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I arrived in Spain expecting the country to be expensive. Everything I read before my trip led me to believe that Spain was an expensive European country like much of Western Europe. Throughout my 10 day trip, I was plesently surprised to find that Spain had potential to be very budget friendly. My partner and I arrived in Spain expecting to spend quite a bit which we had budgeted for in advance. Since we had planned to spend on this trip, we weren’t the most budget conscious with some of our spending choices.
We visited Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, and Madrid in 10 days with 9 overnights. How much does a trip to Spain actually cost? Below is my breakdown of expenses showing what I spent and what all I got for those euros.
*Note: Most expenses my boyfriend and I split evenly (like hotels, food, and drinks). If traveling alone, expenses will vary.
How Much I Spent on a 10 Day Trip to Spain
Flights: €204.14 + 46,000 miles
Portland – Spain roundtrip: Normally the roundtrip flight to Spain would have been a much larger expense. We flew Delta airlines roundtrip from Portland, OR, arriving in Barcelona and departing from Madrid. I was lucky to have credit card points and found a great deal to redeam these points. My roundtrip flight cost a total of €54.81 ($57.07) out of pocket since I booked with points. Without points, this flight would have cost $822.97 for a main cabin ticket!
Flights to/from Palma de Mallorca: While in Spain, we took two additional flights. We flew Barcelona to Palma de Mallorca, then Palma de Mallorca to Madrid. In total, these flights cost €149.33 on Ryan Air. Ryan Air is a budget airline and you get what you pay for – I actually paid extra to choose a seat in advance and check a bag. I thought €149.33 was a good deal for two domestic flights in Spain.
Accomodations: €444.29
I spent €444.29 on hotels on this trip (my half of the hotels). This included 4 nights at the Four Points by Sheraton in Barcelona, 2 nights at the AC Hotel in Plama de Malloca, and 3 nights at the Aloft Grand Via in Madrid. We opted to stay all Marriott branded hotels on this trip since my partner is a credit card holder and earned points that we will redeem for free nights on a future trip.
The hotels we stayed in ranged from €60 to €130 a night. If we were more budget conscious, we could have found cheaper hotels or event hostels to save on housing costs. We also visited Spain in February. I imagine that hotels increase in price in high seasons like summer. Sites like booking.com and hostelworld are the best choices for finding affordable hotels and hostels in Spain!
Coffee and Snacks: €75
Coffee is an essential part of every morning for me. Most mornings I grabbed a cafe con leche from a nearby cafe, but a couple mornings in Madrid I splurged on a latte from Tim Horton’s. Spanish coffee’s are small and I needed a large coffee! Coffee was cheap everywhere we stopped which was appreciated, even at Tim Hortons. Cafe con leches ranged from €1. 5 – €2 a piece. A large latte from Tim Hortons cost €3.5 which was still very resonable.
For snacks, I bought a few cheese and meat cones inside local markets like Mercado de la Boqueria for around €3. I also had a few afternoon chocolate with churros and coffee for €4 – €5 euro. Gelato was a favorite snack after a long day of walking around. 2 scoops of gelato typically cost around €3 – €4.
Food and Drinks: €558.22
This is one spending category where we really didn’t hold back. We both love to eat and drink, and think these activities are some of the best ways to get to know a new culture. We indulged in tapas and full meals every day, and almost always had a glass or two of sangria at meals.
My meal prices ranged from €20 to €42. We ate tapas as nearly every meal. We typically ordered 4 – 6 tapas along with a drink or sangria pitcher. Only at a few dinners did we eatsomething other than tapas, which was usually paella. I knew going into this trip that this would be one of my largest categories, and honestly, I thought my meal prices were very reasonable.
Attractions: €141.40
There are a lot of sights in Spain that cost entrance fees. I skipped a few main sights and was very happy with the amount of attractions I paid to visit on this trip. We opted to only visit a few of the Guadi sights in Barcelona, which was perfect for this trip. but we could have easily spent more to tour each of his famous buildings.
In Barcelona purchasing a Go City Card was the best way to get access and discounts into many of the main sights. This is my go to choice for city passes around the world. My favorite booking sight Get Your Guide also offers tons of affordable tours and tickets into many of Spain’s main attractions.
Barcelona:
La Sagrada Familia: €26
Parc Guell: €10
La Pedrera: €28
Cable Car: €16.50
Palma de Mallorca:
Castell de Bellver: €4
Arab Baths: €3
Madrid:
Royal Palace: €12
Las Ventas Bullfighting Ring: €14.90
Flaminco Show in Madrid: €27
Transportation: €92.54
This covered taxis and metro passes. We rode the metro everywhere in Barcelona and Madrid and found this to be quick and convenient. Metro stops were easily accessible in both cities and close walks to all the major sites we visited. A four day metro pass in Barcelona cost €31 and a four day metro pass in Madrid cost €22.6. In Madrid we were able to take the metro to a stop right next to our hotel. In Barcelona, though, we had to take a different train to get close enough to our hotel. This train cost an additional €4.6 each way.
In Palma de Mallorca we ended up taking a few taxis. There was no metro in the city and our hotel was just far enough away that we opted to taxi instead of walking. We took a taxi from the hotel to the castle, from our hotel to the cathedral, and from the cathedral back to the hotel. Overall I spent €29.74 on taxis.
Souveneirs: €16.19
I try not to buy many souvenirs anymore when I travel. On this trip I only bought 1 postcard and a Christmas ornament.
TOTAL SPENT: €1,534.04 ($1,597.18)
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