€12.70 for a soft drink can? Fuengirola harbour vending machine causes outrage

Holidaymakers strolling around Fuengirola’s harbour have been left open-mouthed after spotting eye-watering prices on a drinks vending machine. A can of soft drink was listed at €12.70 while a bottle of water was a jaw-dropping €7.95.

Local social media page Fuengirolasequeja shared the clip of a couple reacting with pure disbelief, and it quickly did the rounds among residents and visitors alike. Many called the mark-ups pure daylight robbery in a busy tourist spot. Euro Weekly News decided to pop down to the Harbour to test it out, and sure enough, these were the prices that appeared on the screen.

What the machine was charging

Soft drinks at nearly €13 a can and water pushing €8 leave most people shaking their heads. Nearby bars sell a small beer for between €2.50 and €3, making the non-alcoholic options look especially steep.

Shoppers and day-trippers say they expect a premium in a harbour location, but these figures go way beyond the usual tourist price hike. Ordinary vending machines and local shops in Fuengirola normally charge €1.50 to €3 for a soft drink or small bottle of water.

How these prices stack up locally

Regular bars and restaurants around the town keep draught beer much cheaper and come with a glass, air conditioning, a seat and sometimes even a tapa. Supermarket bottles of water cost a fraction of the vending machine price. Visitors quickly work out that a cold beer works out cheaper than a soft drink or water from this particular machine. Could this kind of exorbitant pricing start to give Fuengirola a bad name?

Fuengirola’s harbour is due major upgrades in the coming years, with plans to expand berths and add more facilities. Whether those changes will bring better value options remains to be seen.

Should water face a price limit?

The heatwaves in Spain demand that families consume more and more water, but these high prices are not only off putting, they are far out of reach of the average family. Some in Spain still remember when Aena, the airports authority in Spain, forced airport shops and machines to sell small bottles of water for no more than €1. That rule, which was introduced after years of passenger complaints, was later watered down by a court ruling.

No similar price cap currently applies to harbours or ordinary public vending machines. Consumer groups occasionally call for limits on essential drinks in high-footfall tourist areas, but nothing has been introduced on the Costa del Sol.

Could high soft-drink prices nudge people towards booze?

With beer cheaper and easier to find in the bars just a short walk away, some visitors admit they simply skip the soft options. Drivers, families with children and anyone avoiding alcohol end up paying the steepest price.

For now the Fuengirola harbour machine remains a talking point, with many visitors choosing to walk a little further for a more reasonably priced drink.