Is Spain Worth the Money? A Quick Overview with Pictures, Charts, and Full Cost Breakdown.

Randy Brongo
Jul 20, 2017 · 7 min read
Alicante, Spain

Getting Out of Eastern Europe

This year I wanted something different for summer vacation. I had already been to the typical vacation spots close to Serbia (where I spend most of my time) so this year I wanted a more “Westernized” vacation.

Most people who take a vacation in Eastern Europe go to one of a few places:

  • Montenegro
  • Greece
  • Croatia
  • Bulgaria

While these places are nice and have their own charm, I was craving white sandy beaches, modern amenities, and some variety in the local cuisine. These things being hard to find in Eastern Europe, I looked around and some cheap flights using Kiwi.com. When I saw $150 (€130.47) roundtrip flights to Valencia, Spain I booked the flights, told my girlfriend to pack, and a few days later we were on our way.

Landing in Valencia

Landing in Valencia wasn’t a hassle and we easily found a cab to take us from the airport to our Airbnb which cost about $20.50 (€18). Certainly not cheap for a 15 minute ride compared to Eastern European prices but not bad for a night fare in Western Europe.

The next morning we woke up and excitedly rushed to get ready for the beach. Using the MyTaxi” app (A service similar to Uber) we caught a short ride to the beach for $23 (€20). I quickly realized $46 (€40) round trip to the beach and back was going to end up costing me a ton over the duration of our stay.

After getting caught up in traffic from a protest held by about 200 angry 18-wheelers we finally we arrived. Here is a quick video of the beach.

Here is a quick (and shaky) video of the beach in Valencia.

While the beach was a bit crowded I was happy with the cleanliness of it and the color of the water was beautiful. It’s hard to find these types of beaches in Eastern Europe since most of the ones you’ll find are covered in small rocks called “pebble beaches”. I’m not a fan. Call me a snob (Or maybe I’ve just been spoiled on the quality of Mexican beaches) but small rocks aren’t my idea of fun. Compare these two pictures:

A beach in Belgrade, Serbia…

Lake Ada in Belgrade, Serbia

And one in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico…

Playa del Carmen

Now I know some people are thinking “Belgrade only has a lake, it’s not even a real beach!”

Trust me, it’s not just Belgrade but most beaches in the Mediterranean. For most people I know, sand is what makes a beach well, a beach. The sand makes the beach in the same way water makes the ocean; you can’t have one without the other, but I digress.

Our stay in Valencia was enjoyable but after a few days we wanted to check out a town my Swedish friend recommended- Alicante, Spain.

Alicante

After booking the AirBnb in Alicante for $59 (€51) per night we used a car sharing service called “BlaBlaCar” to get a ride two hours south to Valencia. It cost us $15.35 (€13) each.

Looking back, I would have simply taken the high-speed train that runs along the coast between Valencia and Alicante since the price was comparable and the Blah Blah Car driver had a very small and cramped car. Hindsight is always 20/20 but I’ve wanted to try BlaBlaCar for a long time since I thought it was a great idea. Unfortunately, after my first trip I’ll take the train or some other mode of transportation next time. It was that bad.

Our Airbnb was located on the 25th floor of a tall building about 10–15 minute walk from the beach (which wasn’t far) but the view of the harbor and Mediterranean more than made up for it.

View of Alicante, Spain from the balcony of our Airbnb.

The beach was fantastic. The water was warm and the sand was soft and clean. It wasn’t too hot most days albeit a little crowded.

Alicante has a great beach.

The food was also great.

From a tapas bar.
Some sort of tapas with crab and fish on top of bread.

I won’t bore you with the details of our relaxed day-to-day schedule but our stay was enjoyable to say the least. I wanted to relax in a nice and modern place with a sandy beach and that’s exactly what we did. It was considerably cheaper to stay in Alicante compared to Valencia and much, much cheaper than Barcelona. If I come back to Spain I’ll definitely try and stay a few more days in Alicante. Now, how much did our entire trip cost?

Cost Breakdown

For the last several months I’ve been using Mint.com to track all my finances. All four of my accounts are linked to it and it gives me an amazing overview of where my money goes and often keeps my spending on track- Free of charge! I highly recommend keeping track of your finances since it’s what smart people do and the service Mint provides (at no cost) is amazing.

Note: I have no business relationship whatsoever to Mint.com. I have no sponsorship from them and have not been paid. This is not an ad.

Here are a few screenshots of my Mint.com account from July 3rd-July 19, 2017 (16 days in Spain)

Cost of groceries and eating out.
Cost of airfare, accommodations, and taxis.
Totals.

While this doesn’t include the price of nightlife, massages, spa, or tours, I wanted to give you a baseline for what a vacation in Spain can cost and what you’ll expect to spend on a vacation for two. Spending around $2500 (€1907) for two in 16 days is living cheap. That’s $156 per day on the low-end. Just for the basics while cooking in most of the time.

At a minimum, with drinking and eating most of your meals out, an decent hotel, you can expect to spend $3000-$3500 for 2–3 weeks in Valencia or Alicante, and that's if you can get extremely cheap flights to Spain in the first place. (That’s a big “if”.) Prices are higher for Barcelona or Madrid.

Realistically, if you want to rent a good apartment or hotel, drink, and eat 100% of your meals at a restaurant you’ll probably be looking at closer to $4,000 - $4500 or more for two people. It all depends on where you’re staying, how much you’re eating and drinking out, and what tours or activities you want to try.

It’s important to note we (“we” meaning my girlfriend) cooked about 80% of our meals in the kitchen of the Airbnb we rented. We saved a ton of money this way and didn’t have to sacrifice our healthy eating habits eating out.

Conclusion

If you want something different from the United States or the rest of Europe, Spain is the place to go at comparable prices. It has all the amenities of a modern country and a lot of the difference in culture most people are looking for when they travel. It really is a great place for vacationers.

If you’re looking to save money, Spain might not be the place for you since it can get expensive- Even in the smaller cities. The food and beaches are high in quality and you’ll have a good time walking around the city but at a higher cost than some places in Greece, Croatia, or Montenegro.

For me it was well worth it but I’ll probably try other Mediterranean beaches for my next vacation. The more places you go the more you look for the “hidden gems” and Alicante is great but lacks the “wow factor” I look for in a vacation destination. It’s relaxing and has a nice beach which is fine for a relaxing vacation.

In short, Spain is nice but not something I’ll be raving to my friends about anytime soon. I wouldn’t mind coming back but probably not before I check out a few other European beaches first.


Follow me on Twitter @randybrongo

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