API Study Abroad Program at University of Salamanca
Study abroad with API in Spain at the University of Salamanca! The oldest university in Spain (est. 1218), Pope Alexander IV acknowledged the University of Salamanca as one of the four great universities of the world. Home to the most beautiful plaza in Spain, Plaza Mayor is certainly a must see during this trip.
Many programs are offered, including Hispanic Studies, Integrated Studies with Spaniards, International Studies, and Spanish Language & Culture. API offers accommodations in student residencies, but for those looking for a true cultural immersion experience, home-stays with local host families are also available. Check out API's website today for more information!
Reviews
100%Overall
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100%Overall
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The excursions that the staff in Salamanca had planned for the group were extraordinary. I loved all the places I go to during my two month stay in Spain. From horse backing to trips to Galicia. The excursions were simply amazing! I believe my favorite trip was to Cadiz and Sevilla.
Critical Feedback:
The only downfall is that a two month program is simply not long enough. That is not the fault of the program however, for being two months long there was definately a lot to do.
100%Overall
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On any given day during my brief but unforgettable life in Salamanca I would wake up at the crack of dawn in my closet sized room and stumble out to the table for breakfast with my host mom. We would watch the morning news together and she would emphatically complain that I never ate enough and insist that I take a snack to class because I couldn't possibly get through to lunch on such a small breakfast.
Then I would set off for class on foot and walk the 15 minute trek through streets older than our own country is, passing by ancient relics like it was no big deal, but always covertly craning my head to marvel at the historic beauty nonetheless.
Then I would spend the next few hours soaking up as much language and culture as possible in my classes. "Women in Spanish History" was my favorite class, followed closely by Spanish cinema.
After class I would arrive back home promptly at 2:30 and tuck into a truly massive lunch with my host family. "Lomo con salsa naranja" was my favorite. Then I would have to sleep it off during siesta because no one could possibly get up and do anything with that much food to digest.
After a quick nap I would head out for the Plaza Mayor to meet up with my friends "debajo del reloj" and we would go shopping, or chill at a cafe, or the cross the ancient Roman bridge to the park if the weather was nice.
Finally I would come back home at 9 for dinner, debate the day's news with my host brother and help my little host sister with her English homework (explaining "good, better, and best" was an absolute nightmare). Around midnight I would fall into bed and sleep like a log, dreaming the sweetest dreams because I knew I would get wake up the next morning and do it all over again.
Thanks to API, those 4 months in Salamanca were the best of my life, and I will always miss my second home.
Critical Feedback:
Literally the only complaint I could possibly make was that grammar class was pretty hard. But even then I could always go to Inma or Maria, our API resident directors, and get help from them with my homework.
100%Overall
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My day to day experience in Salamanca was overall amazing. Whether it be a day of exploring the small city that was easy to navigate yet intriguing as well due to the small holes in the wall that we discovered little by little, or the amazing people who welcomed you as a member of their city and encouraged you to learn their culture, it was always an experience. I absolutely loved the city overall and found it to be very safe (I felt the safest here than I did out of all the cities I had traveled to). I also was very much able to practice my Spanish, and my professors played a large role in helping me to perfect the language by the time I left. The people of Salamanca were also great and I met many new and interesting friends throughout my time there. I was also very lucky to have Maria and Inma, the program directors, by my side. They were perfect directors in that they introduced us to the Spanish culture (and others as well) while providing us with the perfect amount of independence and assistance when needed. I know that if I were ever to return (which will hopefully be soon) I will definitely be paying them a visit. I also lived in a residencia in which I had the most amazing Spanish mom I could ask for. Despite the fact that she didn't live there, she still spent ample amounts of time with us and I felt like I was actually living in a home stay. However, due to the fact that I lived with many other native English speakers from the program, it was difficult to practice Spanish in my residencia all the time. But I did love getting close with other students from my program, and it did provide a nice break every once in a while. I couldn't have asked for a better experience and I will recommend API Salamanca to anyone considering study abroad.
Critical Feedback:
There is nothing really that the program did that I would change. However, I would probably live in a home stay or a place that had less English speakers because I did not practice my Spanish as much as I would have liked to in the residencia (although I did always speak Spanish with my Spanish mom).
