You're planning a weekend away with your mates. It sounds good, naturally, but there are loads of things you need to think about too. Picking a date, booking accommodation, arranging transport...
Arrange a date
It all starts with picking a suitable date. The more people involved, the trickier that becomes. Fortunately, you can find all sorts of handy date-finding tools online that make this hellish task a lot easier. These are often also available as apps for your smartphone or tablet. It's also wise to create a WhatsApp group to arrange certain matters.
Determine budget
Right, the date is set. Even before you choose a destination, it's wise to discuss the budget. It's possible that not everyone in the travel group has equally deep pockets. For example, you could agree that the weekend trip shouldn't cost more than 200 euros per person. This also gives you a practical handle when determining the travel destination and accommodation.
Destination plus accommodation
And perhaps the most important question: where are we going? Will it be a city break to Barcelona or Milan, an amusement or holiday park perhaps? Or perhaps an active weekend away? And where will you stay? In a luxury hotel, a basic (youth) hostel or all together in a holiday cottage?
Transport
Finally, there is, of course, the transport. People nowadays often book their trip including transport and accommodation. This seems often the cheapest, but is that really the case? In many instances, it is more advantageous to book accommodation and transport separately. As for transport, you naturally have the choice of car, bus, train, or plane.
With today's budget airlines, flying has become very cheap, but often hiring a people carrier is cheaper, as you can share the total cost. A people carrier also takes you door-to-door, of course, whereas to take a plane you first have to drive to an airport. Unless you're John Travolta and have your own Boeing. Moreover, with a hired people carrier, you don't need to hire a car on location to get around.
Naturally, by plane you're usually quicker. But if you're going to Paris, for example, and have to drive to the airport first for your flight, you'll not only be quicker but also cheaper with a hired van! Of course, you can also go by car. If you want to take a lot of things with you, you can in a hashback Fold down the rear seats to carry more luggage.
The sum
We looked on Goeuro.com to see how much it would cost today (08-12-2016; 08:51) to travel from Maastricht to Paris. The cheapest offer is €196.97 per person – €22.80 for the train journey from Maastricht to Düsseldorf and €175.17 for the (return) flight with Lufthansa.
Let's take that same journey in a hired minibus...
We are hiring a bus for 6 people. Ideal for travelling in, and also a lot of boot space for taking plenty of suitcases. Such a passenger or delivery van The cost at Adrem Car Rental Limburg is 39.90 euros plus 11.50 euros for insurance per day. The price per kilometre is 19 cents. The distance from Maastricht to Paris and back is a total of 804 kilometres. We are hiring the van from Friday to Sunday inclusive. That's three full days.
Then you pay (£):
Budget (3 days x 39.90): 119.70
+ Insurance (3 days x £11.50): £34.50
+ Kilometres (804 km x 0.19): 152.76
Subtotal: 306.96
+ By the way (21%): 64.46
+ Fuel (804 km): 88,-
Total: 459.42
This amount can be divided by 6 people (assuming maximum occupancy of the minibus) which comes to an approximate amount of €76.57 per person. More than 60 percent cheaper than a train journey plus flight! This means more spending money to use in the ‘City of Love’. Or you can use the money to book more luxurious accommodation, of course.
An additional benefit of hiring a people carrier: you have transport available for the entire weekend.
Have a good trip!
Where is your weekend getaway going? Let us know, and we'll give you an exact quote for the total cost of hiring a car or van!
