Go on holiday to Spain on your own. Trip to Spain - we will organize it ourselves
Spain is Europe, and in Europe, as you know, holidays are expensive. It will be difficult to save, but if you really want and try, you can do it. Book your tickets in advance at low cost airlines, and this will help you save a decent amount. At the same time, you need to take a minimum of things with you, otherwise you will save on tickets, but will have to pay extra on luggage. Although you don’t plan to stay in one place for a long time, you won’t spend the night on the street. The best option– this means staying in hostels, but you shouldn’t hope that you will come to this or that city and find housing without any problems. It is best to book accommodation in advance and be sure that you will not have to spend the night on the street. It is advisable to choose those hostels where the price of your stay includes not only a bed in a shared room, but also wi-fi, as well as breakfast - this will be the best option for a budget tourist. I'm not even talking about the fact that there is such a thing as couchsurfing. If you are aware of what it is, then with a successful combination of circumstances you can find housing absolutely free.
You have already been advised that The best way transportation means renting a car, but if for some reason this method does not suit you, then it is best to travel by bus rather than by train. Tickets for travel in Spain (as in Europe as a whole) are more expensive than for a bus and the travel time will be longer. You can use the train only as a last resort, when there are no bus tickets or when it is difficult or impossible to get to the place you need by any other means.
Continuing the topic of public transport, it should be noted that in big cities The cheapest way to use public transport is the metro. The metro allows you to save not only time, but also money (just like with us).
The Spaniards do not have much breakfast and dinner, but they have a hearty lunch. Based on this, it is cheaper to have a hearty lunch in local cafes than to have breakfast or dinner. Budget tourists are not frequent guests in Spanish cafes; more often they buy food in local supermarkets, shops or markets.
In case your plans include visiting various museums and other attractions, then you should think about buying a discount card. This card gives an advantage to those tourists who plan to visit a lot similar objects, and if 2-3, then there is no point in buying a card. When exchanging money, pay attention to the fact that almost everywhere you will have to pay interest for the exchange. To keep this percentage to a minimum and pay about 1% commission, it is best to change money using bank card, via ATM.
You should not spend your hard-earned money on tips; in Spain it is not customary to leave them. Or rather, everyone decides this issue at their own discretion, but there is no tradition of leaving a tip. Locals They usually leave change and the waiters are even happy about it.
No one in Spain, as well as in any other country, will help you save your money; everything will depend solely on you.
Hello, dear travelers!
We decided to tell you about our adventure. It began, of course, long before departure. Reservations, hotel selection, routes, tickets, doubts. Luckily I had enough patience. The choice from Montenegro and Germany gradually moved towards Spain. And this is what came out of it.
Summer! July! Arrival in Barcelona at 8 am. The carrier "VUELING" provided a decent plane, everything was fine. Thanks to the video about the exit from the arrival area to the AEROBUS bus stop, watched on the eve of departure, we confidently follow the route to the airbuses. Boarding in 2 doors: the driver pays in cash (5.90 euros). To the center. A girl with an electronic ticket scanner passes the door.
After some 10 minutes we are at Plaza Catalunya. Hot, with fountains, and spacious. Relatively quickly deciding which direction our shelter is going to go to settle in. The Android application “Maps. me." It works offline, build a route and go ahead. I recommend it wholeheartedly.
Hostal "BALMES CENTRO" is quite a decent place, an authentic house in the Eixample area. All hotel bookings were made on Booking.com. The information is completely up-to-date, the photos of the rooms correspond to reality. Wifi is decent. Our room has a nice little patio balcony, a nice spot overlooking the patio. We had breakfast and dinner there, discussing our plans for the day. After discussing all our options with the girl administrator in scanty English and leaving our things in the storage room, we went out for a walk and had a snack. The time difference is +1 hour, we had to adjust it a little.
We arrived on Sunday, so Piazza di Spagna with its magical fountain beckoned to us.
We moved early and didn’t regret it. Because we wanted to decide on the route to the Montserrat monastery that we so desired. Right there on the square, at the information kiosk, we purchased package tickets for this trip called Trans Montserrat. Selected toothed railway Cremallera de Montserrat to get to the mountain. The package includes round trip metro travel, a train, and two funiculars from the monastery up and down the mountain itself. Cost 30 euros per person. More than profitable.
