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Original poster

Days out- how do people afford them?

312 replies

lovelydaffodils · 19/03/2022 16:28

Went to a local attraction.
Coffee was £2.90
Pizza was £12
Entry was £30 for the three of us.
Activity was approx a two hour max

OP posts:
Lbnc2021 · 19/03/2022 16:29

Doesn’t sound too bad

Wouldntitbenicetobeinyourshoes · 19/03/2022 16:31

Packed lunches and a flask.
Rucksack and using storage lockers if available. The food at attractions is often mediocre at best anyway so we preferred to take our own.

LubaLuca · 19/03/2022 16:31

I suppose taking a picnic and a flask would be the obvious way to keep the cost down, or not going at a mealtime if it's local and takes only two hours.

astoundedgoat · 19/03/2022 16:31

That doesn’t sound too awful… but I wanted to go to visit Warwick Castle and with Zipcar from just an hour away it was going to cost about £130 for the four of us, not including food. 😮

Reader, we did not go.

BluebellsGreenbells · 19/03/2022 16:33

Find cheaper alternatives:

Local farm, £5 adults £3 kids, council soft play rather than private venues.

Go veg picking - easy spend a few hours there choosing vegetables and digging them up.

Walk in the woods - free
Beach if you have one - free
Picnic in the park with friends - free

Check out the library for free kids stuff.

Cinema - wait for the £1 offers, even if you’ve seen it before.

Save Tesco vouchers and convert to days out

Notdoingthis · 19/03/2022 16:33

We have membership to one place. Others we only ever do with offers on. We take take packed lunches. Also, Blue Peter badges.

MyDcAreMarvel · 19/03/2022 16:33

Take your own food and drink.

purpledagger · 19/03/2022 16:34

We normally take a packed lunch on days out.
I've never been impressed with the food at attractions, so we bring our own, but may have an ice cream.

Gizlotsmum · 19/03/2022 16:36

Take food and drink (and extra snacks). Look for offers, accept it will be pricey so do free stuff other times

Nidan2Sandan · 19/03/2022 16:36

@BluebellsGreenbells

Find cheaper alternatives:

Local farm, £5 adults £3 kids, council soft play rather than private venues.

Go veg picking - easy spend a few hours there choosing vegetables and digging them up.

Walk in the woods - free
Beach if you have one - free
Picnic in the park with friends - free

Check out the library for free kids stuff.

Cinema - wait for the £1 offers, even if you’ve seen it before.

Save Tesco vouchers and convert to days out

Which is fine, but sometimes people would love to go for days out to somewhere better than traipsing round a wood.

Roller coasters, historical buildings, etc. These are not cheap.

Also, what bloomin farm do you have that charges £5! Ours is £27 a head!! (Free for under 2yo)

implantreplace · 19/03/2022 16:37

Lunch for 3 was £12? One pizza between 3?

Hotcuppatea · 19/03/2022 16:39

Always take your own food and drinks. I would budget for an ice cream or something like that.

HalfShrunkMoreToGo · 19/03/2022 16:40

Look for offers and take a packed lunch.

I get half price at lots of the big attractions through the 'perks' sites associated to my car insurance (1st central), childcare vouchers (EdenRed) and work (they use Life Works benefit scheme). Vodafone also regularly do offers. Also Tesco vouchers can be doubled or more when used for attractions.

FinallyHere · 19/03/2022 16:40

Paying £30 entry for a two hour activity and then spending further to eat pizza during that time sounds a bit pointless to me.

Do you really need a meal during a two hour activity?

Maybe pay entrance then take water with you. Enjoy a meal when you get home.

Flossieskeeper · 19/03/2022 16:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

FoxyFoxyLoxy · 19/03/2022 16:44

The answer to these threads is always the same.

Some people have more money.

Some people have the same money, but choose to spend it differently.

Obviously.

MushroomCow99 · 19/03/2022 16:44

Tesco Clubcard points. Wink

Hercisback · 19/03/2022 16:48

Deals, NT and EH memberships, take your own food and drink.

Look out for things like lottery days out, sun vouchers, schemes through unions if you're in one.

Find joy in activities that don't require lots of money. Woods, walks, parks, wildlife spots, paddling in rivers. Stay closer to home too, petrol is expensive!

WibbleWobbleWibble · 19/03/2022 16:49

Big days out are few and far between. We always look for offers. Take all food and drink with us. Don't buy in tbe gift shop and don't do any "extra" chargeable activities.

CrabLegs · 19/03/2022 16:50

@FinallyHere

Paying £30 entry for a two hour activity and then spending further to eat pizza during that time sounds a bit pointless to me.

Do you really need a meal during a two hour activity?

Maybe pay entrance then take water with you. Enjoy a meal when you get home.

Absolutely. It honestly wouldn't cross my mind to have a meal when I was going to a farm for a couple of hours.

woodhill · 19/03/2022 16:50

Always take food and a flask if you can

Mullercornershop · 19/03/2022 16:52

Annual passes to one place are a lot cheaper than going to different places all of the time. An annual pass to my local zoo is £30 for a child and £50 for an adult. We go at least twice a month.

ISpyCobraKai · 19/03/2022 16:53

I go to free museums or activities and take food if I've no money.
If you're in/near a city there's generally lots to do.
Current free plans include botanic gardens, at least one museum and a street art tour.

Unsureaboutit9 · 19/03/2022 16:54

Don’t pay for coffee and lunch out on a 2 hour activity. Take a picnic or flask. There’s offers like planetoffers vouchers, kidpass, groupon, the ones with a lottery ticket were you buy a lottery ticket and get £25 towards entry at selected venues, Clubcard voucher exchange. National trust normally do a free day every year and there’s also free open farm day in June (I love that one!). Shop around basically

Unsureaboutit9 · 19/03/2022 16:56

This is the lottery one sorry. Don’t no what it’s like ever were else but we’ve had a few nice days out much cheaper with this.

www.visitbritainshop.com/gb/en/nationallotterydaysout

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