There’s no question that Europe is expensive, especially for Americans (the exchange rate stinks). But here are a few tips that, so far, have helped us stick to our budget—80 euros per day for the two of us—in southern Spain:
- What the Spanish call a hostal isn’t a youth hostel in the traditional sense of dorm-style rooms with bunk beds for 4 to 12 people, common rooms, and a kitchen. Instead, it’s a small inn, mainly with double rooms and shared bathrooms. They’re generally a bit on the plain side but fairly inexpensive: 30 to 40 euros per room per night in the low season. If they’re on the upper floors of a building, be prepared for stairs (a good reason to travel with backpacks instead of conventional luggage). A hostal is readily identifiable by the blue sign with a large white H or Hs that hangs outside the entrance. In our experience, they don’t usually serve breakfast.
- In restaurants in southern Spain, there’s a culture of sharing food, so it’s perfectly acceptable to order one dish for several people. And forget what you’ve heard about portions being so much smaller in European restaurants than American ones; here, the portions are big. We consistently ordered too much food until we realized that.
- In restaurants, look or ask for the menu del dia, a fixed-price two- or three-course menu with three or four choices per course, all for 9 or 10 euros. One of those, along with the ubiquitous bread, is often enough food for two people. And speaking of bread, restaurants usually bring it once you order food and almost invariably charge you a nominal amount for it (up to 1 euro). Rather than fussing about being charged for something you didn’t order, you could view it as an inexpensive way to fill yourself up.
- In bars and restaurants, ordering a few tapas (small plates) is a good way to put together a cheap meal. In Grenada, if you order an alcoholic beverage, you’ll often get a free tapa. Wait to see if you do before ordering food; if you order food with your drinks, they’ll sometimes skip the free tapa.
- When in search of “fast food,” a kebab place is a good bet. For 3 or 4 euros you can get a large filling pocket sandwich with falafel, humus, or gyro-style meat, plus sauce and some salad greens. Also, bakeries sometimes sell empanadas (small pastries filled with meat or cheese) or bread with melted cheese and meat (like small french-bread pizzas).
- The cheapest way to eat, though, is to buy bread from bakeries, meat and cheese from shops, and produce from street markets (usually set up in the late morning/early afternoon in big plazas). You can get enough fresh food for a large picnic lunch or dinner for less than 5 euros. Wondering how much to ask for? For big produce (oranges, peppers, etc.), just say how many you want. For smaller things, such as berries or cherries, try un cuatro kilo (roughly half a pound). With meat or cheese, ciento gramos or doscientos gramos (100 or 200 grams) is usually plenty for two people.
- Finally, when traveling between or within cities, buses are your friends. They’re the cheapest way to travel (other than on foot, of course), and they’re generally quite clean. With city buses, keep an eye out for multi-trip discounts. In Granada, for example, you can buy a pass for 5 euros that’s good for 8 rides anywhere in the city (plus 2 euros for the plastic bus pass, which is refunded when you turn in the pass at the end of your stay). Two people can use the same pass; just touch it twice against the pass reader at the front bus when you get on.
