How Much We Spent in Cartagena, Spain for One Week
Working our way along the southern coast of Spain, our next stop was Cartagena, Spain. I had wanted to visit for awhile because it looked pretty, and to be honest, I wanted to visit the Licor 43 factory. Andy and I found an apartment and spent one week in Cartagena getting to know the city and, as usual, working online. Here’s a look at how much we spent in Cartagena, Spain for one week.
Total Cartagena expenses
Amounts are listed in euros and US dollars.
581.37€ / $662.76 – accommodation
63.80€ / $72.73 – transportation
220.24€ / $252.07 – food and alcohol
40.00€ / $45.60 – activities
905.41€ / $1,033.16 – total
This does not include the cost of our bus tickets from Almeria to Cartagena.
Total Cartagena lodging costs – $662.76
For our week in Cartagena, Spain, we rented an apartment in the old town. It was steps from the main street, close to a grocery store, and easy walking distance to the sights. We spent $94.68 per night, or $47.34 per person per night, for one week in Cartagena.
Where to stay in Cartagena, Spain
We rented this apartment through Airbnb. (If you’re new to Airbnb, click here for a credit towards your first booking, and I’ll get one too.)
As I mentioned, the apartment was centrally located. We could easily walk to just about anything we needed. Despite being so close to a main street, the apartment didn’t feel loud. Plus the area is mostly pedestrian, so that helps.
The apartment was really spacious and had a good kitchen and a nice bathroom. The bed was rather firm, but we managed. The windows have solid covers that completely block out the light, so we didn’t get woken up too early by the sun. The only light that came in when those were closed was from the private rooftop terrace, which was accessed by a staircase inside the apartment. The door at the top is glass, so there was some indirect light coming in from there.
Speaking of the rooftop terrace, it was fantastic! There was a big awning you could use to shade yourself from the sun if you wanted, and it was a nice place to relax. Definitely a selling point for this apartment!
Total Cartagena transportation costs – $72.73
The bus and train station in Cartagena was just a little farther from the apartment than we wanted to walk with our bags, so we took a taxi in each direction (11 euros and 7.50 euros). But if you’re staying in the old town, you could walk if you want to save a little money.
We also took a taxi for 16 euros out to the Licor 43 factory for the tour because it’s a bit out of town and not accessible by public transportation. If you’re doing the tour, the taxi is kind of unavoidable. We managed to hitch a ride back into town with some people on the tour, but you should probably plan on calling a taxi to get you again at the end.
The remaining amount here is for our train tickets from Cartagena to Alicante, which were 29.30 euros (about $33.40) for the two of us. Most of the routes we took during our southern Spain trip only had a bus option, but this particular route only had a train option.
Total Cartagena food and alcohol costs – $252.07
Cartagena was our cheapest city for food and alcohol expenses, mostly because we both came down with colds and didn’t have the energy to go out to eat too often. But also, we had a really hard time finding decent places to eat. So many restaurants, even outside the touristy center, had good reviews which made us reluctant to try too many.
If you are eating out in Cartagena, you can find a full range of prices. We splurged on a fancy lunch one day near the Roman arena that cost us about $50 including drinks. But then we also ate tapas and a couple small drinks for lunch another day for about $9 total.
We spent $36.01 per day, or $18 per person per day, on food and alcohol for one week in Cartagena.
Total Cartagena activities expenses – $45.60
I love Licor 43, and it has some sentimental value to me since I was first introduced to it during my study abroad trip in college. So when I learned that they are based in Cartagena, I insisted on taking their tour. It was a little cheesy with a big focus on their historical marketing campaigns (and no photos were allowed) but we also got to do several tastings, which was lots of fun. The tour cost 14 euros (about $15.96) per person.
The other thing we paid for was entrance into the Roman forum and museum. Cartagena has an impressive Roman arena and forum, and there is an interesting museum attached to it that you walk through first. Tickets cost 6 euros (about $6.84) per person.
Cartagena, Spain was a really pretty city, but ultimately not one that makes my list of favorite cities in Spain. Of all the cities we visited during our month in Spain, this was our least favorite. But it is a nice place to visit for a little sightseeing for a couple of days.
Overall, Andy and I averaged about $147.59 per day, or $73.80 per person per day, for one week in Cartagena, Spain.
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