30 Jun 2012

Curiosities about appartments in Huelva

I have been thinking about what else should I write here, and maybe there are some things in the appartments that will be strange o new for you.

For example, to take a shower.
Here, some appartment have gas instalation, and some others electrical heaters, but more than 70% of flat Id say, have our friend "la bombona" (gas bottle).


For some people this thing is really strange at the beggining, and some erasmus think that its dangerous or annoying, but be prepared, because probably you will have this kind of bottle in your appartment.

I reccommend you to buy always two, so if one it´s finished, you can change it and have more hot water.
After that, you can call to order a new one, or go to the petrol station with your empty bottle to change it.
The price for one is, right now, 17,49€.

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Another thing that is not that common in most of Europe in to have a blind.
Well, I have to say I missed them on my erasmus, cause I don´t like to have light in my room at 07:00am :P

With Spanish blinds you don´t have to worry about it, so you can sleep longer after the parties!


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28 Jun 2012

Money exchange in Huelva

Since Huelva is not a really touristic town, and most of the people use euro, we don´t have exchange offices, so could be difficult for you to find a place to change dollars, zloty...

You can do it most of banks, but you will need to have an account there, so if you need to exchange money, the best option is to go to Hipercor, a mall close to the city center, where you will just need your passport.


17 Jun 2012

How to reach Huelva

Huelva is a city between two International airports: Sevilla and Faro (Portugal), but if you have both options, Id recommend you to fly to Sevilla, because the city is well connected to Huelva, so you don´t have to wait so long to come here.

Faro doesn´t have as many buses as Sevilla, so sometimes you have to wait for hours or take a taxi, that is more expensive.

If you are flying to Madrid, as many people do, the cheapest option to reach Huelva is by bus, using Socibus, but you can travel also by train, more comfortable and so much faster. If you book in advance (better if you do it at least 15 days before) you can get similar prices as the bus, or maybe you will have to pay 5-10€ more, but you will travel for 3 hours instead of 8.
There is a high speed line between Madrid and Sevilla, or you can take the standard train to Huelva.
For prices and schedule, check the web Renfe
The bus take around 8 hours from Madrid to Huelva, and the train, if you take the high speed line to Sevilla, will take around 3h30m (You can get prices and more details in other posts).

The train could be also a good option if you are flying to Malaga or Seville.





Accommodation in Huelva

Find accommodation in Huelva is quite easy, and more than 90% of international students get a room in 1-3 days, so don´t worry about it.

To rent a room or a flat, I reccommend you to go to the International Office and ask to the people of ESN Huelva, they will give you a list with a lot of flats or rooms available, and they even will call to the owners if you can´t speak Spanish, so it will be easier. Note that all ESN Staff are all volunteers, so they are not going to charge you any money for it.

Another issue about accommodation is, what to do the first night or if Im going to Huelva during the weekend??.
Well, the best option is to book a hostel / hotel for 2 nights.

The cheapest options that you can find are: Hostal Calvo, nothing special but right in the city center, really cheap and clean enough to live, Albergue Inturjoven, with breakfast included and really good services, Hotel Marina, close to the campus El Carmen but a little bit more expensive, or Hotel Costa de la Luz, also with breakfast included.

You can check prices and availability clicking in the links.

Intercity buses in Huelva

Huelva has a main bus station, close to the city center and la merced, and people usually call it "Damas".

Most of buses routes are operated by the company Damas with services to the beach, Huelva´s villages and towns, Sevilla or Badajoz.

You can also check Socibus, a cheaper company with services to Madrid and Córdoba.

If you want to go to Portugal, the companies are Damas and Eva, and the prices of course depend on where do you want to go.

In Socibus you can get special prices with the European Youth Card (>26-30).

With Socibus for example is possible to get the tickets online, but you can´t get discounts there, so if you have your card, it´s better to go to the station if you can.

You can read more about services and prices clicking on Socibus, Damas or Eva.



P.S. There are also services available from and to Romania.


City Buses in Huelva

Huelva is not a big city, so you can go by foot everywhere, but sometimes you have to walk for 40-50 minutes, so if you want you can use the public transportation system.

We don´t have metro or tram, but we have 9 lines of citybus and taxis.

Taxis are available 24 hours, and you can find them in several taxi stops around the city or order one by telephone.
A taxi in Huelva usually cost between 4€ and 8€, being more expensive during the night or in public holiday.

Most of buses start around 06:30 and finish around 23:00, so there are no buses during the night.
The prices are:
- Single ticket: 1.10€
- Bonobus: 0.65€ (you can buy your bonobus in most of kiosks or tobacco shops, paying 6.50€ for 10 trips).
- Student bus card. If you use the bus a lot, that´s your best solution. You can get your student bus card at EMTUSA (in the main city bus station), and you will pay 22€ per month (unlimited rides).

You can find more information and timetables, in Spanish and English in this link: http://www.emtusahuelva.es/pagina.aspx?id=27