If you are staying in Barcelona for a few months, or have moved there permanently (great decision!), you probably know that transportation options abound. You have the metro, bicycles, buses and of course, you can always opt to walk around.

However, Barcelona is also the city with the biggest density of scooters in Europe. You’ll hear and see them everywhere. They are definitely the fastest way to get around town, so I was really happy when scooter sharing apps started appearing recently. Moreover, there are now various ways to use a car without actually owning one.

In this post, I will share my experience with the two leading scooter sharing apps, as well as the car sharing platforms. Not everyone likes riding scooters, and sometimes it’s just necessary to use a car (baby in tow anyone?).

Alright, let’s start with the scooters. There are three major platforms you can use: Yego, eCooltra and Acciona.

Acciona

Acciona motosharing is not only available in Barcelona but also in other Spanish cities like Madrid, Valencia, Sevilla and Lisboa in Portugal. That means you can use your account in various cities without needing to sign up to another service, which is very hand if you travel to and from these cities.

Acciona is the newest service to land in Barcelona and is definitely the best one at the moment.

They have started operating in 2019, and have the best technology overall, with a nice website and easy-to-use app that works perfectly.

While having the advantage of driving the newest scooters in the city, you also benefit from features such as a mobile phone holder, so you can put in your phone and use Google Maps to get you to your destination, as well as a convenient packet of wet wipes in the helmet box that you can use to wipe the seat before you hop on.

What I love about it is that you have the custom “C” riding mode which allows speeds of 80km/h, making these scooters save to drive on the highways. Whenever I tried taking scooters from Yego, eCooltra or Scoot on the highway it always was a bad experience as you end up being slower than the rest of the traffic and makes things unnecessarily dangerous.

Thus I had been stuck to driving within the city even though sometimes it’s much better traffic-wise to take one of the cities rondas to get to the other side of the city. This problem is now thankfully solved thanks to Acciona’s scooters.

Get 30 minutes free on Acciona with the code SUD67888

YEGO

Yego is one of the best scooter-sharing services in Barcelona. They are doing very well and the number of scooters is always on the increase. Their web and mobile interfaces are modern and easy to use. Many of my friends have switched to using Yego from eCooltra.

However, as of 2019, they are definitely being beaten by both Scoot and Acciona in terms of scooter quality.

You are fully covered by the insurance for damages against third parties. For damages caused to the scooter, or theft of the scooter, the insurance reduces the amount to be paid to an excess – in a case of compliance with the rental agreement. There is also the possibility to get an excess reduction for your scooter insurance.

The insurance which is already included in the rental price covers third party damages. Additionally, it is also included road assistance inside specific radius outside the shop. The damages on the scooter or theft are covered with the excess of 500€. All the accessories (helmets, top case, GPS, gloves, lock etc.) are not covered by insurance and are paid apart in case of loss or damage. If you have an accident while driving, the insurance covers your hospitalization and that of the passenger, if need be.

Overall I like the service and wish that all scooters were electric. Barcelona is a very noisy city and non-electric scooters and motorcycles are a major noise pollutant.

In 2019 Yego has also added very cool electric bikes to their offering.

Join me on YEGO and get 30 minutes for free!

eCooltra

eCooltra is an app with the largest fleet of electric scooters per minute in Europe, with more than 1000 scooters available. eCooltra was the first on the market and has the largest coverage of Barcelona. They have electric scooters which are absolutely silent and super easy to drive.

Pricing is 0.24€/minute with an insurance excess of 500€ or 0.29€ with an insurance excess of 99€. You can choose which tariff you want to use from your user account once logged in.

The downside is that they are quite underpowered, especially with two people on board and going uphill. I would say it borders on being dangerous as the acceleration is way too low, it makes it hard to keep the balance when doing a stop and go on an uphill road. Apart from this, it’s a good service and I haven’t had any problems using it. On each scooter you have 2 helmets, sizes M and L. It might be a good idea to keep a head cover of some sort so that your hair is not directly in touch with the helmet, which would have been used by thousands of others. It’s not the most hygienic thing to do really, and that’s another downside of using a scooter sharing service, unless you have your own helmet and don’t mind carrying it around with you.

Get 30 minutes free on eCooltra with the coupon code “hdmkc”

Before we move onto car sharing, I would like to point out that the two biggest advantages, apart from price, of renting a scooter versus a car are:

• Faster to get around town.
• Can be left at your destination without a requirement to return them to their original location.

