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13 Day UK to Spain & Portugal Family Road Trip Costs

UK to Spain and Portugal Family Road Trip Cost Breakdown (13 Days)

Published on April 30, 2026April 30, 2026 by VictoriaLeave a comment

13 days.
1982 miles.
48 hours of driving.
42 hours on a ferry.
5 beautiful locations.

We recently returned from a UK to Spain and Portugal road trip, travelling by ferry with our own car and staying in a mix of coastal and rural locations.

One of the biggest questions when planning a trip like this is simple: how much does it actually cost?

So here’s our full, honest breakdown.

This isn’t a stripped-back budget or a luxury getaway. It’s what we really spent as a family of four, balancing comfort, convenience and cost while travelling and working remotely.

This UK to Spain and Portugal family road trip cost breakdown includes ferry, accommodation, food, fuel and tolls over 13 days.

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Travel Spending Diary: 7 Nights of Luxury in Salema, Portugal on a Budget

Published on March 3, 2024August 5, 2025 by VictoriaLeave a comment

We recently returned from a magical, but budget-friendly, 7-night trip staying in a luxurious townhouse in Salema, Portugal, with our entire family – two adults and our two children (aged 11 and 8). Who says a luxurious family holiday has to cost a fortune?

By being smart about our choices, we enjoyed a stunning townhouse with breathtaking sea views and created lasting memories, all on a budget!

Here’s a detailed breakdown of our spending to show you exactly how we did it and lots of money-saving tips for how to get luxury accommodation for less.

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Family travel spending diary £1200 six nights portugal with kids

Travel spending diary: 6 nights with kids in Portugal on a budget

Published on February 26, 2020January 9, 2025 by Victoria1 Comment

Whenever we travel we have a budget to try and stick to. This is money we have saved specifically for that trip, plus we can add on what we would have allowed for food shopping if we were at home that week.

As well as keeping a travel spending log to stick to our budget (or at least try to), I also like to see exactly where we are spending money and how much things cost. It means we can see where we can cut costs on travel, if we need to, and also helps me predict how much similar trips will cost in the future.

Hopefully it’s also useful for others to see how much family trips cost or can cost.

When planning our recent six night stay in Portugal, I had a rough budget in mind of £1000. This all depended on how much we could get our flights and accommodation for as it was half term so prices were, of course, higher than usual.

£1200 was around our maximum and for six nights in Portugal as a family of four with all travel, food, accomodation and entertainment, I think this was a more reasonable amount as a budget. £300 per person for almost a week’s stay, food and transport.

Read on to discover how close to our ideal budget of £1000, but maximum £1200 we managed to get.

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Spending diary for our budget family holiday to London. 3 days, 4 people, only £350!

Published on December 25, 2019May 6, 2025 by Victoria1 Comment

London on a budget is totally possible, even if you’re travelling with kids, so long as you’re willing to make some sacrifices and take advantage of the free things you can do in London.

In this blog post I reveal our spending diary as a family of four in London for three days.

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Cornwall with kids: walking the coast path to Mevagissey - pentewan sands

7 day Cornwall holiday costs for family of four in October

Published on November 20, 2019September 18, 2025 by Victoria1 Comment

Wondering how much a family holiday to Cornwall in October costs for four people? I’ll reveal exactly how much we spent in October 2019 on our Cornish beach holiday for seven days.

We recently spent the October half term in Cornwall staying at Pentewan Sands 5-star holiday resort. We tried to be careful with what we spent, but we had a few treats. I was always mindful of what we were spending and kept a holiday spending diary so we could keep track of our budget. Read on to see how much we spent.

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