Lollivia

Learn how to travel the world while living the life of a digital nomad.

Spain

Explore Seville as a digital nomad location.

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I travelled to Seville for ‘La Feria‘ and also wanted to see what the city had to offer. I’m not a huge fan of big cities nowadays, so I decided to only stay there for a few days. I was impressed with the city and found it interesting. I definitely think that if someone wants to have a Spanish city experience, then Seville should be considered.

I did notice the language/accent was different compared to say, Granada. I felt like people were speaking really quickly. But it did feel like a nice experience.

Accommodation

You can easily jump onto Airbnb and find accommodation. Just beware that if there are major events like the Feria happening in the city, you will need to book your accommodation in advance so that you can secure the room. I was looking at places for about $40 a night.

I actually ended up staying outside of the city centre in a suburb called Tomares, which was much quieter. There was a bus stop close to my accommodation and it was a 25-minute journey into the city for 1.60 Euro each way. However, it wasn’t close to the shops.

I did a homestay whilst I was there and I felt that I had a much more authentic experience because of it.

Transportation

If you actually stay within the city centre, it is very easy to get around. I was walking around the city, but you could easily jump on a bus if you wanted to. You can drive, but as with most major cities, finding a car park will be difficult.

Food

It costs more to live in Seville. Eating at home with groceries is your best bet. But you can enjoy the bocadillos (sandwiches) for a fairly inexpensive price whilst you are there.

Tapas costs more there, but it is still affordable. You can also opt for simple meals such as a Spanish omelette.

Things to do.

I mainly enjoyed myself in the city centre, where there are plenty of shops, cafes, bars, restaurants and historical buildings. There’s also a strip where all of the nightlife happens as well.

Here is a short Instagram video that shows my experience in Seville.

It’s worth considering Seville as a destination. Have you been there? Let us know.

Life in Ronda, Spain…as a digital nomad?

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At the time of writing this, I’ve stayed in Ronda for 4 nights. However, I feel like I could have stayed for much longer. Out of all of the Spanish experiences that I’ve had in my life, this one is the fondest. I think it is because the city, the culture and the landmarks capture the essence of the Andalusian culture and lifestyle.

Ronda is situated in the south-west of Spain.

It has a long and colourful history. It is also associated with Ernest Hemingway, who celebrated his last birthday in Ronda.

Ronda is not a cheap city to live in as a digital nomad like Granada. But it does offer a unique blend of tourism and locality. If you go to the main high street, you will find the commercial stores that you would usually find on any high street. But if you go a couple streets further back, you actually start to immerse yourself in the local suburban culture with local shops.

There are people who do speak some English, but you will quickly find yourself needing to speak basic Spanish to really get by in the area.

The city dates back hundreds of years to the Moorish rule and sits on top of a deep gorge, which is connected by a stone bridge that spans the gorge. If you walk around the town, you will find churches built from stone or even lookout points that will allow you to see the Andalusian mountain range.

Inside the city, you will find several cafes with coffee starting from 1 Euro a cup. You will also find bakeries, patisseries, tapas bars and several restaurants.

If you don’t want to spend much money, you can easily head to the supermarket and pick up a baguette and cheese for less than 2 Euros. This should give you 2-3 meals throughout the day if you are on a tight budget.

How is the cost of living in Ronda?

As I said before, it isn’t as cheap as Granada. However, I feel like the quality of life and the experience that you can enjoy here compensates for it.

Accommodation

I rented a room on Airbnb, which was a part of a suburban home. I was able to secure the room for $25 a night. I was also very fortunate to have a very, very good host. I was located about 5-minute walk away from the main part of the city. There were some other accommodation spots for approximately $30-40AUD a night.

Transportation.

Once you are in town, you can actually walk everywhere because everything is central. So I didn’t spend anything extra when it came to accommodation. The only thing I spent money on was my ticket to catch the bus and train from Granada to Ronda, which was just over 20 Euros. I did see a sign that offered return tickets from Seville for 15 Euros with one of the local bus lines.

Ability to work.

I run an online agency and I usually work from my room. Unfortunately, the Wi-Fi signal wasn’t strong enough to reach my room, but I could conduct my work in the kitchen where the signal was strong. If I wanted to work somewhere else, I could head into town to one of the cafes and enjoy a coffee and some lunch whilst using their wi-fi.

If you decide to stay in Spain for more than a month, I would actually recommend purchasing a sim card, which will give you the freedom to hotspot from anywhere.

Food.

I kept my budget tight in Ronda, but still had a great experience. I shopped at the local supermarket and spent under 5 Euros a day on food, which mainly consisted of homemade sandwiches with Spanish salami, cheese and baguettes, with some yoghurt to finish it off. Then I’d drink water (simply because I personally try to avoid sugary drinks).

If I wanted to go for tapas, I could have purchased some for approximately 1.50-2 Euros each. Some places offered tapas for free with a 2 Euro beverage.

I did treat myself to one Sangria in one of the plazas when I saw a young man playing flamenco on the guitar. So I treated myself to watch his performance with a Sangria in one hand and the Spanish sunshine warming my back.

Below you can see a couple of my Instagram videos, which highlight some of the landmarks that I was able to visit whilst I was in Ronda.