Moving on to car sharing, the big player in town is Ubeeqo. See the offers below to get free credit when signing up.

Ubeeqo

Ubeeqo’s interface is very good. In this example, I searched for a car that I could use to go for a padel match in a part of Barcelona that is not very well connected for me to go by public transport. For a four-hour trip duration and 16km of driving distance, the calculated cost is 14.50 Euro.

Ubeeqo has two types of memberships. The first is free and the second is 5 Euro per month (annual payment, 6.90 Euro if you do monthly payments). With the monthly payment, you get cheaper hourly and daily prices, and I would definitely recommend it if you are going to be using Ubeeqo a few times every month.

Sign up to Ubeeqo and get €15 free credit

Final Verdict – Best Scooter and Car sharing apps

My favorite car-sharing system so far is Ubeeqo.

On the scooter side, it’s definitely Acciona due to Yego and eCooltra having less powerful scooters.

Where Can You Park Scooters in Barcelona?

Almost 15% of the whole Spanish population commutes via a scooter or motorcycle, and the scooter density in Barcelona is the second highest in Europe after Rome.

Parking scooters in Spain can be tricky, as each city in Spain tends to have its own rules. Sometimes these rules are not even explicitly stated anywhere, but they are unwritten rules that the traffic police and scooter-riding community both are aware of.

In Barcelona, things are more or less clear.

The law states clearly that scooters are to be parked in the parking spaces reserved for them. You will see these marked spaces all around the city. The problem is that the number of these spaces (more than 56,000) is tiny compared to the total number of motorcycles and scooters (300,000+) in the city. Hence, the need for riders to park in other places in addition to these marked spaces.

The most obvious other place to park is of course the sidewalk, and this is where things might get a bit confusing. To a visitor or new expat, it’s not obvious what is allowed and what is not. I ended up getting a fine myself recently, and this prompted me to investigate further. Here’s what I found out.

You can park on the sidewalk provided that there is enough space for pedestrians to walk. This is defined as two metres or more of free space on the sidewalk.

The scooter should be parked at a distance of 5o centimetres from the curb.

You can park between tree grates, being careful not to leave any part of the scooter over the grates.

Parking in parallel to the curb is allowed (using the center stand), providing the pavement has a width of of between 3 and 6 metres. When it is wider than 6 metres you can use the side stand to park.

You have to access the sidewalks with the motor switched off and yourself off the seat. This rule is unfortunately routinely broken by many motorists, and they give a bad reputation to the rest of motorcyclists who abide by the rules.

Another common mistake is to park scooters close to the walls of buildings. This is completely unacceptable as it is violating the space of pedestrians. For example, a blind person needs to be able to touch the walls with his walking stick to orient himself. Imagine if suddenly he finds a scooter in the way, and you get the picture of how unrespectful such parking is.

Other Spanish cities with similar rules as Barcelona are Sevilla, Madrid, Valencia and Zaragoza.

On the other hand, note that in the following Spanish cities parking on the sidewalks is expressly prohibited: Alicante, Badajoz, Bilbao, Gijón, Granada, Málaga, Oviedo, San Sebastián, Santander, Valladolid and Vigo.

Hope that helps clarify things, ride safely!

Best Mobile Apps for Getting Directions and Moving Around Cities

You might think that Google Maps is the one app to go to for all your navigation needs. After some research and trial and error, however, I discovered that there are some apps that are far superior for specific things.

The apps below will help you move around cities with great ease.

Waze

This is a great app if you’re driving. It displays instructions in big and easy-to-read text so that you can just attach your phone to the car’s dashboard and drive away. Need parking? Waze will show you where the nearest one is. Running low on fuel? Waze will show you all the gas stations on the way to your destination.

Waze is definitely better than Google Maps when using your own car/motorbike in a city or using a rental car or car sharing service. As expected, Waze comes with voice instructions as well, just like Google Maps.

CityMapper

This is the app I use when I’m using alternative modes of transport such as public transport or my foldable bike. It can also combine public transport and bike, for example. Google maps will only give you directions and time estimates for, say, bus/metro + walking. CityMapper can combine bus/metro + bicycle. The difference can be pretty significant at times so with CityMapper I can plan my trips more accurately.

Another awesome feature is that CityMapper taps into the bikesharing system here in Barcelona, so it will calculate the time needed to walk to the nearest bike station, then from the last bike station walking to the final destination. Before you plan a route, you will need to select whether you will choose your personal bike or the bikesharing service, and CityMapper will calculate accordingly.

