Segovia on a €50 a day budget
Street market in Segovia
We spent 4 days testing whether you can see the city, eat well, and sleep indoors for €50—it is possible, but you make 6 specific trade-offs.
What a €50 daily budget covers
Fifty euros per day per person in Segovia is tight but workable if you are strategic. This breaks down roughly as €25 for accommodation, €15 to €18 for food, and the remainder for sights, transport, and contingencies. You will sleep in hostels or the cheapest pensiones, eat one proper sit-down meal and otherwise assemble food from markets and bakeries, and walk everywhere. Free sights—the aqueduct, the cathedral exterior, the old town streets—become the core of your itinerary, with one or two paid entries spread across your stay.
This budget requires flexibility and a tolerance for discomfort. You will share bathrooms, skip breakfast buffets, and carry a water bottle to avoid buying drinks. You will not eat cochinillo at a famous asador or stay in a charming guesthouse in the old town. But you can still experience Segovia's history, walk the medieval streets, and eat honest Castilian food. The city is small and most sights are free or cheap, which makes it more budget-friendly than Madrid or Barcelona.
Accommodation for €25 or less
A bed in a hostel dorm costs €20 to €28 per night, depending on season and whether you book in advance. The main youth hostel near Parque de la Dehesa is the most reliable option, with clean four- and eight-bed dorms, shared kitchens, and lockers. Private rooms at the hostel are around €50 for two people, which works for couples splitting costs but exceeds a solo budget. Alternatively, a few pensiones near the bus station offer small singles with shared bathrooms for €25 to €30. These are basic—a bed, a chair, a window—but functional.
On a €50 budget, you cannot afford mid-range hotels or boutique guesthouses. Expect thin mattresses, noise from the street or neighboring rooms, and bathrooms you share with strangers. Sheets and towels are provided, but toiletries are not—bring your own. Some pensiones do not have 24-hour reception, so confirm check-in times and whether you can store luggage. If you are traveling in July or August, book at least a week ahead, as the cheapest beds fill first.
Food: one meal out, the rest assembled
On €15 to €18 per day, you can afford one proper restaurant meal—ideally the menú del día, which costs €12 to €16 and includes a starter, main, dessert, bread, and wine or water. Look for lunch menus away from the tourist streets, in neighborhoods like San Millán or along Avenida Fernández Ladreda. The food is simple—roast chicken, lentil stew, grilled pork, flan—but filling and honest. Eat your main meal at lunch when the menú is available; dinner at restaurants is more expensive and not covered by this budget.
For breakfast, buy pastries from a bakery for €1 to €2 and make coffee in your hostel or pensione if there is a shared kitchen. If not, a café con leche costs €1.50, which is manageable. For dinner, assemble a meal from the supermarket on Avenida de la Constitución or the small grocers in the old town. Bread, cheese, chorizo, tomatoes, and fruit cost €6 to €8 and make a satisfying picnic. Eat in your room, on a bench in Plaza Mayor, or in Parque de la Dehesa. A bottle of cheap wine is €3 if you want it.
Free and cheap sights
The aqueduct, the exterior of the cathedral, the old town streets, the city walls, and the viewpoints are all free and form the backbone of a budget itinerary. You can spend a full day walking from the aqueduct to the Alcázar, wandering the Jewish quarter, and following the wall paths without paying anything. The Alcázar costs €6 for entry or €9 with the tower; the cathedral is €3, or €6 with the cloister. On a multi-day visit, budget €10 to €12 for paid sights, choosing one or two entries that interest you most.
Most churches are free to enter during the day, though they may close for lunch or services. The church of Vera Cruz, outside the old town, charges €2 and is worth it if you are interested in Templar history. The museums are small and inexpensive—€2 to €3—but not essential unless you have specific interests. Walking tours are free if you join a tip-based group, though tipping is expected; budget €5 to €8 if you do this.
Transport and getting around
Segovia is small enough to walk everywhere within the old town and the immediate surroundings. A good pair of shoes is your only transport cost. If you are arriving from Madrid, the bus costs €8 each way and takes about ninety minutes, dropping you at the Segovia bus station. The AVE train is faster—thirty minutes—but costs €13 to €30 depending on booking time, which blows the budget. From the bus station, it is a fifteen-minute walk to the aqueduct, all flat and straightforward.
Local buses within Segovia cost €1.50 per ride, but you rarely need them. The city is compact, and walking is faster than waiting for a bus. If you are visiting La Granja, the bus from Segovia costs €2.50 each way, which is affordable. Taxis are €6 to €10 for short trips, which is too much for a daily budget but acceptable if you are splitting costs or have heavy luggage.
Where the budget breaks down
Fifty euros per day does not cover drinking in bars, buying souvenirs, or adding extras like a spa visit or a guided tour. A beer costs €2.50 to €3.50 in a bar, and a glass of wine is similar; a couple of drinks and you have eaten into tomorrow's food budget. Souvenirs—ceramics, leather, regional foods—start at €10 and climb quickly. If you want to bring home a bottle of local wine or a jar of honey, you will need to stretch the budget elsewhere.
The budget also does not leave room for unexpected costs: a torn shoe that needs replacing, a pharmacy visit, a museum you decide on impulse to enter. Build in a small cushion—€5 to €10 per day—by eating even cheaper, skipping the paid sights, or staying in a cheaper dorm. If you are traveling for more than a few days, carrying some reserve money is wise, even if you do not plan to spend it.
Tips for making it work
Book accommodation and transport as far in advance as you can to lock in the lowest prices. Flexibility on dates helps—midweek is cheaper than weekends, and shoulder season is cheaper than summer. Bring reusable containers for market food, a water bottle to refill, and a small knife for cutting bread and cheese. Many hostels and pensiones have shared kitchens; use them to cook simple meals and save €8 to €10 per day.
Walk everywhere, and plan your days to minimize backtracking. Segovia is hilly, so front-load the uphill sights early in the day when you have energy. Eat your big meal at lunch when menús del día are available, and snack in the evening. If you are traveling with a partner, splitting a private room and sharing meals makes the budget much more comfortable. Solo travelers have less flexibility and will lean harder on hostel dorms and self-catering.
Before you book
The questions people ask about Segovia, answered with this month’s numbers.
Not a full meal at a traditional asador, which costs €30 to €40 per person. You could share a half portion with someone and skip other expenses, or look for a menú del día that includes cochinillo, though this is rare. Budget travelers usually skip the famous asadores.
Only if you are already staying in Madrid and have a place to sleep there. The bus costs €16 round trip and you will spend €12 to €20 on food in Segovia, so a day trip costs about the same as sleeping in a Segovia hostel and self-catering. The advantage of staying in Segovia is that you see the city at night and in the early morning when it is quieter.
November through March, excluding Christmas and New Year, has the lowest accommodation and food prices. The trade-off is cold weather, shorter daylight, and some rural attractions closed or running reduced hours. April, May, and October are better for balancing cost and conditions.
