Is £230 enough spending money to go to Cornwall for 5 days?

[MascalPascal]

Going to Cornwall for Feb half term. Booked a lovely caravan which was very cheap owing it to it still being out of season. Going to St Ives.

Everything is booked and paid for, including all activities. Over the last 6 months i have been booking things slowly. Biggest expense really will be a food shop and petrol (I need to pay for return journey petrol from this money too).
Should that be enough?

Bit late now 😂

As a child who was never taken on holiday by my parents, the effort you are going to for your daughter is absolutely lovely. I hope you both have a fantastic time x

Hello @MascalPascal, I've only just seen your thread and it looks like you are more than sorted 🙂but I'll chuck my two penneth in for what it's worth!

I know Hayle well, I have a second home there. I see you've been to Tesco near Carbis Bay, you probably know by now but there is a large Asda in Hayle (at the Foundry end) and they do the kids eat free thing I believe. There's a Lidl at the Copperhouse end for cheap supplies.

There is a good well maintained playpark at Tolroy Manor (up the hill towards Helston), it'll be dead at this time of the year and no-one will be bothered as to whether you're staying on the site so have a wander up there if you find yourself at a loose end, your DD will probably have the swings, slide etc to herself! Hayle beach is lovely even in the winter, you can park up nearby. Just check for the tides as you can get cut off in the estuary and have to walk up a cliff and go the long way round to get back! The Hayle Heritage Centre do some great free crafting activities but I think they're still closed at this time of year, and they were planning a big refurb so they might not even be open this summer come to think of it...I think Mr B's the local ice cream parlour might be closed at this time of year too, but if open they do a really special ice cream for kids from £1.95.

Feel free to PM me if I can help at all. I hope you and your little one have a fabulous break 🙂

I know you’re already on holiday but I just wanted to say - ignore the negative commenters, I bet they’d find fault with a £10,000 holiday in the Maldives!

I hope you are having the best time with your little girl. We’ve had some of our best holidays in a caravan (often in the rain). It’s about spending time together not spending money!

Yes, unless you're driving a tank from Wick. Tight but doable. Take your slow cooker, meal plan, shop at aldi. Even buy the snax/treats and drinks from the supermarket. Remember to take what you can from home.

Try reading tbe OP's posts?

I haven't seen the sea for years, I'd love to be where you are OP.

Your little girl is so lucky, have a wonderful time.🌅

I live in Camborne and yes there is an Aldi 😊

It's enough if you are only eating in petrol? Ice-cream? Snacks? Drinks at a bar?

The UK is really expensive X

I'm very impressed by your organisational and budgeting skills as well as your thoughtfulness for your DD. You're a 5 star mum and I hope you both have a lovely time.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

It’ll be tight but doable if you budget.
I don’t like to budget when on holiday so I’d be miserable but you’re not me. You’ll probably not be able to eat out or buy treats or sit at the entertainment at night. I think if you weren’t having to use that for fuel you’d be ok but I think fuel will take a big chunk of it.

EDIT*
I took my 2 kids to Blackpool years ago, had already paid for travel and activities (pleasure beach, madam tussauds, tower etc) and still managed to spend £400 for 3 nights!

I live pretty near st Ives (out in the sticks though). £260 will be plenty of money for 5 days seeing as you’ve already paid for all of your activities and days out. Definitely take a packed lunch to Eden - the food is very nice there but pricey and it gets busy any school hol even out of season. It’s a long way from st Ives so make sure you leave enough time to get there and park and walk down to the ticket office.

I would recommend going for Moomaids ice cream (in st Ives), and the penny arcade will be super fun for a 7 year old. We love the PK museum in porthcurno and it’s free in the winter (but not sure about half term?), and porthcurno is beautiful to walk out to. If you like walking, the coast path is lovely round to Zennor and gurnards head which are both pretty close to st Ives, and also the beach at Lelant (porthkidney) is stunning - park at the church and walk out through the golf course and left along by the railway track for 500m. The other thing relatively close to you, is Carn Euny, an Iron Age village- it’s English Heritage but free to go to and is really amazing for kids to run around and play and you can go inside one of the old fougous. Let’s hope for nice weather!

You sound like a wonderful mum - I hope you and your daughter have a fantastic time and the weather is kind! I love Cornwall.

You sound like a great mum OP and your daughter is lucky you’ve arranged such a brilliant break away. Well done and enjoy.

I was curious as to what would make a person be so spiteful and unhappy online, and then I did an AS on you. Nevermind. 💉

Seriously though, this reflects really badly on you and if you get your jollies, when you’re struggling yourself, by being really unkind online, you should probably look into that and maybe do something about it.

I think you will be fine. Hopefully the weather will be good and you can do free activities like the beach etc as well. You can catch the train from st Ives to carbis bay for £1 each and there is a beautiful beach there x

£20 on fish and chips? You pay that for one person in most places now!

Well it depends what you want to do.
free activities like going to the beach/walks etc and mainly self catering with a few cheap bags of chips/pasties etc thrown in and you should be fine.

eating out for 3 meals a day, lots of expensive attractions each day and lots of souvenir shopping, it won’t be enough.

I want to come on holiday with you! You sound ace and your DD sounds delightful. I love how simply want her to have a good time and you don’t need to get into debt to do it. Have a fab holiday. These will be the memories she cherishes and you made them. You should feel very proud of yourself.

Have a fantastic time .
Single parent here , I have taken my DD on many budget breaks as time together is precious.
lots of fun memories..
I am so looking forward to your update when you get back .

Have a fabulous time with your little girl OP! You've done the hard work, the research and booking in advance. All you need to pay for is food, parking and fuel to get home.

I could manage on that budget for 2 adults and 2 teens. It would be tight as there's more of us, but I'd take the cupboard basics, make packed lunches and dinner back at the caravan each night, but we'd still have a great time and I'm sure you will too.

For the love of God...will people please just use the See All function. It's not hard! Quicker than wasting your time posting an irrelevant reply to an OP that's moved on significantly. This goes double if you're an arsehole wanting to stick the boot in - at least check you're not going to look like a STUPID arsehole.

Well I wouldn't be surprised if it was £20 a portion in Cornwall, but even if it is, one portion of fish and chips is almost certainly going to be sufficient food to feed the OP and a 7 YO anyway.

Fish and chips here are about £10 and the portions are so large that they're plenty for lunch for two adults.

Just a quick note to say I hope you both have a wonderful time. You sound like an amazing mum.

We love Cornwall, and I think you can have a terrific time on a modest budget. Ignore the naysayers, and focus on the brilliant advice you have had from folks that are local xx

Have an amazing holiday OP, you sound like a brilliant mum and I would have loved that holiday as a little girl.