Budget travel can be tricky. But if you already own a bike and you’re happy to be flexible, there’re lots of ways you can save cash when you’re out exploring, without compromising your experience. Editor Ross tells us how…
ACCOMMODATION
Unless you’re going to be wild camping under the stars, you’re going to be spending a good chunk of your budget on digs for the night. Prices range from hundreds of pounds for plush, luxury hotels, through to beds for less than a tenner.
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It all depends on who you are, what you’ve got to spend, and what your expectations are. If you’re wanting to really keep a handle on costs, then there’re really only two options: camping or a hostel. But if you’ve got a little bit more money to spend, you could be surprised with what you’ll find, particularly if you’re booking well in advance (or at the very last minute).
Camping’s the cheapest option in the long term. But you’re going to have to buy all the kit in the first place, and then you’re going to have to carry it on the back of the bike for the duration of the trip. And the good stuff can cost a small fortune. If the weather’s good, you’d be able to snag a bargain tent and bag for less than a tank of fuel, but don’t expect it to hold up should the conditions take a turn for the worse.
Another option’s a hostel. This is our preferred choice. There’s no need to bring all your own gear; they’re warm; they’re dry; and there’s usually a reasonably-priced bar attached. For our last few big trips, we’ve stayed at Youth Hostels Association (YHA) places. They’ve been spot on; clean, comfortable and very welcoming. Prices vary dramatically, depending on season and availability, but we’ve had nights for just over £12 per person. You can’t really grumble at that, can you?
■ Booking in advance is the best way to secure a reasonably-priced bed for the night, but if you can be flexible with your plans, you could find an excellent deal by leaving it until the very last minute.
■ Trust your gut. If you don’t like camping, don’t camp. It might be the cheapest option, but is it really worth saving a few quid and being miserable?
■ Make sure you don’t have to bring your own towels. We’ve been caught out and had to nip out and buy our own.
■ Unless you’re in a hotel, bring your own toiletries. Campsites and hostels won’t provide them and you might end up paying over the odds for something you could have got for pence down the local supermarket.
FOOD AND DRINK
There’s a massive amount of wiggle room when it comes to keeping yourself fed and watered. Most of us aren’t going to be wandering into Michelin-starred restaurants in our textiles, but it’s far too easy to spend a small fortune on grub.
Keeping costs to a minimum is actually really easy though, providing you’re happy visiting budget supermarkets and doing your own cooking. But it’s not necessarily much fun, particularly after a long day in the saddle. Most of us want to grab a couple of beers and eat a decent meal, which is going to involve spending a bit of money.
In which case, the best thing to do is set a budget. Work out what you’re happy spending across the trip and then divvy it up by how many days you’re going to be away. That means if you want a swanky meal out at the end of the day, you’re going to have to compromise on your breakfast or lunch – or maybe even the food from the day before (or after), to make sure you can afford it.
It’s also worth having a little stash of snacks to keep you going. Sometimes it’s not convenient to stop for a proper meal, but if you’ve got some nuts, cereal bars or dried fruit handy you’re not going to starve.
And for drinking the trick is not to buy fresh bottles every time you get thirsty. Get a decent-sized water bottle and fill it up when you stop. Most places will have no problem topping you up, as long as you buy something, too. You’d be surprised how much you save with just this one trick.
TOP TIPS
■ If you want to be really frugal, invest in a little camping stove and prepare your own food. You’ll have a load of money for your morning coffee, too.
■ If you’re happy spending a bit of cash, breakfast’s a good place to start. Something hearty in the morning can keep you going for a full day.
■ Budget, budget, budget. And stick to it. If you want to eat well, you should – but remember you might have to compromise in other ways to ensure you don’t break the bank.
■ Have some food on you. You don’t want to get so ravenous you’re forced to head into the first place you find. You’re better having a quick snack and taking a bit of time to find somewhere that’s good value for money.
TRAVEL
Keeping fuel costs down is difficult. Sure, you could ride a little 125cc machine that’s getting 100mpg, but you’ll need to take weeks off work if you want to cover any serious distance. That said, bikes are generally pretty fuel efficient, though there’s still a huge amount of variation depending on what you ride and how you ride it. You can ride with economy in mind; rolling on the throttle smoothly and shifting up earlier will help. As an example, the two scooters on the previous pages are capable of returning nearly 80mpg – which means that for less than £15, we were able to cover nearly 200 miles. That’s not bad going, is it?
There’s also something to be said for not covering thousands of miles to start enjoying your journey. While we actively encourage people to get out and explore, it’s important to remember that there’s a whole load of spectacular riding on our own shores – and that means you’ll be get into the good stuff without spending a full day on the motorway (unless you’re going from Bournemouth to Inverness). And you also won’t have to spend a load of cash on ferries or freight, or splash out on a flight and a hire bike if you’re heading to some faraway land.
TOP TIPS
■ You don’t need to fork out on expensive planes, trains and ferries. Ride your own bike in the UK and make the most of your budget on the actual fun stuff.
■ Don’t fill up on the side of the motorway. The prices are inflated and you’ll often find much cheaper fuel elsewhere.
■ Make sure your bike is running sweet. Any mechanical issues can have a big impact on fuel efficiency.
■ Unless you’re running a classic or something a bit special, there’s no need to splash out for E5 (or even higher octane) fuel. E10 is just fine for most modern-ish machines.
