Vacation Cost

[Coz]

Hi, I'm trying to get a better idea of cost for a trip in April/May. I put this budget together and I was hoping you guys could let me know if you think it's realistic or not. We're a family of 4, we will be spending most all our time doing water related activities. Thinking of renting a home in Marsh Harbour for a week and doing our own exploration for the most part. We will eat out quite a bit, and don't plan on shopping very much. Generally a fun, relaxing trip with our daughters to show them the wonders the ocean has to offer. So I would appreciate your input.

Thanks


VACATION BUDGET - 1 WEEK STAY

HOUSE RENTAL $1,500
FLIGHT $1,500
BOAT RENTAL - 3 days $400
FOOD - $100/day $600
DRINKS - $50/day $300
CASH $500
BOAT GAS ~ $30/day $100
MISC$500

TOTAL $5,400

OPTIONS:

BOAT RENTAL - 1 WEEK $800
GOLF CART RENTAL - 1 WEEK $300

[bellavista2]

fuel, food and drinks will probably cost more.

[Kevin G.]

I'm afraid your estamate is a little low.

My wife and I went for a week in May and the total was about $4,500.00. House was $1,200.00, we only purchased one plane ticket ($550.00), the other was free from air miles, and we rented a 21' boat for the entire week, which cost $950.00 plus $500.00 for fuel (we were in the boat every day). We ate out for lunch every day but only went out once in the evening (we brought steaks and other pe-cooked meals). Not to mention the Kalik. You also need to check on flight cost - I think they have gone up. Whatever the case, don't let the cost stop you. YOU CAN'T PUT A PRICE ON PARADISE!

[CATNAPSzzz]

If you rent in Marsh Harbour a car would be the ticket. That will cost you about your golf cart budget for the rental and then a bit.

Agree with others re boat fuel. Figure a gal.(maybe +1/2) per mile. At current prices you are under budgeted. A straight shot from Marsh Harbour to say Guana is about 14 miles round trip give or take. Cruising around adds of course.

Dinnners out are going to run you close to $25/person, more or a little less, and that doesn't really include drinks.

All in all though an extra $500-$700 should adjust your budget (and bring a credit card )

[floridacargocat]

I do remember, that AW (Abacowilly) once posted his "budget" numbers, but that was a long time ago (about 5 years ago), and I remember a number of somewhere in 7.5 to 10K range. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Only AW can verify this, but I think they stayed longer than a week. However, I concur. Some of your numbers are a little low.

[Abaco Dreaming]

If you only rent the boat for 3 days, then you will also incur ferry expense which would be significant for a party of four.

[P2Pooz]

We rented a house in Marsh Harbour last April.
We flew from CO to Orlando for $180. each (GREAT DEAL)!
Orlando to MHH (at the time Vintage was flying) $163.00 each.
Also, coming from the west, we had to stay overnight in Orlando - $125.00
We rented a 26' boat for 5 days, and it seems like it was closer to $1000. The house was $2K.
The grocery bill for our family came to approx. $600. for the week.
We ate out a lot also, for about $150. per day.
The boat gas was VERY expensive for the week - I think it was closer to $700., but we made several trips to Guana, Elbow, Lubbers, and other little islands.
We rented a car for 2 days, which I think came close to $100. by the time we filled it up.
We rented golfcarts for our day on Guana Cay for $50.00ea.
We also had 2 or 3 taxi rides during the week, for about $60 total.
Liqour for the week came to about $300 (Kalik was running $45.00 a case).
There were several shopping trips too for gifts and things.
It sounds rough breaking it down this way, but it is SOOOOOO worth it!

To hit your budget you'll have to shop around alot and still be frugal when you get there. Things to consider - taxi's and ferries accept cash only so the trip from MHH to ferry dock is about $20 for 4 (RT = $40), Ferry trip to any Cay is $15 One Way (OW) so $30/person RT so to get everyone from the airport to a house on a Cay is about $160 cash. Look for a rental that includes a golf cart (I recommend Turtle Hills Villas as a good location on Elbow) so that saves a little. Food is a subjective issue since you can eat good quality/quantity for anywhere from $10 to $100 per meal/person, just depends on what and where you order. Gas is expensive but that and a rental boat are required to fully enjoy the vacation in the Abacos. Drinks can cost a good bit but you can save by buying a bottle and mixing your own (sodas are very expensive so thing of other stufff to use as mixers). Cost per person per trip is a function of the size of the group, first group trip (2001) we took to the Abacos cost about $1,100/person for 10 people. Last trip this past summer for 30+ people cost about $1,700 to $2,100 per person.

[dive guana]

By the time you add oil to your gas. figure rougly $5 per gallon for fuel. Even a small boat burns about 5 to 6 gallons an hour near top end. $30 a day will not get you too far. Figure at least double that

[Coz]

Thanks for the input guys! This is the kind of info I needed. Looks like I need to figure about $1000 for a weeks boat rental, and increase the cost of gas per day. I'll also add a grocery allowance. I'm not planning on any ferry costs if we have a boat for the week.

