Internships in Barcelona - Adelante Abroad

Spending time in Barcelona has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. From the very beginning, everything was well-aligned to make my stay comfortable, productive, and memorable. My housing was conveniently located just a short walk away from both my internship placement and my Spanish language school, which made my daily routine smooth and stress-free. Not having to commute long distances gave me more time and energy to fully engage with everything the city had to offer. My internship experience was particularly impactful. I was placed in a professional and welcoming environment where I was given real responsibilities, not just busywork. I felt like a valued part of the team, and I learned so much about the industry, local work culture, and how to collaborate across languages and cultures. It was challenging in the best way—pushing me to grow both professionally and personally. In addition to my internship, I took Spanish classes which were incredibly helpful. The teachers were engaging and patient, and the classes were well-structured to improve both conversational and grammatical skills. Being immersed in the language every day also helped reinforce what I was learning in class. One of the unexpected highlights of my time in Barcelona was the people I met. I made great friends from all over the world—some through my internship, others at the language school, and many more through social events in the city. Barcelona has such an international, vibrant feel that it was easy to connect with people who were also here to learn, work, and explore. All in all, my time in Barcelona was a perfect blend of professional development, language learning, and cultural immersion. I came here hoping to gain experience and improve my Spanish, but I left with so much more—new friends, unforgettable memories, and a deeper appreciation for the city and its people. Hover to react

I spent eight weeks in Barcelona, and it was truly incredible. I shadowed psychologists at an assisted living facility. My coworkers were so kind and helpful, and the patients were amazing as well. I feel that this experience has truly helped me develop professionally, and I got to do it in one of the best cities in the world.

I not only loved the area I lived in but the easy and affordable public transportation per metro. My internship company could not have been more welcoming, I loved my experience so much. I learned so much about the field of pharmacy as well as getting to utilize my Spanish.

I had an amazing experience with Adelante Abroad in Barcelona. They gave me plenty of support leading up to my departure. I got picked up from the airport and taken to my accommodation which was in a very good area! The Spanish school was lovely and I made lots of friends which I kept throughout the program. My internship itself was also incredible. The office was perfect and I absolutely loved my coworkers. I met some lifelong friends and truly had the experience of a lifetime. Barcelona become like home to me and I could not be more grateful for my time there! 10/10 experience and highly recommend.

I am a past client of Adelante Abroad but I wanted to share my experience. This is the best Intern Abroad Program!! I found Adelante Abroad through my college and am so happy that I did. The Spanish classes I took in my first 2 weeks abroad were some of the best Spanish classes I have ever taken. The staff worked with me to find my internship which was with a Social Media Marketing Agency in Barcelona. I was able to get experience assisting on photoshoots for content creation, planning and captioning posts and creating Instagram stories. I also assisted at an influencer event and with multiple social media campaigns for different clients. I learned so much through this experience and will have these memories for the rest of my life. Thank you Adelante Abroad for putting together such an incredible program!!

I had the best experience in Barcelona, Spain. I improved my Spanish speaking abilities, met a TON of great people, and had so many amazing experiences. Unfortunately my internship itself was not great because I was placed with a soccer team and my supervisor was only a year older than me with no actual Physical Therapy degree. He was doing more of what an athletic trainer in the U.S. would be doing. While I was not able to get another internship lined up in my time there, I am thankful for the experience that I had.

I loved this internship & the program was amazing for the price. Although, I did have 1 big issue with the program. I was never told that housing could be co-ed. When I was informed on who my roommates would be, I was told it was 2 females. When arriving there was a male living there and the program coordinator told me there was nothing he could do and that I should’ve asked for female only living, when I never knew that was something I would have to clarify. Besides this I loved Barcelona

I traveled from Canada all the way to Barcelona to do a 3 month social media internship during my gap year and this was definitely something I will never forget. I've made a lot of memories, mostly good, some tough. My internship placement was exactly what I was hoping for, but unfortunately, there was a lot of disorganization within the spanish supervisor team as I had to move accommodations 3 times with little notice. But overall, i would do it again in a heartbeat, minus the bad accommodation ;)

Working in Spain has always been a dream of mine ever since I learned Spanish and Adelante was able to make it a reality. From start to finish they helped out with all the steps when it came to location, housing and work placement. In addition to finding an internship in a new country, they also help people connect with others in the same city with the help of the required 2 week Spanish courses. These schools not only help you brush up on your Spanish skills before jumping into the work environment, but they also help you meet a ton of new people who are also doing the same thing as you! With all that being said, Adelante did have a couple issues with the pre-planning. I was suppose to know my future company and job before flying over, however, this did not end up being the case and I had to go without knowing when/what my job would be. In the end, everything turned out fine and I really enjoyed my internship.