80%Overall
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This program was great for me, because I chose (and was accepted to) the immersion with Spaniard students option. If you can't get into this program, Salamanca might not be the place to go. API is great, but if you want to meet students from there, the best option is to take class with them. If you're looking for rewarding but tough academics, this is also your only option (although the spanish classes that API provides are great, because the teachers really know what they're doing and try to make class interesting).
API allows for a lot of travel, and even takes you many places which is a plus, we went to Paris for free as well as Barcelona. It was so exciting. And the directors and counselors we had contact with were so welcoming and understanding and always available for anything we needed. This was definitely the plus of the program.
Salamanca itself is a great, but small city. You can walk literally everywhere. So if you're a big-city person, you might like Madrid more, but I personally felt safer than ever in this city and no taxi fare ever!
In general, the problem isn't with API, its with the level of spanish you go with on this program. I would recommend it for high level spanish speakers who want to improve their 'Spain' spanish, and take classes seriously.
90%Overall
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Salamanca was the perfect city to live in. Growing up in a small town, I wasn't looking to live in Madrid or Barcelona, and Salamanca ended up being just the right size. It was small enough I could walk wherever I wanted, but there was enough going on there that I could always find something to do. I also felt completely safe everywhere I walked, even late at night. It is a great place for students and I made friends from all over Europe, not only Spain. The international scene was fun but also made my practicing Spanish a bit harder outside of school because there were a lot of English speaking students. Nightlife was limited but fun because you always knew where you wanted to go. The countless cafes are perfect for grabbing a tapa in between classes or meeting your intercambio for a language date. I did the P.E.I. program so my schedule was dependent on my classes, and ultimately I chose to have Fridays off so I could maximize my weekends traveling. Salamanca is only a few hours from Madrid, where you can always find cheap flights, so traveling was really easy and inexpensive. Also, visiting Porto, Portugal is a must and only a 5 hour bus from Salamanca! There are so many highlights I could gush on about my experience with API in Salamanca. If I could go back I wouldn't change a thing about my program. It was an amazing 5 months and I couldn't ask for a better time!
100%Overall
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During my program was rebajas month in Spain, so it was more difficult to not spend a lot of money during the week since I enjoy to shop. So if you like to shop, be prepared for that if you travel there over the summer. Make sure you get a good bank account with no overdraft or over seas fees. Even if you have to open up another account with a different bank and then close it when you get home, it will be worth it. Don't bring showering items, soaps, toothpastes because you can readily by them in the local shops and it just takes up space in your luggage for things you might want to bring to Spain and bring home. BE OPEN; to anyone and everything. Push yourself to do everything because you don't want to miss out. And do not sleep when you get there, if you stay active, you won't get hit by jet lag as much.
During the week, we would wake up at 8, walk to class, have classes until 1pm, go back to our resedencias for lunch and then hang out in Salamanca at either the shops, restaurants, the local pool (there are 2), or go to the parks and relax. At night we would either have dinner at our resedencias or go out to one of the many, many restaurants in town. Then it was a fun night out with all of the new friends I had made while staying there. There experience overall was fantastic.
The teachers were very helpful and understanding and really wanted you to learn the language by engulfing you in it. The classes were easy and I learned the language easier than I would in the states. The trips we went on with API, whether day or weekend trips were so much fun. A group of my friends and I even went on a trip on our own during an off weekend to Valencia, which was great.
Besides the great experience I had with the API program, we all really lucked out with the time we chose to go. We were in Spain to experience all of the World Cup and Spain's win! Being able to be in a country that wins something that means so much to all of the people is amazing. That feeling and experience is something I can't really explain in words.
100%Overall
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This was the most unforgettable and rewarding experience I have been fortunate enough to have. I have been home (my home in the states, I still consider Salamanca my home)for over 4 months and day after day I still think of the time I had traveling throughout Spain and other countries of Europe. I meet the most wonderful people, who I will never forget. Salamanca was so full of the Spanish culture (and they spoke pure castellano)I didn't go a day without learning something new. Of course, tapas (little plates of various foods) were incredibly tasty and not to mention, pretty to look at. Salamanca had a wonderful nightlife for any age, and as a college student, I definitely got my fill. I volunteered and taught Salamanca natives english, which was even more fulfilling. I will never forget this phenomenal time in my life and thanks to API, it was all I could ask for!
