Random question alert - taking food with you to Spain?!

mossy

Okay, so prepare to roll your eyes! :shocked:

I know this question may well sound ridiculous...BUT....I'm going to ask it anyway!

We are going on holiday to Spain in a couple of weeks time (have never been before). We are going with friends (we'll be staying in our own apartments) to a CLC World Resort (San Diego Suites).

Our spending money is going to be extremely tight. I've looked at the restaurants and think we'll be able to afford to eat out one night and will have some money for the odd ice cream treat etc. Will need to stock up on bottled water when we get there (you can't drink that water can you??) However, the rest of the time we will be eating in our apartment (which sounds like it will be fully stocked with the usual appliances, oven, microwave, toaster etc). We won't have a car and we won't be able to afford to get a taxi to a supermarket so I'm guessing we'll have to rely on the nearest 'corner shop' (and therefore I expect it will be slightly more expensive). I don't know if they have a shop on site or not...but again I expect the prices would be slightly higher than a large supermarket.

So....I'm thinking perhaps I could pack a few food items in the suitcase to take with us. I was mainly thinking of breakfast type things and the odd snack, so probably a box of those mini cereals (if I can find them on offer before we go), some biscuits and savoury crackers, cereal bars, some par baked rolls and maybe some crumpets. Does that sound okay? Do people do that? Or am I unnecessarily worrying? We literally have 150 euro for the week and can't go over it! :eek: But I thought if I could pick up a few bits with the normal food shop before we go that might help (there will be plenty of room in the suitcase).

Has anyone done this before...or am I just weird?! I say this because sometimes I see people post about taking English bread on holiday to America and it makes me chuckle...but that is because of the taste rather than trying to save money.

p.s Had forgotten about the airport/immigration. Would that be okay? I'm guessing so....I've taken marmite to Australia before and it seemed a reasonable thing to do lol.

Help!

comeandgo

If they are in your suitcase in the hold you will have no problems taking them in. I usually take tea bags and coffee rather than buy there. If there is a bakery close by you may be able to get fresh rolls for breakfast at a reasonable price but I have found the smaller shops in Spain way more expensive than supermarkets. I have seen holiday makers go shopping in supermarkets and put the shopping in their pull along suitcases.
Hope you enjoy your holiday.

phatbear

Can you take food to Spain from the UK, yes you can its intra eu and therefore there are no restrictions on imports between member states, assuming the food is disease free and fit for human consumption.

Is it weird, well no one can judge you on that, however i tend to go abroad to enoy the culture, which includes the food but if you cant afford it then go for it.

DSmiffy

may be useful to know that they have Aldi and Lidl in Spain..... you may want to google to see if there is one near where you will be staying.

Neil49

Go on to Google maps and see what is in the local area around where you are staying. You can even use Street maps to see the shops if it helps.

It's certainly worth taking tea bags and coffee etc plus your favourite cereals as they will almost certainly be more expensive but if you are happy to eat what the locals have then food in a decent sized supermarket can be quite reasonably priced.

If you insist on eating what you have back home then be prepared to pay for it.

richardw

There's an Aldi in Fuengirola. Fuengirola has some great value eating places as well.

mossy

I would love to tuck in to some fabulous tapas and paellas. We love eating out, although I expect being on the Disney dinning plan last year ruined us slightly...as the food was so good and there were so many different choices, especially in Epcot!

Unfortunately, budget does not allow the same experience for this holiday. I'm more than happy to potter in to 'town' to pick up yummy food...especially as I don't particularly enjoy (thus far anyway) sitting in the sun all day. We'll see....just didn't want to end up spending all of our money on groceries and possibly end up missing out on an extra meal out somewhere.

Thanks for all the replies. I'm afraid I am a terrible control freak and the uncertainty and restricted budget was getting to me. We'll pack some snacks and breakfast things to start us off and will check out the location via street maps as suggested to see what the local area may offer.

Voyager2002

Spain has pretty good public transport, so there should be a bus linking a stop near your apartment to a district with decent supermarkets. You could well find details on Google maps.

Personally I have always drunk Spanish tap water without problems, but my stomach is stronger than average. In any case, you can probably produce safe drinking water for a fraction of the price of bottled water by boiling it, using a filter or mixing with sterilising tablets.

NiftyDigits

mossy wrote: »

I would love to tuck in to some fabulous tapas and paellas. We love eating out, although I expect being on the Disney dinning plan last year ruined us slightly...as the food was so good and there were so many different choices, especially in Epcot!

Unfortunately, budget does not allow the same experience for this holiday. I'm more than happy to potter in to 'town' to pick up yummy food...especially as I don't particularly enjoy (thus far anyway) sitting in the sun all day. We'll see....just didn't want to end up spending all of our money on groceries and possibly end up missing out on an extra meal out somewhere.

Thanks for all the replies. I'm afraid I am a terrible control freak and the uncertainty and restricted budget was getting to me. We'll pack some snacks and breakfast things to start us off and will check out the location via street maps as suggested to see what the local area may offer.

Don't feel uncomfortable about taking some supplies for the first couple of days. Bacon, tea etc
If you would prefer to spend the first couple of days settling in, rather than running around getting to the shops before you can eat, it makes sense.
It's your holiday. Do what suits you.

BarryBlue

We are frequent travellers to Spain and find their supermarkets excellent. As well as Aldi & Lidl there are other chains such as Mercadona and Consum. I find them all excellent value. The fruit and veg tends to be better quality than here, and the fish counters are wonderful. The way they work out expensive is if you insist on familiar UK labels.

If you really must have bottled water, buy the big 5l bottles which are cheap. Beer and wine is extremely cheap. For even better value on fruit and veg, use local street markets. Most places have them once or twice a week and you get lovely local produce for not much money.

piglet74

I have taken cereal, butter, crisps, biscuits, sweets, bars, cereal bars etc all on holiday to Spain before.