Most expensive cheap holiday ever

[ColchesterFC]

Decided to buy a 2nd hand trailer tent for some budget holidays away with the kids as they love being outside all the time. Paid £300 for it and spent about £500 doing it up and getting it ready to use/buying equipment. Booked a site for the week for £200 and another £200 went on getting a tow bar fitted to the car. Already my "cheap" holiday was getting expensive before we'd even got there.

The first night on site it rained heavily and the trailer tent that was described as waterproof by the seller turned out to be a sieve. Luckily the sleeping compartments were OK but the rest of it was a write off with tears in the canvas and water everywhere. Cue a trip to Go Outdoors and £500 later we walked out with a tent. And to top it all off, driving back to the site a stone hit the windscreen and caused a large crack to form across the bottom of the screen, another £75 gone on the insurance excess.

So without food, days out and entertainment my budget holiday cost around £1800 for the week. I could've got a last minute break to Spain for the same money. And to top it all off the younger child came down with suspected chicken pox on the 3rd day of the holiday so couldn't go in the swimming pool.

Anyone got any worse holiday disasters to cheer me up?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

That's rough.

 

[ColchesterFC]

Don't think the boys even noticed to be honest. Most stressful for Mrs Colch. The kids loved it which is the most important thing. They didn't want to leave this morning and all the way home were asking when we could go back and where else we could go in the tent. It might have cost me a lot more than I was expecting but seeing the smiles on their faces makes it all worth it.

 

[the smiling assassin]

Lost our bags on our honeymoon...wasn't actually that big a deal

 

[GreiginFife]

Don't think the boys even noticed to be honest. Most stressful for Mrs Colch. The kids loved it which is the most important thing. They didn't want to leave this morning and all the way home were asking when we could go back and where else we could go in the tent. It might have cost me a lot more than I was expecting but seeing the smiles on their faces makes it all worth it.

And its re-usable without costing you the same again.

 

[bluewolf]

Took the family on a 2 week camping holiday in Devon 3 years ago. It rained heavily for the first 4 days, and when it wasn't raining it was thick fog. On the Wednesday we drove into Bideford and booked the next flight out of Manchester to Majorca.
We were still getting text messages from the camp site whilst sat on the Beach in Cala D'or. Overall, the cheap camping holiday cost nearly £4K. Was worth it in the end though.

 

[ColchesterFC]

And its re-usable without costing you the same again.

We went over to my dad's for a BBQ on Wednesday and my brother pointed out that our first night had cost £1800, by the 2nd night it was down to £900 per night and by the 3rd night was down to £600 per night. I'm going to strip the trailer tent down and use the body as a trailer for our camping gear, which would cost me close to £200 to buy something similar, and the camping kitchen we've taken out of it is worth over £200 on it's own so it's not a total disaster.

Just been looking for another 5 night break at the end of September and been quoted £50 in total including electricity supply so that we can run a heater all the time. Cost per night is coming down each time we use it.

 

[Smiffy]

We went over to my dad's for a BBQ on Wednesday and my brother pointed out that our first night had cost £1800, by the 2nd night it was down to £900 per night and by the 3rd night was down to £600 per night.

38 years later....

 

[Doon frae Troon]

Lost our bags on our honeymoon...wasn't actually that big a deal

Driving back from Barmouth a day early as the wind was actually lifting our park caravan off the ground [wondered why it was chained down!]

On the road back we passed this guy with his suitcase fixed to his roof rack.
The wind had broken it open and his clothing was flying out with him blissfully unaware
We passed about a mile of shirts skirts etc.
Kept the kids amused.

 

[Deleted member 15344]

Don't think the boys even noticed to be honest. Most stressful for Mrs Colch. The kids loved it which is the most important thing. They didn't want to leave this morning and all the way home were asking when we could go back and where else we could go in the tent. It might have cost me a lot more than I was expecting but seeing the smiles on their faces makes it all worth it.

Such a shame that the tent had a mare but great that the kids loved the adventure - expect it is somthing that will be talked about for years to come

It is amazing how it is mroe expensive to go on holiday in the UK than abroad

 

[Marshy77]

Took the family on a 2 week camping holiday in Devon 3 years ago. It rained heavily for the first 4 days, and when it wasn't raining it was thick fog. On the Wednesday we drove into Bideford and booked the next flight out of Manchester to Majorca.
We were still getting text messages from the camp site whilst sat on the Beach in Cala D'or. Overall, the cheap camping holiday cost nearly £4K. Was worth it in the end though.

Hahaha Brilliant.

Pre kids me and the Mrs went for a day out round a couple of markets to get some cheap tat for our new house that we couldn't afford at the time and ended up booking a fortnights holiday that we couldn't afford instead, leaving the next morning. Probably still paying it off my credit card.

 

[Tashyboy]

Once went to Sheringham with the trailer tent when kids were babies, to get power/ light you coupled up to the car battery.
Tashygirl says " am off to get some milk from club shop" and promptly jumps in car, starts it and the penny suddenly drops.
i goes running out of tent screaming stop. To late the cable went as tight as a bow string then snapped. It looked like the trailer tent moved three foot.
she had no idea, winds window down and shouts "what's up now", I walked up to car which is now about 20 ft away and picked the snapped end of cable up about 10 ft from car. Her face was a picture.

 

[MegaSteve]

Grandsons are off on their first camping 'adventure' this coming week end... They weren't particularly interested until being told the name of the camp 'Sandy Balls'!...

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Great that the kids had a blast and assume they were too engrossed in the big advetnure

 

[ColchesterFC]

Great that the kids had a blast and assume they were too engrossed in the big advetnure

Exactly. Eating their breakfast outside in the morning and then apart from going in the indoor pool or 10 minutes in the car to get to the beach they spent all day every day playing outside until it was too dark to see.

 

[Norrin Radd]

Grandsons are off on their first camping 'adventure' this coming week end... They weren't particularly interested until being told the name of the camp 'Sandy Balls'!...

One of the best camp sites in the country

 

[Paul77]

I spent £2000 to go to New York for 3 nights and it rained the whole time I was there.