In our A Total Trip series, writers document what they spent on a recent getaway. In this edition, writer Amy Mulvaney shows how much a weekend of dining, sightseeing and vintage shopping cost her in Barcelona, Spain.
While I’ve been fortunate to visit many countries around the world throughout my life, I’ve never actually lived abroad. Being in my late twenties now, and with a wedding booked for two years’ time, my fiancé and I decided we’d take this summer to experience life in a different country before we started our next (costly) chapter.
With an easy two-and-a-half-hour flight from our hometown, Dublin, a seemingly never-ending supply of cool bars and restaurants, and near-guaranteed good weather, Barcelona was the first city we thought of when looking for somewhere to live and freelance for the summer.
We stayed there from the start of June to the end of August, and even that wasn’t long enough to tick off everything on our to-do list. We had a strict budget to live off each week, and, for the most part, we could stick to it thanks to the wide range of options available in the city.
Pre-trip Spending
We stayed in an Airbnb for our entire trip, which worked out at €85 (€42.50 each) per night. This cost includes city tourist taxes of €1 per person per night. Our apartment was in El Born, an area popular with locals thanks to its abundance of trendy, independent bars, restaurants, and shops. Staying here meant we were never far from a café serving an oat flat white or a traditional restaurant offering fresh paella or fideuà.
Considering we flew in the height of summer, our flights were expensive at around €400 each, including suitcases. Several buses run from the airport to Plaça de Catalunya in the center, but we opted for the easiest way possible and absorbed the cost of a €40 taxi. You can do it cheaper if you take a metro or train (€8).
Total: €127.50 for three nights’ accommodation
Day-to-day Spend
Friday
Breakfast and Sightseeing: We fueled up with an iced coffee and a flat white with oat milk for €7 (€3.50 for my share) from our favorite café in El Born. We then paid a visit to Montjuïc Castle. We bought one T-Casual ticket each for €11.35, which gives you 10 journeys on public transport within one zone (if you’re traveling to Barcelona, this ticket is highly recommended; it will likely cover your transport costs for an entire weekend).
The T-Casual includes the Montjuïc Funicular, which takes you to the starting point of the Montjuïc cable car at Parc de Montjuïc. A return ticket for the cable car was €13.50. The views of the city from the cable car were beautiful, but perhaps not worth the cost for such a short journey when we could have used our T-Casual ticket to bring us to Castell de Montjuïc.
Drinks: We found a small bar near the castle where we enjoyed a beer and water each, costing €5.50 per person. We’d hoped to visit Poble Espanyol on this trip but didn’t realize that it would take a 40-minute walk (or 20-minute bus journey) to get there from the castle.
Saturday
Breakfast: Being coeliac, Barcelona’s fantastic selection of gluten-free food was another key reason we chose to live there for the summer. A favorite weekend (or weekday, to be honest) breakfast for me was a cinnamon roll and mini vanilla chocolate cookie. This Saturday was no different and my treat cost €6.05.
Shopping: Our plan for today was to hit some of the city’s many vintage shops, so after doing some research, we found that Carrer dels Tallers was an excellent place to start. We spent hours walking down this street and visited as many shops as possible. I wasn’t blessed by the vintage gods on this day, but my fiancé found a cool red bomber jacket for €20. While not vintage, I did find a beautiful handmade dress in a small boutique, which was an unexpected purchase of €69, but as soon as I saw it in the window, I couldn’t resist.
Sunday
Breakfast: Ending the weekend on a high, we avoided busy Barceloneta Beach and headed to the quieter Sant Pol de Mar. A sleepy village with beautiful beaches, before we got the train, I picked up a pain au chocolat from a vegan and gluten-free bakery for €3.60.
Beach Day: Our T-Casual tickets didn’t cover the journey to Sant Pol de Mar, so we got an €11 return ticket each at the station. Once we stepped off the train, we went straight to the supermarket and bought water and crisps to snack on (€1.57 each). We walked to Platja de Sant Pol and rented sun loungers from a beachside restaurant, costing €5 each for the day. Platja de Sant Pol is much less crowded than any of Barcelona city’s beaches, and the water is crystal clear, so much so that I could see fish swimming around my feet when I took a dip!
The Final Tally
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Three nights Airbnb €127.50
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On-the-ground spending over three days (including the dress) €224.07
Total = €351.57
