Is 2000€ enough for family of 4 in spain for 3 weeks?

[debham82]

We have a villa in Zurgena Spain (Near Murcia) for 21 days this July/Aug and we have allowed 2000€ for spending money (villa/flights/car already paid for).
We want to eat out maybe 2/3 times a week (i am aware local cafes etc cheaper than toutist areas) and buy other food in supermarkets. Plus be able to visit water parks etc with kids, so is 500€ a week enough for this??
Not taking bank cards, just cash so need to make sure take enough!
Any advice most appreciated x

How old are the children and how often do you intend to go to waterparks etc? Have you checked the admission costs?
Do you intend to give the children spending money from your budget?
I would probably budget £100 per day if I was staying somewhere that didn't provide at least half board (due to food costs) and I would give the children some spends as well but if you are doing some cooking yourself and spending lots of time by the pool / at the beach then your budget is probably enough.

at Spain for 3 weeks. IME it can be cheap.as.chips out there. Enjoy.

I would also check admission prices for the water parks in advance.

I would consider anyway taking bank cards as additional back up. Are you going to take a credit card along with you?.

why on earth are you taking all that cash? you won't be insured if it gets stolen.

take your bank cards, telling the bank where you are, and find out the fees for withdrawals. Or pre-loaded cards may work, but again check fees to find the cheapest option.

we ate out for about £40 for a family of 4 including glass of wine, 1 beer and 2 soft drinks last year. It is really cheap to eat out there. Bread/cheese/meats/ salad would come to about £10-20 day, a bottle of Cava around 7 euros and pennies for a small bottle of beer in the supermarkets.

We're going to Los Alcazares in Murcia this year

we spend our summers near Murcia and spend far less per week than we would at home with 2 DDs. Menu del dias are fantastic value for money, for about â?¬9 a head you get 3 courses + wine and soft drinks. supermarkets vary hugely in price, the less touristy the better. the great thing is you can pack up the car with picnics and find wild beaches to camp for the day. Another little tip os if you are planning a trip to Terra Natura (Murcia water park and zoo) buy a two day ticket and rather than try and do both in one day in soaring heat do the aqua park one day and the zoo the next (though the zoo is quite small but great for younger kids) Another great day out is Cartagena, the boat trip is great, fantastic shopping too!

just wondering why youre doing it this way round, what am i missing? take 1000 with you, get the rest out when you get there or use your card? water parks can easily come in at 100 euros once youve had a few ice creams, and personally i find when its cash it just takes the edge off enjoying it when you are worried you are going ot run out.. not the end of the world if you come back with a few euros left over, but really spoils the fun if you are constantly looking at how much is left.. jsut take it out of the machine in 300 lumps, smaller and the charges are high.

I would take your card for emergencies even if you don't intends to use it.

2,000 euros sounds fine though.

2000 Euro sounds plenty, but why so much cash?

I wouldn't take more than a couple of hundred in cash and the rest available on a card of some type (see moneysavingexpert for how to get the best rates and avoid paying loads by using the wrong credit or debit card). Make sure you have more than one card available in case one gets lost, stolen or blocked by your bank.

There are loads of banks and cash machines in Spain and I've found that generally, even small towns and villages up in the mountains have at least one.

I use FairFX pre-loaded currency card. It's fantastic.

You can pre-load the card before you go, and if you find you need more money you can top it up online wherever you are. Initially the card costs £10, but thats a one off fee. The exchange rates they offer are fantastic. No charges to withdraw cash abroad and you can use it like a regular debit card.

It also means if you come back with euros still on it you can either leave it for your next trip or withdraw the money at an ATM here in sterling.

If you get a Post Office credit card there aren't any fees for using it abroad.

We take it, keep the receipts to keep an eye on what we are spending and then pay it off in full when we get back.

Sounds loads to me. We spend hardly anything on these kind of holidays once we are there, not least because if the villa is nice, the kids are reluctant to even leave the grounds, and we can't be bothered to make them. It's amazing how little money you spend when you aren't constantly buying snacks and drinks and paying entries for things. If you want to eat out a few times a week I guess you will have to go out a bit though!