90%Overall
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Salamanca is a great town, it is very safe to walk at any time, people are nice and friendly, and the social scene there is the best. Everyday there was something fun to do, and everything was walking distance. I think choosing Salamanca was the best decision I made, it is the most wonderful and enchanting city you will ever encounter.
100%Overall
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I had the best five months of my life in Salamanca. API was absolutely wonderful, all the way from the pick up at the airport to the farewell dinners. Our excursions were the perfect mix of group activity and independent freedom, and over the course of the semester we all become so close with all the events API Salamanca held. We went away to Rome, Sevilla and other parts of Spain, to a wine tasting, a hike and a monastery, and various dinners. The API office was always open to us during office hours, and Maria or Inma were there to talk to us about anything. I was sick for almost the entire trip and they were always helpful, and took me to the doctors until I got so familiar with the system I went by myself! They talked to my family about my dairy intolerance and even did a random visit to make sure everything was up to par at home.
Then there were the classes, which were challenging but not too hard to stop us from enjoying and learning about the city and country I came to study. I only wish I had classes with more international students from outside the US (I was enrolled in cursos internationales). They also helped us sign up to get intercambios (language exchange partners) and that was a HUGE highlight of my experience. I got to learn a lot more useful Spanish and also made two great friends.
The city of Salamanca is unbelievable, with beautiful landmarks like the Plaza Mayor and Casa de las Conchas (where I studied sometimes since its a public library), el Rio Tormes and the Facade of Universidad de Salamanca. I miss the endless choices of bars and cafes where I would go for a mid-morning coffee or an afternoon tapa, the shopping on calle Zamora and my host family. API really does a great job of checking to see if everything is ok at home, and if you are getting out enough to enjoy the lifestyle!
Which brings me to the nightlife, which is unreal. Much more affordable than Barcelona, and with more choices and all within walking distance of every one's homes, the discotecas are the place to be on the weekends... and weekdays! Nights were never boring and I actually met some amazing people and became closer to others on these nights out.
I will never forget this experience, and I love API for enhancing it.
100%Overall
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Salamanca was an absolutely amazing city to spend three months living and learning. It is a vibrant, youth-driven college town with so much to offer a perspective student. It host one of the oldest universities in Europe as well as one most well-respected Spanish language programs in the world. Students come to the "Cursos Internationales" from diverse countries and backgrounds specifically to learn Spanish "at its roots" in Salamanca.
On top of offering and incomparable academic experience, Salamanca hosts a phenomenal social scene. Its clean and well lit streets invite its citizens, young and old, to enjoy the city's night life. The plaza mayor--one of the most well-known and beautiful plazas in all of Spain-- comes to life as the sun goes down and its face lights up in a golden glow. It really is quite breath-taking to behold.
If a student is looking for a truly story-book Spanish city, Salamanca is the place to go. The "golden city" of Spain... It speaks for itself.
Alumni Interviews
Meet John Herrick, API - Spain alum
John Herrick studied in Salamanca, Spain at the University of Salamanca, Integrated Studies with Spaniards program from January to June 2012. John grew up in Contoocook, New Hampshire and studied political science and Spanish at the University of Vermont's Honors College. He is a elite cyclist, racing collegiate during the academic year and for a Vermont-based elite cycling team, Dealer.com-EverBank during the summer. He is also a freelance reporter for a local newspaper, the Burlington Free Press.
GO: Why did you decide to study with API?
John: Inspired by the images of a comfortable rolling countryside inhabited by sociable, slow-living and easy-going stereotype that characterized the Spaniard, I have long been eager to travel the Spain. I chose API because they offered the unique opportunity to take classes with Spaniards at the country's oldest university. The courses in the Law Faculty offered a comparative perspective on the Spanish political system, both courses in constitutional law and unconventional political behavior. This experience was topical given the financial crises sweeping across Europe: seemingly countless anti-austerity student protests and general strikes.
GO: What made this experience unique and special?
