A Travel Price Comparison for Families, Couples, and Backpackers Madrid vs. Montego Bay for Vacations, Tours, and Honeymoons

Should you visit Madrid or Montego Bay?

Which is cheaper to visit? Which is more expensive for vacation?

Trying to figure out where to travel next? This travel comparison between Madrid and Montego Bay can help. It includes a travel cost comparison in addition to other factors. For many travelers, the cost of a destination is a primary consideration when choosing where to go.

Where Should I go: Madrid or Montego Bay?

Madrid

Madrid, the capital of Spain, overs visitors countless opportunities to experience Spain's culture, art, cuisine, and nightlife. It is the largest city in Spain, and as such has much to explore. The city is situated on the Iberian Peninsula on the Spanish central Castillian plateau. If you're flying into Spain, you'll likely fly into the Madrid airport as it's one of the largest airports in Europe. Madrid is well connected to the rest of Spain with planes, trains and buses, making it a popular place to visit for many travelers doing a European tour.

Montego Bay

As with most places around the tropical oasis of Jamaica, Montego Bay (or "MoBay") is an ideal place to visit for a Caribbean getaway. It is Jamaica's second largest city and the capital of St. James parish on the northern coast. Montego Bay is considered to be the tourist capital of the country and is where the largest airport is located, bringing in many international travelers.

For some great organized tour ideas, see The Best One-Week (7-Day) Tours from Barcelona, and The Best 10-Day Tours from Madrid.


Which place is cheaper, Montego Bay or Madrid?

These are the overall average travel costs for the two destinations. These travel costs come from the actual spending of real travelers.

  • Madrid Prices
    Spain Prices
    Montego Bay Prices
    Jamaica Prices
  • Average Daily Cost Per person, per day
    Madrid 162
    Montego Bay 225

The average daily cost (per person) in Madrid is €162, while the average daily cost in Montego Bay is €225. These costs include accommodation (assuming double occupancy, so the traveler is sharing the room), food, transportation, and entertainment. While every person is different, these costs are an average of past travelers in each destination. What follows is a categorical breakdown of travel costs for Madrid and Montego Bay in more detail.



Accommodation
  • Accommodation Hotel or hostel for one person
    Madrid 78
    Montego Bay 88
  • Accommodation Typical double-occupancy room
    Madrid 156
    Montego Bay 176
Compare Hotels in Madrid and Montego Bay

Looking for a hotel in Madrid or Montego Bay? Prices vary by location, date, season, and the level of luxury. See below for options and compare which is best for your budget and travel style.

Hotels in Madrid


Hotels in Montego Bay


Kayak helps you find the best prices for hotels, flights, and rental cars for destinations around the world. Compare prices for multiple destinations when planning your next trip.


Our Analysis
We've analyzed the average and typical hotel prices based on guest reviews, star ratings, and hotel amenities here: Madrid Hotel Prices and Montego Bay Hotel Prices.

Local Transportation
  • Local Transportation Taxis, local buses, subway, etc.
    Madrid 18
    Montego Bay 13
Typical Local Transportation Prices in Madrid

Some typical examples of transportation costs in Madrid are as follows:


  • Taxi Ride
    26

Hired Cars and Shuttles in Madrid

Also for Madrid, here are a few examples of actual transportation services:

  • Private transfer departure from City Centre to Madrid Airport: $29
  • Seamless Madrid Airport Transfer One Way or Round Trip Options: $41
  • Madrid Airport (MAD) to Madrid - Arrival Private Transfer: $42
  • Madrid Airport Private Arrival Transfer: $49
  • Private Transfers Madrid Airport to Central Madrid: $50
  • Private One-way Airport Transfer Madrid Airport To Madrid: $59
  • Private Transfer from San Vicente del Raspeig to Alicante–Elche (ALC) Airport: $63
  • Private Transfer from Novelda to Alicante–Elche (ALC) Airport: $63
  • One-way Private Transfer From/To Madrid Airport: $63
  • Private Transfer Madrid Barajas Airport to Madrid: $65
  • Private One-way Airport Transfer Madrid To Madrid Airport: $66
  • Arrival Private Transfer by Business Car from MAD Airport to Madrid: $67

Hired Cars and Shuttles in Montego Bay

Some specific examples of transportation prices in Montego Bay:

