You might recall we’re trying to keep within a budget and that this year achieving this has proved to be tough going with our spending feeling somewhat out of control. I was therefore keen to keep costs low on our fantastic autumn trip to Spain from September to November. So how did this plan go and what did we spend?
Diesel – £390 (we avoided the temptation to visit all of Spain and travelled 2,430 miles)
Supermarket / food shopping – £536 (around £100 less than we would have spent at home and we returned with dozens of bottles of wine for the cellar!)
Cafes & meals out – £326 (Coffee in a cafe is inexpensive in Spain and we do this much more on holiday than at home but we ate out in the evening less and so spent almost £100 less than we would have spent at home so a small gold star to us)
Campsites – £708 (we had a few nights wild camping to keep costs down but could have done more)
Public transport – £51 (we stayed off the motorways with tolls in Spain and managed to spend a little less than we would if we’d stayed home)
Entrance fees – £98 (similar to when we are at home)
Miscellaneous – £80 (new sunglasses, maps, washing machines, occasional wi-fi)
Ferry Portsmouth to Bilbao – £895 (ouch! A lot of money to suffer the high seas of the Bay of Biscay)
Fixing the power steering & a new wing mirror for our van – £377 [power steering electrical fault]
Total spent £3,461
I’m feeling reasonably pleased with this total. It really is not that much more than we would have spent if we’d stayed at home so hasn’t had a massive impact on our budget. The lesson is that there are really no excuses not to go away again!
Back on the road again 