A list of things that are cheaper in Spain compared to the UK

Hi.

A lot of the recent talk when referring to prices in Spain has been about how they are higher than in the UK, so I thought I would start a thread where people can list real world prices of items that are cheaper in Spain.

I'll start the ball rolling...I hope others will chip in...

Toothbrushes

Spain - Mercadona own brand, excellent quality - 1 Euro for three

UK - About £2 for one!

Apart from Fish and  Fruit and Vegetables ( particulary in the markets) I cannot think of anything that I might need that is cheaper .    I used to love going to Carrefor and  seeing all the bargains - now I just get depressed with the value of the £ against the Euro. 

I bring most of the items I need  from the UK  once a year in a large suitcase like a large jar of coffee / shampoo/ conditioner etc.  and get my friends/ family to stock up too.  Apart  from some food and  drink I buy most of my products in Gibraltar .   We find Spain astranomically expensive - even to eat out which we have had to stop doing as regularly as we used to .  Furniture - well that is a joke ? 

Coach and rail  travel is cheaper  - thank goodness.

We want to buy a BBQ this year and are dreading what we will have to pay for it .  The thing is that Spain is so bad on the Internet - it is often quite non -existent , so it is not easy to compare prices.      I also dread the cost of the Internet  when we move here permenantly- mine in the UK costs  £5.99 per month ( can you beat  that and it is an excellent service ).

I love Spain but if it does not wake up to the 21st century and offer discounts , sales days , 2 for 1 etc then people will/ are deserting it in droves .   It should encourage more shopping , entertainment  etc instead of making their existing customers pay more.

Dear All,

there must be a limited need for toothbrushes and there does not seem to be much in the way of the French style "promo" sales.

however the reported Council Tax payments are a joke compared to the UK and much could be done with the savings.

Regards

Norman

Hi Tamsin, I agree with everything you said. Its not looking good for my "list of things cheaper in Spain" is it?

"there must be a limited need for toothbrushes"

Norman, I dont think you understand the point of this thread mate.

 Hi Eva,

you forgot to mention the important stuff, have you seen the price of a 1ltr bottle of Spanish Brandy in the supermarkets? Not going to mention the price of wine.

Regards.

Tech

Can the UK beat 57 euros for road tax for Ford Focus!

1 litre lager 1.10€ in Mercadona
Cigarettes 3.20€ for 20 B&H
Litre of nice wine for around 1€ bottle
Pukka pie, chips and beans 3.50€ on Mojacar playa
Lots of restaurants on the playa are offering cheap meal deals and then there is the menu del dia
IBI 95€ pa

I still enjoy coming out and still find some things cheaper. That said, some things are decidedly more expensive.

Mark

Contact Lenses- 40 euros for ninety pairs - From the internet when in uk £25 for thirty pairs.

Roddy

My Focus (Betsy) is only 37 euros

S

We had menu del día today in one of the best restaurants in Jumilla for 10€ a head.  Salad to start with, 3 courses, bread, wine plus refresco, and coffee with brandy to finish.  An excellent meal and there is no way you would get an equivalent meal for that price back in the UK.

Sue

Hi Sue

Sounds nice, where is Jumilla roughly? We are near the Dos Mares in santaigo de la Ribera so from there?

Cheers

Hi Candyfloss

We went by bus to and from Mar Menor! ;-)  There is a bus to Murcia from Jumilla, than another bus from Murcia to La Manga. 

By road, I guess the best way would be to head in the direction of Murcia, take the A30 towards Albacete then turn off onto the N344 towards Jumilla, Yecla and Valencia.

If you want to see what is coming up in Jumilla, have a look at this blog: http://agendadejumilla.blogspot.com/2008/02/calendario-de-jumilla.html. 

We don´t have the programme yet, but we can also recommend "Musica entre Vinos" which will take place between 15 May and 18 July.  Last year we paid 6 euros for each event, which included a tour of the bodega, live music, wine tasting and local food, plus a gift made by local artisans. 

Please let me know if you want further details, and if you plan to come to Jumilla send me a PM and we can arrange to meet up.

Salud!

Sue

Although we tend NOT to have a Chinese meal too often here in Spain, where we are now & have been for five weeks so far, we had a wonderful meal with friends in Guardamar last night.

We started off with sangria with fruit in it & prawn crackers. We had two bottles of wine & a litre of water. We all chose spring rolls which were the best I've had in some time, great filling. We all chose different main meals with fried rice or noodles. My OH & I ate with chopsticks, getting very adept too.  One of our friends asked if their main choice was in batter as they don't like batter & were told they would make it without batter.

Then we each had lychees & were served a plate of strawberries & a strawberry liqueur each. THEN they brought us our choice of liqueur which was served in tiny glasses that had naked men & women showing through the liqueur (a--HEM!! ) We had fortune cookies too PLUS we were asked if we would prefer TWO bottles of wine to take home OR a bottle of liqueur. As we had not drunk one of the bottles of wine from the meal they put a plastic stopper in that & we opted for an apple liqueur to take home.

COST? 26.20€!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The train from Fuengirola to Malaga, two adults 6.40 euros return and two children under 8 FREE

Spider Plants from my local Garden Centre .90cents each!

Diesel (usually) considerably cheaper than the UK, at the moment .94 cent per litre

Mercadona own brand suncream, face cream spf30 4.65€....and matching aftersun 3.95....

Flipflops in Dunnes Stores....1€ a pair...

Hells Teeth where do you get Diesel at 94c there is only one place up this end and that is in the "next county" of Murcia

 More,

Sounds like my kinda Chinese! Spill the beans where in Guardamar is this restaurant? As for the naked people in the glasses!! This seems to be popular in many Chinese places, we were in one of the Slow Boat places in Fueteventura and the waitress, younger than my daughter, took great delight in pointing out the pictures in the bottom of the glasses! All very embarrassing!

Tony.

Hi Tony, I'd never get a table if I divulged now, would I 

Actually it has a wierd name for a Chinese restaurant  (ZHONG HUI or similar).

From the main road going through Guardamar from Torrevieja side turn right, down the road with Lidl's & Mercadona on it. Go past both supermarkets on your right, past the Hotel Eden Mar on your left, past Dompte on your left & it is on your left. It's not large & is well frequented. There were lots of sizzling dishes being served.

You need to be with VERY good friends if you opt to have the schnapps, AND good eyesight, which I have.

Team GB

I take it your Focus must have a smaller engine, or better ommissions either way I'm more than happy with the 57 euros.

I can also add to the list medications in Pharmacy, they are cheaper than the UK prescription charges  and stronger doseage!

Diesel here is 1,06/7 a litre !  Glasses are far cheaper here than UK & you can walk in & get an eye test without waiting a month like the UK. Don't  tax your Focus here in Lorca,it's around 90€.  Any Chinese I use here is excellent food & cheap as chips. Far,far cheaper than the UK.

IBI= 15,92 year.

Water rates.

Any medicines.

Most building materials,plumbing & irrigation fittings. Wall & floor tiles . Marble & granite work surfaces.

We find the food in general cheaper, depends where you shop. A particular make of dutch edam cheese that I buy in a pokey little supermercado is 7,20€ a kilo. If you go in eroskis they want 11,90€ a kilo !  Also now we have 2 eroskis here in Lorca, the old supermercado in the centre of town & a new Hipermercado close to where I live. Why then are some of the prices 30% dearer for the same item in the new hipermercado ? That's the one thing I can't stand about Eroskis, the way the prices vary from store to store.

How about something we hardly see in UK..unless you spend money and drive to the extreme south .. but FREE everywhere in Spain ....  yep you've guessed it ...     EL SOL