Spain Portugal on $39/Day: 10-Day Shoestring Itinerary

A 10 days portugal and spain itinerary budget covering Barcelona, Madrid, and Lisbon fits 3 cities across 2 countries into 10 days. That works out to roughly 3.3 days per stop, enough time to settle into each city without rushing to the next bus station. At the brokepackr level, daily costs average $39/day, covering the cheapest hostel dorm beds (averaging $14/night), street food and self-catering ($9/day), and local transport ($3/day). The price gap between the cheapest city (Lisbon at $28.47/day) and the priciest (Barcelona at $35.45/day) is worth planning around. All prices on this page are in USD.

The cheapest dorm beds city by city: Lisbon at $13.25/night, Madrid at $14.75/night, Barcelona at $15.95/night. Street food and market meals average $9/day for the route. Lisbon is the cheapest place to eat at $7.61/day, while Barcelona runs $9.75/day for street food and self-catering. Inter-city ground transport for the full route comes to $312 to $422, sticking to the cheapest bus options and booking in advance. Adding it up: 10 days of dorm beds, street food, local transport, and inter-city travel comes to roughly $392 to $814 before international flights, stretching every dollar.

Pairing Spain and Portugal creates genuine variety. Each country brings different food traditions, transit systems, and price points, giving the route a sense of progression rather than repetition. The Barcelona to Madrid connection takes just 2.5 hours by train, and the cheapest leg (Barcelona to Madrid) starts at $15 by bus. The route trends cheaper as it goes, starting at $35.45/day in Barcelona and dropping to $28.47/day by Lisbon. All stops share favorable weather during May through October, avoiding both winter cold and the peak-season price spikes of midsummer.

May through October is the recommended window, balancing good weather with reasonable hostel availability. Avoid January unless cold weather and shorter days are acceptable trade-offs for lower prices. The cost table below breaks down exactly what each city costs per day, sorted so the cheapest stop (Lisbon) stands out immediately. Below that, the transport section shows pricing and duration for every city-to-city connection on the route. Toggle between the brokepackr, backpackr, and flashpackr tiers to see how costs shift at each spending level.