# Holiday costs



## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

For those interested in holiday cost facts and figures the following is a summary of our recent trip to France, Spain and Portugal:

2006 Auto-Sleeper Pollensa
Ford Transit 2.4 Diesel.
2 people with EHU every night

Total miles covered: 4782
Diesel used: 765 litres
Total Diesel cost: £562
Cheapest: 0€95 – France
Most Expensive: 1€17 - France
MPG: 28.1

Nights away: 39
Campsites visited: 29
Total campsite cost: £452.19
Cheapest: £5.86 – France
Most Expensive £23.86 – Spain.

Most sites taken from the Caravan Club Guide.


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## devonidiot (Mar 10, 2006)

I decided to do a Cost/Benefit analysis of my next trip.

I listed all the benefits, then thought to pot with the costs.


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

devonidiot said:


> I decided to do a Cost/Benefit analysis of my next trip.
> 
> I listed all the benefits, then thought to pot with the costs.


Yes, I've done that for quite some time but at the back of my mind I knew it was pretty costly so I've spent a few minutes adding up all the costs - depreciation, fuel, campsite fees, insurance, tax, servicing etc and divided the total by the number of nights we've been away (95 in the last 14 months so a fair amount of use) and it works out to £104 per night.
I know depreciation slows down over time and I know I could reduce the campsite fee costs but I don't believe I could reduce the nightly costs to an amount that I would be comfortable with - so, much as it pains me - my Pollensa has to go - back to a tent for me.


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## Seeker (Dec 26, 2005)

When you add it all up and factor in the overheads and the depreciation there's only one conclusion you can come to - we must all be mad.

But then freedom never did come cheap.

Harry


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## mangothemadmonk (Aug 6, 2006)

Forget the campsites, save them for a treat after a few days. We stopped on Aires mostly costing 2 euros and on the 5th night used a campsite and so on... Total cost for all stop-overs 45 euros for 14 nights. 

As for fuel don't know and didn't bother. When I got below 1/2 a tank I filled up. If I am honest it probably cost a fair bit but hey I was on my hols. You spend on one and save on the other.

Each to their own though    

Johnny F


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## maddie (Jan 4, 2006)

Hi Tony how much were ferrys? by my reconing so far you traveled almost 5,000 mls in 39 days away = £26 a day sounds good value! divide by 2 =!£13 each / better? forget dep. If bought and sold at right money 
terry


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## tonyt (May 25, 2005)

maddie said:


> Hi Tony how much were ferrys? by my reconing so far you traveled almost 5,000 mls in 39 days away = £26 a day sounds good value! divide by 2 =!£13 each / better? forget dep. If bought and sold at right money
> terry


Thanks Terry but I'm not convinced by your somewhat creative accountancy.
The costs in my original posting were just for diesel and campsite fees, and yes, that works out to around £26 per night but the real cost must include all the other expenses like insurance and servicing etc even while the motorhome is parked on my drive. Unfortunately we are not all smart traders and most of us do have to include depreciation - it's a real cost.

So, as I said, at £104 per night it's too steep for me.


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## 100004 (Jul 12, 2006)

Seems there's going to be an awful lot of 2nd hand MH's up for grabs  Come on :lol: If we all costed everything we wouldn't do it. I would love Moulton New Series bike in stainless steel tubing. Why? Simply the best in the world! Er £5500  i wouldn't worry what it cost when i was riding it. Honest!! H


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## Scotjimland (May 23, 2005)

homerdog said:


> If we all costed everything we wouldn't do it.


So true, so very true, I once calculated the cost of bringing up a kid .. didn't stop me going on to have six ...... priceless :lol:

Threre's so much more to life than money.. :wink:


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## 100004 (Jul 12, 2006)

priceless
 Oh yeah! Which one   H


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## fdhadi (May 9, 2005)

2003 package holiday to Crete with 2 adults & 2 children in school holiday times cost us £3,300 + spends say £700. Thats £4,000 possibly a bit more.

Thats 14 nights @ £286 + 11hrs airport delay

We have 3 main holidays a year (2wks + 1wk) & many weekends away, so difficult to put an exact figure on but don't think it would quite work out at around £286 per night?


