Andalusia - Help with Food Budget
 

We will have 2 adults & 1 child in So. Spain in July for a week. Our lodging will have a place with a fridge. I expect we'll purchase fruit, milk, cereal for breakfast to eat in our room. Since dinner hours appear to be so late, I imagine we will eat tapas for dinner with one glass of wine per adult, and not go out for a regular dinner during the local dinner hours, since we'll have a 7 year old who is usually asleep by 21:00. We usually eat light lunches with a small snack between lunch and dinner. We usually include a diet soda with the lunch and snack.

I've heard that 2 people can make a meal of tapas with a glass of wine for dinner for a total of $10. That seems awfully low?!?

Any realistic ideas of what I should budget for food each day?

I think it depends where you are. Some areas that are very touristy, such as Marbella, can get very pricey, yet there are budget places. I can tell you from experience that the grocery stores and public markets are fun and where the real bargains lie and since you have a fridge, you can take advantage of these. I couldn't believe the wonderful wines that we were able to get at the Supermarkets for under s5 Euros and the cheeses and fruits at the markets.

We will be staying in Malaga. I expect that we will spend the better part of one day there relaxing on the beach, when we can enjoy the picnic you recommend.

We expect to go to Seville, Granada (I have to see the Alhambra), Cordoba (I want to see the mosque), Gibraltar, and possibly Ronda.

We want to try some less expensive regional specialties. I want to try gazpacho, tapas, Sangria, Churros w/hot chocolate, Spanish omlettes (tortilla?), chorizo. I know there's alot of seafood that can get pricier, but except for some shellfish, we aren't totally big seafood fans & am a bit leary of it sometimes due to preparation, but I've heard that a lot of it is deep fried and I think that frying would probably take care of any preparation concerns, so we might want to try some of it, also. I can envision a small plate of fried squid (the round parts, not the tentacle parts) or shrimp as a meal. I can't envision us trying octopus, eel or a plate of sardines.

Thanks for the advice on the supermarkets. I think when we get there, we'll take a walk around a couple and see if we get some ideas.

I heard if you want tapas, look for places very busy with lots of locals, a few blocks away from main touristy streets. They usually have the freshest and least expensive tapas.

I'm still not quite sure as to what to set as a daily budget per person.

Hi C,

>2 people can make a meal of tapas with a glass of wine for dinner for a total of $10.<

They can, but I suggest making that $10 pp.

((I))

I think the idea of going to the supermarket and stocking on familiar fare is more appropriate that counting on tapas for dinner, specially if one of the travelers is a 7-year old. Tapas are meant to be accompaniments of beer/wine/alcohol (after all, tapas is Spanish for "lids" as in covering a glass of beer from flies). Along with tapas though, many establishments offer "bocadillos" hot sandwiches (cheese/ham), which are a good choice for kids. The remark you read on $10/two tapas and a glass of wine seems very plausible to me; my husband and I paid just about that in a Tapas bar in Cadiz and had wonderful ham, garlic shrimp, and beer. Of course the Tapas portion is meant to be just an accompaniment to the drink.

Have a great time in Spain, if you get the chance get to the Doñana National Park, one of the most beautiful national parks in Europe.

in Seville and Jerez I found tapas to range in price from 1.80E to 4E to 6E. Also - some places had larger servings called racione (sp?), large enough for a couple people to share - can't remember the exact price. I found 3 to 4 tapas to be plenty. $10 for two people does seem somewhat unrealistic (unless you willing to eat just one boquerone).

In Seville you will want to see the Alcazar.

This is wonderful advice.

Viajero2 - I will definitely try to fit the Doñana National Park into our itinerary. Thanks for the recommendation.

Are tapas bars not child friendly during the day?? I had taken into account that for the London part of our trip that pubs for pub grub might not be child friendly, but for some strange reason it never occurred to me that the places that serve tapas might not be child friendly.

For the bocadillos that viajero mentioned and the raciones that carte mentioned -- are these served in most places that serve food in Southern Spain?

