Im going to Murcia in April with my husband for 5 nights how much money would you all recommend we take with us?

I have no experience of either Turkey or Murcia so take this with a pinch of salt but from what I've read I don't think you'll find Spain anywhere as cheap as Turkey.

I think the cost of eating out etc in Spain is much nearer the UK these days especially if you're in a tourist area.

You can live very cheaply but you have to live like the locals, eat in Spanish bars etc and buy food at the markets. If you want to buy UK brands in the large supermarkets, you will pay for it

Hard to answer as it will depend on the basis of your accommodation, i.e. b&b full board etc. What do you wish to do when there, sight see, take tours or hire a car etc.
Also your preference for wining and dining.

I would say take €250 in cash and have the visa card handy.

BTW, we are going to the Costa Calida near Murcia at start of May so would appreciate a little feedback on the area as it seems response to questions on this particular part of Spain are limited.

We are staying self catering in a villa, I was just thinking of costs of eating out really.

We have a Nationwide debit card so will take €100 cash and spend using the Nationwide card as it gives the best rate possible and no charges.

Will definitely report back but we arent going until August, which is after you have been. I've never been to this area and cant find much info on forums about it. Assume its still quite Spanish and hopefully prices are lower than the other tourist areas!

Hi Sarong Will hopefully be able to tell you a little about the prices of sangria and eating out, and the tapas bars

Judging by the number of responses and viewings on this thread it seems that fewer H.T. members visit this area so that was suggest that it is less tourist based and may still have that spanish feel, which is what I am hoping for.

Murcia is one of the emerging 'Brit' areas of Spain. The cost of living is much cheaper than in the UK (30% at least). OK, if you want your frozen UK brand name, tasteless sliced pan you will pay dearly. The local Spanish bread is far tastier and much cheaper. The same can be said for most items. For example local Spanish cheese is beautiful when compared to the high street Brit counterparts.

Forget about Spag Bol, bangers & mash etc (although you can eat this stuff in any restaurant and much cheaper than in the UK). The local produce is excellent, low priced and fair healthier than the usual that Brits are used to. Try any Spanish Restaurant Menu on the internet and even in the holiday areas fantastic food is available (3 course for around €10.00 or GBP€7.50).

The only item where the Spanish cannot compete with the UK is the price of fresh milk.

Turkey V Spain:- No contest either (I go to Bodrum every year for a holiday while I use Spain as 2nd Home) - no matter what restaurant you use in the Turkish holiday areas the food is almost the same and presented almost identically. Perhaps the local cookery school has trained all the chefs. In Turkey you must haggle for everything and one restaurant is the same as the next. In Spain there is no haggling. In fact the local police are vigilant and are there for the protection for the tourist and trader alike.

If all comes to the unlikely worst i.e you cannot eat the Spanish food the local supermarkets will supply almost anything you are used to. Don't forget to try the Spanish wine (Red) most of which leaves even the French red for dead.

[I've just re-read my submission and it could sound like I'm having a go at Turkey and the UK, but I am not].

Thank you for that detailed reply Leprosy, the Murcia area sounds very much like what we had hoped. People that like Turkey try to put you off Spain, saying it's too expensive there, but I had heard that the Costa Calida is quite cheap to eat out. I'm looking forward to it now that I know it's not too British.

You can't put me off Turkey, I dont eat in the tourist restaurants, but in the Turkish locantas.

Hi Sarong, we were based 20 mins south of Murcia and travelled into Cartenga 20 min journey, Cabo De pALOS was lovely fishing port 2 mins from our location. We were 200yrds from the Mar menor.

The whole area seems to be under development.

As regards the prices we found eating out cheap, no matter if it was for a toastie sandwich or a full on 3 course meal wiht wine and all that goes with it.
the supermarkets were also well stocked and well priced. you could buy a ltre of wine for 75 cent or break out and buy a good local wine for €2.75.


Would go back again.

Hi Ballymac, thanks for that. We will be staying at Mazarron Country Club which I think is somewhere near where you were but not sure.

Thanks for that bit of info, I'm looking forward to it.

Hi, sarong.

You're right abut not finding much information, but that's part of the charm of it. Nobody goes there, even though it's a beautiful provincial city.

There's a few things you need to be aware of:
Because it gets so few visitors, not many people there speak English. Some, though by no means all, of the restaurants have English versions of the menu. But you're going to have to be prepared to get by in Spanish.
If, like we did, you're going because there are budget flights to the airport, then be aware that it's about 30 miles away from the city with little in the way of public transport. Your options are, basically: take a taxi al the way; take a taxi to the nearby village of San Javier, from where you can catch a bus; hire a car (although driving in Murcia is as scary as anywhere else in Spain, with at least one absolutely insane roundabout where you drive around the outside and up through the middle).

