natural hazards
10% of score · mainly flooding, tsunami
39/100
109th of 220
Political stability
10% of score
31/100
79th of 220
Crime
15% of score
22/100
43rd of 220
Official advisories
25% of score
13/100
86th of 220
Road & transport
10% of score
7/100
22nd of 220
Health & medical
15% of score
7/100
22nd of 220
Conflict & terrorism
15% of score
4/100
43rd of 220
Women's safety
not in the score
26/100

Biggest factor here: natural hazards. Earthquakes, floods, cyclones, drought and tsunami exposure.

Practical facts

The things worth knowing before you land.

Emergency number
112
Single European emergency number — police, fire and ambulance, free from any phone
Currency
EUR €
Euro — no conversion from the eurozone
Languages
Spanish
Visa (EU passport)
Visa free
US: 90 days visa-free · UK: 90 days visa-free
Population
49.4m
World Bank 2025
Capital
Madrid
Driving
On the right
3.9 road deaths per 100k
Power
Type C, F
220-240V
Safely managed water
99%
Widely available · of residents, not a tap-water verdict
Dialling code
+34
GDP per capita
$39k
A rough guide to price levels
Visitors a year
126.2m
International arrivals, 2019

When to go

Average daytime high and nightly low for Madrid, over 2010-2019. Bars are rainfall; the colour band is how hot the days get.

Mildest and driest around May to June, and September to October.

Daytime high cold mild warm hot extreme heat
Top figure is the average daytime high, below it the average nightly low, and millimetres of rain under each bar. Figures are the average daytime high; bar heights are the month's rainfall. Shaded months are the mild, drier ones. Source: NASA POWER daily observations, 2010-2019, public domain. Spain is big. These numbers describe Madrid only — elsewhere in the country can be nothing like it.

Common scams in Spain

Patterns reported repeatedly by travellers and local police. None of this is about individual businesses — it's about set-ups you can learn to spot in seconds.

Las Ramblas distraction theft

BarcelonaVery common

A team works in threes: one bumps, spills something on you or asks for directions with a map held at chest height, one lifts the wallet or phone, and one immediately walks away with it so the thief is clean if challenged.

How to avoid it: Front pockets only, bag strap across your body and the bag in front in crowds. If anything is ever spilled on you, hold your bag first and clean up second.

Sources Barcelona city council safety advice r/Barcelona pickpocket megathread

Restaurant bill padding on tourist strips

Barcelona, Madrid, Costa del SolCommon

Menus without prices, a 'menu of the day' quoted verbally, or seafood and steak priced per 100g so the plate arrives at four times the number you read. Cover charges and bread you did not order appear on the bill.

How to avoid it: Only sit down where prices are printed and visible. Check whether fish is priced by weight before ordering, and ask for the bill itemised.

Sources Spanish consumer authority guidance

Fake police 'drug check'

Barcelona, MadridOccasional

Two men in plain clothes show a badge quickly, say there are counterfeit notes or drugs in the area, and ask to inspect your wallet and passport. Notes go missing during the check.

How to avoid it: Real Spanish police in plain clothes will not ask to inspect your cash on the street. Say you will walk with them to the nearest station — genuine officers accept, others leave.

Sources Policía Nacional tourist guidance

Airport and station 'helpful' luggage handler

Barcelona Sants, Madrid AtochaCommon

Someone helps you lift a case onto the train or into a locker, then demands a tip; a variant sets the bag down two metres away while an accomplice removes it.

How to avoid it: Handle your own luggage. Station staff wear uniforms and do not solicit tips.

Sources Renfe passenger information

Risk hotspots

Specific places that come up again and again — either in government advisories or in traveller reports. Everywhere else in Spain is not automatically fine, but these are the areas worth a plan.

Las Ramblas and Barceloneta, Barcelona Pickpocketing

The single highest-density theft area in Western Europe. Violent crime remains rare; phones and wallets are the target.

Barcelona metro line 3 (green) Pickpocketing

The airport and Sagrada Família corridors are worked systematically, especially at doors during boarding.

Madrid: Sol, Gran Vía, El Rastro market Pickpocketing

Busy and generally safe; the Sunday Rastro crowd is where wallets go.

Reporting a theft

You need a police report (denuncia) for any insurance claim. In Barcelona and Madrid you can file it in English at tourist-facing police stations, or start it online and finish in person within 72 hours. Take your passport.

Compare with neighbours

Sources for this page

Vaccinations, malaria and outbreaks. This atlas does not give medical advice — it is personal, it changes, and it is the one thing worth getting from a doctor. Both national services publish current advice for Spain:

CDC Travelers' HealthTravelHealthPro (NHS/UKHSA)

Check the official advisory before you book. This page reflects data as of August 2026. Advisories change without warning, and only your own government's advice affects your travel insurance.