Exploring Ronda, Spain

A post shared by @ lollivialiving on


I really enjoyed Ronda. I was fortunate to be in a good homestay. If you decide to rent an entire place, it is going to cost you more. However, the experience of Ronda is really worth it and I do believe the memories are ones that you will cherish for a lifetime.

Travel as a digital nomad in Spain.

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This is something that is starting to excite me. I am going to have the opportunity to travel in Spain as a digital nomad. And if things go to plan, I will be able to travel other areas in Europe as well.

I’ve previously written a post about travelling as a digital nomad in Paris, which wasn’t as expensive as I originally thought. So I wanted to see if the same thing could be achieved in Spain. And from the research and planning that I’ve conducted so far, it looks like it will be a similar case.

Living in Spain isn’t going to be as cheap as travelling in Thailand, Cambodia or Indonesia. But there are ways to maximise the travel experience and to enjoy the immersion in the local culture.

Here’s how I plan to do it.

Buy a one-way ticket to Spain.

I’m flying to Malaga for a friend’s party, but if I had more time I would fly into Madrid. I’m flying from Australia and if you book in advance, you can get one-way flights for just under $900. If you book this in advance, you may save a few hundred dollars more. This will account for the bulk of your cost.

Take out Euros via the ATM.

The first mistake that I made was taking out Euros from the currency exchange. Opt for the cash rate from your bank or even opt for specific travel cards that will allow you to take out foreign currency without excessive fees. Alternatively, you can use your credit card whilst abroad, but check the terms for any additional fees that may be incurred from any transactions.

Plan to travel via local transport.

Travel around Spain by bus.

I was able to find the bus terminal that has intercity buses. I was able to travel from Malaga to Granada for just under 12 Euros. The bus is modern and quite comfortable. You can book tickets at the bus terminal or on the ALSA website.

There are intercity buses that you can use to travel from one place to the other. One of the buses that I found was

Note: There are the unlimited bus ticket options available, which do provide good value for money if you plan to travel to a new city everyday. However, if you are like me and you want to travel and enjoy a stay in one place for some time before moving to the next place, then you may want to consider purchasing bus tickets as and when you need them.

Travel around Spain by train.

There are several train connections that can get you from one part of the country to the other in a couple of hours. They are cheaper to take than flying, but it is more expensive than taking a plane. There are the fast trains that can get you to Malaga from Madrid in less than 3h. But it will set you back at least $100 in the travel fare.

Alternatively, you can opt for the slower train on the RENFE train network. 2h travel should cost approximately 20 Euros.

You can also read a more extensive guide on travelling around Spain by train on Seat 61.

Rent a car or a scooter if need be.

There are certain places where you can rent a car or scooter for a day for a fairly inexpensive price. The country seems fairly small and if you decided to do inter-city day trips, you could actually rent the vehicle only on those days where you know you are going to travel to those locations.

In my case, I am planning to base myself in Marbella. From there, I will rent a scooter or a vehicle and drive to Seville and along the coastline. There’s approximately 200-300km that can be experienced by driving.

A couple of the sites that I used to compare car hire and scooter hire prices are below.

Car Rental Buddy

Marbella bike rental

I didn’t get to find many campervan hire options. But I did see a few that were interesting. The cost was fairly pricey per month, so I won’t be opting for campervan travel. If you register as a Spanish resident, you can then purchase a vehicle and travel around the country, which will be the cheapest option. If you don’t mind spending the extra money, you can compare or hire a campervan.

Use the Lonely Planet Travel Guide for Spain

I want to enjoy the experience as much as possible. The Lonely Planet travel guides go into detail about where to visit, what to see and what you should experience while you are travelling. I will use the city guides along the southern Spanish Coastline to guide me in my travels.

Accommodation.

This was tricky for me at first and really impacted my decision on how to travel in Spain. However, I was able to find set a budget of $30 a day for cheap accommodation. (This will allow me to budget $930 a month for accommodation). I plan to save on accommodation costs by doing overnight buses when possible as well.

The only way I could find this option originally was by staying at hostels and renting a bed. I could find accommodation deals for just under $25 a night. However, I’ve been able to find deals for $30-40AUD a night to either rent a room or a studio from someone on AirBnb.

This provides a good option for me and I can adjust my flexibility to stay in different accommodation during my stay. At this stage, I’m thinking to stay up to 5 days in a city and enjoy the experience.

There may also be other deals available to people travelling in the country. I had looked online to compare the hotels, but they were more pricey at $100+AUD a night.

Food cost

There’s going to be alot for me to try when it comes to food. The biggest mistake travellers make is eating out all of the time instead of purchasing items from the local supermarket. There’s AuChan and Mercado, which provide very good shopping deals. I do believe that if you are travelling solo, it’s possible to budget $60-100 dollars a week for groceries.

I don’t want to sacrifice the local food experience, but I do want to make my money stretch as far as possible.

When it comes to eating out, it seems like it is pretty affordable to eat out if you want go to a café, enjoy some tapas or bocadillos.

Local activities to try whilst I’m there.

Learn Spanish

I studied Spanish over 15 years ago in university and I would love to practice speaking with a local. I may engage in a language exchange in order to help me improve my Spanish speaking skills.

Exercise

It would be great to find an area where I can run, do weights and perhaps even join in with the locals (such as playing soccer).

Useful links

Digital nomads Spain Facebook group

Have you travelled in Spain? What do you think?

Let me know in the comments below.