But I digress. Plaza de España and adjacent hill Montjuic. The most beautiful place Barcelona is spacious and cozy, with lots of cool nooks and vibrant views. After walking around before the show and refusing to let a Russian-speaking woman walk with her to the Jewish cemetery, we sat down on the steps in front of the art museum.
Take some water with you, 0.5 liter costs from 1 to 3.5 euros. After waiting for the show and enjoying it and many other events, we decided to rest for today.
Early rise and here she is, hot Barna high season, fortunately there is air conditioning everywhere, both in transport and premises. Except for metro stations, unfortunately. Sometimes a couple of minutes at the station was exhausting. The road along the route was interesting and quite fast. I won’t describe the beauty; a lot of photos for memory and a million details await you on Mount Montserrat. A must visit. Indeed. Our friends did not visit this stunning place in the mountains, and Barcelona did not leave a mark on their hearts. You decide;)
In advance, through specialized websites, tickets for cable car to Montjuic hill, Sagrada Familia. These visits went according to plan and without difficulties. We advise you to buy tickets online, it incredibly speeds up the visiting process.
Observation deck Columbus statues in the port of Barcelona. Do you want to take the elevator to the top for 6 euros and see the city in its very heart? That way. By arriving early, you will save yourself from the queue and will be completely alone at the top. You can figure out what to do next without any prompts.
Having seen the further route from above, we go deep into the pier to “Maremagnum”. Shopping mall. There is everything and even more. Everyone to the Aquarium, it’s not far away. When you leave the store, don’t rush to leave, take a walk around, it’s free and fresh.
Who's hungry? Everything is certain. Networks Carrefour,El Corte Inglés, is everywhere. For those who are not economists, cafes, restaurants and mobile trays with goodies are waiting for you. We went to Carefurs, both in our area and after, to the Glories hypermarket, near the Akbar Tower, found by chance. The Wok buffet restaurant chain pleased us with fresh, delicious food for every taste. True, only in the Barn there is a sign at the distribution point with a reminder “don’t waste food, please.” And the staff, looking tired right from the opening.
And who wants to buy things during the discount season (it’s July here)? C&A, Mango and other worthy brands are at your service. Quite inexpensive and high quality. Our suitcase became quite heavy.
Walk, search, enjoy this city to the fullest. I won't describe our other sightseeing visits, our emotions are a little mixed about the Sagrada. But to each his own, choose Park Guell - wonderful, Sagrada - excellent, Touristik bass city tour - everything is for you.
We didn’t go to the coast, although everything is accessible, the Barcelona beach itself (take the metro). If you want a couple of stops outside the city, 10 euros and you’re at sea. But this is because the second stage of our journey, Pineda de Mar, awaited us. Coastal town towards Blanes. The same 10 euros for two. And we are at the Pineda train station.
Our hotel near the Church of SAINT MARY
Quiet place called "SABBIOTE". It is noisy there only when the Spanish women are cleaning. And because there is no sound insulation, it is noisy. And in terms of the furnishings and contents of the room, this is a strong 3*.
It’s a bit far from the sea, but it has its own charm. Namely, a walk along a crowded street to the coast. Solarium on the roof. By tradition, we only dine outdoors at a table. The chapel opposite rhythmically strikes 10 o'clock. Sangria, jamon, tomatoes, peaches. This is a relaxed and well-deserved rest after running around Barna.
The sea is quite rough (the depth deepens almost immediately), but it is acceptable in the morning and evening. The beach is ok, well maintained, clean and “prickly”. Small pebbles are annoying, but not critical. It is unknown whether there are changing cabins, I couldn’t find them. Having purchased magnets, a couple of days later we find ourselves at a performance by drummer groups. This is something indescribable. And without speakers in the waist area it’s difficult to evaluate. Clean energy. An explosion of feelings.
Well done, Pineda knows how to entertain himself. 5 days flew by like one.
I’ll tell you separately about our trip to the town of Tossa de Mar. Amazing place, rocky and beautiful. For me, the most beautiful and spectacular. Lots of photos and videos. If you stay there, I envy you.
We return to the capital of Catalonia, only to get to the capital of Spain. A couple of hours on the AVE train (50 euros per person) and at a speed of 300 km/h we arrive at Atocha station.
