Affordable Trips from Madrid

By: Katherine Wojna

This past semester I studied abroad in Madrid, Spain, and with a passion for travelling, I found it challenging to travel cheaply. So, in this blog, I am going to talk about my favorite affordable trips from Madrid. 

My absolute top choice is Seville, Spain. It was such an amazing city to visit, with incredible architecture, food, and history. I only spent two days in Seville, and I thought it was the perfect amount of time to see everything. The train only takes about 2.5 hours, so I took an early morning train on a Sunday (at 6:50 am) for 25 euro and came back Monday night (at 8:30 pm) for 17 euro, only spending 41 euro in total for transportation! I spent the night in Triana Hostel for 18 euro, which included a free breakfast. For sightseeing, I booked the Real Alcazar and Cathedral together, which was 56 euro, the most expensive part of the trip. If I had to choose one, I preferred the Real Alcazar since the most impressive part of the Cathedral is the exterior. If you are on an extra tight budget, there are tons of things to see for free, for example Plaza de España, and just walking around the city is worth the visit. 

Total: 115 euro

My second choice has to be Lisbon, Portugal. This is a great, affordable place to visit if you want to see a different country! There are two reasonable transportation options to get there from Madrid, bus or plane. The plane is much faster, only taking just over an hour, while the bus takes about 8 hours. There is an overnight bus offered, however, and that way you don’t waste a day travelling. If you plan early enough in advance, flights can be around 50 euro for both ways, but I planed my trip only a week and a half before, so the cheapest round-trip flight was 150 euro. The bus however, was 30 euro round trip when I was booking my trip a week and a half beforehand. The hostel I stayed in (Gspot) was about 15 euro a night and had free breakfast! I stayed there for 2 nights and thought it was plenty of time to see the city. For sightseeing, I took the 5 euro train to Sintra to see Palacio Pena, which was 17 euro, and this was my favorite part of the trip! 

Total with Bus: 82 euro

Total with Plane: 202 euro

Finally, the other place I’d recommend is Ibiza. The most affordable way to do this is to stay in the club all night to save money on accommodation, especially since the clubs in Ibiza are on the pricier side. I went to Hi Ibiza to see David Guetta for 100 euro, and the flights to and from Ibiza were about 100 euro also. I would recommend only spending 24 hours in Ibiza to save money and still go to the expensive clubs! 

Total: 200 euro

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