Good morning, it's still blustery here, more like Autumn than Summer. One hour dog walk done and I have spotted some litter that needs cleaning up. I will go and do that later. I see we are entering the Best Kept Village competition so I had better do my bit, you never know, we might be in with a chance.
Anyway, now comes the crunch time, 'how much did it cost?' This is my list, I think I have noted everything down. The biggest shocker was the petrol, I did a similar mileage last year and it was a lot less than this time.
Petrol £124.49
Ferry to Mull car and one person £67.25
Tobermory Youth Hostel 3 nights £50.25
Oban independant Hostel 2 nights £49.00
Crianlarich Youth Hostel 2 nights £35.20
Britannia £9.50
Ferry Iona £4.50 foot passenger
Camping 1 night £14.00 not a cc member so more
Insect repellant £9.50 didn't need it
Gifts for cat sitters £12.00
Wifi internet £5.00 at hostels
Parking £3.00 Holyrood
Souvenir £2.50 fridge magnet
Food bought out £20.15 supermarkets
Bus fare £2.60 park and ride Edinburgh
Ice cream/choc/drink £4.35 2 icecream, 1 choc bar, 1 can coke
Food taken with me, £10 est of what I ate, a lot brought back
Toilet .20p had to go, ha ha.
Total £423.49 for 11 days.
My overall thoughts are that this is quite high for a holiday in the UK, but maybe I am out of touch with current prices. It might have been cheaper to fly abroad on a package holiday, but then you have to factor in the cost of the journey to the airport. Public transport can be costly if you are limited to certain times, and car parking near airports is very expensive.
By holidaying in this country you already know what things cost so you can plan to suit your budget. If you go abroad you have to guess how much spending money you will need, and you have got the exchange rates to contend with, it could cost you to change your money.
Because I moved around a lot (1,015 miles) my petrol bill was high. I could reduce this if I travelled to one place and stayed there, possibly using public transport. My London trip in November came in at just under £200, which was quite good value.
I might look at using public transport again. The only problem is that I get bored staying in one place too long, I like moving about, the gypsy in me, ha ha. I can't stand lounging around doing nothing, when I have seen it all I want to move on.
Now I am looking at how to trim £'s off my trips so I can have more of them. I like the UK and have no desire to battle my way through the rules and regulations which control airport check in, not to mention flight delays. No thanks, you can keep it.
There are so many places to visit in the UK. Ireland is on my list, but that might be one for May next year. I'll look at some which aren't quite so far away for the rest of this year. Happy holidays, good luck with your choice of holiday.
A Rollercoaster Three Days!
51 minutes ago
I need a holiday!
ReplyDeleteI think I'll just keep walking around here for now, plenty of beautiful bits I haven't seen.
I recently went on an all inclusive holiday to Turkey with Thomas Cook. It cost £550 per head and I have to say that it was fantastic value for money. It seemed expensive at the booking stage but we literally did not spend a penny when we were there. Everything was included. The buffet breakfasts, lunches and dinners were extensive and very high quality. The children had ice-cream, waffles, poolside snacks, Fanta and Coke on tap. They became very self-regulating and only had sensible amounts. There was even one evening per week, of your choice, where you could use the al a carte restaurant. I know it would not be to everyone's taste but it was relaxing with children because you didnt have to carry money or be constantly saying no. If i can afford it, i plan to do it again.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that GreenFlag. It is interesting to hear what other people have done for their holidays. The more ideas the better.
ReplyDeleteI should price my trips but it might stop me from going. lol Fuel would be my biggest expense too. I haven't been on too many *adventures* so might wait a bit in case I scare myself.
ReplyDeletehttp://iwannawander.blogspot.com/
Barb.
I've not had a proper holiday for about 3 years when I went over to Cologne. I took a cheap Easy Jet flight, got a train to airport and then train into the city. That time I stayed with friends but that can be restricting.
ReplyDeleteAnother time I flew to Frankfurt and then train to south of Stuttgart, to the town where I used to work in the 60s. How it had changed and I even found the place I worked.
I then made my way back up staying at hostels or B & B back to frankfurt, did some walking, some sightseeing but tried to keep the trip fairly low cost.
