Part of the beauty of choosing Scotland as a holiday destination is the fact that it doesn’t cost your life savings to have an incredible (and memorable) time. With a little careful budgeting, you can take in the country’s incredible sites without any worries.
If you’re about to set off for a two-week motorhome hire holiday with us, we’ve got plenty of tried-and-tested tips for hitting up as many hotspots as possible without draining the bank account.
Want to know how to budget a motorhome holiday for two whole weeks? Well, we’re here to answer that question for you. Below are seven things you have to do when budgeting the perfect motorhome holiday:
Plan, Plan, and Plan Again
Yes, that’s right. A lot of planning should go into your budget if you don’t want to have a mid-holiday crisis. This will involve adding everything into the pot – including the motorhome itself – in order to get a clear view of the holiday as a whole. Get a pad and pen and note everything down, including estimates of certain things – for instance, petrol, meals, activities. This way, nothing should catch you by surprise and take a chunk out of your budget unexpectedly.
It’s great to do things spontaneously, but that’s often the most expensive way to holiday. Grabbing emergency supplies, or detouring 3 hours to see a site that, as it turns out, has a pretty steep admission fee, aren’t the kind of Scottish surprises you’re looking for.
Avoid the Peak Seasons if You Need to
If you find that you have a relatively tight budget, then make sure you’re not travelling during peak seasons. During these times, it is likely that you’re going to be paying more premium prices. Of course, the weather might not be as great during the low seasons in Scotland, but no-one travels to Scotland hoping for glorious sunshine! The best time of year to travel Scotland depends on the person, so avoiding peak seasons is not the end of the world.
Try the Local Cuisine
A good way to budget your holiday is to eat like a local. By this, we mean foregoing the tourist hotspots in favour of something a little more authentic. When you’re looking at towns to visit in Scotland, look at where the locals eat; these are more likely to offer hearty food at a good value. If you’re not planning on eating out a lot, however, you can always…
Self-Cater
Self-catering will really help you out if you are planning to travel to Scotland on a tight budget. Of course, this is one of the many benefits of seeing Scotland in a motorhome. If you choose our motorhomes, you will have the amenities to buy your own food and cook at your leisure – which is both cost-efficient and convenient if you find yourself out in the Highlands without a local café nearby!
Prioritise Free Activities
Another way to budget your holiday is by choosing free activities over activities where you have to pay. There are so many things to do in Scotland for free, not least hiking the range of hills and mountains that the country has to offer – which gives you the opportunity to really get up close and personal with the country and its natural beauty. Take a look at our favourite hiking spots for some inspiration.
If you prioritise things like this, you can keep your budget safe and still pay for the occasional spontaneous activity if one comes your way.
Go Slow and Steady
The last way to effectively budget your holiday is by choosing specific spots. As a motorhome driver, you will have free reign to travel wherever you want in Scotland, so you also have the opportunity to explore the country slowly and spread the cost.
It can be easy to get a little excited behind the wheel, pinpointing a number of places that you would like to visit. But this can lead to cramming, as you attempt to get miles and miles of tarmac under your wheels, lest you miss out on a location. Remember, this is a two-week motorhome holiday. It’s actually more important to cut it back, explore the place slowly and get to know a smaller number of places. This means that you are protecting your budget, while also getting to know specific locations far deeper than you would have done otherwise.
