Backpacking in Spain

[LightandAiry]

My ds is on his way to Spain to finish off some travelling. The problem is he only has Google pay after his wallet was stolen. Bank cards stopped but we have his physical cards here.

Anybody with experience of travelling in Spain - how easy will it be travelling without cards and Euros?

Thanks in advance

Years ago when I was backpacking through Western Europe, I was just outside Barcelona hiking in the foothills of Mount Tibidabo…

Stringagal you're Ken Adams and I win £5 😂

He should be ok. Some supermarkets now offer cashback at the till. Could you transfer some to him via Western Union, or whatever the modern equivalent is?

Backpacking round Spain is marvellous - I hope he enjoys himself <obviously apart from seeming to get mugged - was he in Barcelona?>

I was in Spain for two months this year, with no physical card or euros, and never had any problems :)

@elQuintoConyo thanks, thankfully he didn't get mugged, he's travelling from New Zealand and early on there his wallet was stolen. Western Union is an option.

We were thinking of getting his items to him via poste restante but I read it is not reliable.

Can you get cashback without physical cards?

I loved Barcelona....we stayed in Sitges and got the train there several days.

@Petrolg1rl thanks, that's reassuring. I would think quieter areas would be more difficult but he's starting in Madrid.

He will definitely be fine in Madrid, I spent a lot of time in the quieter parts of Murcia and still no problem.

Can you pay contactless on the bus in Madrid?

Can he go into a local bank and get access to his money in some way? It's easy to arrange to get money out at cash points in Europe, would this be possible?
Alternatively could he use Google pay to load up a local payment card for transport ?

Not sure about the bus but you definitely can for the metro

I live in spain. I only ever use google pay.

Thanks for replies, yes he used the metro, all good.