I had an excellent time in Barcelona. I was able to meet so many people and have a work experience that felt like a summer vacation. I didn't expect so many people from all kinds of backgrounds to be in Barcelona, something I did not find so easily in other parts of Europe. I will never forget this experience and am so happy I participated in it.

This was an amazing experience I got to be a part of! I was a legal intern at a private business in Barcelona, and I was very happy with the support I got from the Adelante staff and with my housing and work placement. I would highly recommend this program to anyone wanting to intern or study abroad.

I spent an amazing one month and one week in Barcelona and had the time of my life. While abroad, I studied in a small language school called Kingsbrook Idiomas and met so many different students from all over the world (over 12 different countries to be exact). The school had a variety of students from young to old and we all became fast friends. I took classes twice a day, 5 days a week with the most wonderful teachers and explored the city through different excursions once a week with my class. From beach days to bike tours, we did it all! Being a part of this program has given me the opportunity to improve my Spanish in both an educational setting and in a social one. It was amazing to be able to talk with people from all over the world and know that it is Spanish that has allowed us to connect. I was placed with awesome room-mates and the living space was average but comfortable. Traveling through Adelante was a very pleasant experience; from airport pickup to providing living accommodations and classes. I would recommend taking the leap to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity, and don't forget to soak up every minute because time sure does fly when you're having fun.

I honestly had the best time of my life. Going to Barcelona was the best choice I ever made. I made so many new friends and had an amazing experience teaching English. My housing was the only issue. Although I loved all of my roommates, the house itself was very dirty and unorganized. Other than that I loved every bit of Barcelona.

I personally believe the highlight of the experience was the connections I made with the other students at kingsbrook, and keeping in contact with them. It gave a relaxing viewpoint to the work life. And if provided so many social opportunities which lead to so many new experiences I definitely would not have experienced if I had planned to do everything on my own. Definitely a time of my life that I will always cherish and consider a staple in my self-sufficiency and confidence

The early processes of applying for this program were very clear and straightforward. Adelante did an excellent job communicating what was needed from me along with all the important details and deadlines leading up to my trip. Upon arrival, everything was as described. I had a ride from the airport to my apartment, was greeted by my landlord who walked me through everything, and started language courses at Kingsbrook the following Monday. Kingsbrook was probably my favorite part of the whole program. All of the workers were extremely friendly and helpful, and it was an easy way to meet people who were also traveling and make friends right away. After the two weeks at Kingsbrook began my internship. Though not necessarily Adelante's fault, maybe more so the company I worked for, but I was extremely, extremely....... extremely bored. Every day that I was there. I sat at a computer and did data entry, sometimes printed and filed important documents, but that was about it. I was okay with this at the beginning of course, but I thought eventually I'd get to at least participate in some of the event coordination that the company does (this was a group travel agency who planned museum tours, amusement park entry, sporting events, etc. for large groups of students). Though everyone was very kind and I liked the atmosphere of where I worked, I was quite disappointed with the way the internship played out. My apartment was clean and very modern, however pretty far from the city (~25 min metro ride) which made it a bit of a hassle when wanting to go explore. My apartment did not come with a washing machine but instead my landlord would come and take the laundry once a week and bring it back several days later. Not a huge deal but this was sometimes problematic when I was traveling to other cities over the weekend and some weeks she would take way too long to return the clothes. I learned later it was much easier to just hand wash them myself. Something to note as this was not explained to me beforehand. As a whole, I loved my time in Barcelona and am very happy to have chosen this city to live in! I was lucky enough to be here for some of the city's biggest holidays and could not have enjoyed my time more.

I absolutely loved my experience with Adelante in Barcelona. The language classes at Kingsbrook pushed me beyond the work I had completed at my university in the US, and I got to meet tons of interesting people who I might never have befriended otherwise. My apartment was in a quiet, residential neighborhood with the sweetest landlady. My internship was with a program Adelante highly recommended, and I felt supported there. The Adelante staff is excellent at communicating with interns throughout the application process, before departure, and during the internship placement. I could always count on my questions being answered promptly and carefully. Would do this program again in a heartbeat and wish I could have stayed longer!