Sygic

I find Sygic super useful when I am running low on mobile data or am in a foreign country without a data connection.

When driving at night, I find Sygic’s heads up display to be super cool. Basically, you put your phone flat on your dashboard and it will display directions, speed etc on the windscreen just in front of you. Don’t worry it’s not distracting at all and very easy on the eyes. At night I find it better than having to glance away from the road and into a bright phone screen to get navigational information.

Hope that was useful, if you have any other tips regarding using mobile apps to get around, let me know!

If you’re a foreign national living in Spain and you’re married, you should be well informed about the economic systems of marriage that exist in Spain and how they apply to you.

The basics – Two types of Spanish systems of marriage

In Spain, there are two standard economic types or systems of marriage: ‘separación de bienes’ and ‘sociedad de gananciales’.

Unless specifically chosen by way of public document signed in front of a notary, the type of marriage is determined by default and usually depends upon which autonomous community or region the couple are resident once married.

‘Separación de bienes’ is the default choice in Cataluña, Aragón, Navarra, Balearic Islands and Basque Country.

Where a couple are married under ‘separación de bienes’ then each spouse is considered to own that which they brought into the marriage i.e. owned before they were married as well as that which they have acquired during the marriage either by purchase, inheritance or gift. They may dispose freely of such goods and assets as they wish.

So, where the couple purchases an asset, say a car, and one pays 75% of the cost while the other spouse pays the remaining 25% then upon divorce they would be entitled to a percentage of the value of the car based upon the percentage that they contributed to the purchase price.

If it is not possible to determine which of the spouses is the owner of a particular asset then it is split 50-50.

‘Sociedad de gananciales’ is the default position in the remaining Spanish regions and has the effect that all goods and assets acquired during the course of the marriage and which are not considered to be ‘private’ goods, are to be considered as belonging to both spouses equally. The income and pension of either spouse may be considered to belong to the matrimonial ‘pot’.

Assets which may not form part of a matrimonial ‘pot’ are known as ‘private’. These would include the following goods:

• Those rights and assets possessed before the marriage (even where funds considered ‘common’ to both spouses are used to pay later installments – with the exception of the matrimonial home, fixtures and fittings),
• Those rights and assets obtained during the marriage without payment e.g. inheritances or gifts received by a particular spouse
• Those rights and assets obtained in exchange for a private asset belonging to one of the spouses
• Rights that may only be transmitted via inheritance
• An award for personal damages or damages to private assets
• Clothes and personal belongings not of ‘extraordinary’ value
• Equipment necessary for the carrying-out of a trade or profession unless these are an integral part of a common enterprise
• Assets acquired with an initial payment by one of the spouses even though later installments are paid using common funds.

How your foreign-registered marriage is treated

Unless specified in your marriage contract, in Catalunya the separation of property regime applies (Art. 231-10 Civil Code of Cataluña). It is governed by Art. 231-11 to 231-30 Civil Code of Cataluña.

Currently, citizens in an international marriage or registered partnership face uncertainty when managing or sharing their property in case of divorce or death. It is difficult for them to know which Member State’s courts will be competent to deal with a matter concerning their property regime, what law will apply to their property regime and how they will have a decision on their property regime issued in one Member State recognized and enforced in another Member State.

In 2011 the Commission presented two proposals to provide legal certainty to international couples with regard to the management and the sharing of their property in case of divorce/separation or the death of one of its members. One of the proposals concerned the property regimes of married couples and the other the property regimes of registered partnerships. As these proposals concerned family law, they had to be adopted by the Council by unanimity after having consulted the European Parliament. After several years of negotiations, in December 2015 the Council concluded that no unanimity could be reached for the adoption of the proposals within a reasonable period of time.

Subsequently, 18 Member States (Sweden, Belgium, Greece, Croatia, Slovenia, Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, Malta, Luxembourg, Germany, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Austria, Bulgaria, Finland and Cyprus) expressed their wish to establish enhanced cooperation between themselves in the area of the property regimes of international couples so as to enable Member States that so wished to adopt Union legislation in this area.

Following these requests, on 2 March 2016 the Commission adopted three proposals: one proposal for a Council decision authorising enhanced cooperation in the area of the property regimes of international couples, covering both marriages and registered partnerships, and two proposals for Council regulations implementing the enhanced cooperation, one on matrimonial property regimes and the other on the property regimes of registered partnerships.

