What is the cost of a two month winter vacation in Nerja ??? Using our experience as a guideline, here's a breakdown of a sixty day vacation on Spain's Costa del Sol during February and March.
We have never paid more than 1000.00 Canadian per person for airfare including transfers from the airport to our accommodations. We've flown with Air Canada, KLM, Alitalia, British Airways and Spanair via Heathrow, Amsterdam, Milan and Madrid on various trips. The rule of thumb is an overnight flight from Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal to a major hub such as Heathrow or Paris or Frankfurt with an early morning arrival, time to have a coffee and a break in the airport and then a short hop of less than two hours directly to Malaga where you will arrive in the bright Spanish sunshine, depending on your airline, from 1pm to 5 pm. Forty minute airport transfer on a good motorway brings you to your doorstep in Nerja in time for tapas and a drink in the late day sunshine.

Our accommodation per month on the costa averages about 900.00 Euros (1450.00 Canadian per month) depending on the rate of exchange and the particular place we choose. We have stayed in one and two bedroom apartments in and out of town and in small villas in the countryside. These prices are all inclusive...that is...for two people with hydro, water, heating, satellite television, hi-speed internet, parking, clean linens weekly and end of stay cleaning all included in this one flat fee. Should you be travelling with more than two people, the additional cost is usually minimally more...for example for four people instead of two, a two bedroom apartment might be 1100.00 Euros per month. Four sharing is of course, extremely cost effective and there are countless spacious apartments with ensuite bathrooms and lots of space ideal for two couples or a group of friends. We can recomend an excellent selection.

Then there's food and drink and entertainment and transportation. A car rental for one month for a small car (such as a Peugot or Opel or Kia....much like a Chevrolet Astro in Canada....is less than 500 Euros FOR A MONTH. Shorter periods such as three days for 60 Euros are also available from excellent reliable agencies here on the Costa. Cars are brand new, small or midsize, with excellent fuel efficiency and easy to maneuvre on the narrower village streets. Standard stick shift is the norm so if you need an automatic, that will add some price and you need to reserve well in advance.

One of our reasons for choosing Nerja as a destination is that we don't need a car here unless we wish to go out exploring on the back country roads. Nerja is walkable in its entirety and has an excellent reliable town bus which runs every hour from one end to the other. Nerja is also served by the larger Andalucian bus system which means you can hop on the bus in the morning to nearby villages and towns and return in the afternoon. You can take the bus to Malaga for less than four Euros and spend the day shopping in the big city and be home by mid-afternoon for a siesta. In Malaga you can also catch buses and trains and planes for all the rest of Spain and Europe.

Daily cost of living: We have a budget that we adhere to pretty strictly in order to afford our winter life on the Costa (we still have hydro bills to pay in Ontario while we are over here lolling in the sun) and that budget is 30 Euros per day to cover food, drink, eating out, buses, entertainment, books, etc. This makes about 50.00 per day for two people and allows us to eat and drink well at home and to have a couple of meals out a week, as well as little excursions round and about the area and lots of books to read and wine to drink. If you wish to forego restaurant meals you can do it easily on 15-20 Euros a day for two people...if money is no object...well, the sky can be the limit.

So in total: 2000.00 for airfare and ground transportation. 2000.00 for accomodation. 2000.00 for food, drink, fun and games. 500.00 for travel and health insurance depending on your age and good health...comes to 6500.00 for two people for two months. Compare that with any long stay package or even shorter resort holiday and you will see that the Costa is a bargain for a long stay. If you're only looking for a month you can halve the accommodation and daily costs...airfare of course remains the same. And speaking of health...the Costa has excellent English speaking dentists, doctors, health clinics and services so it's also an excellent choice in terms of access to medical services if that should ever be required.