Wow, this truly was an experience of a lifetime! My program in Barcelona was for two months (June and July). After a difficult first week (cultural transitions can be tough), I adjusted quickly and began falling in love with the city. My favorite part of this experience were the 2 weeks of Spanish classes that you take at the beginning. Improving my Spanish was a priority for me, and these classes were the single most important thing that helped me this summer. On top of learning Spanish, I made many friends from the classes, giving me near instant friendships. Because my internship was in the language school, I was able to continue to take classes for 6 weeks rather than just 2. If you have the chance to continue with classes, I HIGHLY suggest it. The professors at Kingsbrook Idiomas are fantastic! I hold a psychology degree and am interested in human resources so my internship at Kingsbrook was to collect and analyze feedback from their English professors. I enjoyed the work, but at times I didn't have enough work to do. It was only in these moments that I struggled with the internship. I quickly began to build a life in Barcelona, and now at the end of my experience, I am very sad to leave. If you are debating whether to go to Madrid, Seville, or Barcelona, just choose Barcelona. You won't regret it! I was able to take a trip to Madrid with 2 other girls from the Adelante program in Barcelona, and while Madrid is beautiful (and worth a visit), I knew Barcelona was better (really the beach just takes it to a whole new level!) I'm so satisfied with my experience here. I did everything I hoped to do and more!