What about fishing? If we want to try some reef fishing, what are we looking at for gear rental and bait?

Thanks again!

You will be able to fish near Man-A-War cut or Tilloo cut, leading out to the ocean. You will want to bring your own fishing poles & gear. Check with your airline for the details. You will be able to get bait in Marsh Harbour.

Have a great vacation and enjoy the fish dip at Cracker P's!!!

[Jerry S]

http://www.************/FishininAbaco2005.html

And don't forget the $15 or $20 per person Bahamas exit fee that MUST be paid in cash (it may be included in your airline ticket but check to make sure). On this last trip we had seevral people in the group that had never been to the Abacos and I told them to put enough cash aside before they left the states for taxi, ferry and departure tax - the rest of their funds they could spend as they saw fit. Don't assume that you will not use the ferry system. If your on a Cay, the boat rentals are for 7 days and you generally rent a cottage for 7 nights so either pay for an extra day of boat rental and worry about airport connection times or enjoy your last day and take a ferry ride. Also, be considerate of your family and if the weather is bad, don't make them take a small boat across rough wet seas just to save a little money - put them and the luggage on the ferry and you take the boat across.

[Abacowilly]

. . . . if you are truly going on a vacation, do the math as most folks do and then just follow this simple rule of thumb - take twice the cash and half the clothes as initially planned. I know it sounds "flippant" but trust me, you'll be much happier. You'll find that if you don't need it, you won't use it - whether clothes or cash. BUT, if you suddenly need cash, it's not as "convenient" as here in the states. Don't count on using your credit card for dinner to pay for everybody and have them give you the cash - they are probably "watching" their cash too. If you find you need a hat or a sweatshirt or a rain slicker, etc, you can buy a souvenier that you'd buy anyway, and either with a credit card or with cash. I have seen a "cash advance" cost an aditional 10% on a few occaisons.

Be absolutely sure that you stash away enough cash for daprature tax and the last taxi ride to the airport and last ferry ride if required. In the end, you can sort through your American and Bahamian dollars to use the Bahamian $$ in your last local expenses as mentioned above. Also, don't be afraid to request "change" in American $$ - merchants don't usually mind accomodating if they can.

As far as a boat, I've seen more than one day where we rode from Treasure Cay to Marsh Harbour to Hopetown to Sea Spray to Cracker P's to Abaco Inn to Tiloo Cut to Guana Cay to No Name Cay to Green Turtle with just my wife and I. During the summer realize you may have as much as 12 hours (or more) of daylight to explore the Abacos. We've started out before from TC and had breakfast in MHH, lunch at Cracker P's and then early dinner at Nippers. That's a lot of boating - then throw in a trip down to Pete's Pub. When the water is "glassy" it's one thing - but throw in a little chop and some wind and your fuel consumption (and maybe your Kaliks) will surely go up in some relative fashion. Even with only one engine, many times I refuled more than one day with 30 gallons of gas, a few pints of oil and of course a "tip" for the dockhand. Even when gas there was "only" $3.50/gallon and oil was "only" $3.50/pint, I could easily do $100 in a heartbeat. For those days, you can usually use cash or credit cards. It's a real shame to have a boat for a few days but can only afford to putt out somewhere to "sit" for a few hours. Although there are some days where this is exactly what we've done (by choice), other days you might just feel like really exploring - especially those real "glassy" days. And WOW, what a feeling to go WOT across Lake Abaco on a clear sunny day from TC all the way to Hopetown or Hopetown to Guana Cay or even Green Turtle. Those days are worth evey penny - don't be caught without the $$ on those days....they are truly priceless.

Be sure to also allow the "time" to get it done before they close so you are docked b4 dark (it's no fun after dark when there's no moon, no boat lights and the rental folks are at the dock wondering where you've been - ughh). Always keep your tank filled when it's convenient too. You cannot "assume" there will (a) always be fuel when YOU need it and (b) if the power is out (which "rearely" occurs), remember that those pumps operate on it too. I did learn at Hopetown that the gravity feed does allow at least some trickling of fuel. Imagine getting the to pumps 15 minutes before they close and there is a large boat putting in several hundreds of gallons....then add that your rental boat is due back in 30 minutes and you're leaving the next morning on the 8am ferry. It's ZERO fun having to leave under stress - it's sad enough having to leave "paradise".

Don't forget sponteneity or just having too much fun. Depending on your degree of partying, you can easily forget about how much cash you're pouring through.

I know this all did not have much too much to do with "cash" but my mind easily wanders in my older years.

Trust me - "Twice the cash and half the clothes - you can always bring it home." - you'll be glad you did!

Great advice Willy! That's the attitude to have for your very special time in Abaco!