Katharine Viner
Estimated total: £600
I was in need of a quiet, beachy holiday with as little activity as possible, so went to stay with my friend Jack in his family's apartment in Gozo, a small, beautiful island off Malta. Thanks to Jack's generosity, this was not a holiday that broke the bank, but I do get a bit carried away when faced with the two words "duty-free".
What I spent
Flights: BA to Malta £260.
Clothes: Three summer dresses (Selfridges, Top Shop) £150; new bikini (Selfridges, didn't wear) £40.
Books: Philip Roth, Janis Joplin biography, Anita Desai £40.
Extras: Legs and bikini wax £30; suntan lotions (Nivea, Factor 15, 12, 8, plus after-sun) £35; sun-protecting shampoo and conditioner (Kerastase) £15; mosquito repellent and cream (Superdrug) £10; breakfast at airport £4.
Duty-free on the way out: CDs (inc Craig David with free video, Bob Dylan, Beach Boys, Cardigans, UK Garage and Ibiza compilations) £80; perfume (Armani) £40; vodka and cointreau for holiday £20.
Transport: Cab to airport £26; cab from Malta airport to ferry £12; share of jeep hire, plus petrol £54; cab from ferry to Malta airport £12; cab home £28.
Accommodation: £0.
Basics: Kitty for the week £150; share of utilities £29.
Entertainment: Dinner for three £30; entry and drinks in the Grotta nightclub £15; beers out (total for week, rounds at 30p a bottle) £15.
What I bought on the way home: Presents (wine, nougat, sarong for Mum) £40; British newspapers at airport £5; duty-free moisturiser (Clarins) £30; duty-free kalhua and rum £20.
Real total: £1,190
Verdict: It was more than I thought I'd spent, but worth every penny. And I still have the Craig David CD to dance to in my bikini.
Will Woodward and Rachel Cooke
Estimated total: £2,000
It felt expensive before we left, mainly because of £680 for a week's stay in an (admittedly delightful) house overlooking Meloi beach in Patmos. But we spent money like Greek mineral water, and usually can't be bothered to check it. Was it a cheap holiday? No. Did we need it? Yes.
What we spent
Flights: Heathrow-Athens-Rhodes, Olympic Airways, £646 for two.
Clothes: Two swimsuits £24, three T-shirts £15, new beach towel £10.
Books: Rough Guide to Greek Islands, Carol Shields, Raymond Chandler, Adhaf Soueif, Sybil Bedford, JK Rowling, Martin Amis £48.93.
Extras: Insect repellent £4; copy of the Guardian at airport £0.45.
Transport: Early-morning mini-cab Hackney-Heathrow £30; Heathrow Express to Paddington x 2 £24; cab Paddington-Hackney £16.
Accommodation: House in Patmos for seven days, £680.
Paid on credit card: Meal in Rhodes £48.86; unnecessary tip £7.58.
Money taken out of cash machines: Heathrow £202.61; Rhodes £187.02; Patmos £357.03. This was spent on:
Accommodation: Four nights in hotels in Rhodes £185; three nights in hotels in Patmos £140.
Transport: Taxis in Rhodes £10; taxis in Patmos £3; hydrofoil, Rhodes-Patmos, Patmos-Rhodes £80.
What we bought out there:
Hat and swimming trunks £20; after-sun cream £3.
Activities: Entrance to Patmos monasteries £15; opera tickets £14, sun lounger rental £16; internet access £2.
The rest was pretty much food and restaurant bills - we ate out every night save for about three nights at our house in Patmos; there we had breakfast in every day and lunch in about five days.
Real total: £2,301.48
Verdict: Cost-wise, it was on the high side for a holiday with very little sightseeing action. But it was worth it.
Andrew Gilchrist
Estimated cost: £1,600
I spent two weeks in Thailand (trekking round the hills up north, scuba-diving off the southern islands, boozing in Bangkok) then a week-long bender in Hong Kong staying at a mate's. So, it was never going to be cheap.
What I spent
Flights: London-Bangkok return £693; Bangkok- Chiang Mai rtn £60; Bangkok- Ko Samui rtn £110; Bangkok-Hong Kong rtn £120.
Books: Rough Guide to Thailand, Stalingrad £26; Extras: Money belt £5; shiny glasses case with snazzy pop-up lid £12.
Transport: Tube to Heathrow £3.50.
Accommodation in Chiang Mai: One night in crappy hostel with door hanging off hinges £5; two nights in hotel (4-star) £60.
Transport: Tuk tuks (taxis) £20.
Activities: Three-day trek to hill tribes £40.
What I bought: Nike sandals £5; fake Oakley shorts (fell apart the same day) £5; mosquito sprays £10; camera and films £150.
Entertainment: Thai boxing show £5.
Food and drink: £60.
Accommodation in Ko Pha Ngan/Ko Samui: Seven nights' accommodation £120.
Activities: Four days' diving £200.
Food and drink: (inc Full Moon beach party all-nighter) £100.
Transport: Boat crossings £10; tuk tuks £20.
Accommodation in Bangkok: Two nights in hotel (inc mini bar) £40.
Activities: Dismal city boat trip £8; massage £5.
Transport: Tuk tuks £15.
Food and drink: £30.
What I bought: Two fake Diesel T-shirts £10; Thai boxing shorts £5; carved teak elephant with stand, four teak bowls, two sets of teak salad server spoons, two coconut bowls for rice, giant teak plate, 11 sets of chopsticks, two pairs colourful beach trousers (not teak) £50.
Accommodation in Hong Kong: £0.
What I bought: Ralph Lauren top (not fake) £40; Adidas trainers (not fake) £35; Johnny Walker Red Label whisky (present) £10; silk dressing gown (present) £120.
