Costs for a weekend in Barcelona (What did we spend?)

I like to keep track of my travel spending. For budgeting reasons and to compare my travel expenses. If you’re wondering how much spending money for Barcelona you’ll need, this post is for you. As I explain my costs for a weekend in Barcelona, I share my Barcelona money-saving tips and reveal my budget breakdown in a detailed expense report.

If you want to know how much things cost when you travel to Barcelona, then this post is for you!

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 Barcelona?

We spend 4 days, 3 nights in Barcelona, Spain. We arrived in the early morning on Friday and left Monday in the afternoon. As we are a couple, we travel together and split the costs. We tried to keep things low budget and made a careful selection of the things we wanted to do. Our costs for a weekend in Barcelona can be divided as follows.

Costs to fly to Barcelona

I received an offer for 2 return tickets from the Netherlands to Barcelona. The tickets were free for us and that’s the reason why we went to Barcelona. Barcelona has 3 airports. El Prat Barcelona airport is situated a few miles outside of Barcelona. Reus and Girona are serviced by low-budget airlines but are over 120 km from the city.

Total cost €0,00/ per person round trip €0,00

Costs for staying in Barcelona

I looked for a cheap place to stay in Barcelona. Last time I was there, I stayed in a €7,00 per night 6-bed dorm room in a hostel.

As my boyfriend and I wanted a little bit more time for ourselves, we booked via Airbnb. We stayed near Plaça d’Espanya which is located a bit out of the center, but only 3 stops on the metro. We had a private room with shared kitchen and bathroom facilities. In total, we paid €117 euro for 3 nights.

Total cost 3 nights € 117/ per person € 58,50/ room per night € 39

Costs for food in Barcelona

The food costs for a weekend in Barcelona can be divided in the 3 main categories.

Costs for breakfast

We wanted to spend as little money as possible so we had breakfast in our apartment every morning. We went to a local supermarket and picked up some cheese and meat for breakfast. Each morning, my boyfriend (bless him) went out to get fresh bread.

As we also bought other supplies from the supermarket for snacks, drinks, and lunch, it’s difficult to tell you exactly what we paid for only breakfast. From the amount mentioned below, we had 3x breakfast and 2x lunch. Some Cola and 8 liters of water and some crips and yogurt.

We paid €1,50 for a french bread and 2 mini chocolate croissants daily.

Total costs for 3x breakfast + 2x lunch: € 30/ per person € 15 / average per person per day € 5,00

Costs for lunches out and drinks

In the afternoon, we didn’t really eat or drink that much. While we were hiking in Montserrat Mountains, we bought 3L water and a pack of cookies for €6,55. I thought this was rather expensive, it was one of the mistakes to avoid when going to Montserrat.

On Sunday, we had lunch in a small café. Some delicious bread with local ham and a few drinks. Icecream was €2,20 for 2 scoops. We also purchased some pastries for €3,20 and had coffee and a smoothie while waiting for the bus to the airport.

Total costs for lunch, drinks and snacks for 4 days: € 32,15/ per person € 16,08/ average per person per day €4,20

Costs for dinners

We went out for dinner every night. As we wanted to keep things low-budget and stayed near the Plaça d’Espanya, we didn’t go into the more touristic areas. We had Tapas one night, a pizza the next and we had a good experience eating Tacos in a Mexican Taco place.

At each dinner, we ordered a beer. Beers and margaritas were included in the set pack price from Tacos Tacos.

Total diner and drink costs for 3 nights: €87,80/ per person €43,90/ average per person per day €14,63

Want to see something of the city, taste delicious foods, and get valuable tips on the best places to eat in Barcelona? Join one of the food tours in Barcelona and have a night to remember!

Costs for a weekend in Barcelona sightseeing

My experience with Barcelona is: sites are expensive. The Gaudí houses look amazing, but you need to wait in line and spend a lot of euros to get in. To me, it is just not worth it.

Also, the Sagrada Familia charges a hefty fee.

For this reason, we choose 2 things we wanted to do which would costs money. The other things were free.

What we did in Barcelona and how much we paid

On the first day, we walked over to Plaça d’Espanya as we were very close. We walked to the fountains and climbed the steps to Montjuic. We explored the Olympic Stadium and the parks around it.

The second day, we went to Montserrat Monastery and the Montserrat Mountains. Walking around there is free, but getting there is not.

We went by train from Barcelona and took the rack railway up to the monastery. There, we took a funicular up the mountain so we could walk around and take in the sights. It was one of the best day trips ever, despite the hefty price tag.

The price for 2 return tickets are: €62,60

On the third day, we walked around town some more. Oh my poor feet! We walked from the Ramblas all the way to the end of Passeig de Gracía and then wandered off to see the Sagrada Familía. After that, we started walking to Park Guell but took a bus after a while.

We spend some time in Park Guell, which is free. You only need to pay to enter the famous place with the colored curved benches.

The tickets are €8,00 for adults. If you buy them online, you pay €7,00. (update 2021, it is now €10)

Total costs for 4 days of sightseeing: €76,60/ per person €38,30/ average per person per day €9,58

Costs of getting around Barcelona

I got really excited when I found out about the T10 transport card.