John: I also accepted on an elite cycling team, Frio Julimar. I traveled with a team to races across Spain, from Cordoba in the south to the Basque Country in the north, racing on a team that has recently sent fellow racers into the professional ranks of cycling. This was a priceless experience that not only developed my skills as an athlete, but also shaped my vision of cycling in a country whole-heatedly fascinated by the sport: kids often cheered in the street when teams would ride through the cobbled street the night before a race. In the United States, cyclists are sometimes considered merely an inconvenience blocking the flow of traffic. Spain's image of cycling will forever be etched into my memory: the respect, the fascination and the support for the sport.
GO: What made this experience unique and special?
John: I plan to return to Spain. I hope to either race his bike, teach English or just travel the country to taste the country's spectrum of food and wine. While the country's job market may not offer many opportunities, that will not compromise my eagerness to return to a county that has forever shaped my attitude toward a way of living free of stress and needless anxiety. This is an attitude that will likely shape my professional career.
Meet Bridget Valenti, API - Spain alum
Bridget Valenti is a 21 year old female from St. Joseph, Michigan and is currently a student in Kalamazoo, Michigan at Western Michigan University. She studied abroad in the summer of 2012 in Salamanca, Spain for a month and a half. She is finishing up her degree in Organizational Communication and will be graduating this year at the end of April. Bridget enjoys running, the beach, spending time with her friends and family, and traveling.
GO: What city did you study abroad in and for how long?
Bridget: I studied abroad in Salamanca, Spain for approximately 6 weeks. However, I did not stay only in Salamanca. Through API I was able to travel all throughout Spain and also travel to Portugal!
GO: Why did you decide to study with API?
Bridget: I did a lot of research of different study abroad companies and API stood out for so many reasons. From the moment I first inquired about the programs to the second I stepped back on the bus to go home, I was astounded by how helpful and caring they were. I am such a worrier and I have never traveled alone, so I had millions of questions for them and they answered every single one. Also, I felt that API was the best price for what I got to do. I got to travel almost every single weekend and this was all included in the price. We also got to do an activity every week including horseback riding, a barbecue, and a wine tasting.
GO: What made this experience unique and special?
Bridget: This study abroad experience was unique because I got to do so much in a short amount of time. Many people might believe that a summer there is not enough time to experience the culture but I completely disagree. I got to live with a host family, travel all around Spain, and take classes in the language I was speaking. I went into the program hardly speaking Spanish and came back with so much more confidence and ability. I made lifelong friendships and I will never forget the amazing sights I saw!
GO: How has this experience impacted your future?
Bridget: This experience has definitely impacted my future. First and foremost, when I returned to Michigan, I took a placement test at school and tested out of multiple Spanish classes. I am now going to graduate early from college--which completely counteracts the money that I spent to go on the trip in the first place! I also am able to put the experience on my resume which shows potential employers that I am diverse, have a language skill, and I am up for new experiences!
Overall, studying abroad was definitely one of the best experiences of my life. I have learned so much about myself from this experience. I have opened up a passion for traveling that I never realized I had before, and have developed a love for people that I never knew existed before. API is definitely the best program out there. I would recommend it to anyone and everyone! If and when I study abroad again, I will definitely be going with API!
Meet Julie Mills, API - Spain alum
Julie Mills, 21, is from Dartmouth, Massachusetts and is currently a senior studying psychology and Spanish at Stonehill College. She enjoys Boston, sports, and is looking to pursue a career as a children's psychologist. One day she hopes to return to Salamanca.
GO: Why did you decide to study with API?
Julie: The program was recommended to me by my instituiton. However, upon looking into it I saw that it had a lot to offer me not just in terms of education but also the experiences I would have while abroad.
GO: What made this experience unique and special?
Julie: Everything about my experience was all I wanted and more. I had the opportunity to call an amazing city my home for three and a half months, while also traveling to eight different countries throughout that time span. I was introduced to the Spanish culture, improved my Spanish immensely, and found that this allowed me the privilege of making new friends from Spain and other countries as well. Although I loved Spain and everything it had to offer, I developed a newfound appreciation for my own country and found that not only did my love grow for Spain but also for my hometown as well.
