Flying to Spain, what factor should I wear?

Miguelg6969 · 15-05-2013 08:30PM #1

I'm an auburn, paleish skinned person who's never been subjected to Spanish weather before!

I do tan, but it takes a while and if done carefully

I'm thinking of buying spf 50? but would that be too high? or would 30 be better?

Please advise!
Cheers!

naughtysmurf · 15-05-2013 09:00PM

This is what the Irish Cancer Society suggest

Always wear sunscreen. Apply the cream 30 minutes before going out into the sun. Apply thickly and evenly every 2 hours no matter how high its protection. Make sure you're protected against both UVA and UVB rays. The sunscreen should have a SPF (sun protection factor) of 15 or higher. The bottle should have UVA marked on it.

Personally, I don't use anything lower than SPF30 & the kids get SPF50

coylemj · 15-05-2013 10:11PM

Something to bear in mind if it's your first time in Spain is that most places are closed in the afternoon and early evening and don't open until what for an Irish person is late at night. You may end up like me on one of my first trips to Madrid where we were looking to eat dinner, we saw a nice looking place and when we went in we saw a guy stacking chairs. We asked the waiter if they could serve us before they closed - he said they were only opening and this was at about 9 p.m.

So you may have a lot of enforced 'outdoor' time with nothing to do in the afternoon and early evening, unless you can find some shade by the pool in your hotel. Slap on the sunscreen as advised above, you should know what's best for you but try to stay out of the sun if you can and wear long sleeves and bring a hat.

Almost all of Spain is west of the Greenwich meridian but they are on CET+1 (GMT+2) in the summer which is effectively Polish time, that's why their schedule is the way it is, their clocks are two hours ahead of the sun.

Flying to Spain, what factor should I wear?

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