The proposals for the two regulations contain rules to determine which Member State’s courts should deal with issues concerning the property regimes of international couples (jurisdiction), which law should apply to these matters (applicable law) and how judgments and notarial documents on these matters delivered in one Member State should be recognised and enforced in another Member State. Given that the proposed regulations deal with the management but in particular with the sharing of the international couple’s property in case of divorce/separation or the death of one of its members, these regulations are closely connected with the existing Union regulations on divorce/separation and succession.

The Commission proposals are now being examined by the Council and the European Parliament.

Property rights

New rules applying as from 29 January 2019, aim to clarify the property rights for international married couples or registered partnerships. These clear rules on divorce or separation bring an end to parallel and possibly conflicting laws, for example on property or bank accounts, in different EU countries.

Since it was not possible to agree among all 28 EU countries, 18 of them have decided to work together on this initiative and will apply these rules. These are: Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Croatia, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Finland and Sweden. The rest will continue to apply their respective national rules.

Full text of the two regulations

• Regulation applying to matrimonial property matters
• Regulation applying to property consequences of registered partnerships

These regulations will

• allow international couples to choose the law that applies to their property in case of death or divorce.

• enhance legal certainty for couples with an international dimension. The law of the country where the marriage was concluded or the partnership was registered applies to their property.

• bring legal certainty for international couples through coherent rules for identifying which country’s court is responsible and which law applies.

• increase predictability for couples through easier recognition of judgments, decisions and titles everywhere in the EU.

The regulations do not change national laws on marriage or registered partnerships.

The following Spanish law states that the property within a marriage will be governed either by the contract established by the couple at the time of their marriage. If that is not present, then it will be governed by the law of habitual residence of either, chosen at the time of marriage. If neither that is present, it will default to the law of the country where the couple was habitually resident immediately following their marriage. If that is not easily established, it will default to the place where the marriage was celebrated.

Los efectos del matrimonio se regirán por la ley personal común de los cónyuges al tiempo de contraerlo; en defecto de esta ley, por la ley personal o de la residencia habitual de cualquiera de ellos, elegida por ambos en documento auténtico otorgado antes de la celebración del matrimonio; a falta de esta elección, por la ley de la residencia habitual común inmediatamente posterior a la celebración, y, a falta de dicha residencia, por la del lugar de celebración del matrimonio.

 – (Art. 9.2 CC).

It’s also interesting to know that there are several classifications of private property, which never get shared between the couple. For example, if one person receives a donation of real estate in his/her name, that is considered as private property and therefore is not part of the communal asset pool.

More info about the topic in Spanish here and here.

If you are an expat in Spain and you’re looking for private health insurance, there are three major players worth seriously considering: Sanitas, AXA, and Adeslas. Each offers unique strengths depending on your priorities—be it global flexibility, national coverage, or doctor freedom.

Let’s take a look at all three so you can make an informed choice.

Sanitas – Established, Tech-Forward, and Strong for Preventive Care

Sanitas is one of the oldest and best-known private health insurers in Spain, founded in 1954 and now part of the BUPA group. They’re a popular choice among both Spaniards and expats, with nearly 2 million members and a strong focus on innovation in healthcare.

In my experience, Sanitas stands out for its emphasis on preventive care. If you’re someone who likes doing regular checkups, bloodwork, scans, and tracking your health even when you’re not sick, Sanitas won’t get in your way. They actively support proactive health management and have some of the most developed digital tools for booking appointments, managing claims, and accessing test results.

Sanitas plans include access to a network of over 500 private clinics and 27,000 medical professionals. You can also opt for their reimbursement-based plans like Mas Salud or International Residents, which allow you to visit doctors and clinics outside their network and get up to 90% reimbursed. International coverage is solid with these premium plans, which is ideal if you split time between countries or want a safety net while traveling.

A major caveat, however, is that Sanitas also owns many of the clinics and hospitals in its network. This vertical integration can lead to financial incentives that drive higher volumes of consultations and tests. It’s something I’ve personally experienced—being sent for a barrage of diagnostics that didn’t necessarily lead to better care. More on that below.

Recommended Plan: Sanitas MAS 90.000

One particularly strong plan to consider is Sanitas Más 90.000. It combines the convenience of Sanitas’ extensive Spanish network with generous reimbursement—up to 90% for consultations, diagnostics, and hospital care both inside and outside their network. It’s a solid choice if you want the option to see high-end specialists in Barcelona or elsewhere in Spain, as well as occasional visits abroad. The plan also includes worldwide emergency coverage up to €10,000, making it a good hybrid for people who don’t travel constantly but want peace of mind when they do.

