The Cost Per Day Of Travel And Holidays

I’ve enjoyed reading this thread so I’ll add one more data point.

Myself and my partner went to Japan for 3 weeks a few months ago and spent €10k all-in for both of us (flights, accommodation, food, trains, attractions, etc.). Definitely the most expensive trip we’ve ever taken but it was also a lifelong dream of mine to see Japan. We aren’t big drinkers or shoppers and we have pretty low standards for accommodation, which helped keep costs low. Usually we are on a backpacker/low budget but since it was a once in a lifetime trip we spent pretty much whatever we wanted throughout the trip (so many foods that don’t exist in Ireland that we just HAD to try! ;-) )

On the OP’s general question, I personally don’t really think of holidays in terms of their per-day cost, instead I have a general sense of what I want my holiday budget for the year to be, and then I think of where I’d like to go and decide on a plan where the total cost of the trip fits into this budget. Often this involves ~1 week abroad and ~1 week in Ireland each year.
 
I have never had a holiday I regretted so far, always money well spent. I like to cruise, I love the all in price knowing I have my food / drink and excursions all paid for before I leave the house.
That said, I am also very lucky to have my spare room rented out to pay for all these holidays as I wouldn't be going on them otherwise I would not be able to afford them!
We would typically do one long cruise a year (1wk) or two short ones (3/4 nights), a citibreak at Christmas to a Christmas market and then a day trip to London or Liverpool.

I do often think about how amazing it would be to put the rent off the mortgage or our credit union loans but what is a life if you can't live? Travel makes you rich.
 
qwerty-2023 said:
Myself and my partner went to Japan for 3 weeks a few months ago and spent €10k all-in
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Wow, that's some price, well done
qwerty-2023 said:
we have pretty low standards for accommodation, which helped keep costs low
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We spent one night on the floor in a monastery on a wafer thin mattress with a "buckwheat" pillow,
After 2 hours of no sleep I went down to the couch in the lobby and had the best sleep of all the travellers staying there
But informed Mrs C at the traditional Japanese breakfast, "Never again, I'm too old for this.....
I think this is where the key difference is and why I factor in "cost per day" to my holiday plans
I'm the opposite in so far as I don't budget for holidays, I pick a destination or type of holiday and work out the total cost from there
And like other posters here, since Covid I've found holidaying is getting to be very expensive so for me the PPD is the final tick as to whether I feel the trip is worth the cost
Slim said:
....emoji no postie!
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Gotta admit I'm still lost on that emoji, maybe I need another coffee to get the brain working
Sarah Ryan said:
The exact analogy I used to get tickets for both Oasis concerts this weekend lol.
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Enjoy, saw them in Slane in 95 when they opened for REM
 
An interesting viewpoint I cam across recently is the formula:

Happiness = the experience - expectations

which can be applied to pretty much anything but especially holidays. It of course excludes the financial cost, but I think provides an interesting perspective.
 
Cervelo said:
there is another area that I starting to question the price to value/enjoyment ratio and that is travel and holidays
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I do believe that while traveling is great and is one of my main "hobby", it can become somewhat a routine. We travelled quite a bit before COVID and in 2019, we went to Rome, Denmark, France, Italy again and Netherlands. Most of the trips were for a week while France was for 2 weeks. In our last trip in Netherlands, I did questioned our choice to be away again. We are not retired and travel with kids.
Then COVID hit and we stayed in Ireland for 2 years. Since then, we are back traveling but a bit at a slower pace.
 
MOB said:
€60 will get you a four hour boat trip in Donegal bay
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I'll be up that way in September so weather permitting might be an option
Did it in Boston on a road trip back in 2018 and it was a great experience going out and seeing the whales etc etc
Premos said:
Then COVID hit and we stayed in Ireland for 2 years. Since then, we are back traveling but a bit at a slower pace.
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Covid for me changed a few things and one of those things is I've definitely slowed down to better savour the moments that life throws my way
Sarah Ryan said:
Me too my Ma and Da took me, and so it began.......
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"Some might say" that that was your "champagne supernova" moment
 
tallpaul said:
Happiness = the experience - expectations
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The Bader Meinhoff effect strikes again.
My SIL just told me about Mo Gawdat on Sunday. He is the originator of that equation.
Mo Gawdat, the former Chief Business Officer at Google X, defines happiness with the equation: Happiness >= Events of your life - Your expectations of how life should be. This equation, outlined in his book Solve for Happy, suggests that happiness is achieved when the events of your life meet or exceed your expectations

I would personally qualify that with happiness is transient, contentment is constant.
 
I have high hopes that in retirement the cost/day of holidays will reduce massively, especially for say a month in winter/spring sun destinations. Generally I find getting to and from places is the most expensive thing, accommodation can be found in most price ranges. So traveling out of peak and staying for longer should cut the cost/day in half. It’s even true in Ireland, first week in September can be 30% the cost of the first week in August. Have previously stayed in lovely Portuguese resort with great weather for 2 weeks in sep/oct for half the price of one week in August in oppressive heat. Even with off peak becoming more popular it doesn’t look like it will ever catch up or come close to out of term time holidays.

Once the cost/day is reduced your expectations lower also I find, which helps with the equation.
 
I excluded them. Generally speaking, you’ve already paid for transport and accommodation in euro before you leave, so you can calculate the cost per day of that. Also it is within your control on how much you want to spend on it and if it represents good / reasonable value. If you are worried on discretionary spending it’s a good idea to have some idea of approximate day-to-day costs.

It’s also prudent to monitor fx costs if you are travelling or intend to travel outside the eurozone. For example, currently 1 euro gets you 1.79 AUD, but in 2022 you got 1.45. So now is perhaps a good time to visit Australia.
 
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Actually getting back to the original question, as an example I'm about to embark on my second 5 - 6 week stint abroad (Spain) this year. The total cost is just under 3k for travel and accommodation for both. From experience I roughly spend €350 a week in day to day spending in Ireland. In Spain, this is reduced to under €300 but lets call it that. This is despite the fact that I drink more and eat out more. So my savings will be roughly €50 x 12 = €600. So the cost per day for my holiday is a healthy 2400 / 12 x 7 which is less than €30 a day all in.
 
@elcato, I'm a little confused by your figures especially the last bit
elcato said:
So my savings will be roughly €50 x 12 = €600. So the cost per day for my holiday is a healthy 2400 / 12 x 7 which is less than €30 a day all in.
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The €3k is for both trips, is that the total price including food and drink or is that an extra €300 per week??
If the €3k is the total for everything is that not the actual cost and any saving is a notional saving against what you would have spent if at home

Or is the real total cost €3k + 12x €300 = €6600 which is just over €78 per day
Which in my eyes is still a cheap 12 week holiday
 
Cervelo said:
@elcato, I'm a little confused by your figures especially the last bit
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My take
Trip cost for travel and accommodation for both trips - €3k
Difference in weekly cost of living = €350 - €300 = €50 x 12 weeks = €600

Total cost of trips = €3k - €600 = €2.4k
 
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