to think it shouldn't cost a thousand just to visit family

[number5namechange]

a few hrs away on the train?

So both me and dh don't drive due to medical issues/lack of confidence.So use public transport.

We are going to visit his family in a few weeks ( monday to Wednesday) with a grand cost of one thousand pounds!!!
That includes train fare for 2 adults and 3 kids. Premier inn with breakfast. We also have to pay for our own food when there. Some spending money ( 200)

Exactly!

Having a family of five is never going to be cheap.

@Noglassjustthebottleandastraw

Everyone aged 0 to 22 now gets free bus travel in Scotland. Under 5s always did but now from 5 to 22, they get free bus travel everywhere in scotland. You might have been thinking of dad.

Train tickets is the £1 thing but, as you say, they need to be bought at the ticket office in the station. You cant book them online or even from a ticket machine.

My family are about 3 1/2 hours drive away and visiting them costs about £500 due to ds's sn needing particular accommodation requirements etc.

Another thought from the "it shouldn't cost thousands to visit family" - who moved? It doesn't cost us thousands to visit dhs family as they live a 20 min drive away - or 1 stop on the train. To visit my parents, it normally costs a few hundred as they live in France and we have to pay for ferry, petrol and road tolls (although stay with them so no additional housing costs).

When you live a long distance away from family it will cost to visit.

To tne poster buying an Anytime Return you really shouldn’t. Try for advance purchase tickets and investigate ticket splitting. That can make a huge difference.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s only business people who are spending someone else’s money who waste their money on an Anytime Return without a railcard.

"Sorry, that's it the children pay £1. I live in the rural Highlands and booked me and dds train tickets for Inverness online. The ticket office told me to buy them at the station next time as dd would get a reduced ticket. I must have imagined the free tickets for kids or maybe it was only a certain offer for a time. I only get the train maybe 4 times a year either to Inverness or Edinburgh"

The kids did used to go free in school holidays a few years ago. Think it was 2 kids per adult ticket.

Probably going to visit MIL

As far as I’m concerned, it’s only business people who are spending someone else’s money who waste their money on an Anytime Return without a railcard.

Or people who want/need flexibility.

What an odd topic to do a flounce for 😂 OP come baaaaaaack

How far in advance did you book the train and hotel? If money is tight, travelodge is often cheaper. And I can't believe that there wouldn't have been anywhere cheaper...

Is the food money for shopping for relatives or eating out?

If seeing relatives, is £200 for spending really necessary?

At current fuel rates, that would cost most people close to £200 if say you're going as far as Wick, plus the mot, tax, insurance, general running costs, I'd say not far off that all in, it's just that these costs are spread over the year.

I can't really understand the complaints given you say you can't drive, so have to use public transport and presumably vetoed coaches, so must be aware of the associated costs. And had time to book in advance as well as could have made the trip longer and more cost effective.

OP 'it's going to cost £1000 to visit relatives'

Everyone on the thread 'you can get your train tickets much cheaper, no need to spend £300 in 3 days on spending money and food'

OP disappears

What is the "spending money" for if you're visiting family? Could the £200 not be reduced? What will you need to spend it on?

Bit of a useless calculation though when you aren't inputting the actual locations or dates etc....

Or people who have to take a very last minute trip. Or self employed business people not wasting other people's money but again having little choice due to last minute arrangements/uncertainty as to return time. I next to never know when I need to come back.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s only business people who are spending someone else’s money who waste their money on an Anytime Return without a railcard.

Or people needing to link up with other transport. Remember looking at train tickets for my in-laws when they were flying over. The cost was extortionate as they couldn't commit to a time in case of flight delays, long passport control lines etc.

I do it at times - usually when I fly into the Uk and I never know if my flight will land on time so I just get the first train available. But now that I’m entitled to a senior citizen railcard I’m going to start using that as well.