To ask how much do you spend on a holiday in cornwall?

[hattiesmumm]

Going for a week, 2 adults, 3dc (10,8,2). Saved 850. Would this be enough?! Panicking.

Have you booked it yet & are you self catering, campingnor what? If the weather is good you can just go yo the beach all day everyday. If you are self catering, we have exactly the same supermarkets as everywhere else. A day out at Eden would cost £85 for the 5 of you, Flambards would be the same, along with most other visitor attractions. Buy any tickets online in advance to save money.

Are you in a hotel, does that need to cover all meals? Are you self catering? What sorts of things do you like doing?

Cornwall is fantastic, we've holidayed there for many years (used to have family living there so no hotel/holiday cottage fees to pay ) but it can be very expensive, especially if the weather is not good and you need to find things to do.

If you’ve already paid accommodation then that will be loads surely? We went two years ago, and probably only spent about half that over the week. Went to loads of national trust houses/gardens which were free, cooked all evening meals at our self catering cottage and had breakfast there obviously, got lots of ice creams etc and had sandwiches out and about.

What has to come out of that? We are there now, and will probably spend less than that

Plenty if it does not include accommodation! Lots to do in Cornwall that won't cost you much. Many beaches to explore & just the car park ticket to pay if you take a packed lunch. Fishing for crabs in a harbour. Miles of coast path to walk. Throw in the odd pasty & a few ice creams. It does not have to cost a fortune but will do if you go to a theme park every day.

Went to loads of National Trust houses/gardens which were free - surely they are only free if you are already a member .

If you can afford it, it might be a good idea to join the NT as lots of the car parks in Cornwall are owned by the NT and free to members.

Don't forget that five ice creams can easily cost £12.50 - that all adds up.

We spent more than that in a week, but we ate out a lot and drank a lot.

If you’ve already paid for accommodation that’s loads. The 4 of us are going to Cornwall in August and I’ll be mighty annoyed if we spend that much!

I second paying for an NT membership. They save you loads of money on days out!

Hello @hattiesmumm

You can probably tell from my username that I’m a Cornwall fan...

We are also 2 adults, 3DCs (all primary school) and as long as you’re self-catering, you’ve got the budget spot on for a nice holiday. Our spends tend to be £800-£950 including at least 2 “proper” evening meals out and a fish n chips night, probably lunch (sandwiches/cream tea) once or twice (but I am a sandwich making fiend, and they bloody love a tuna sandwiches still), maybe two or three paid-for days out - bike hire for a day/a boat ride/entry to a garden/a show at Minack/Lands end/the seal sanctuary and all the fuel for around 800miles of driving. It includes all groceries purchased while on holiday, but excludes any we take with us (which is usually bread, soup, beans, pasta, cereals and bottle of wineX6!!)

As they’ve got older, the ice cream budget has become more like the pasty budget

Keep an eye on your kitty each day, set aside cash for any “big ticket” things you want to do, don’t forget you need to buy petrol to get home and don’t be shocked if you get through £30 just on parking

Have an amazing time!! X

Whereabouts ARE you staying? Tell us so we can come up with ways to spend your holiday money

if that's excluding accommodation and you're self catering/ camping thats a lot. we're here at the moment with younger dc and spent £30 on lunch out on sunday, and £7 to park for a day at the beach today. planning the same tmrw. Groceries same as at home. Just dont plan on doing loads of 'days out' attractions and you'll be fine.

Thank you all!

We are going to perran sands. I actually can not wait! Never been cornwall and hoping for amazing weather.

We have the caravan paid for.

We’re hoping to do lots of beaches/st ives etc.

Takemetokernow, we are huge Cornwall fans too! We have holidayed there every summer for 10 years and are going again next month. It's good to know we're not the only family that drives miles when were there - we stay on the Roseland, but go off for days out all over the county.

So that's spending money? Food? Petrol? Days out?
You will have to pay to park almost everywhere . If you have national trust membership you can park in their car parks usually free. But they get full up early so you either need to get to the NT car park early or later in day or it's one car out one car in.
It depends on what you want to do you can make it as cheap or expensive as you want. If weather is good and you go to the beach it will be cheaper than going to lots of attractions. Although it is good to see the sights while you are there. Have a look on the Cornish tourism website it's pretty good for ideas.
I think you can still use Tesco club card days out vouchers out at Flambards and Eden project and maybe one or two other places.

Hopefully the weather will be good and you'll be at the beach a lot. Your budget will be fine either way, its a gorgeous area.

My best tip for St Ives is to park at St Erth or the park & ride and get the train in. It is one of the most beautiful railway lines in the country. As you have a family of 5, you probably have a big car & nobody in their right mind drives a big car around St Ives.

National trust member x

I second the Tesco club card vouchers recommendation if you have them. Personally I thought the Eden project was a bit overrated and not great for kids - but if you can get in for “free” using Tesco vouchers then worth a trip.

I don’t know how close you are to Padstow but if you do fancy fish and chips there I’d recommend you skip the overpriced Rick Steins and go to the other one in the main square which is meant to be very good and mich cheaper.

DS loved crabbing in Cornwall ( they all go back in off course) and its a lovely and inexpensive way to spend a couple of hours before getting some chips

Perranporth is fantastic, you'll have a great time. We used to holiday there when we were kids, I still love it. Enjoy.

We stay in a beautiful self catering lodge and take £1000 for 3 of us,me and DH and our 2yr old DS and spend the lot! holidaying in the uk is expensive as is eating out and days out in Cornwall

My sister no longer works at Perran Sands but she used to! You could quite easily spend every day down on the beach if the weather's good (and you don't mind the climb back up!). Their surfing/ stand-up paddleboarding is reasonable and a few of the Nature Rockz activities are free. There's a dune explorer app as well, which is free.

St Ives is well-worth a visit. Either get the train from St Erth (they can get really busy, though, and you may have to queue to get one on the way back) or park at the leisure centre and walk/get the bus down. Highly recommend a boat trip from St Ives - I have a fantastic video of dolphins wakesurfing.

If you're a poldark fan, you will recognize holywell bay (nt)! Features several times an episode.

Is it as busy out of season too? Like before the school holidays start?

As you are a NT member use a search engine for map of NT car parks in Cornwall and it comes up. Very handy to see them on the map so you can plan your day.

@Floottoot delighted there’s another south coast fan around! So many people never come down from the North Coast. One of our most memorable “big ticket” items was a brill rib trip from St Mawes, and getting to Portscatho early for coffee looking down on the beach is where I want to start every day. Gorran Haven is a big favourite with the kids. Falmouth is where we usually head for though

OP, your 8 and 10 year old (and probably you and your OH) will LOVE the Hidden Valley near Launceston hiddenvalleydiscoverypark.co.uk/
We used it to break up the journey. Probably budget 40-50 quid entry, but we take a picnic and probably spent 4 hours there.

It’s puzzles and riddles and challenges that are pretty tough! Kept us adults entertained (and a bit over competitive)

Or if they’re animal lovers in the same area is Tamar Otter Sanctuary 😍 www.tamarotters.co.uk

My main memory of Perran Sands is the near vertical walk up from the beach