Cost of End to End

[horizon]

Ironically, given that you do all the work, cycle touring isn't cheap. I have just found a 14 day package to Tenerife in August in a 4* star hotel with breakfast and dinner, including flights, at £505 per person. I am wondering how this compares with people's experience of the cost of JOGLE.

[Mick F]

I paid just over £400 at B+Bs and YHAs for my 3 weeks JOGLE on the Chopper in May. Even then, I stayed at relation's homes for two nights and at home for three. None of that time in B+Bs and YHAs included dinners, so I reckon £500 is ok!

[robgul]

We didn't bother to add it all up for our ride last June ... but a rough guess for the 2 weeks or so with B&B, dinners, rail fares, coffee stops, lunches (fuel up with jacket potato and Coke) was probably heading towards £900 each - not a "cheap holiday"

Rob

[Fathead]

Having just booked up accommodation for our LEJOG in September. B&B for 17 nights equates to £450. Train tickets are £110. Plus we have food and drink on top. So if we were to say £25 a day for lunch and dinner. We are looking at £1k each

[horizon]

I paid just over £400 at B+Bs and YHAs for my 3 weeks JOGLE on the Chopper in May. Even then, I stayed at relation's homes for two nights and at home for three. None of that time in B+Bs and YHAs included dinners, so I reckon £500 is ok!

This is what I first thought. But adding it up, £1000 doesn't look so far out - make that a three week trip and it really is about right. The only way to get the cost well down is camping, YHAs (or very cheap B&Bs), cooking your own food and booking your rail fares well in advance. I still cannot get my head round the idea that something as simple and environmentally friendly should be so expensive.


(By the way just in case anyone thought differently, my choice would be JOGLE, not two weeks lounging by the pool in constant sunshine, well, hmmm, no really...).

[enigmatic]

It's not the cost of the cycling itself, more the cost of getting to and from the 'Ends' and the quality of the overnight stops. It's a few years since I did my E2E's but even last century ( !) I didn't get much change out of £800 by the time trains, car hire, decent B&B's (or YHA + decent meals out) were factored in. That's the price you pay if you have to fit it all in to a fortnight's annual holiday from work

[phil parker]

I did the ride in 11 days, cycle camping and reasonably modest except for a meal in the pub every evening (along with a pint and a glass of wine).

A day travelling there and a day travelling back with an overnight in Edinburgh to visit relatives, made it 14 days all-in-all.

Including train fares, food, drink & incidentals - it came to about £450 - £500.

[irc]

My Hastings to Inverness trip this year cost about £30 for hostels as most of the cost was paid using Tesco vouchers. THe sleeper down to London was £29, London Hastings about £7. Inverness - Glasgow bought on the day £41. Not sure my total spend on meals but with a mixture of pub meals and self catering it wasn't a vast amount. So a UK holiday can be done cheaply.

But I agree for off the shelf holidays the buying power of tour companies makes their prices hard to beat.

[Gearoidmuar]

Something you should subtract from the cost of your holiday is the cost of staying at home for that period!

I've just done the CTC lejog for the second time. It cost about 1500 plus airfares (150) plus the approx 600 I spent on it, on pre- and post-tour accommodation ( I live in Cork) food, booze and general pfaffing around. Most of the dinners were included.
You could do it cheaper yourself, I imagine, but you get van support, all the bookings done, a bus from JOG to Edinburgh and built-in company. It's not an easy tour as it seeks out every steep hill in the UK, but it was great fun. I was 16lb lighter than last year and it helped a lot.

Good value in my opinion, if you can afford it.

[Geofff]

My guestimate would be around the £700 mark. I did it in fifteen days, staying at B&B's, eating in pubs etc and including a flight back from Inverness to Bristol.

[PW]

I did an 830 mile run from JOG back to Chesterfield, so a similar mileage and time span (2 weeks). I cadged a lift to JOG with No1 Son & saw him right for food & fuel, camped most nights, usually around £5 - £7, using B&Bs to dry out when the weather kicked up rough or I really needed a clean bed & shower. The rest was food and a couple of pints before bed. I reckon it worked out at around £300. It's worth noting that the west of Scotland is considerably cheaper than places such as Cornwall.
Edit, as Gearoid said, you need to subtract home living expenses, (maybe £100 per week?) with food, fuel, household cleaning stuff which you don't use on tour.

[Mick F]

Edit, as Gearoid said, you need to subtract home living expenses, (maybe £100 per week?) with food, fuel, household cleaning stuff which you don't use on tour.

I'm not sure about this at all.
I may be out touring the country by bike, spending money on B+B, food, drinks and the like, and therefore NOT spending it at home.

BUT

My other half still has to live. Rates, mortgage, lecky, water, heating ....
and food costs the same if you buy for two or for one.

I don't think it's a simple as saying you have to subtract your living expenses.

[PW]

Mortgage is paid up but I wasn't including the utility bills & rates. Mrs will probably be doing something silly like the Pennine Way or that long distance walk in Corsica when I go on the next jaunt. (I'm still paying for the Himalayan trek last time )

[Mike G]

Well, if you want to do a cheap B&B based lejog or jogle, don't do it in August!! The cheapest B&B room on my upcoming trip is £45, but they average £55 for a double. Edinburgh is an absolute nightmare........I've ended up across the Forth and still paying £80 for a night. However, booked in advance the trains weren't too bad, but we'll be getting no change out of £1200 for 2 of us, plus the cost of lunch and dinner every day.

Mike

[enigmatic]

My mate did LEJoG in 4 days with only a saddlebag for company, sleeping in telephone boxes and bus shelters. A friend took him down to LE and he got the train back from JoG. He may have been a mad Audaxer training for Paris-Brest-Paris but he knew how to save money!