Train "AVE"
Madrid greets us with 40 degree heat and pomp.
This is the imperial capital. This time we live on St. Anna Square. Which is a stone's throw from the Square of the Sun.
We arrived at about 17:00, so when we went out to the strawberry bear we fully verified that the name of the square was correct. The heat of 60 degrees is also provided by the heat from the heated paving stones underfoot. Crowd and liveliness is the definition of a capital. Madrid is no exception.
The room in the MADRID STAR hostal is spacious and bright. The most comfortable and largest bed ever seen. Everything is on the level.
Walking around Madrid is comparable to a mini trip. Around every corner, world-famous masterpieces await you. New emotions and adventures. Being a little familiar with the formation of Spain, I understand where the funds received by the kings from their campaigns were invested. I see. All the pomp, glitter and amazing palaces amaze the imagination.
In the article about ours, I mentioned that at that time we also considered Spain as a destination. Then our choice finally fell on the homeland of the author of the Divine Comedy. Therefore, when we again thought about a vacation near the sea, the choice was made quite quickly.
There was little time: a little more than two months. This means less freedom in choosing tickets and more expensive hotels. Moreover, the euro, which at one point exceeded 80 rubles, was not the most pleasant surprise.
Actually, I’ll tell you in this article what route we ended up taking and why, what impressions we had from the trip, and how much our vacation ended up costing us.
Route
Final route
The route turned out to be quite simple (except for Pisa): Izhevsk - Moscow - Mallorca - Barcelona - Girona - Moscow - Izhevsk. I didn’t even start making a plan in Excel, but simply added all the flights to the Google calendar and calmed down. From Girona we went to Figueres ( hometown Salvador Dali). On the mainland, we traveled between cities by train: not very expensive and very convenient.
When planning, we relied on these (and many other) articles:
What influenced the route
The diagram shows that the route turned out to be a little strange. There are some reasons for this that may not be interesting to everyone, so I hid this information under a spoiler.
Factors that influenced trip planning
The following factors influenced the planning of the trip:
- we wanted to spend a few days on the beach by the warm sea;
- after the summer, I wanted a calm and measured holiday with a minimum amount of travel;
- I was going on a business trip to Sweden in the first half of October;
- Nastya (my girlfriend) could take a vacation no earlier than the end of September.
In the end, we decided that we needed to fly away so that I could fly straight from Spain to Stockholm, and Nastya could fly home. At the same time, after reading several articles, we came to the conclusion that in Barcelona itself at the end of September it is no longer so hot and swimming in the sea is no longer very comfortable. This, by the way, is not entirely true: at the beginning of October in Barcelona it was even hotter than in Mallorca. Therefore, we chose between two main destinations: the Balearic Islands and Canary Islands. Both options were attractive in terms of beach holiday and diversity of nature. In the end we won Balearic Islands, or to be more precise - Mallorca, for the reason that there were not too expensive tickets there.
It’s worth writing about tickets separately. We wanted direct tickets without unnecessary transfers. Immediately we found options for Ibiza and Mallorca. In general, our route could have been a little different if we had been a little more efficient. For a long time S7 had direct tickets to Ibiza for less than 4 thousand, but we did not dare to buy them, since the exact dates of my business trip were not known. In the end, of course, we waited and the tickets ran out. I had to buy tickets to Mallorca for almost 7 thousand.
With return tickets everything was even worse. I was sure that Pobeda would have tickets for up to 5 thousand rubles from Girona. However, Victory did not think so. As a result, the price only grew and grew, Nastya had to buy a ticket for almost 8 thousand. We thought that since we only needed to buy tickets for one person, we could live with that price. But then it turns out that my business trip to Sweden has been postponed a month, and I urgently need to look for tickets home!
By this time, the price of Victory tickets had already risen to a fantastic 13 thousand. I categorically did not want to pay that kind of money for a four-hour flight on Pobeda, so I began to look for other possible options. It took a while before I found a suitable route: for several weeks I followed flights to several destinations (Milan - Moscow, Pisa - Moscow, Girona - Moscow, etc.). This helped me a lot: after some time, a ticket Pisa - Moscow appeared for 4 thousand and at the same time Ryanair had a sale - 800 rubles for the Girona - Pisa route. The route is ready! I had to spend one day in different cities, but the savings came out to about 8 thousand. Not so little 🙂 And we hardly saw Pisa last time, so this day was eventful and interesting.