Another time I took Eurostar from Waterloo, with a folding bike and cycled along the Moselle from Trier to Cochem, where I took the train back to Cologne, as I'd hurt my shoulder. Eurostar was great but I think it is a mite expensive nowadays.
Have you visited the Isle of Man? Boat fare is expensive with a car but the Island is lovely.
I always go to York for a cycling rally in June, camping on the racecourse for two nights. That's about it really.
Hello Campfire, nice to meet a fellow cyclist- see you on elf-sufficient too!
ReplyDeleteIlona you forgot to mention the 10p you spent at the knitting show in Perth on the tape measure LOL
ReplyDeleteDare not add up how much our trips cost as we nearly always have 2 or 3 sons and possibly a g/f with us and the Bank of Mum and Dad gets well used!
Good afternoon Ilona,
ReplyDeleteI think under £40 a day isn't bad; I didn't realise the ferry to Mull was so expensive, it's not a great long trip like it is over here to Lewis, which is almost the same price (albeit with a subsidy called RET, or Road Equivalent Tariff). Plus you have to consider what it costs you to live every day when you're NOT on holiday, although for you it won't be very much!
I shudder when I think back 2 years to my last little holiday; BH & I took a short trip to Inverness and spent a fortune, eating out and staying in a hotel. Mind you, we went especially to do *shopping*, rather than just having a holiday. We've not been away since, and are getting itchy feet, so will probably go island-hopping this summer.
Keep it up, I like your style!
Thanks for the breakdown of your holiday costs. Much less than 40 quid a day. I think you got very good value even though no trip is exactly cheap these days. I think 14 pounds for a tent site is a bit steep and of course petrol is off the charts these days.
ReplyDeleteI know package holidays are cheap but then you are very restricted to the resort you go to and most people go for the good weather and generally are not very active.
It is great to look at all the costs and decide what was good value and what was nt though.
Thanks for posting all the pictures - they were great.
Hi Ilona, I had what I thought could be a bright idea regarding cheap holidays. I knew I had read about this on the web at some point so I have found it and am now going to attempt inserting a link. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1025739/Britain-bus-pass-Pensioners-travel-Scottish-border-Lands-End-33-buses.html
ReplyDeletePhew, as you might be able to tell I am not as computer literate as I should be. Lol.
There are a few examples on the web of pensioners travelling far and wide (England only) on their free bus passes. I think it will take loads of research but it is do able. You could maybe head up into Yorkshire, then across to Lancashire then up to the lakes. I use my bus pass in the lakes loads. You get all the best views from the top deck.
I hope this gives you some food for thought. You would still have to pay for accomodation but there are youth hostels of course. I have gone camping in the lakes by taking my tent in a wheelie case (too old to back pack now), but that means staying in one place as its exhausting dragging it round from one bus to another.
I've really enjoyed your holiday trip. Scotland is so beautiful. I've been looking at train times to see how far up and back I can get in one day.
I am having a problem posting this it may come up as anonymous so just in case its Eileen M
Hi Ilona
ReplyDeleteSharon from Dorset here !
Have been following your blog for well over ayear now and thought it was about time I said hi.
Really enjoy catching up with all your news and tips every day, your sense of humour and zest for life is great.Thanks !
Ilona,
ReplyDeleteHave you ever thought about visiting a few blog readers??? Perhaps some of us fans could host you for a night or two and then pop up for a visit ourselve later?
gz, I've used to watch a blog where the girl had a classic VW Beetle in orange then when I went back I couldn't access it. Is this the same person?
ReplyDeleteYes, I've cycled all my life in one way or another. I just do it now for enjoyment and doing my job for Sustrans.
So, where's your next trip Ilona?
Your holiday worked out at £38.49 a day, that's great going. It's a pity the weather was wet during your holidays,if it had been drier you'd have been able to camp in comfort and not have to use the hostels so much. There's something to be said for travelling on your own too, not having to take into consideration anyone else, do what you like, go where you like. I think there is a little bit of gypsy in everyone. I know there is in me. :-) Regards, Christy x
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed your holiday Ilona! We met at the Tob. YHA.
ReplyDeleteLike the blog.
ps Iona was gorgeous we would have liked to have stayed longer.
Cheers
Gwen