Sticking to a Tight Budget in Spain
It is easy to travel cheaply in Spain without compromising your vacation. Check out my Spain Budget Travel Tips for some ideas on how to get the most out of your vacation without breaking the bank.Read on for some example prices so you can work out how much to budget for on your trip to Spain.
Spain Travel Budget: Example Prices
Here are some pointers on how much you should expect to pay for things when in Spain.- Accommodation Budget: For a bed in a dorm in a youth hostel, expect to pay between 13€ and 24€ per night, for a double room in a pension, double that. For 70€ per night you will get a very nice room.
- Book youth hostels from Hostelworld.com
- Book cheap hotels from Venere.com
- Food & Drink Budget:
- Coffee and a pastry or toast for breakfast is under 2€ (add 1.50€ for freshly squeezed orange juice)
- A baguette and a drink for lunch will cost about 5€.
- A three course 'menu del dia' can cost anything from 6€ to 15€. A la Carta food is more expensive, but you can still eat well for under 20€.
- Spain is hot - factor into your budget the need to buy water and stop for a cool drink occasionally. A 1.5L bottle of water from a street vendor or convenience store is 1.50€ (60c in a supermarket, though it will rarely be cold). Potato chips and a chocolate bar will cost you 2€ for the two.
- Total Food Budget Per Day: 15-40€ (if you eat lunch from a supermarket you can eat even cheaper).
- Entrance to Attractions Budget: Museums and art galleries can vary greatly from completely free to about 10€. If you plan on visiting a lot of museums, you may be interested in a Spain Discount Card. But make sure you are getting your money's worth!
- Transport Budget:
- Long distance buses and trains: Long distance buses are typically half the price of the train, with journey times approximately 30% longer. The bus is much better value than the train, but it can be quite difficult to book as the Spanish bus network is split up into a number of different companies. You will rarely pay more than 30€ for a bus, but you can pay over 70€ for an economy-class train ticket (sleeper cars and first class tickets will set you back even more).
- Metro and City Buses: Travel within cities in Spain is cheap. A bus or metro ticket rarely costs more than 1€ and there are usually saver tickets that can make them even cheaper. Read about the Madrid Metro and the Barcelona Metro for more information on these tickets.
You can conveniently buy your Madrid Metro tourist pass before you arrive for the same price as if you got it at the station: Buy Madrid Metro Tourist Passes (buy direct).
- Taxi A ten minute journey in a taxi in Spain will usually cost about six or seven euros. They should use the meter. If you feel you have been overpriced, ask for a receipt - there will be details of where to complain on the back. When going to or from the airport, check the price before you get in. There is a fixed price for more airport trips. Check with a different taxi if you think the price quoted is too high. As one taxi driver told me, there are very few bad taxi drivers in Spain, but those that do exist all work at the airports.
