If you are a budget traveler, you need to set a budget and keep to it. But how do you do that? I usually research the average costs for the destination and keep track of my expenses while I travel. In order to learn from me, I give you my costs for a weekend in Alicante.
This way you do not have to do any research anymore. I break down the costs into categories and give you an Excel overview and a % breakdown diagram.
Curious? Let’s crunch some numbers and see how much I’ve spent on a weekend in Alicante, Spain.
I paid for everything in full myself. I was not paid or sponsored. All my opinions and experiences are my own.
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What were our costs for a weekend in Alicante?
We spend 2 days/2 nights in the city of Alicante, Spain. We arrived Friday evening and left Sunday morning. Traveling together as a couple, we split the costs.
Our main goal was to escape winter in Alicante. Our costs for a short weekend in Alicante can be divided as follows.
Costs to fly to Alicante
Basically the main reason to go to Alicante. I was offered a great deal on 2 return flights to Alicante for the total costs of €0,00. Yes that’s right. I paid zero. Nothing. Nada to stay with the Spanish.
Total cost €0/ per person round trip €0
Costs for staying in Alicante
Of course, not the whole trip was for free. We still needed to find a place to stay.
As we are trying to spend as little as possible, but still have a good night’s sleep, we booked 2 nights in to a hostel downtown Alicante. We stayed in X-Hostel in Alicante.
We booked 2-bed private bedroom with shared bathroom for €17 per person per night.
Total cost 2 nights € 68/ per person € 34/ room per night € 34
Costs for food in Alicante
We didn’t spend a lot of money on excursions or trips or tours. Our main goal was to escape the winter and to relax and have some good foods. That’s probably why the food part accounted for most of our costs (almost 50%)
Costs for breakfast
We did have a breakfast included with our stay at the hostel, but we didn’t use it. We arrived Friday evening and went out for dinner and some drinks and came back to the hostel late. As we had worked all week, we decided to sleep in and missed breakfast.
The 2nd breakfast we missed, because we had to get up early and leave for the airport again. What did we have for breakfast?
We went to the central market and found an artisan bakery nearby. We bought some fresh bread which the lady cut up in 4 pieces and open for us. In the supermarket we bought some meat and cheese and orange juice. We spend €4,80 on this breakfast.
The 2nd time we headed for the airport and on Sunday morning, everything was closed. We had to eat something and bought some croissants and espresso at the airport. We paid €8,15 for this
Total costs for 2x breakfasts: € 13/ per person € 6,50/ average per person per day € 3,25
Costs for snacks and drinks
As we got up late the first day, our breakfast was more or less our lunch. We did have some late afternoon snacks which consisted of a doughnut and some chocolate stuffed pastries. Also, we had some drinks at the Santa Barbara Castle and at the promenade. We took our time and enjoyed our lazy pace.
Total costs for snacks and drinks for 2 days: € 16,42/ per person €8,21/ average per person per day €4,10
Costs for diners
We went out for dinner straight when we arrived. Our hostel recommended a great place to eat paella and so we set out to Taberna Iberica for the paella menu. Here we had some tapas for starters and the main dish: the rabbit and chicken paella. We enjoyed some wine with dinner too. In the end, we paid a total of €44 for two menus and 4 glasses of wine.
The next evening, we set out for some tapas. We had received a tip but the place was too packed and couldn’t serve us. That’s how we ended up in one of the busiest streets and enjoyed some tapas at Taberna El Papelon. We confiscated the last table available and picked 2 sheets of tapas. Total costs were €26,07
Total costs for 2x diner: €70,05/ per person €35,03/ average per person per day €17,51
That bringts the total food and drink costs for 2 days: €99,47/ per person €49,74/ average per person per day €24,87
Costs for a weekend in Alicante sightseeing
The sightseeing part was easy. We didn’t spend any € on this.
We set out to climb the Santa Barbara Castle and enjoyed being outside. After a few hours exploring, we took the lift down from the castle which was free.
If you don’t feel like climbing the castle, you can take the lift up, which will cost you €2,70 per person. Check what else we did in my blog: 6 ways to escape winter in Alicante.
We enjoyed the beach and walked across town. As we had little time, we just wanted to be outside to escape the winter.
Total costs €0,00
Costs of getting around Alicante
Although we didn’t do much, we did have to take the bus from the airport to the city of Alicante.
The bus can be found on the 2nd floor of the airport, at the departures. It runs every 20 minutes between 6.00 and 23.00h which is really convenient.
The bus to the city (train station) took about 40 minutes. We paid €3,85 each. Unfortunately, there was no deal on a return ticket or anything. The fare is per person, single way.
As we walked everywhere else in town, we didn’t spend any money on taxis or buses around town. I almost walked 30.000 steps while in Alicante.
Total transport costs 2 days: €15,40/ per person €7,70/ per person per day €3,85
Other miscellaneous expenses
I think the above sums things up pretty nicely. But there are always some hidden costs for a weekend away. You have to keep that in mind when budgeting the costs for your trip. They might not be specific costs for a weekend in Alicante but I want to be complete so I throw them in anyways.
Costs for getting to and from the airport at home.
We had to drive 230km to get to the airport and back. This costs about €15 for gas money.
Total costs for getting to the airport at home: € 14,75/ per person €7,38/ per day €3,85.
Costs of souvenirs
We didn’t buy any souvenirs but I do have a habit of buying postcards and send 1 to my parents.
Total cost for postcards and stamps: €4,80/ per person €2,40
Costs of tipping
We weren’t sure on the right etiquette for tipping in Spain. Because of this, we just rounded off to the nearest euro whenever we had to pay for some things in a bar or restaurant. It did add up to a few euros.
Total costs for tips: € 4
Recap of the costs for a weekend in Alicante
We really had a brisk visit to Alicante. Mainly because the plane tickets were for free. This gives a bit of an odd % deviation but I hope I was able to offer some insight in the costs for eating and exploring the city.
The total costs for a weekend in Alicante for 2 persons consist of
- Round trip Eindhoven-Alicante: €0
- 2 nights Hostel: € 68/ per person € 34/ room per night € 34
- Total food and drink costs for 2 days: €99,47/ per person €49,74/ average per person per day €24,87
- Total costs for 2 days of sights: €0/
- And total transport costs 2 days: €15,40/ per person €7,70/ per person per day €3,85
- Miscellaneous: €23,55/ per person €11,78/ per person per day €5,89
Grand total:
€206,42 for 2 days makes €103,21 per person
€51,61 per person per day
Still not very budget but a lot better than our recent Dublin expense report.
Again, lodging and food were the main costs for our weekend in Alicante. Below a breakdown in percentage. The 0% for travel is not visible.
If you want to know more about my travel expenses, read my costs for a short weekend in Cologne report and my Weekend in Dublin expense report.
What do you think? Do you think we spend too much money? Do you keep track of your expenses while travelling? Please share your experiences below in the comment section.
Great post 🙂 200 EUR for a weekend and staying in Alicante wauu 🙂
Not bad, don’t you think Hviezda? Did you travel to Alicante too? Did you find it expensive?