I even wrote a whole post about it: How to travel from Barcelona Airport to the city center for 1 euro.

The T10 card gives you 10 single journeys on any of the transport systems in the city of Barcelona. It doesn’t matter if you take the bus, metro or train.

The ticket was valid on the city bus 46 from the airport and all across town. We could use 1 card for both of us, we just had to validate it twice when entering the bus.

Another great budget option for transport in Barcelona is the HOLA Pass. Your unlimited travel pass in Barcelona for 48, 72, 96 or 120 hours on Barcelona’s bus, tram, trains, and metros.

Check for all terms and conditions, as well as prices here.

Total transport costs 4 days: €9,95/ per person €4,98/ per person per journey €0,95 (Update 2019: The T10 is now €10,20)

Other miscellaneous expenses

When budgeting the costs for your trip you need to keep in mind some extra hidden costs. They might not be specific costs for a weekend in Barcelona but I want to be complete so I sum them up too.

Costs for getting to and from the airport at home.

We had to drive 60 km to get to the airport and back. This costs about €8,50 for gas money. We also parked the car at the airport. This was due to the fact we had to be at the airport around 6 am and no busses or public transport would get us there on time. We paid €40 to park the car for 4 days.

Total costs for getting to the airport at home: € 48,50/ per person €24,25/ per day €12,13.

Costs of souvenirs

We don’t really buy souvenirs, but I always send 1 postcard to my parents. We bought a couple of postcards and 2 stamps.

Total cost: €3,20/ per person €1,60

Costs of tipping

At diner, we rounded off the price for diner to the nearest number. I hope this was okey.

Total costs for tips: € 4,60

Recap of the costs for a weekend in Barcelona

I kept detailed track of my costs for a weekend in Barcelona. You can see what the different parts of a trip to Barcelona will cost you, if you do the same things.

The total costs for a weekend in Barcelona for 2 persons consist of

• Round trip Eindhoven-Barcelona: €0/ per person €0
• 3 nights Airbnb: € 117/ per person € 58,50/ room per night € 39
• Total food & drinks: €149,95/ per person €74,98/ per person per day €18,74
• Total costs sightseeing: €76,60/ per person €38,30/ per person per day €9,58. Check for prices and fast-track entry tickets here.
• Total transport costs: €9,95/ per person €4,98/ per person per day €1,25
• Miscellaneous: €56,30/ per person €28,15/ per person per day €7,04

Grand total:
€409,80 for 4 days makes €204,90 per person
€51,23 per person per day

Our Barcelona spending money

For a little over €50 per person per day, I think we did well. I do feel city trips are for some reasons so much more expensive than normal stays. Looking back, we could have maybe saved some money if we didn’t purchase the train tickets to Montserrat, but it was an amazing experience.

Below you will find a breakdown from Excel. Before we left, I made an estimation of our costs. As you can see, I was not very far off and it helped us stay on budget.

Percentage breakdown of our costs

As you can see from the below image, both our accommodation and our food and drinks, make up for a third of our expenses each. We might have saved some money if we would have stayed at a hostel, but we did have the comfort of having our own place.

In case you want to know more about my travel expenses, please check out my Cologne expense report, my costs for a weekend in Alicante or Dublin.

Barcelona Money Saving Tips

Besides following my travel expenses, I’d like to share some extra tips here:

• Choose your hotel, B&B or hostel wisely. Barcelona is quite a big city but a lot of the quarters are residential. A subway is never far away and because of the nice weather, it is easy to walk everywhere. You do not have to stay next to the Ramblas or in the Barrio Gotic to be central. Just make sure you’re close to a metro stop and you can save significantly on your accommodation. Find your Barcelona accommodation here.
• If you have little time in Barcelona, make the most of your time by using the local transport system. Taxis are not always faster, but for sure more expensive. My recommendation would be to either look into a Hola transport Pass for Barcelona, Barcelona Card Express for transport and discounts, or the Barcelona Bus Turistic.
• Barcelona is full of amazing things to see and do but the city is also beautiful to explore without paying entrance fees. You can pick and choose what you want to spend your money on. Check out the prices and options of the official Barcelona Tourist office. Not only do they offer skip-the-line tickets to main sites, but if you purchase in advance online, you’ll get a 7 to 10% discount on selected attractions, making it cheaper than many other online ticket resellers. Book in advance and see how much you’ll save here.
• Barcelona has a plethora of free walking tours or affordable walking tour options. Just a note: free walking tours are never free. Affordable walking tours might be a better option, as you’re sure you employ a local, who is educated about the city and has a degree in tourism or history to tell you all kinds of interesting details about Barcelona and the Gaudi architecture. Find a fun and informative tour here.
• You don’t have to eat out twice a day. Go to the local market or shops and make your own lunch and eat it in one of Barcelona’s many parks. Take in the views and enjoy your packed lunch!
• Don’t eat on or near the Ramblas. As such, it is a tourist trap. Just take one of the many sidestreets or venture out a little bit further and the rates for a coffee or lunch will drop significantly.

What do you think? Did we spend too much? Did you ever go to Barcelona and kept track of your travel expenses? Please share your experiences with the costs for a weekend in Barcelona below.

Looking for more budget-saving tips? Check these 99 ways to save money for travel by happytowander.