From all this we can draw a small conclusion: plan your trip in advance and don’t think too much if you see good tickets.
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Impression
Spain is beautiful! Although I probably can’t talk about all of Spain, because we only saw one island and several cities in Catalonia. However, I liked what we saw.
This was our first time renting a car. I will tell you in detail about renting in, but now I just want to say that in Mallorca it is very easy to do this: you don’t need to have an international license, pay extra for a young driver and for full insurance (well, or we were very lucky). We just came, chose a car, paid for two days and immediately went for a ride. As a result, we drove about 400 kilometers and saw the central and northern parts of the island. We were completely delighted with nature, especially in the northern, mountainous part. The views are simply magnificent! How great it is to visit small towns on the way!
Also worth noting great beaches islands. And the capital of Mallorca - Palma de Mallorca - is very colorful and interesting city, where you can safely stay for several days.
After this a little lazy rest on the island of Barcelona seemed noisy and terribly crowded. Although, to be objective, there were many fewer people than, say, in Rome. However, Barcelona is very beautiful city. Especially the works of Gaudi. I was delighted with the Sagrada. The main thing is to take an audio guide with you, and then you begin to understand much more than just looking around.
Again, Girona was a discovery for me, small and cozy. Honestly, I even liked this city more capital Catalonia. If you start to get acquainted with Spain from Girona airport, then don’t rush to go straight to Barcelona!
What’s interesting is that this time we practically didn’t find ourselves in any unpleasant situations: we weren’t late for our planes. The biggest annoyance of the entire trip, in my opinion, was the delay of the flight to Palma by an hour and a half. Unpleasant, but not scary either. I think this is due to the fact that the route was quite simple and unpretentious :)
Expenses before travel
In short, the total cost of a trip for two people for 13 days was ~141000. I will describe all the expenses in more detail further.
Directions:
| Travel expenses | |||||
| Name | Type | Carrier | Tickets | Price in purchase currency | Total price in rubles |
| Izhevsk — Moscow | Airplane | Izhavia | 2 | 5990 rubles | 5990 |
| Moscow — Palma de Mallorca | Airplane | Ural Airlines | 2 | 13900 rubles | 13900 |
| Palma de Mallorca - Barcelona | Airplane | Ryanair | 2 | 33.4 euros | 2520 |
| Girona — Moscow | Airplane | Victory | 1 | 7956 rubles | 7956 |
| Girona - Pisa | Airplane | Ryanair | 1 | 880 rubles | 880 |
| Pisa — Moscow | Airplane | Victory | 1 | 4673 rubles | 4673 |
| Aeroexpress | Train | 2 | 630 rubles | 630 | |
| Moscow — Agryz | Train | Russian Railways | 2 | 2887 rubles | 2887 |
| Total | 39436 | ||||
For the first time we started our vacation at the Izhevsk airport: for once, Izhavia was generous with more or less cheap tickets. In addition, it was convenient for us to fly to Domodedovo and immediately fly from there to Palma.
Housing:
| Housing costs | ||||
| City | Service | Nights | Type | Price |
| Palma de Mallorca (Mallorca) | Airbnb | 1 | Room | 3200 |
| El Arenal (Mallorca) | Island | 4 | Double room with bath | 10990 |
| Barcelona | Airbnb | 3 | Room | 7445 |
| Girona | Airbnb | 2 | Room | 6100 |
| Girona | Hostelworlds | 1 | Space in the room | 1666 |
| Pisa | Airbnb | 1 | Space in the room | 290 |
| Total | 29691 | |||
Oddly enough, Barcelona had the lowest housing prices of all the cities we stayed in (not counting Pisa). In Mallorca we stayed in the cheapest hotel with questionable reviews, but in the end everything went well. We also used a coupon for 1000 rubles from Ostrovok.
In other cities, we booked accommodation through Airbnb, because... prices were lower there. At the same time, we used discounts for registering using a referral link, which allowed us to save more than 7 thousand (if you do not yet have an account on Airbnb, register using this link and receive 2100 rubles for your first trip).
