Budget hints and tips. Might have to cancel my first road trip. Too expensive :-(

[MarkVw2017]

Dear Cali Gurus,

My hopes of my 1st European road trip in May might end before I have started due to overall costs already spiralling out of control and I'm gutted.

It's slowly dawning on me these road trips are an expensive hobby (I assumed Campervan, = low cost but fun hols)

My plan was a 3 week holiday/ road trip;
A ferry to Santander, then to Salou and then drive home via France but already I'm calculating I would need a budget of £3k and that seems bare minimum, possibly £4k.

Does anyone have any hints and tips to get this right down as might have to tell kids, sorry kids, road trip is cancelled. Back to camping!

Gurus, please show me your might and wisdom!

My basic workings on a piece of paper for two adults and two children;

£560 ferry one way to Santander
£180 4 nights in Salou
£350 petrol
£150 tolls
£100 AA COVER
£50 travel insurance
£1050 (£50 spends a day which includes food)
£600 (£40 a night campsite for 15 nights, rest stealth camp)
£80 Ferry Calais to Dover

Total £3,120k

Not even calculated any days out with my budget

For comparison, just looked at TUI, 2 weeks half board for 4 of us £1.7k in Spain in a 4 * hotel. What's going on? Are my road trip adventures dashed before theyve even started?

Any advice would be wonderful. It will be my only holiday so really want it to be like a lovely holiday as well, as I will be working my bum off to save for this money. I'm not even sure if £50 per day for food and spends would even be enough?

 

[2into1]

£100 AA COVER

If your van is under warranty do you need this?

 

[MarkVw2017]

If your van is under warranty do you need this?

Think it just falls out when we go in may

 

[An-j]

Blimey! No tips really as I’m about to start planning our first road trip but ouch, that’s pricey when you add it up.

 

[MartG]

Anytime you're paying for transport for the family instead of 'sharing' the cost of fuel for the van, it gets expensive - could you consider a short crossing and driving in short hops South?

 

[MarkVw2017]

Blimey! No tips really as I’m about to start planning our first road trip but ouch, that’s pricey when you add it up.

I know, paid a deposit for Salou for £180 (£50) and was well excited, but thought best look at some figures overall, and tears rolled down my face when it all adds up

 

[JerryB]

ACSI camping card out of season in May max for one night camping 20 euro

ACSI Webshop | Inexpensive camping in the low season

With CampingCard ACSI you can camp with a big discount on more than 3,000 campsites in Europe during the off-season. You can save up to 60% per night. On average you will have earned your purchase back in just four nights!

webshop.acsi.eu

 

[Elly Swanson]

What about an adventure closer to home? How old are the kids?

You can go to magical places around the UK and make your own fun if they’re young enough, like go to Loch Ness and secretly set up a Loch Ness monster’s nest with big rocks for “eggs”. Weave in some magical story telling and you’ll create memories that last forever.

Geocaching is a great hobby if you like solving problems and hunting for “treasure” And good fun for all ages.

Spend a little money on some all weather clothes. Get the kids involved with the cooking and do it outdoors as much as you can. Let the kids go a bit feral and get them involved in planning activities.

Needs a lot of energy, so if you’re looking for a leisurely chill out and guaranteed sun it may not be for you.

 

[Calimili]

In your comparison, you put 2weeks hotel against 3 weeks. Another week in a hotel would have been another 4-500£.
You budget 50£ a day for expenses including food. At the hotel you only budgeting for half board, you still need to have lunch and drinks and snacks. I don't think you'll be able to cover that with 50£ per day st the hotel.
So if you add the 400 to the 1050 you'll need anyway to the 1.7 k, you are not far off.
With the van , cooking yourself and buying drinks at the supermarket rather than the hotel bar, you should be able to stay below the 50£ per day.

 

[GrannyJen]

Are you a member of either club? They offer some great ferry discounts, especially if you go Calais rather than on a Biscay cruise. Calais and a lot of driving is a lot cheaper.

 

[Adamvanman]

This is exact reason we are considering selling ours, we did 2 weeks in Portugal back in October for £1800 half board in a gorgeous 4* hotel, that price includes flights, car hire and hotel.

We worked out that ferry, fuel and depreciation would also of cost in excess of £1800 before we had even eaten or booked any campsites.

I am sure plenty will disagree with me !

 

[MartG]

Can't disagree with you...

That's maybe a reflection of flight prices being cheap these days.
I don't think the Cali is necessarily a 'cheap' holiday option but you have your own space, which you can move on if you're not happy with the location, and have great memories which you may not have with a hotel.
There's a place for both

 

[Borris]

Dear Cali Gurus,

My hopes of my 1st European road trip in May might end before I have started due to overall costs already spiralling out of control and I'm gutted.