GO: How has this experience impacted your future?
Julie: This experience has impacted my future in more ways than I would have imagined. I've developed a newfound love for traveling and look forward to my anticipated return to Spain. I've also found my acquired knowledge of Spanish to open up many doors for me academically and professionally. Whether it be the use of the language at my internship or the presence of it on my resume while applying to graduate school, it has helped me to raise the bar and participate more than I would have if I had not studied abroad. Overall, I have learned more about myself because of this experience and this in turn will help me to learn more about others as well.
Meet Alexandra Vanderbilt - API, Spain alum
Alexandra Vanderbilt is from Stony Point, New York. Currently she studies Spanish and Education at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, New York. She will be graduating in May with a B.A. in Spanish and two certifications in Education one for Elementary/Special Education and on in TESOL. Alexandra studied in Spain during summer session from May-August of 2012. She is 22 years old and is looking forward to start her teaching career.
GO: Why did you decide to study with API?
Alexandra: I studied at the University of Salamanca in Spain from May to August. I chose to study abroad with API because it was the best choice for what I needed. The API program in Salamanca allowed me to fulfill my study abroad requirement for my Spanish Major. Being a Spanish major with two education certifications I needed a program that would allow me to study during the summer and fulfill 12 credits for my degree.
GO: What made this experience unique and special?
Alexandra: This experience in which I was able to partake in was exceptional! While studying in Salamanca I stayed with a host family that became my family away from my family. Without my host family being away from my family would have been much harder. My trip was also special because of the people that were on the trip. The group is which I traveled with was a very diverse group and I was able to not only learn about people from different parts of the United States but I was also able to learn more about myself as a person.
GO: How has this experience impacted your future?
Alexandra: This experience to study abroad has changed my life in many aspects; it has changed my perceptive on the world, myself and the people that surround me. I can take this experience and put it in professional life because it allows me to relate better to my students, especially if my students are ESLs. Through my experience I grew into a wiser and mature person. Once I came home the way people acted around me seemed childish and their way of thinking was no longer the way I thought. Studying abroad and traveling in Spain opened up my mind to all the possibilities that I should take advantage of and that I should not disregard because the opportunity may be scary.
Meet Allison Eyres, API-Salamanca alum
GO: Why did you decide to study abroad with API in Salamanca, Spain?
Allison: The decision of where I wanted to travel to actually took longer for me to decide on, while it came very easy for me to decide that I wanted to travel with API. That decision was a no brainer for me. API offered many features that were very appealing to me and the price was was a steal!
The one feature that really drew me into their program were cell phones. We were all given cell phones to use while abroad so that we could stay connected with our program peers and our families and friends at home. Not having to worry about whether I would be able to connect with those on my program and my family at home, really made the process and experience better.
API also has great excurions to other parts of the country you are studying in during your abroad time. It gives you the opportunity to visit and learn about the country as a whole instead of just being in one city the entire time. Once I knew I wanted to travel with API, I had the tough choice of where I wanted to travel to. API has so many great cities that they offer programs in.
After searching through their list of countries and cities, I stumbled upon Salamanca, Spain and did some googleing. The images were breath-taken. It was a small, unique, and historic college city. You are able to walk everywhere you need to go. I was sold on its old churches and unique architecture. For a first time abroad goer, it was the perfect city for me.
GO: What made studying abroad a unique and special experience?
Allison: The World Cup is what made my study abroad experience unique and special. I was lucky enough to be in Spain during the span of the world cup. Every football game that was played, people crowded around the bars in the Plaza Mayor to watch together. There was an immense feeling of camaraderie throughout all of the games. Every win that Spain achieved, this feeling got bigger and bigger. During the finals, every citizen and visitor of Salamanca sat together in the Plaza where every bar had TVs set up all around so every person could see the game.
When Spain won the World Cup, the feeling is almost unexplainable. Picture a city that just won the the Super Bowl or World Series and the ticker tape parade the next day with crowds of people in the streets. Now try to imagine that with an entire country of people. When that clock ran out, I swear, I heard every corner of Spain erupt into a frenzy. The pride that they felt for their country, I will never forget that moment. We didn't feel like outsiders during our time in Salamanca, the locals accepted us as their own. We felt pride for our new home, along with so many others.