Other expenses:
In addition, we tried to buy as many sightseeing tickets as possible in advance. As a result, we bought tickets to the Sagrada Familia, Casa Batllo, Park Güell and the Dali Museum. The prices are not low. For example, for the most cheap ticket We paid 24.5 euros per person to Casa Batllo. Some tickets online are cheaper than at the box office. But the main reason to buy tickets in advance is the opportunity to avoid queues at the box office and save valuable time. True, the trip will have to be planned more carefully: tickets are purchased for a certain date and time.
You can buy tickets on the official websites:
- Sagrada Familia (Cathedral of the Holy Family) - I advise you to take an audio guide in Russian - there is a lot interesting information. The cathedral itself is simply incredible, a must see;
- Casa Batllo (House of Batllo) - we took the cheapest ticket and it was enough for us, the audio guide is already included in the price. The house is interesting, although, of course, it is quite expensive;
- Casa Mila (House of Mila) - we didn’t go here because we’d already spent quite a lot of money on viewing Gaudi’s works;
- Park Guell (Park Guell) - the park is not very interesting, in fact, and even with crowds of people inside. At the same time, the most interesting buildings (the same ones that are on all the postcards from Barcelona) can be seen without going inside. On the other hand, the entrance is not very expensive (7.5 euros), so if there is free time, you can take a look.
- DALÍ THEATER-MUSEUM (Salvador Dali Theater Museum) - standard ticket costs 14 euros. The place is very interesting; Dali himself worked on its creation. True, without a guide it is difficult to understand what the author wanted to show with this or that work.
You can also buy tickets online for attractions in Mallorca, for example, to the Dragon's Cave (official website), but we didn't because the tickets can be shown on your phone, which means there's nothing stopping you from buying them immediately before your visit. By the way, the caves themselves were not very impressive, but listening to the concert at underground lake it was very interesting. If only there were fewer people :)
Total: 136 euros = ~ 9921 rubles
This time we didn’t, because last time () we received a Hungarian Schengen visa for a year.
All expenses before the trip: ~79048 rubles
Expenses during the trip
Our standard budget for the day is 70 euros, but this time we bought tickets for attractions in advance, so we reduced the total budget by the amount of purchases. As a result, we received a budget of 60 euros per day. And they practically met it. As a result, daily expenses look like this:
| Expenses by day | |
| Day | Amount (in euros) |
| 1 | 30,5 |
| 2 | 111,05 |
| 3 | 32,6 |
| 4 | 129,75 |
| 5 | 55,3 |
| 6 | 50,6 |
| 7 | 50,55 |
| 8 | 44,8 |
| 9 | 70,7 |
| 10 | 80,25 |
| 11 | 103,95 |
| 12 | 42,95 |
| Total: | 803 |
Some analytics
As on previous trips, I wrote down all expenses in detail so that I could later understand where, how much and what was spent on.
Distribution of expenses during the trip by category (in euros):
This time the main expenses were on food. The travel category included mainly expenses for car rental, gasoline and transfers from/to airports. By public transport We only used it in Barcelona, and then we only made a few trips on the metro. Most We bought tickets to attractions in advance, so this part of the expense (entertainment) is also not very large.
Distribution of expenses by city: 
Final chart for all expenses (in rubles):
Another interesting point is the euro exchange rate. You can notice a quite obvious trend: if during our time (July 2017) the average rate was about 68 rubles, then this time (September-October 2018) the average rate was about 77.5 rubles. You can draw your own conclusions :)
Do you want to get 2100 rubles for booking accommodation? Register on Airbnb using this link!
Are you ready to spend a little more time and get 2600 rubles? Read my article about.
How to start flying for free? The ALL AIRLINES credit card, which you can order, will help you with this. When registering using the link, miles as a gift!
Do you dream of watching a bullfight, learning the basics of passionate flamenco, or seeing paintings by Goya and Velazquez? Then you should go to Spain!
True, once you open the offers of tour operators, it becomes clear that you can have a good rest at the dacha. After all, the cost of a week-long tour to Spain with accommodation in a regular three-star hotel and without meals starts from 40,000 rubles.
Believe me, you shouldn’t give up on your dreams. BiletyPlus.ru will help you organize your own tour to Spain for only 25,000 rubles, that is, almost half the price than usual. In addition, our holiday option already includes travel around the country, excursions, meals and much more.