  • Private Airport OneWay Transfer to Hotel in Montego Bay: $300
  • Jet Car Adventure in Montego Bay Daytrip with Transfers: $300
  • Mercedes Benz Sprinter Airport Transfer: $300
  • Private Transfer from Montego Bay Airport to Negril Hotels: $270
  • Ocho Rios Hotels / Resort - Airport Transfers: $267
  • SUV Prado Transfer from Montego Bay Airport: $257
  • Montego Bay Airport Transfer to Kingston Hotels: $245
  • MBJ Airport to Strawberry Hill Hotel & Spa Transfer: $243
  • Private Roundtrip Transfer to/from Ohio Rios and Sangster Airport: $241
  • Airport-Negril Hotels Transfers and Returns For 1- 4 persons: $230
  • Private Transfer To/From Montego Bay & Airport MBJ Across Jamaica: $215
  • Iberostar Airport Transfers Montego Bay MBJ (Private Roundtrip): $200

Is it cheaper to fly into Madrid or Montego Bay?

Prices for flights to both Montego Bay and Madrid change regularly based on dates and travel demand. We suggest you find the best prices for your next trip on Kayak, because you can compare the cost of flights across multiple airlines for your prefered dates.





Food
  • Food Meals for one day
    Madrid 59
    Montego Bay 123
Typical Food Prices in Madrid

Here are some examples of typical meal expenses from previous travelers to Madrid:


  • Coffee
    2.00
  • Ice Cream
    3.00
  • Kebabs (for 2)
    16
  • Croissant
    1.50
  • Lunch at Airport (for 2)
    16

Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Madrid

For Madrid, here are some samples of tours and activities related to meals and dining experiences:

  • Zarzuela Opera and Dinner at La Castafiore Restaurant in Madrid: $65
  • Small-Group Food Tour with Local Tapas & Spanish Wine: $69
  • Small-Group Food Tour with Tapas, Wine & Vermouth: $74
  • Spanish Tapas Experience and Sangría Showcooking in Madrid: $76
  • 10 Tapas Cooking Class Experience in Madrid with Sangria: $87
  • Guided Food Tour of Tapas, Ham, Olive Oil & Vermouth: $89
  • Madrid Tapas & Wine Tasting Food Tour – Small Group Local Bars: $91
  • Madrid Ultimate Spanish Cuisine Food Tour: $93
  • Madrid Spanish Omelet Cooking Class and Bottomless Wine brunch: $94
  • The Best Flamenco in Madrid Show with Dinner and Drink: $97
  • Madrid Food Tour in a Neighborhood Market with Churros: $105
  • Tapas & Paella Cooking Class in Madrid with a Professional Chef: $105

Food Tours and Cooking Classes in Montego Bay

Also, here are some specific examples of food and dining related activities in Montego Bay.

  • Lunch or Dinner Dining Experience in Montego Bay: $40
  • Dinner or Lunch with Pickup from Montego Bay: $50
  • Montego Bay Jerk Tour and Rum Punch Mixology/Food Tour: $50
  • Mystic Lagoon Sunset Cruise with Dinner and Lagoon Swim: $85
  • Bar Hopping and Local Food Tour in Jamaica: $117
  • Montego Bay, Negril, Ocho Rios Dinner and Nightlife Experience: $135
  • Jamaican Seafood Street Food Tour from Montego Bay, Falmouth: $150
  • Authentic Jamaican Cooking Experience in the Mountain from mobay: $210
  • PRIVATE Food Tour of Local Jamaican Cuisine Montego Bay & Negril: $210
  • Dinner Experience and Celebration on the Beach with Decorations: $231
  • Glistening Waters, ATV ride in countryside and Dinner at Jerk hut: $250
  • Private Martha Brae Raft and Luminous Lagoon Tour with Dinner: $270

Entertainment
  • Entertainment Entrance tickets, shows, etc.
    Madrid 33
    Montego Bay 27

Tours and Activities in Madrid

Also, here are some specific examples of entertainment, tickets, and activities for Madrid.

