budget travel spain

Renting a car in Spain cover: a red hire car with an orange V16 beacon on its roof on a road below a white village, with a stat card showing a 22 euro week and a 1,200 euro card hold

Renting a Car in Spain: 9 Best Tips on Insurance and Tolls

Renting a car in Spain: a €22 week can carry a €1,200 card hold. Excess, deposits, the V16 rule and the tolls still charged, from 10,715 offers I sampled.

Marco Delgado
October 19, 2026

Best hostels in Spain cover: a dorm of three red bunk beds under a Spanish skyline, reading 9 award winners compared

Best Hostels in Spain: 9 Award Winners, Honestly Compared

Best hostels in Spain, compared on data: the 9 award winners, hostel beds in 7 cities and when dorms fill. Spain sold 7.4 million hostel nights in 2025.

Marco Delgado
October 7, 2026

Where to stay in Spain cover: four accommodation plaques lettered H, HS, P and AT with star and key ratings, reading 8 options compared, half of all hotel beds are four-star

Where to Stay in Spain: 8 Best Options, Honestly Compared

Where to stay in Spain: 8 options compared on price, season and rules. A four-star hotel in January costs less than a three-star in August (INE data).

Marco Delgado
September 30, 2026

Where to stay in Madrid cover: a stylised map of central Madrid with barrio pins, reading 9 barrios compared

Where to Stay in Madrid: Barrios Compared

Where to stay in Madrid: 9 barrios compared on noise, price and airport access, plus why only 7% of tourist flats are legal and there is no tourist tax.

Marco Delgado
September 27, 2026

Where to stay in Barcelona cover: the Eixample's octagonal street grid with neighborhood pins, reading 7 neighborhoods compared

Where to Stay in Barcelona: Neighborhoods Compared

Where to stay in Barcelona: 7 neighborhoods compared on noise, price, airport access and stay type, plus the 2028 flat deadline and a €6 to €12 nightly tax.

Marco Delgado
September 27, 2026

Tipping in Spain cover: only one in four Spaniards always leaves a tip, and most leave under 5% of the bill

Tipping in Spain: What Locals Actually Leave

Last verified: September 7, 2026. The tipping in Spain figures on this page come from a TheFork Lab survey of more than 4,500 Spanish diners, published in August 2026. The payment data comes from the Banco de España, drawing on…

Marco Delgado
September 7, 2026

Chart-style cover reading Mallorca vs Canary Islands, noting Balearic hotel rooms at 92 euros in February and 214 euros in July

Mallorca vs the Canary Islands: Which Spanish Islands Fit Your Trip?

Neither archipelago is cheaper. Whichever is out of season is. INE hotel rates put the Balearics at 92.20 euros in February against the Canaries 156.99, then reverse it in July.

Marco Delgado
August 23, 2026

Spain SIM card guide cover reading What is the Best SIM Card for Spain, with the stat 60 GB for 10 euros versus 12 dollars per day of US roaming

Spain SIM Card Guide: Best eSIMs & Prepaid Plans from €10

A Spain SIM card costs €10 for 60 GB while AT&T and Verizon charge $12 a day to roam. Prepaid carriers vs eSIMs compared, plus the passport rule at the till.