There's not a huge amount in the way of sights - the cathedral, of course, and a lovely little fine arts museum housed in an old convent, if you feel like you ought to be doing something. There are a couple of shopping streets with very smart stores, including a large branch of the El Corte Ingles department store. And you could take trips to Cartagena, Elche, and the Mar Menor. Lorca, too, is apparently worth seeing for its historical buildings, though we didn't make it.

There are, however, some lovely squares - one outside the cathedral, one outside the theatre, and another in the shopping area, called Plaza de las Flores - for sitting with a coffee or a beer (the local brew is Estrella de Levante, and very nice) and people-watching. There are lots of back streets and terraces with bars and restaurants. Acres of fruit and veg are grown around Murcia, and it's not far from the coast, so tapas are fresh and delicious. The people are friendly, and it's generally just a nice, relaxing place to be.

Huge golf courses are growing up all around the province, however, and they take a lot of water. When we there last year, the water shortage in the area was a hot topic of debate.

Hi Sarong
The new toll road just recently opened will be perfect for you to get to the Country Club.
Camposol an urbanization is very near to where you are staying and it has shops places to eat bowling alley etc... in two sections which they are linking with a new footbridge.
We have an apartment seafront just five minutes walk to the Paseo at the Port (Puerto de Mazzaron). The port has lots of shops, tapas, places to eat and drink, ranging from places along the seafront, to restaurants in the port. It has a Sunday market which is very popular. There are english people living there but it is mainly Spanish, and the Spaniards holiday and own holiday homes there.
Mazzaron the Town is about a ten minute drive from the port heading toward where you are staying.
Bolnuevo has a nice beach and you can see the natural sandstone carvings on the hill. It has a really good restaurant "La Siesta" yummy food and good service. There is a nice tapas bar there also just next to the big car park, next to the Siesta.
Cartaghena has lots to see including a Roman Amphitheatre (which I still have to find and visit)
Lorca is a nice place to visit also. You can go up to the Castle via there little train, lovely views but the commentary was all in Spanish. we are having spanish lessons
We had a walk along the beach last month for the first time in Los alcazares. The beach is good and it has places to eat as you walk along.
Enjoy your holiday

Hello

We are looking at staying at an apartment in the above location, has anyone stayed in this area, we are two females having a girly holiday but not too hectic with the clubs etc

Any comments appreciated

Thanks
Hazel

Just to update this thread, we are just back from Mazaron Country Club. We had a pleasant stay but could have been better. We were disappointed with eating out, tried a nice restaurant on Bolnuevo beach called La Siesta. My husband ordered swordfish and ended up with just that and a new potato cut in half on his plate!

The Country Club is very nice, but they do charge to use the pool which for a family of 4 comes to €12 a day! Not many parasols and sunbeds round the pool so most days we were on the grass under the trees. No shop on site so you need to drive to Camposol which has the nearest supermarket. The "club" itself was disappointing and not somewhere we would want to sit and drink all night.

Camposol for us was very disappointing, had a horrible atmosphere and felt like we were sitting out in a car park. The Port of Mazarron was much nicer, lovely promenade with benches and lots of Spanish people on holiday with their families.

We found prices reasonable, as a guide a large San Miguel was €2 in bars and restaurants. Most evening meals for 4 people were between €30 and €40. A bottle of house wine in a restaurant was €6.

Due to missing our original flight (lorry overturned on M4 meant it was closed most of the day) we flew in to Alicante and out of Murcia. Going back to Murcia we used the new toll road which the Spanish dont use as they dont want to pay so there was hardly any traffic and a quick route to the airport.

Positives of our holiday, were the scenery which was mountainous, roads were a pleasure to drive on although the Port was quite a busy area. Fantastic weather, and we stayed in a lovely villa.

We enjoyed this area of Spain and would return but probably not to Mazarron Country Club.

Port of Mazarron is a wonderful place.

we stayed at a friends place just down the road in a village called Bolnuevo. nice quiet place (apart from several hundered bikers each sunday) oh and the 300 mobile homes at the nearby camp site.

it was a nice drive through the mountains, from murica but now they have blown half the mountains up to make way for a motorway............ah joys of progress.

the golf centre of camposol is about 5 miles away, with all of its new.....
looks more like cap-arse-hole.