Holiday spends

in_debt_again_but_dealing_with_it

Having always holidayed in the UK in our caravan we're going on holiday to Spain in August :j , the holiday itself is paid for - we now have to concentrate on spending money. How much will we need? We are a family of 5, 2 adults, 2 teens and a 6 year old. We are staying half board so shouldn't need money for food - other than lunches. The 2 teens are still at school but have a cleaning job and know that any trips we take they will have to pay for (is that too harsh??), we'd like to visit Barcelona and a nearby waterpark, the resort is on the coast and has a train line running through to Barcelona so we should be able to do this ourselves and avoid costly excursions same for the water park. Having never holidayed "abroad" and never in a hotel I haven't a clue how much to take - we have no cc so we will just be taking euros and am also considering a pre-pay visa/mastercard - is that a good idea? We're not big on souveniers but I don't want to be worrying about every penny we spend.
This has become something of an epic . All advice warmly received!
IDA
xx

Numpty_Monkey

A little tip from when i used to go on holiday have a print out credit card size of Euro to pound rates so you can have a rough guess at the cost of things in pounds as it does take a while to get used to the difference

I think Martin:money: has something about cards abroad , not planning on doing that so didn't pay much attention:o

and i'm not sure if this is still true but you used to get a better exchange rate abroad than here

have a good holiday anyway:T :A

andromache_2

eek, it does strike me as a bit harsh to make the teens pay for their share of the family trips... since on family holidays you often end up doing stuff you don't necessarily want to do to keep the peace, you don't want them to feel resentful about paying for it as well and spoil the holiday! get them to pay for their own souvenirs and shopping etc and any nice trips that *they* particularly want to do as *their* treat but I think you should pay for their share of any family trips you make. sorry - that was just the first thing that jumped out at me as a teen who has experience of family holidays :P though if they've agreed to it already then maybe it's not a problem for your family.

I've just opened a nationwide current account to take advantage of the fact that you can withdraw cash free of charge abroad but I don't know if you'd consider it worth the bother if you don't go abroad much.

I hope you have a nice time - I went to Barcelona a few years ago and it's a lovely city

Beerworshipper

Hey,

I can't really offer you any advice on how much to take as everyones needs are different but I can offer a little MSE advice.

First of all the holiday rep will probably hold a reception on your first morning and they will attempt to sell you some pre-packaged excursions. They normally make some commision from these and therefore if you fancy any of them you'll probably be better off booking them directly with the organisation thats running them and thus avoiding the commision - it'll also give you a chance to negotiate a better rate.

Secondly, have you tried looking for your hotel on tripadvisor.com , it'll have reviews from other holiday makers that have stayed their, beware because they are based on peoples experience but rememeber that everyone has different expectations so some people do tend to focus on the negative. But most importantly it will give you the benefit of their experience in what they went to see and how much it cost.

Good luck with your hols and remember to enjoy yourself.

LilacPixie

Where in spain are you going?? As a rough guide we spent £600 familly of 3 in salou last summer self catering. But we stayed in the resort. We then spent about the same for a week all inclusive in benidorm doing waterpark and theme/animal park

We usually take sterling travellers cheques but no idea if thats the most MSE way

~Beanie~

in_debt_again_but_dealing_with_it wrote: »

How much will we need?

we have no cc so we will just be taking euros and am also considering a pre-pay visa/mastercard - is that a good idea?

I think a pre-paid card will end up costing you more than if you just leave the cash in your bank account and use an ATM. Don't you pay a fee for pre-paid cards?

Maybe asking the teens to pay for their own excursions is a little harsh but they should definately save their own spending money and not expect everthing to come from the Bank of Mum and Dad

As has been said, be brave at the welcome meeting and don't sign up for any trips, you can usually find the same excursion elsewhere in the reseort for less.

I never tend to eat much for lunch if I am getting a full breakfast and an evening meal so maybe you won't need that much - depends on how much you eat I suppose! Spain isn't much more expensive than the UK, maybe even a bit cheaper (although I have never been to Barcelona) so I reckon £2-3 each per day for lunch should cover it - I have no idea what that is in Euros..

in_debt_again_but_dealing_with_it

Thanks for all you advice - just knew I could rely on you! Have read lots of reviews on the hotel and they are very mixed but family stayed there last year and it was fine! Just typical Spain! Will definately avoid the trip selling - we're going by coach with Ferris and not sure if they do that anyway - probably do! We'll be in the resort (Pineda) for 10 days and 3 days travelling. We won't expect the boys to pay for all the trips but they are very generous (and well paid!) and understand how expensive everything is so are often happy to contribute. Keep the great advise coming it really does help.
Thanks again,
IDA
xx

Numpty_Monkey

Don't if my idea will be of any use
but a pic of the sort of "ready reckner" thing i used to use and will again one day:p

used exchanged rates from todays paper but a rough idea of what i meant .
iI've got to do one for my mum soon so thanks for the practice:o

another tip if you print of both types of conversion (credit card size) put back to back and use clear 1 inch tape saves if you haven't got a laminator

in_debt_again_but_dealing_with_it

Well its only 3 weeks till we go - where did that time go? Still struggling with how much to take - we are planning between £600 and £700 (759 - 886 euros) does that sound enough? Don't want to not have enough but don't want to waste it either. Really wish we could go away and not think about how much we're spending but we're simply not in that sort of a position. The boys will have about 100 euros each and dd will have her little spends - probably about 20 euros. We WILL pay for lunches etc (not holding the boys to ransom honest!) but we are asking them to pay for the trip to the water park and possibly the train fare to Barcelona. Any more advice warmly received - really should be looking forward to it instead of panicking about money - but then that is the story of my life - lol! Thanks in advance.
IDA
x
PS: Any tips about places to go things to see in and around Pineda also welcome.Thanks. xx

bandraoi

Don't get money in the UK. Make sure you've a cirrus symbol on your bank card, then just stick it in the atm when you get over there and take out as much as it will let you in one go. Spend until it's gone, and repeat if necessary. It's best to bring two atm cards in case one gets lost/stolen.

In terms of budgeting - work out what you'll need to spend money on, to me it looks like
1) Lunch
2) Treats
3) Excursions
4) Nights Out (?)

Lunch can be a picnic on the beach (allow same cost as UK), a quick bite in a cafe (say E5 a head) or something fancier. Maybe allow a few cheap, a few cafe and one expensive one for a theme park.

For treats, you'll have ice-creams and more importantly water/minerals. That's usually cheap enough and your sons can take care of their own, so E10 a day.

The excursions you can price up on the internet.

And then you'll have to decide on your own nights out.

So by my guesstimates
10 days lunches @25E = E250
2 excursions @E30 per person, 5 people = E300
10 days treats @ E10 per day = E100

leaving you say E200 for nights out and things.

Gemmzie

I don't think you'll need lunches every day to be honest, breakfast is big and runs until about 10am sometimes later in most hotels.