It's slowly dawning on me these road trips are an expensive hobby (I assumed Campervan, = low cost but fun hols)

My plan was a 3 week holiday/ road trip;
A ferry to Santander, then to Salou and then drive home via France but already I'm calculating I would need a budget of £3k and that seems bare minimum, possibly £4k.

Does anyone have any hints and tips to get this right down as might have to tell kids, sorry kids, road trip is cancelled. Back to camping!

Gurus, please show me your might and wisdom!

My basic workings on a piece of paper for two adults and two children;

£560 ferry one way to Santander
£180 4 nights in Salou
£350 petrol
£150 tolls
£100 AA COVER
£50 travel insurance
£1050 (£50 spends a day which includes food)
£600 (£40 a night campsite for 15 nights, rest stealth camp)
£80 Ferry Calais to Dover

Total £3,120k

Not even calculated any days out with my budget

For comparison, just looked at TUI, 2 weeks half board for 4 of us £1.7k in Spain in a 4 * hotel. What's going on? Are my road trip adventures dashed before theyve even started?

Any advice would be wonderful. It will be my only holiday so really want it to be like a lovely holiday as well, as I will be working my bum off to save for this money. I'm not even sure if £50 per day for food and spends would even be enough?

1. Use the Park4night app and it will cost you nothing to camp.
2. Don't use toll roads. You'll have a more relaxed drive, find more places to stop and explore. Rural France on the B roads is glorious. Watch the speed limits though.
3. There are some good deals on the ferries if you book at this time of year. Pick a very early ferry as they are usually much cheaper.
4. Don't use petrol in a Beach. It will prove expensive to fix.

 

[bigmac77]

Plan your food, take some things with you, weetabix for example take a big box and you have loads of breakfasts sorted. Take some pasta and sauces, rice and tinned curry from Aldi tasty and cheap. Shop in supermarkets whilst you are away and do not eat out. We Have been to Europe in July and August for the last four years each time for three to four weeks and we’ve only once spent more than £3000 and that was this year and mainly because we went to Switzerland. Going in May you’d save a packet on campsites.

 

[WelshGas]

Think it just falls out when we go in may

Extend your VW Assistance for £150/2 yrs. Full European Cover included.

Also, what would you spend at Home during those 3 weeks. Food etc: That should be subtracted.

 

[Duxdeluxe]

As above you have to pay for food etc at home so shouldn’t be included in the budget

 

[sapto]

Hello Mark

Hope you‘ll find some good hints here!

As far as I see is the ferry crossing the most expensive part (and one of that parts that would show up staying at „home“?).
Where are your situated? Is ferry crossing to „lets say“ Calais a bit cheaper and then drive down a couple of days and spend some time wherever (in May you probably find some good places to go and not yet crowded).

Diesel is around 1.29€ in South Germany/Munich, in CHF 1.62 at the moment. We made the experience that Germany and Austria offer good value for the prices (food and campingwise). Also Croatia, Italy and Slovenia are always on our list, when we‘re looking for sun, sea and lovely food and people.

What about staying in the drive of some friends/clubmembers to save some €? I am pretty sure you would find a lot of members offering their parking in front of the house.

Would be a pitty if you have to cancel your trip. Maybe adjusting a little bit and off you go!

Keep my fingers crossed!

 

[M32]

Dear Cali Gurus,

My hopes of my 1st European road trip in May might end before I have started due to overall costs already spiralling out of control and I'm gutted.

It's slowly dawning on me these road trips are an expensive hobby (I assumed Campervan, = low cost but fun hols)

My plan was a 3 week holiday/ road trip;
A ferry to Santander, then to Salou and then drive home via France but already I'm calculating I would need a budget of £3k and that seems bare minimum, possibly £4k.

Does anyone have any hints and tips to get this right down as might have to tell kids, sorry kids, road trip is cancelled. Back to camping!

Gurus, please show me your might and wisdom!

My basic workings on a piece of paper for two adults and two children;

£560 ferry one way to Santander
£180 4 nights in Salou
£350 petrol
£150 tolls
£100 AA COVER
£50 travel insurance
£1050 (£50 spends a day which includes food)
£600 (£40 a night campsite for 15 nights, rest stealth camp)
£80 Ferry Calais to Dover

Total £3,120k

Not even calculated any days out with my budget

For comparison, just looked at TUI, 2 weeks half board for 4 of us £1.7k in Spain in a 4 * hotel. What's going on? Are my road trip adventures dashed before theyve even started?

