Trip Idea – Southern Iberian Peninsula

Trip Idea

Let me propose you a trip idea! I’m sure you won’t be disappointed!  The Southern Iberian Peninsula was a perfect choice on our holiday tour. From a logistical point of view, it was not an easy trip, but we came out victorious and with lots of amazing memories. I will not even mention the number of photos. 😉 Now it is time to share with you useful information. I will show you HOW to do it and for HOW MUCH. So if you are curious about the route of our journey, how to arrange it and how much money you need, stay here till the end! Perhaps this will be also your next trip. 🙂

Route of travel – short explanation why such, and not another 🙂

If you have came here from other posts, you are more or less aware of what our trip looked like. But if you are here for the first time, then listen (or rather read): We started in Barcelona, ​​which we haven’t seen yet. Well, I’ve been there when I was 5 years old and the only thing I can remember is the fountain. 😉 In Barcelona we spent four days and then we moved south, namely to Valencia. I have a friend in Valencia, so we came to this city for a day. Then we went to my next buddy, for 3 days to Almeria. In addition to Almeria, we also saw Cabo de Gata National Park, Tabernas Desert, Guadix and Purullena . Next stop was Granada. We also spent 1 day here, although I would love to stay longer! Then came one day in Seville. From Seville we headed to the Algarve for 4 days. On sunday (4th day) we had a direct flight from Faro to Warsaw.

We also wondered whether instead of these 4 days in the Algarve, stay longer in Andalusia and see, for example, Cordoba, Ronde, Malaga, Gibraltar or Cadiz. However, we decided to see the Algarve, because we wanted to visit this region so so so much!. And the above cities are still on our list and we will visit all of them next time.

Transportation costs

When it comes to flights, we bought a flight to Barcelona about half a year ago before the departure. This doesn’t mean, that at the last minute you will not find a good price, but since we already had a plan and preliminary terms, we bought tickets so early. Return flight from Faro, we bought 4 months earlier. Bus tickets between cities we bought 3 months before the departure. We also recommend you to buy the bus tickets ASAP, because difference with such an early purchase and purchase at the last moment is really a big deal !!! Let’s get to the point. Below the whole list of transport expenses:

• Flight Warsaw Chopin – Barcelona El Prat, with registered baggage, LOT airlines, Monday 9 May – 64 euro
• Flight Faro – Warsaw Modlin, with registered baggage, Ryanair, Sunday 21 May – 81 euro

All bus journeys in Spain were realized by ALSA buses

• Barcelona-Valencia: 6,30 euro 
• Valencia-Almeria: 35,25 euro
• Almeria-Granada: 5,25 euro
• Granada-Sevilla: 5,25 euro
• Sevilla– Faro: 13 euro

We also rented a car twice: In Almeria for two days and you have to prepare around 75 euro (gasoline included). In this region, renting a car is quite expensive, due to the small competition. Petrol is a little cheaper in Spain than in Portugal and costs around € 1.10 per liter. In Faro, you will pay less for the car because of the large number of car rental, but petrol costs about € 1.20 per liter. So, despite the fact that in Faro we rent a car for 4 days, but in total we did less km, it came out that we paid similar price. So, if you want to rent a car take 75-100 € with you. For more details check our content how to rent a car!

• Public transport

We also spend some coins on buses / metro rides. While in Barcelona it was still quite a viable business, where you could buy a 10 rides ticket for 10 euros (1 ticket valid for 1.5 hours), then in other cities we didn’t deal it well. On average, prepare 1 – 2.50 euros for an average bus ride.

Accommodation costs

We are not fans of sleeping in the wild, so don’t expect this kind of story here … 😛 Contrary to appearances and opinions about expensive Spain, we managed to find some reasonable prices for accommodation. Mostly we stayed at hotels that we found through booking.com. Only in Barcelona we had an apartment from airbnb. If you want to know the exact locations of our spots, please visit our content from individual cities. 🙂 Only prices here!

• Barcelona, 4 days, multi-room apartment, shared bathroom, 107 euros
• Walencja, at friend’s place 😛
• Almeria, like above 🙂
• Granada, 1 night, shared bathroom, 27 euros
• Sewilla, we didn’t sleep here, because we had at the same day bus to Faro
• Faro, 1 night, 37 euros
• Lagos, 2 days, 1 bathroom for 2 rooms, 55 euror
• Albufeira, 1 night, 35 euror

All without food. One night we spent in the bus. 🙂

Food

A key element when you are planing a trip. This time we were prepared well in this issue, because we didn’t want to spend all the money on food (although we spent way too much). We knew more or less where we would be every day, hence we had already found some cheap places for lunch/dinner on the internet. What are the prices you might expect and how much will you spend on food in a Supermarket?

• Two-dish Lunch with a drink costs around 11 euros. Those prices we got in Barcelona and Valencia. You only have to turn into the corner streets.
• Sample prices for meals: Pealla from 7 to 11 euro, Pizza for two persons 14 euros, Hot Dog 3 euros, Kebab 6-8 euros (Portugal), English Breakfest in Faro 7 euros, Albufeira 3.5 euros, regular lunches 8-11 euros.
• Drinks in pubs / restaurants: Sangria should not cost you more than 7 euros per liter – it is a very reasonable price. If you pay more than 2 euros for a regular coffee with milk, you definitely  overpay.
• If you get thirsty, then the little water in Mercado stores can cost you from 0.50 euros to even 1 euro! To avoid such a money waisting, visit a grocery where for 6 waters you will pay around 2 euros!
• The average food for dinner/ breakfast cost us 14 euros and it was usually enough for 2 days. This price included bread, cold meats, cheese, fruits, water, Sangria and vegetables. Modest and tasty!
• Tapas kingdom in Almeria!! – mostly we ate Tapas for lunch and dinner, which cost in Almeria 3,50 euros with a drink! 😀 and every additional Tapas cost + 1-1,80 euro

How expensive are Spanish and Portuguese attractions?

Unfortunately, for most attractions we have to pay the entrance 😉 It’s not a big amount, but when you count later all money you spend on them, you won’t be that happy. 😛 Below, our expenses:

Barcelona:

• Sagrada: 13 euros
• Park Guell: 7 euros
• Cathedral: 8 euros

Valencia:

• Cathedral: 7 euros

Guadix:

• Cathedral: 5 euros

Purullena:

• Museum: 3,5 euros

Granada:

• Cathedral: 7 euros
• Alhambra: 15,40 euros

Sevilla:

• Cathedral: 9 euros
• Alcazar 9,5 euros

Algarve:

• Boat trip along the Algarve coast: 25 euros

As you can see, it turned out that we spend quite big amount for all this attractions together. Take that in your mind when traveling!

That’s all! I hope you liked it and you have your trip idea for your upcoming journey! 🙂 How about your travel expenses? 🙂