This tier is also compatible with their slick digital infrastructure—allowing you to book, manage, and track appointments and reimbursements through their app. If you’re used to tech-forward service and want premium support without going all the way to a full international policy, Sanitas Más 90.000 offers a smart middle ground.

AXA – Maximum Freedom and Strong International Focus

AXA is a great option for those who want to keep full control over who they see, where they get treated, and what country they’re in when it happens. Their Óptima Plus plan is one of the few that truly allows global freedom, reimbursing up to 90% for private care, even outside Spain.

The stand-out feature here is the flexibility: you’re not limited to a network. You can see any doctor or specialist, whether they’re affiliated with AXA or not. This makes AXA particularly appealing if you already have trusted medical contacts, travel often, or simply don’t want your healthcare choices limited by administrative restrictions.

AXA doesn’t run its own hospitals or clinics, which means it acts purely as an insurer. This can reduce conflicts of interest—doctors are not pressured to push services or treatments based on internal billing incentives. The company has a strong reputation for professionalism and transparent communication, though I’d recommend working with a knowledgeable broker to help you navigate the claim and reimbursement processes efficiently.

In cities like Barcelona, AXA also has partnerships with a wide array of clinics and specialists, and while you’re not locked into their network, the existing relationships often make it easier to arrange high-quality care quickly.

AXA does not offer an international medical policy, but all of its health insurance products include emergency services abroad up to €15,000 for medical expenses, repatriation, pharmaceuticals, etc. This coverage is only available if the stay outside Spain does not exceed 60 days.

Recommended Plan: AXA Óptima Plus – True Global Freedom

If you want zero limitations on where you go for treatment, AXA’s Óptima Plus plan is probably the gold standard in Spain. With this plan, you’re not confined to any specific network—you can go to any doctor or clinic in Spain or abroad, and AXA will reimburse up to 90% of your medical expenses.

It’s especially useful if you’re the kind of person who likes getting second opinions or wants access to specialists at top-tier clinics without jumping through hoops.

You’ll usually pay upfront and submit for reimbursement—a bit of admin, yes, but worth it for the peace of mind.

Adeslas – Massive Network and Solid Reimbursement Inside Spain

Adeslas is Spain’s largest private health insurer by membership, and that scale brings certain advantages—especially if you plan to stay mostly within Spain. Their Plena Extra plan includes a broad provider network and also offers up to 80-90% reimbursement for out-of-network care within the country.

Adeslas doesn’t focus as heavily on international coverage as AXA or the top-tier Sanitas plans, but for care within Spain, they are hard to beat. They have an especially strong presence in Catalonia and Barcelona, with excellent coverage for everyday medical needs, dental care, and diagnostics.

The app and digital services aren’t quite as slick as Sanitas’, but they’re functional and reliable. Many clinics are well-integrated with their system, so administrative friction is relatively low.

If you’re mostly staying within Spain and want the ability to consult top doctors even if they’re not listed in the network, Adeslas gives you flexibility at a very competitive price. It’s a good middle ground between affordability and freedom.

Recommended Plan: Adeslas Plena Extra – A Solid Local Option with Flexibility

Adeslas, Spain’s biggest health insurer, offers the Plena Extra plan, which lets you use providers both inside and outside their network. While the international coverage isn’t as strong as AXA’s, they offer reimbursement of up to 80-90% for services outside their network within Spain.

If you primarily stay in Spain and want access to top clinics and doctors even if they’re not on the official list, Adeslas is a compelling choice.

Be Wary of Incentivized Care

One downside I experienced with Sanitas is something that could easily go unnoticed until you’re in a more complicated medical situation. Since Sanitas owns many of its own clinics and facilities, they don’t just make money from your insurance premium—they also profit from every test, consultation, or scan you undergo.

Here’s how it works: Sanitas operates under a vertically integrated model. That means the insurer and the healthcare provider are often the same entity. So when you go in for an MRI or a specialist consultation, you’re not paying out-of-pocket—but the “insurance arm” of Sanitas still pays the “clinic arm” of Sanitas. It’s an internal transaction, but it registers as revenue for the group. Multiply this across millions of members and you can see how volume of care can quickly become a profit engine.

Why would they do this? Because even though you’re not being charged directly, Sanitas records each service as income on the provider side. This boosts their overall revenue numbers, which matters for multiple reasons: internal performance metrics, executive bonuses, and even external investor perception if they ever go public or report to a parent company (like BUPA). More services, more revenue, better financial optics.