Any advice would be wonderful. It will be my only holiday so really want it to be like a lovely holiday as well, as I will be working my bum off to save for this money. I'm not even sure if £50 per day for food and spends would even be enough?

Its only a small amount but but I think you could save on your travel insurance and breakdown cover. I have a Nationwide flex plus account, I currently pay £13 a month and this includes Worldwide Travel Insurance and European Breakdown.
If you are just looking for a European road trip adventure then head to Northern Europe (Netherlands Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany) you will avoid the expensive toll roads and Ferry crossng. We did the same last summer in my previous van (Caravelle). We stayed at a holiday park with a pool and we had a fantastic time. We will probably do the same this year.

 

[MarkVw2017]

What about an adventure closer to home? How old are the kids?

You can go to magical places around the UK and make your own fun if they’re young enough, like go to Loch Ness and secretly set up a Loch Ness monster’s nest with big rocks for “eggs”. Weave in some magical story telling and you’ll create memories that last forever.

Geocaching is a great hobby if you like solving problems and hunting for “treasure” And good fun for all ages.

Spend a little money on some all weather clothes. Get the kids involved with the cooking and do it outdoors as much as you can. Let the kids go a bit feral and get them involved in planning activities.

Needs a lot of energy, so if you’re looking for a leisurely chill out and guaranteed sun it may not be for you.

Thank you soo much, some great tips there ;-)

 

[Amarillo]

£560 ferry one way to Santander
£180 4 nights in Salou
£350 petrol
£150 tolls
£100 AA COVER
£50 travel insurance
£1050 (£50 spends a day which includes food)
£600 (£40 a night campsite for 15 nights, rest stealth camp)
£80 Ferry Calais to Dover

Take a return trip Dover to Calais - £480 saving
Only stay at ACSI Camping Card sites which include children for 12/14/16 Euros per night France or 16/18/20 Euros per night Spain - £465 saving
Stay off toll roads - £150 saving
Cook six meals a week and eat out just once a week, you can easily feed a family of four on 20 Euros/day, meal out 50 Euros - £480 saving
Budget for one paid excursion up to £50 per week - £150 loss

 

[Dottybus]

Can't disagree with you...

That's maybe a reflection of flight prices being cheap these days.
I don't think the Cali is necessarily a 'cheap' holiday option but you have your own space, which you can move on if you're not happy with the location, and have great memories which you may not have with a hotel.
There's a place for both

Isn’t the roving around the point? Surely a short trip across at Calais and drive through France. Lidl supermarkets everywhere. I understand that everyone has budget constraints but you can’t buy memories like you will make just being in the bus.

 

[Hotel California]

If i was to set a budget before leaving home , i'd simply not go .
You never know what will happen , what if you flatten a tyre or get fined for speeding in the first week ? Return home becose no money?
You are worrying and overthinking to much imo.
Was it not you that was saying needed to cancel the orderd Cali also a while ago ? Seems you did got it so why asking yourself this question now again about taking this trip worrying to much up front? Just go ahead , take the risk of ending up with no penny on return , you than can say : we did it !

 

[soulstyledevon]

Agree with some of the above.
I don’t have a budget when traveling. It costs what it costs.
That’s the point of the California for us. We sometimes don’t even know where we are going until we are there and driving and checking weather forecasts etc.

This Christmas I booked a session at Wavegarden, from there we were heading south for a break. We were driving down the M5 when I asked my wife,
“where are we going exactly...?
We ended up in a place called Beer and then moved onto Salcombe.

My point is, that for us we could never plan our travel budget in the California.
Btw, don’t listen to some of those loonies avoiding the tolls. Avoiding the tolls in some parts of Europe makes a few hours journey turn into a day drive.
Great if you have all the time in the world. But traveling with little ones, they will want to get to destination and out of the van

 

[JAPRACER]

Get everyone in the van, get going, enjoy the trip, worry about it later.
There is an old African saying ‘you are a long time dead’

 

[Calimili]

And maybe the comparison with flights + hotel shouldn't be brought up at all. The Cali is not for saving money. You'll break even at best if you take into account everything.
The Cali is about a different type of holiday, one that you don't need to book weeks or months in advance but one you can decide the day before. The Cali is about having a bedroom and kitchen always with you, with your mattress, sheet and pillows, not ones that thousands people have slept on before.
The Cali is about opening the door and feeling grass under the feet, it's about being in the fresh air, it is about kids having an insane amount of fun because they can sleep up top and they can play "house" together with the parents for a couple of weeks non stop 24/7 with this van made to be a house.
And you always have a second(first?) car available as a bonus.