Transport: Airport train return £20; taxis £40.
Activities: Daytrip to Macau (inc dinner at world-famous Fernando's) £60; daytrip to Stanley Beach (inc waterfront lunch) £20; Sunny Paradise hot bath and massage £30.
Food and drink: £200 (inc vodka jelly night); plus lunch at 62nd floor revolving restaurant £20; plus took pal and his girlfriend for a meal at classy restaurant (Harry Ramsden's) £50.
Real total: £2,647.50
Verdict: I am flabbergasted. I knew I hadn't exactly been tight-fisted. But having now totted things up, I clearly went bananas, blazing round south-east Asia haemorrhaging cash. I booked my flight late, which was costly, then thought: why spend all that then skimp when I get there? So I didn't. And it was worth it - especially the Full Moon party and the Sunny Paradise massage.
Mark Porter and Lizzy Hubbard
Estimated total: £2,300
The first week was spent self-catering in a traditional black house by the sea on the isle of Harris. It takes ingenuity to find ways of spending money in Harris, but we succeeded by dining lavishly twice at a nearby hotel. The second week was at a hotel in Skye, which was comfortable, but creaky. It reminded us more and more of Fawlty Towers, so we decamped for the last night to a restaurant with rooms on the other side of the island.
What we spent
Transport: Return train fare from London (overnight sleeper to Inverness) £258; ferry tickets £145.90; cab to Euston £8.50;car hire £210; petrol £60.43; cab home from Euston £8.
Clothes: Shoes, T-shirts (one pair of Merrell aquamocs, three T-shirts from Joseph, two T-shirts from agnès b) £225.
Books: Stewart Brand's The Clock of the Long Now, Lee Seldes' The Legacy of Mark Rothko, Freeman J Dyson's The Sun, the Genome and the Internet and Hugo Vickers' biography of Cecil Beaton £44.62;
Extras: Binoculars (to spy on the Taransay castaways) £29.99; maps £10.50; camera films £12.75; walking kit (we already had the basics, but bought socks, trousers and hat) £120.45.
Accommodation: Hotel deposit £80; house rental on Harris £345; house electricity £12; Hotel in Skye (5 nights B&B, pre-dinner drinks, one restaurant dinner, 4 bar meals, telephone) £678.99; drinks, dinner, B&B for one night at Three Chimneys restaurant-with-rooms £260.
What we bought when we were there: Fleece top £43; enough tweed to make two skirts £60.
Food and drink: Shopping in Inverness (deli, butcher, baker, wine) £100.15; shopping in Ullapool (household supplies, groceries) £45; pub lunch £12.20; afternoon tea waiting for ferry £4.50; Skye pub/tea shop lunches £29; groceries in Harris £43.20 (bag of fresh langoustines from fishermen at Leverburgh pier was free); Harris pub/tea shop lunches £24; drinks & dinner twice at Scarista House £203.10; supper in Inverness £65; lunch in Drumnadrochit £12.50.
Extras: Left luggage at Inverness station £8; film processing £20.
Real total: £3,179.78
Verdict: A lot, considering that most days were spent walking in the hills. Expensive train fares, car hire, hotels, and restaurants mean that a holiday in Scotland costs us much more than one in Italy or Spain (and we have to go to Italy or Spain afterwards to get some decent weather).
Ben Mallalieu, Jenny Taylor and three children
Estimated total: £3,200
Apart from the cost of the ferry and the apartment, this ought not to be an expensive holiday. Food and drink in France is still the best in the world and far cheaper than in England. We're well stocked up with summer clothes and unread books. We even have plenty of suntan lotion left over from last year, and we won't be buying any English newspapers . . .
What we spent
Clothes: Swimming costume for Jenny, children's shorts and T-shirts £100.
Extras: Topping up first-aid kit £20; food staples £20; film £20; batteries £5; Green Card £15; pre-trip service for the car £360; tank of diesel £40.
What we bought on the journey: One coffee (between two), one Coca-Cola (between three) at a Little Chef, at least £5; drinks at ferry terminal £15; plastic headlight deflectors £7.50.
Accommodation: Two weeks' self-catering at Pierre et Vacances holiday village, Port du Crouesty, Brittany, plus crossing with Brittany Ferries and insurance £2,411, five-star service £180, children's clubs £38.
Eating and drinking out: Six meals £290, morning coffee and citron pressés in the harbour £50; cakes from the bakery £30; ice creams £50; beers and soft drinks at various bars and cafés £175.
Eating and drinking in: Fish, groceries, wine, bread, beer and cider for eight lunches, 12 dinners and 13 breakfasts £272.
What we bought out there: Child's swimsuit and three pairs of sailing shoes £22; table-tennis bats and balls £6; beach-tennis bats and ball £4; two wine glasses £3; three coffee mugs £3; oyster knife £1.
Extras: Parking at Carnac £2; museum entrance £9.50; laundrette £10; more children's club sessions £38.
Transport: Tank of diesel £25.
What we bought to bring home: 18 bottles of wine £33; 4 litres cider £3; 10 cheeses £10; five jars of honey £5; one bottle Christian Dior perfume £29.
On the ferry: Food and drink £30; three cinema tickets for Stuart Little £7.50; photograph of car going on to the ferry £2.50.
Afterwards: Film processing £33.
Real total: £4,380
Verdict: Oh dear. It is possible to stay cheaply in France, but somehow we didn't manage it. We could have cut back on the restaurant meals and drinks in cafés, even though we generally chose the cheapest menus. We ate much better at the apartment for far less. Most other costs were unavoidable, but we should have made some headlight deflectors out of insulating tape and, of course, never set foot in a Little Chef. But we could easily have spent a lot more.
