You could say Sevilla was my destination for this trip through Spain, it has long been a city I wanted to explore; it was absolutely gorgeous! 

Even with a little bit of a heat wave, I’m really glad I went in May. I experienced some 35C/95F days and warm nights, but that’s mild compared to what the summer brings. Just something to consider when planning a trip.

This was a 7-night stay…

• Accommodation –  $646.17* (additional information below)
• Getting around locally – $0
• Living expenses – $289.78 (mainly just groceries and eating out)
• Activities – $0
• Mobile phone/data  – $17.41 (I use Google Fi which provides service in most countries. If you’re interested and based in the U.S., you can use this paid link to sign up, which will give me a referral fee at no extra cost to you.)
• Medical insurance – $16.13 (I’m using SafetyWing; rates are determined by age, and mine is slightly above the base. If you’re interested there is a paid link/banner on the right side of the page)

Total $969.49 / 7-nights = $138.50 per

*Hotel info

• I stayed at the ALAMEDA APARTMENTS reserved through Booking.com. I’m sorry to say there were just too many problems to recommend the place; things like dirty dishes, a broken hinge on the cabinet under the kitchen sink, the toilet seat needing to be held up, and excessive street noise, to name a few. It kind of seemed like the owner has just given up on taking care of it. Hopefully, it’s a temporary thing, the covid shutdowns and it not yet being peak season could have just been working against me. I loved the neighborhood though, around Alameda de Hércules, and will definitely look in that area if/when I go back to Sevilla.

Transportation to and from varies a lot, so I left it out of the above breakdown along with most incidental/one-time personal costs. But for those interested, in this particular case, I booked a direct train with Renfe from Granada to Sevilla Santa Justa; the cost was 47,20€ ($49.93). All other standard day-to-day expenses are included to give an idea of how much basic living costs in the area are. Groceries will sometimes include personal care items (i.e., toothpaste, deodorant, etc.).

** I try to use Rakuten whenever it’s an option; why not take the money. It works with a browser add-on, and there is also a mobile app. Note from the Ratuken site, “Stores pay us a commission for sending our members to their websites, and we share it with you. It’s that simple!” If you haven’t signed up yet, and are interested, please consider using this referral link to help support me, and get a signup bonus. I use it regularly and recommend it, but take a look for yourself to decide if it’s right for you. When you sign up using the link, use it spending $, we each get $! The $ varies, I’ve recently seen at $40 and $30. They state “Offer may be modified or canceled anytime.” Payments are made by PayPal, or you can have a check sent to you.

*** Of course, the currency exchange varied during the stay, so for simplicity, I used a rate of 1 USD = 0,93€ for cash transactions. The accommodations and some daily purchases made on cards were entered at the converted cost charged.

**** Since this is my living situation, I don’t go to top-rated restaurants or paid entry to tourist attractions too much. I do eat out a lot, but nothing too special; to some extent, it’s somewhat more cost-effective this way… at least that’s what I’m telling myself. I try to be cost-conscious, eating as a local would… maybe you could say like a broke college guy that is LOL! I try to note any differences to this above.

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