Raciones are a larger serving of tapas that you can order in most places that offer tapas. Bocadillos can be found all over the place, not only in tapas bars but in cafes as well. But to save money, you can make those yourself. The food is amazing where you will be going so you have much to look forward to!

ekscrunchy - Thanks! That makes me feel very excited!!

i would budget €25-30 per adult, per day to eat properly (but cheaply)

US $10....tapas dinner for two with wine? you will be in for a shock if you budget this amount. if it is possible, it is far from typical in my experience. at 3 plates each, you are already looking at about €9 ($11) and that's before the wine.

I agree with the other posters that tapas may not be what you expect for "dinner". Most places have a meal of the day for the mid day meal at anywhere from 6 to 9 euros it includes a choice of starter, meal, dessert and drink. It is a very good deal and typically more food then needed and perhaps you can save leftovers in your fridge. If you want the "round parts" of squid you will be ordering calamarie and it is wonderful there we had it at almost everymeal. Ask for alio - a garlic/olive oil mixture to dip with it. Also, they have a dish, and I don't know the name but it is sliced squid and potatoes baked with garlic on a wooden plank. Unbelieveable!

Along with the shellfish, my favorite food of that region is the Iberian ham. This will be too expensive for you to order in a tapas bar but you can buy it in a shop and try it in your room. It is a true experience and one that cannot be duplicated in the US, for now. Let it get to room temp before eating. If you can give up the diet soda you can save some money.

I think that we are not the typcial American dinner eaters. My standard dinner at home usually consists of 1 glass of wine with 1 to 2 ounces of cheese, 1 to 2 ounces of sliced ham or turkey and 1 ounce of nuts, usually almonds and, occasionally, some grape tomatoes or a piece of fruit. Many times when we go out for dinner, my husband & I each select an appetizer and share those for dinner.

Thanks for the advice on the lunch "meal of the day" to look for. That sounds like it would be something nice to experience.

One advantage of your refrigerator will be the ability to try lots of foods at home that often are served as tapas -- such as slices of ham, cheese and chorizo with bread. So when you're in restaurants you can focus on more interesting prepared tapas and tortillas, which are sort of an omelet.

I skimmed these posts quickly so I'm not sure what you heard about children, but in Andalucia last month I saw children in tapas places at all hours of the day. Often there's a bar with a dining area attached that's child friendly.

Maybe I misread the post, but I assumed Viajero2 meant only that tapas style food items might not appeal to a kid, and so mentioned other things on the menu like a hot sandwich.

Of anything you mentioned I think the price of diet soda may be your biggest surprise.

I spend August in Malaga and my food goes like this:
breakfast: coffee and toast at a bar- 1.5 euros (this is in a cheap neighborhood. . . budget for this costing 2-3 euros downtown)
after dance snack: coke and peanuts-2 euros.
lunch (make at home): around 4 euros (made from bulk purchased items)
after nap coffee (at home): practically free
dinner (at home): 2 euros
drinks in Plaza de la Merced: 5 euros

So, I keep it really cheap and still come out around 15 euros.

If I ever have a day that I do not eat at home, that comes out to be considerably more expensive. . . around 25.

Malaga has some great food, but the really great prices are hard to find unless you get out of the downtown area, (though comparatively, everything will seem like a bargain). I spend a lot of time in el Molinillo, Perchel, and the area around the Fabrica de Tabacos and the Centro Civico, all of which are rough neighborhoods.

One place I can recommend is a family restaurant near Plaza Merced. You make your way down to Carreteria Street (heading towards the bridges) and Molinillo del Aceite (my street!) will be on your right. Take it and there is one restaurant, on your right, that has the best food I have tried in the city, and at great prices. Also, that is not a bad neighborhood at all, so you should be comfortable.

Oh, and the cheapest and best food (particularly produce and cheeses)is at the Mercado ataranzanas. Try the cordobesas (marinated olives) and do eat the higos chumbos (cactus figs) if they are available.