What’s more, this system creates pressure at the doctor level too. In Sanitas-run clinics, doctors are often incentivised based on how many patients they see—not necessarily how well they treat each case. The more appointments they can fit into a day, the more they are rewarded. This can lead to rushed consultations, little time for in-depth discussion, and a general pressure to move quickly. Personalised care can take a backseat to volume.

Now consider how differently it works when you visit a doctor outside the insurance system altogether—someone who is paid directly by you, who has no contract with any insurer, and who isn’t being timed or tracked for throughput. They usually take the time to understand the full context of your issue, because their incentive is your satisfaction and results—not volume.

In my case, a slightly complex health issue led to a barrage of appointments and diagnostics that felt more like protocol-driven box-checking than thoughtful care. It started to feel like I was being managed by a system optimised for throughput rather than results.

That’s why I now strongly lean toward reimbursement-based plans. They give you the freedom to consult independent doctors who aren’t financially tied to your insurer and may be more focused on getting to the root of your issue efficiently, not just running through a checklist.

And here’s another thing to keep in mind: if you’re visiting a Sanitas-owned clinic but you’re insured by another company (say, AXA or DKV), you’re not as valuable a patient from their internal accounting perspective. The clinic gets reimbursed at a fixed rate, often less profitable than seeing their own insured members. That means in some cases, priority or appointment availability could subtly favor Sanitas-insured patients. It’s not necessarily malicious—just economics.

Bottom line: If budget allows, go for full reimbursement plans with international coverage. SANITAS, AXA, and Adeslas all offer this flexibility, and it can make a huge difference when you need it most.

Public Health System

Depending on whether you’re employed in some form and contributing to social security, you might also be entitled to make use of the public health system in Spain. I’ve found it to be very good, particularly for major interventions and long-term care.

However, there are a couple of things to be aware of. Appointments in the public system are often extremely brief—around 7 minutes per consultation. This can be frustrating if you have something nuanced or more complex to explain. And for anything that’s not considered urgent, you may end up on a waiting list. These lists can be long, especially for surgeries or specialist visits. So if timing is critical, you might find yourself waiting longer than you’d like.

Personally, while I think the public system is excellent for what it offers, I still prefer to have private insurance alongside it. It’s surprisingly affordable in Spain and ensures you can get quick access to diagnostics, specialists, and second opinions without delays. That said, for specific types of care—like childbirth—the public system can actually be the better option.

A Note on Pregnancy and Childbirth

While private health insurance has many advantages, one area where I would strongly recommend using the public health system in Spain is pregnancy and childbirth.

Everything in the private sector is driven by efficiency and profit—and that directly affects how childbirth is handled. Private hospitals often operate under time constraints and financial incentives that can work against the mother’s wishes. For example, they are typically reimbursed more for a cesarean section than for a natural birth. That means as soon as a delivery slows down or strays from the standard timeline, there’s a real risk that the medical team will start nudging toward a cesarean—not necessarily because it’s needed, but because it’s faster, more predictable, and better for their bottom line.

In contrast, Spain’s public hospitals are much more respectful of the mother’s birth plan and tend to work with a more holistic, patient-centered approach. One standout example is Sant Joan de Déu in Barcelona, which is known for its exceptional maternity care. They do everything possible to support natural birth and honor the mother’s preferences throughout the process. The staff are used to working with diverse families and international parents, and the environment feels far more supportive and empowering than many of the private clinics I’ve encountered.

So even if you’re fully covered with private insurance, I’d recommend considering the public system for this stage of life. It might take a little more planning in terms of paperwork and waiting lists, but when it comes to something as important and sensitive as childbirth, the public system in Spain can actually offer a more human, respectful experience.

My Recommendations

Always choose plans with no co-payments and coverage beyond the insurer’s own network. It might cost a little more monthly, but it frees you from the stress of wondering what’s covered and what’s not when something serious comes up. You want to be able to see the best doctors, in the best clinics, anywhere you happen to be—no compromises.

I’ve personally found that while SANITAS is good, the financial incentives of private healthcare mean you sometimes get pushed into unnecessary appointments or tests. Having the freedom to seek second opinions or alternative treatment paths—especially internationally—is invaluable.

I will be switching to AXA and will report back here about my experience with them. Most of my friends are with one of these three insurers, so I feel comfortable recommending the three of them.