  • Madrid Walking Tour from Puerta del Sol to Retiro Park: $3.52
  • Walking Tour of Madrid Modern: $3.52
  • Private Audio Guided Walking Tour in Madrid: $3.52
  • Tuk Tuk Tour of the Best of Madrid (booking only): $3.52
  • Madrid - Medieval to Modern Walking Tour (English): $3.53
  • Madrid City Highlights Walking Tour: $4.70
  • A Self-Guided Tour of El Retiro Park’s Rise, Ruin and Redemption: $5.00
  • Where Cervantes Feuded: A Self-Guided Madrid Tour: $5.00
  • Madrid Historical Self-Guided Walking City Tour & Scavenger Hunt: $5.29
  • Madrid Old Town Self Guided Tour with Mobile App: $5.99
  • Madrid Self-Guided Audio Tour: $6.00
  • Multicultural A Self-Guided Audio Tour: $7.33

Typical Entertainment Prices in Montego Bay

Some typical examples of activities, tours, and entrance ticket prices in Montego Bay are as follows:


  • Admission to Doctor's Cave Beach
    2.32
  • Snorkeling Trip
    16
  • One Tank Dive
    33
  • 1.5 Hr Horseback Ride
    37

Tours and Activities in Montego Bay

Some specific costs of activities, tours, and entrance tickets for Montego Bay are as follows:

  • 1 Hour Efoil Experience in Montego Bay: $150
  • 1 Hour Horse Back Riding & Dunn's River Falls Tour Combo: $240
  • 2 Days Of Blue Hole, Dunns River Falls & Hidden Beauty Adventure: $180
  • 2 Days Private Jamaica Tour: $230
  • 2 Hour Private Montego Bay City Tour with Souvenir’s Shopping: $80
  • 3 Hours Private Tour in Montego Bay From Falmouth: $75
  • 4 Hour ATV & Horse Back Riding Private Tour (Transportation Only): $105
  • 4 Hours Party Boat Catamaran Cruise in Negril: $190
  • 4 Hours Private Night Life Experience in Montego Bay: $66
  • 4-Hour Catamaran Party Cruise with Open Bar from Montego Bay: $200
  • 5 Hour Private Tour at Doctor's Cave Beach and Margaritaville: $108
  • 5 Hour Private Tour at Negril Beach and Rick's Cafe: $150

Alcohol
  • Alcohol Drinks for one day
    Madrid 19
    Montego Bay 11
Typical Alcohol Prices in Madrid

Some typical examples of the costs for nightlife and alcohol in Madrid are as follows:


  • Beer
    5.00
  • Drinks and Tapas (for 2)
    13

Sample the Local Flavors in Madrid

Some specific costs for nightlife related activities in Madrid:

  • Visit to the Winery with Wine Tasting and Appetizers in Navarra: $12
  • Madrid Pub Crawl: VIP Entry & Shots, Games (Kapital, Fitz, Shoko): $14
  • Pub Crawl Madrid-The Original since 2005-Shots-Fun-Clubs-Dance: $29
  • Wine Tour with tasting in the Natural Park of La Mata: $38
  • Wine Tasting in Madrid Experience: $54
  • Madrid Tapas and Wine Tour with a Local Guide: $73
  • Rooftop Bar Crawl Madrid Experience: $76
  • New Year Eve Madrid Pub Crawl: $81
  • Spanish Wine Tasting : $90
  • Spanish Wine Tasting and Tapas Tour: $100
  • Wine Tasting and Flamenco Master Class in Madrid: $101
  • Madrid Tapas & Wine Tour with Rooftop Views and Local Guide: $115


When we compare the travel costs of actual travelers between Madrid and Montego Bay, we can see that Montego Bay is more expensive. And not only is Madrid much less expensive, but it is actually a significantly cheaper destination. Since Madrid is in Europe and Montego Bay is in Caribbean Islands, this is one of the main reasons why the costs are so different, as different regions of the world tend to have overall different travel costs. So, traveling to Madrid would let you spend less money overall. Or, you could decide to spend more money in Madrid and be able to afford a more luxurious travel style by staying in nicer hotels, eating at more expensive restaurants, taking tours, and experiencing more activities. The same level of travel in Montego Bay would naturally cost you much more money, so you would probably want to keep your budget a little tighter in Montego Bay than you might in Madrid.

If you're trying to decide if either of these two destinations are within your price range, also see Is Madrid Expensive? and Is Montego Bay Expensive?.


Which is Bigger, Madrid or Montego Bay?

Madrid has a larger population, and is about 40 times larger than the population of Montego Bay. When comparing the sizes of Madrid and Montego Bay, keep in mind that a larger population does not always imply the destination has more attractions or better activities. So, always research the type of place that you want to visit along with the activities and attractions that interest you.