It surprises me how this program continues to receive largely very positive reviews. Certainly, if everything had gone according to plan with my program experience, I might feel more magnanimous towards Adelante– despite the program’s thorough mediocrity in any case, really. In the end, my three months in Barcelona were just decent enough. The “Miami of the Mediterranean” is a hard place to get bored with, but well before I had even arrived in Spain, Adelante dropped the ball. Adelante Abroad bills itself as “a very strong, successful program right now,” but for me, it was actually more like a recklessly inattentive internship mill, hiding behind a fairly deceptive website. My main mistake was initially applying for a six-month program in Barcelona. It turns out that applying for an Adelante program longer than the 90-day Schengen Area allowance, which usually requires a visa, can send you on an exhausting and expensive journey into some shady bureaucratic territory. And Adelante is definitely not going to be there to guide you through it, whatever they may claim to the contrary. Schengen Area countries require Americans to obtain a longer-term visa for stays of more than ninety days. Adelante was woefully irresponsible in how it prepared me to apply for a visa. It is true that for a variety of reasons, Adelante must ultimately leave the visa responsibility to the applicant, but this does not excuse Adelante from the gross negligence they displayed in failing to guide me, a paying client, through the process. Everything was going well until Adelante got back to me with my program dates; I was to spend 189 days in Spain. This proposed length of time was obviously inconvenient, as visas for longer than 180 days require a more comprehensive background check, including a medical analysis and an FBI criminal history report. Of course, I had to research this on my own; Adelante seemed clueless and unaware that the inclusion of just nine extra days would require significantly more effort and money on my part. And though I had applied well ahead of Adelante’s deadline, I found myself having to scramble to acquire all the necessary documents in time for my last-minute appointment at the Spanish Consulate in San Francisco. In total, I spent slightly over $1,000 in costs related to my visa application; much of this went to fees associated with obtaining FBI clearance. I drove hundreds of miles to San Francisco and walked into the Consulate of Spain on the day of my appointment. I was met with an ice-cold reception. My visa officer spoke in a haughty tone, and requested additional documentation above and beyond what I was led to believe was necessary (this documentation was not listed as necessary anywhere on the consulate’s website). Apparently in the eyes of Spain, I was some hardcore criminal intent on causing trouble in Barcelona until I proved myself otherwise, despite my perfectly clean FBI record. I never figured out why they did not like me; maybe they simply did not like the way I looked. A chat with the visa officer’s supervisor yielded the same aggressive suspiciousness (he was friendly at first, but after going downstairs to pick up my application file and speak with the visa officer, he came back with a real doozy of an attitude). There was little I could do to change this; as representatives of a foreign government, visa officers are pretty much free to exercise whatever discretion they want when it comes to issuing visas. And while this situation was obviously bad, Adelante’s response was equally disappointing. Yes, maybe the consulate was determined to keep me out of Spain for more than three months, but Adelante did not even lift a finger to assist me, their client. It did not help that Adelante messed up my introduction letter to the consulate; they carelessly mislabeled me as an “architecture” student. The visa officer told me that they would process my application once I had submitted my “Convenio.” I was somewhat familiar with this term; in the course of my visa research, I had learned to equate “Convenio” with Adelante’s “Memorandum of Understanding” (MOU), a contract between the intern and the company. The consulate wanted this document as extra proof that I would actually be an intern (and not a criminal) in Spain. On the phone, Adelante feigned ignorance. They claimed that the MOU was merely an “internal document,” and that mine was not ready, as they had not even set me up with an employer yet. Later in Spain, when I actually received my MOU, it was also labeled “Convenio,” and had all the appearances of being a real legal document. So much for the Adelante Director’s unconvincing defense over the phone: “‘Convenio?’ What does that even mean? I’m so sorry, Jarrett. You’ll just have go to Spain without a visa!” Faced with arrogant obstruction from the consulate, lazy incompetence from Adelante, and with just weeks to go before my flight to Europe, I made the difficult decision to abort my visa application and shorten my program to less than ninety days. Once again, I had lost $1,000 in failed pursuit of this visa, and I had moved to a shorter-term Adelante program, which is charged at a much higher monthly rate. I did not think I was paying several thousand dollars for Adelante to basically say: “Okay man, let us know when you get the visa. Good luck! You’ll need it! LOL.” Adelante’s emphasis on the “independent traveler” is a subtle way of shirking responsibility when things go wrong. It became clear to me why sleeker internship companies do not even usually offer programs for more than three months– it is simply irresponsible to send unprepared applicants blindly into the bureaucratic hell that can be the visa application process. And after going through this disaster, my shortened internship experience did little to relieve my disappointment with Adelante. As other reviewers have noted, the actual internships that Adelante arranges can be unsatisfying at times. Adelante sent me links to the websites of glamorous hotels, and told me that I would go through a rigorous training process at one of them. In reality, I spent a lot of my days just cleaning rooms and waking people up at a simple hostel. I met another Adelante intern in Barcelona who actually called it “false advertising.” As for lodging, I was placed in an old apartment with no air conditioning and dysfunctional Wi-Fi. It was definitely not a truly horrible situation, but it certainly did little to change my impression of Adelante as a fairly lackluster internship company. My contact at Adelante did reliably check in with me over email, but these short and generic messages seemed like a cheap way of creating the illusion of real customer service. I suppose you get what you pay for. My Spanish skills did improve, and I did gain work experience. Considering Adelante’s affordable, bargain basement prices, I might have been basically satisfied with my barebones internship and lodging experience in Barcelona, were it not for the fact that Adelante’s clumsiness regarding bureaucratic realities cost me a great deal of extra time and money. And although I cannot forgive the Spanish Consulate for its bizarre and inexplicable suspicion of me, I was absolutely unimpressed with Adelante’s weak and evasive response to that challenge. So, I must place equal blame for this episode with the consulate, and with Adelante for failing to look after me as a client. Probably the best aspect of the program was the vibrant city of Barcelona itself, but obviously Adelante is not the only internship company that can take you there. Going forward, I would strongly caution American applicants against opting for a longer-term Adelante program, as these may require a visa, and Adelante may just abandon you, should trouble arise in your visa application process. Shorter programs, however, do not have the same low per-month rate that attracted me to Adelante over its competitors in the first place. To improve its service, Adelante needs to put more effort into assisting its clients through the visa application process, and to be more prepared when its clients encounter a hostile bureaucracy. Adelante should also warn prospective clients about the unpredictable risks, costs, and significant efforts involved in the visa application process.