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## maddie (Jan 4, 2006)

Hi tony ,yep creative,but asuming you have paid for 12 mths cover you have 10 mths left to reduce your costs :lol: :wink: (14mths)Knowing i can jump in & drive off in a few mins at this moment in time is great.OK we get traffic etc ,but we used to go abroard 3 / 4 times a year and airports do nothing for me,even a 4 hr flight seems to take 12 hrs plus now,does my head in.Go back to a tent I am sure you will still enjoy it :wink: You could always buy £10,000 home and use it for a year then sell for close to what you paid rather than a newer home which bleeds money.Some good tents for £150 now :wink: 
terry


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## maddie (Jan 4, 2006)

Hi Tony have done the same as my mate who not only accounts for the cost of holiday ,say £3,000 but also adds his loss of wages £1200 (£4,200):lol: 
terry


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## klubnomad (Mar 6, 2006)

Well fulltiming actually saves me money. 

This is what it would cost to rent a place up here

Rent £600 month
Elec\Gas £100 month
Council Tax £75 month
Water £40 month
Maintenance £40 month

Total £855 month X 12 = £10260

Fulltiming

Rent £000 Month
Elec\Gas £10 month
Council tax £0 month
Water £0 month
Maint £25 month * Van service

Total = £35 month = £420 year

Not added Insurance to either or diesel / RFL for the van. However, the Van + extras was £34000. Now if you take the savings I have made by fulltiming - £9840 from the original outlay I will be in pocket with a free van in about 3.5 years

Dave

656


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## 2kias (Sep 18, 2006)

Can't stand people who cost everything out! Your only here once and if you enjoy what you do then to hell with the cost (within reason and affordability).
Cost me a fortune just to get up in the morning so on that basis I would be better off dead!!!!!!!!!


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## maddie (Jan 4, 2006)

2kias cannot resist this 
DROP DEAD it,s cheaper :lol: 
I don.t mean it :wink:


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## RichardnGill (Aug 31, 2006)

We have just got a new M/H about 10 weeks ago and its our first, so its about as bad as depreciation can get. But we are still happy as we have had 17 nights so far (work full time) and plenty more planned right through the winter. We use to have one 2 week holiday in Spain a year which as said before can cost big ££££ as we have 2 kids. 

We have also now got a car and a M/H instead of 2 cars so the costs are not that bad. Cars loose money very fast too, probally faster than a M/H. I have never worked it out but do people really calculate how much they are going to spend on hotels and other holidays for the next 3/5 years. So why do people work out all the costs with a M/H?

Hopefully we will keep this M/H for about 5 years until the kids no longer want to be away with us then we will have a nice peaceful life in a 2 berth M/H, priceless for us.


Richard...


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## 2kias (Sep 18, 2006)

maddie said:


> 2kias cannot resist this
> DROP DEAD it,s cheaper :lol:
> I don.t mean it :wink:


Sometimes feel I have!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## 96299 (Sep 15, 2005)

It`s simple really..Quality time spent away with the family having fun is PRICELESS.


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## ChrisRich (May 27, 2007)

tonyt said:


> maddie said:
> 
> 
> > Hi Tony how much were ferrys? by my reconing so far you traveled almost 5,000 mls in 39 days away = £26 a day sounds good value! divide by 2 =!£13 each / better? forget dep. If bought and sold at right money
> ...


How much cheaper would it be to drive around france with a tent? Not a great deal.

Insurance is for a year, so what about all the weekends away you can have?

Servicing - again, if you're driving around France you still have servicing costs, they won't be dramatically different to the motorhome.

Putting up and taking down a tent 29 days out of 39? How do you cost that?

Ultimately though, if you feel you aren't enjoying it sufficiently then do something different, but bear in mind that value is not the same thing as cost.


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## 103945 (Apr 17, 2007)

Different people want different things in life, and it stands to reason they also want different things from holidays. Some want luxury package holidays (for some this means exploring new places, for others, it means weeks lying on a familiar beach getting a deep all-over tan), some want back-packing with a tent ... and some, like the vast majority on this forum, like the freedom they get from owning a motorhome.

If motorhoming suits you for your holidays, why cost it all out in detail? Sure, realise that stop-overs in Spain are more expensive than France, and then decide if Spain has other things to offer YOU that make it worth the extra cost, but I cannot see the benefit, unless you're thinking motorhoming may not be for you, of costing it all out this way.

Everything we buy depreciates ... with the sole exception of a bricks-and-mortar house (especially if that is located in the UK!) ... we all know that before we buy things.

I'm not having a go, just trying to understand.


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