GO: How has this experience impacted your future?
Allison: Going abroad has a huge impact on my future. Any chance I get, I tell people about my experiences while I was in Spain. I even try to convince them to try to go abroad if the opportunity ever arises for them. I can not wait for an opportunity to come where I can study abroad again. And I know when it does, API will be my one and only program choice.
Meet Laura Holt - API alum in Salamanca
GO: Why did you decide to study abroad with API in Salamanca, Spain?
Laura: I knew I wanted to go abroad to Spain, but I wasn't convinced that Madrid was for me. I'm not a 'big city' girl, so I didn't want to be overwhelmed by the city as well as the experience. I looked at pictures of Salamanca, and as you'll see, I fell in love. The sandstone buildings, roman artifacts that remain in the city, and having the oldest university in Spain were just some of the factors that convinced me.
Also, it looked very simple (which it was) to transfer credits from API to my college, which was important. In addition, API has a 'spanish immersion' program, which allows you to stay with host families and also take classes with spaniards if you had a certain level of spanish. This was perfect to integrate well into the society.
GO: What made your study abroad experience unique and special?
Laura: What made this so special were the trips. You have to travel in Spain; there is just so much to see. Both the south and the north have special 'feelings' to them, and you find something new in every city. When I look back, travelling with just one or two friends to a different city for the weekend was what I most remember.
In the south, Granada was my favorite city because of its arabic culture, being so close to Morocco, and in the north Asturias, with its seafood, high mountains, wild horses and amazing green landscape was memorable as well. API took us to Paris and Barcelona, which I will never forget- being in Europe, you just can't miss these two big cities.
Another moment I remember is eating 'tapas' at an outdoor event with our Salamanca program director, and her telling us all the ins and outs of the city and culture. It was so laid back and she made herself available whenever we needed her, even for fun moments like this! Maria is such a great person.
Last, I'll never forget going to a free rock concert in Salamanca with my host mother and enjoying it just as much as going with a friend. We stayed in touch long after I had left Spain, she was a great person.
GO: How has this experience impacted your future?
Laura: I already spoke Spanish when I went on this program, but I was able to improve my Spanish monumentally, and ended up speaking very professionally after my two Spanish classes. I was taking the required API spanish class with a Spaniard teacher who I'll never forget saying our first day: 'Forget everything you learned in high school or college, THIS is the real way!', along with a 'Spanish for Translation' class at the University of Salamanca that kicked my butt but corrected every mistake I had acquired over the years.
In addition, I think being in Europe in general gives you another perspective about how things are carried out, academically (oral tests for example) and professionally. Especially in Spain you begin to realize that people don't live to work, they work to live (or have fun). Sometimes this is the perspective you need; it's not a party attitude, it just signifies that your life doesn't have to revolve around tedious work. This is why there are so many national holidays, long lunch breaks or short office hours, and meeting up with friends right after work downtown.
Further Info
About API
Academic Programs International, API, is an educational organization dedicated to providing challenging and enriching study abroad programs for our students. The experience of living, interacting and learning in an international environment presents invaluable opportunities for each student's academic and personal development.
All of their academic and extracurricular offerings are selected with the goal of helping students to become more self-aware and culturally sensitive. API envisions each student evolving from a tourist, to a resident, to a global citizen; API is dedicated to supporting this lifelong process.
API strives to provide the best comprehensive study abroad experience possible with personal attention available to all students throughout his or her program. API works closely with home universities to offer support before, during and after students' education abroad experience.
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My study abroad experience was hands down the most incredible experience of my life. API made the trip amazing with their continuous support and the excursions. When I began the journey I was terrified to be going alone, but they were with me every step of the way. I made amazing friendships with people who I am still close with today. When I tell people about the cost of my trip and what was included they are blown away. API definitely beat out the competition since I spent so much time researching. I will forever remember my trip and I can't wait to someday return to Spain and Portugal!
Critical Feedback:
The one thing I would change would be more help in the departure from the country. I ended up having to spend the night in the airport because I scheduled my flight too early for the buses to get me there.