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.
Travel Spending Diary: 7 Nights of Luxury in Salema, Portugal on a Budget
So how much did our family-of-four holiday to Salema cost? Here’s a quick breakdown of expenses:
- Total Holiday Cost: £2,182.15
- Flights & house & service charge via sunshine.co.uk £1,405.14
- 2x Flight Seats £20.00
- Airport Parking £53.00
- Spending £525.84
- Car hire £102.00
- Fuel & tolls £76.17
The same holiday would cost around £5000 just for the flights and accommodation alone in the summer!
So how did we manage such luxury on a budget? Let’s delve into the details.
Finding Luxury for Less: A Luxurious Seaview Townhouse and Flights
The biggest chunk of our budget went towards flights and accommodation (£1,405.14). Booking through Sunshine.co.uk, though a broker, offered the best deal. While their confirmation process wasn’t ideal (taking up to 48 hours), Sunshine offered the best price we could find, having checked another package website and even checking the prices going direct.
The package included flights and a self-catering luxury townhouse in Salema at NAU Salema Beach Village for 7 nights, just 500m from the beach. For an additional £200, we secured a townhouse with a sea view, a worthwhile investment for breathtaking views from two balconies and a rooftop terrace.
Considering peak season prices can skyrocket to £5,000, this was a steal! Despite being off-peak, we enjoyed sunny days with temperatures reaching 20 degrees Celsius.
We opted to depart from our hometown, Newquay, despite slightly higher flight costs, to save time, fuel, and potential overnight accommodation expenses, as previous Bristol flights necessitated an overnight stay and added so much time to our travel. This time we could be door to door in 6-7 hours!
We also saved a significant amount by packing light and avoiding baggage fees for checked suitcases (Ryanair charges for both cabin suitcases and hold suitcases, so we skipped both!).
We took under-seat backpacks only which were included in the standard airfare and managed to pack minimally for one week without incurring hundreds extra to take a suitcase each. It was quite a challenge as we could only have a bag sized 40x25x20cm each! Here’s our family Ryanair personal baggage packing list for one week so you can see how we managed it.
Additional Flight and Airport Parking Costs
Sunshine booked our flights with Ryanair, but seat selection wasn’t included. One adult was automatically allocated seats with the children, but the other adult wasn’t allocated a specific seat. We only realised this when logging into Ryanair ourselves with the booking code Sunshine had given us. Since we wanted to ensure we all sat together as a family, especially with the younger ones, we paid an additional £20 to choose the seats for the second adult.
Booking on-site parking at Newquay Airport directly through their website turned out to be a convenient and affordable option, compared to airport taxis, at only £53.00 for the week. It was a mere 7-minute walk to the airport terminal from the car! We could have parked even closer for around an extra £13, but there was no need as the airport is so small and close to all the car parks, it would have been a waste of money.
Food and Activities: Saving While Having Fun
We initially budgeted around £85 per day for food and activities (100 euros per day), including travel days, thinking we’d eat out every day, or at least have one restaurant meal per day. Being a vegan family and needing to work remotely in the evenings, things turned out differently. Supermarkets became our go-to for groceries, offering budget-friendly and convenient options. Plus, the kids sometimes get a little restless in restaurants! We enjoyed three meals at restaurants and otherwise cooked dinners at our accommodation or made picnics to take out with us for lunch.
As for holiday activities, we mainly explored the local area on foot, hiking from Salema to visit beautiful beaches on either side of the resort via the coastal paths, such as the stunning Praia Santa, and historical fort ruins (all free!), taking picnics and snacks with us.
We spent time at Salema beach to find the dinosaur footprints, swam in the sea and looked for fossils and shells at the rocky end of the beach at low tide.
We also treated ourselves to a game of padel for a fun family activity at the resort, our only paid activity!
By mainly shopping at the supermarket to make our own meals and enjoying free activities in Salema, we spent less than we thought. We didn’t spend all our holiday spending money and came back with some leftover holiday money. This was a nice surprise as I originally thought we’d not budgeted enough and would need to dip into some savings.
Car Hire: Convenience Wins
For added convenience, we pre-booked a hire car using the website GoRentalCars. We chose a car for the week to pick up directly from the airport with SIXT (£102.00). We learned our lesson from a previous trip where a cheaper off-site rental company wasted our time with shuttles and paperwork.
The car rental price included excess damage waiver insurance with a third party and SIXT did not pressure us to buy their excess waiver insurance, like many other car hire companies have previously!
We would hire from SIXT again. They were very friendly, quick and easy to deal with at Faro Airport. Upon return, they simply charged our credit card for the fuel and tolls used during our trip. This saved us time and hassle at the airport.
Taxis and other airport shuttle options were significantly more expensive than car hire and fuel, especially since we also wanted to explore beyond Salema.
Salema itself is a charming little fishing village that’s quiet and peaceful. With limited grocery options (one small supermarket with limited hours, the other closed during our visit), car hire was essential for our vegan family who needed to cook most meals.
We enjoyed a day trip out of Salema using the car to see the “Land’s End of Portugal” (Cape of Saint Vincent lighthouse) and Castelejo Beach, all within driving distance.
Final Thoughts: How to Enjoy Luxury Accommodation and Holiday in Salema Portugal on a Budget
With careful planning and savvy spending, we enjoyed a luxurious getaway without breaking the bank. This trip proves that with a little planning and strategic choices, you too can create amazing memories with your family without sacrificing comfort or luxury!
Here’s a quick recap of our money-saving tips and how to travel in luxury for less:
- Travel Outside Peak Season: Travelling during the off-season offers significant savings on flights and accommodation.
- Compare Prices Online: Don’t settle for the first offer you see! Use travel comparison websites and brokers to find the best deals.
- Consider Travel Brokers: Travel brokers can sometimes find deals you might miss on your own, but be aware of potential confirmation delays.
- Pack Light: Avoid baggage fees by packing light and carrying on your luggage whenever possible. Just be aware of the maximum sizes and don’t go larger as you could get charged at the airport.
- Self-Catering Accommodation: Opt for self-catering accommodation like apartments or townhouses, which allow you to cook your own meals and save money on dining out.
- Explore Free Activities: Many destinations offer free activities like exploring beaches, parks, historical sites, and hiking trails.
- Plan Your Grocery Shopping: Research grocery stores near your destination and plan your meals accordingly.
- Pre-Book Car Hire (if necessary): Consider pre-booking a car, especially if taxis are expensive or public transport is limited.
We hope this detailed breakdown inspires you to plan your own budget-friendly adventure! Remember, with a little creativity and planning, a luxurious family holiday is within reach!
Check out more of our travel spending diaries here:
Spending diary for our budget family holiday to London. 3 days, 4 people, only £350!
Travel spending diary: 6 nights with kids in Portugal on a budget
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