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Spain has many international airports, including Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Granada, Málaga, Almería, Alicante, Valencia, Palma de Mallorca, Ibiza and Maó. Bus and train travel are other good options and there are regular bus services to Spain from all major centres in Europe, including Lisbon, London and Paris. Travelling to Spain by train can be more expensive than by bus unless you are under 26 or have a rail pass. Ferry services connect Spain directly with the UK and Morocco. A departure tax applies when flying out of Spain, but this is included in the price of the ticket at purchase.

Currency: peseta (pta), euro (from January 2002)

• Budget meal: US$5-10

• Mid-range meal: US$10-15

• Top-end meal: US$15 and upwards
  
  

• Budget hotel room (double): US$20-40

• Mid-range hotel room (double): US$40-70

• Top-end hotel room (double): US$70 and upwards

Spain is one of Europe's more affordable countries. If you are particularly frugal it's just about possible to scrape by for around US$20 a day. This would involve staying in the cheapest possible accommodation, avoiding eating in restaurants or going to museums or bars, and not moving around too much. A more comfortable budget would be US$40 a day, allowing for a basic hotel room, set meals, public transport and entry to museums. With $100 a day you can stay in excellent accommodation, rent a car and eat some of the best food Spain has to offer.

Travellers cheques can be cashed at banks and exchange offices, and usually attract a slightly higher exchange rate than cash. Credit and debit cards are widely accepted at hotels and restaurants, especially from the middle range up, and also for long-distance train tickets. These days, even small towns have an ATM (cajero automático) where you can withdraw pesetas from credit and debit accounts. Be careful carrying your money, whether it's jingling or plastic, as tourists are a major target of theft - hundreds of thousands of credit cards go missing in Spain every year.

In restaurants the law requires menu prices to include service charge, and tipping is a matter of personal choice - most people leave some small change if they're satisfied and 5% is usually plenty. It's common to leave small change at bar and cafe tables. Markets and cheap hotels are the only places in Spain where you are likely to bargain.