Air tickets are always the main expense when planning the budget of any trip. Unlike happy Europeans who can fly to visit each other for a few euros, we have to part with large sums of money.
However, there is a way out of this situation, because on BiletyPlus.ru you can always find the cheapest ticket options for all interesting destinations. In addition, you can subscribe to updated offers and calmly wait for a letter from the site about a discount or promotion for the desired ticket.
For example, now you can go to Barcelona from Moscow for only 13,700 rubles, on a direct flight, spending only 4.5 hours on the flight.
When traveling, the hotel is the place you visit least often. That is why it becomes the very expense item on which you can and should save. So, in Barcelona you can rent a place in a hostel for 800 rubles per day, or a double room in a modest two-star hotel for 1,300 rubles per day.
Of course, something will have to be sacrificed, for example, panoramic view You probably shouldn’t expect to get to the square. But at the same time, most hostels are located in the city center, and a hotel of any category is clean, cozy and calm.
By the way, if you are traveling with a group, it is convenient and profitable to rent an apartment rather than stay in a hotel.
As a rule, even modest breakfasts included in the tour price already increase it by a considerable amount. If you eat on your own, you can not only save money, but also try every day different dishes and test the kitchen in dozens of establishments.
In Spain, as in most European cities, it is possible to order a “Menu del dia”, that is, a set lunch. It includes a salad, first and second courses, a soft drink, and sometimes dessert. As you can see, more than enough to fill you up. The cost of such an order ranges from 5 € to 10 €, and the price is indicated on the sign in front of the entrance to the cafe, so the bill will not come as a surprise to you. Eating this way twice a day, you will spend 3,000–4,500 rubles on food during the trip.
The best cafes in Barcelona offering "Menu del dia" are:
- “LaPoste”, JaumeI metro station, Gignàs street, 23 - lunch price 6–7 €;
- “Drassanes”, Drassanes metro station, in the courtyard of the Maritime Museum - lunch price 10 €;
- “ElConvent”, Liceu metro station, Jerusalem street, 3 - lunch price 8 €;
Lovely major cities Another advantage of Spain is that you can get into dozens of museums, palaces and parks absolutely free of charge. Even walking tours of the city with experienced English-speaking guides are free of charge.
For example, in Barcelona you can go on tours of Gaudi’s work (Sagrada Familia, Palace Güell, Casa Mila, Casa Batlo) or the ancient quarters and streets of the city. The first tour starts daily at Reial Square at 11:00, the second there at 16:30.
But in Madrid you can visit for free the Prado Museum, the Reina Sofia Museum, the Bullfighting Museum, the Buen Retiro Park (there is a rose garden, dozens of statues, fairs and performances are organized, and you can also rent a bicycle for free), the Madrid Planetarium and Royal Palace(Wednesdays only).
Of course, if you do not intend to save on cultural holidays, then you can always order on the Internet interesting excursions, and not only the usual sightseeing tours, but also something more unusual: gastronomic master classes, helicopter and bicycle rides, thematic tours “in the footsteps of cinema” and much, much more.
Active travelers planning to visit several cities in Spain during their vacation should pay attention to buses. Here they are comfortable and quite fast, but the ticket price rarely exceeds 10 €. Of course, there are also hours-long journeys that will take up the whole day and will cost more, but on a week-long vacation it is better to do without them so as not to waste extra time and effort on the road.
By the way, for long-term vacations involving numerous trips around the country, it is better to choose a travel card, for example “kmtriko”. It costs a fixed amount and allows you to move as much as you need.
As you can see, you should not consider the price set by the tour operator to be the ultimate truth. The dream trip is always more accessible than we think. The main thing is not to be afraid to search and use the right services, such as the BiletyPlus.ru metasearch.
Where to go in Spain on your ownAll routes described in this section are aimed primarily at independent travelers and include recommendations on various organizational issues. However, before moving on to planning trips to Spain, it is worth paying attention to a number of other important issues.
Where to start your trip to Spain
To begin with, it makes sense to decide how to get to Spain, and only then develop travel routes around Spanish cities and villages. The most obvious option is to use the services of one of the many airlines operating flights to Spain (by the way, air tickets for favorable prices you can search). However, there are other options that may well be preferable for some. Details are provided in the following materials:
If you don't have much organizing experience independent travel, you should first read the article “