My trip to Barcelona was a fun one, and one that would not have been possible without Adelante Abroad's affordable prices. I would tell those looking at this program that you do get what you pay for. It's not exactly the fanciest or best internship jobs, but if you're looking to do some work abroad while also enjoying the experience on the cheap, you've got the right company. I'll list my pros, cons, and tips below. Pros: - Very affordable program - Friendly staff; while small, if you call them up during business hours they are quick to help you/inform you about things. - The people you meet on the program are all very wonderful. You have a sense of camaraderie because you're all in the same boat, and going through the language school together really helps. - The internship can often be very relaxed, which gives you a lot of time to explore where you are and really enjoy your time abroad - I loved the language school; Kingsbrook was a great place with many new faces and people to meet, and was a great way to really gear up for my stay. - I had a great experience with my housing. Marta was very sweet. Housing can be a bit of a mixed bag though, depending on your situation. Adelante is a smaller program than you think, so it is much more likely you'll live on your own with the apartment owner, or with one other roommate. I lived independently with the apartment owner and had a good time. Two of my other friends had to switch though because of this woman name Rosa who had previously gotten bad reviews from other people. But everyone else had relatively chill experiences with their apartment owners. Cons: - Perhaps the most notable of my experience was that the small staff seemed to be a bit disorganized, particularly when setting up my trip experience. I was not informed of my housing placement until 3 days before I left for Barcelona, when I was according to their website supposed to be informed no later than two weeks before I left. This goes double for my internship placement; not only was I informed late about that as well, but it turned out to be a completely different internship than I had requested. That second part was fine and partially expected (they had not promised I'd get my first choice) but it would have been easier to plan for had it not been so late. - My internship was not as substantial as I would have hoped, but it's kind of a mixed bag depending on what you request. I worked for an LGBT group, but because it was in Barcelona, the heritage and importance of the group in particular was that it was a Catalan group. Adelante advertises Barcelona as if it is a place that Spanish is used commonly, I believe they say it is "the language of business." While I was able to communicate in restaurants and around town, don't be fooled: Catalan is EVERYWHERE and you will be having to parse it out a lot of the time. If you don't engage in Spanish first, people will speak to you in Catalan. They are proud of their culture/language and will use that first and foremost. This proved to be kind of odd at my job though, because that was a big part of their heritage and pride, so myself and my friend were the odd ones out for not speaking Catalan. That made the placement a bit weird as well. Tips: - In Barcelona, expect to speak Catalan and here it/see it everywhere. - It is advertised/said that you'd probably be staying with a lot of people in your apartment, but it's much more likely you'll live on your own - Reach out to Adelante by phone rather than by email during their office hours; it's quicker that way. - Have lots of fun! Improvements: The biggest complaint myself and others had was that Adelante seems to "puff its chest" a bit by making it seem like a larger program than it is. If Adelante was a bit more humble and honest about its advertising, I think the people on the program would have less issues. Because of how the program was depicted to us, we were expecting apartments where we would share rooms with people on the program, which would let us make friends and socialize much more easily, and that there would be a LOT of people in the program. At the time of my program, I had about 8 people consistently in Barcelona for Adelante, TOTAL. This wouldn't have been a problem had we understood the scale of the program a bit better. Also, the internships were really talked up but a lot of us were underwhelmed by what we ended up getting. Perhaps being more transparent about the internships/who they are partnered with and what the internship will be like would be more helpful for the people applying. Overall though, for what I was seeking (a cool time to explore abroad while also improving my Spanish over the summer) I got what I personally wanted. You should see if this program is right for you.

My 5 months internship was an amazing experience. I had the opportunity to learn and grow and to meet alot of new people from different cultures. The first two weeks I had a Spanish classes in Kingsbrook (school of languages), and there where I met the majority of my friends. beside morning classes, Kingsbrook offers an afternoon activities, and you can continue participating even after you finish you classes. After two weeks in Kingsbrook I started my internship in YMCA (for 20 hours weekly). The most of the programs in the YMCA are dedicated to helping immigrants (Pakistanis, Indians, Moroccans) in integrating in the society. I participated in 3 main programs: 1) helping people in finding work, 2) teaching Spanish for a group of women, 3) helping kids in preparing their homework in the afternoons. Overall, I learned many things by participating in these programs, and I had an amazing experience with the staff there (really amazing staff). even though, my internship was meant to be in the Psychology field, but it had nothing to do with psychology. I hope Adelante can be clearer in the future, and describe exactly what will the programs look like, so there won't be misunderstandings. For me this programs was good and I had a wonderful time, but because for me it wasn't important to learn that much (the important thing for me was the overall experience in Spain). but maybe for someone who really want to grow in the psychology field, it could be a problem to be in the program. Anyway, it was really a lovely experience and I recommend you to participate, it's unforgettable.