Over Budget: A Week in the UK With a Teenager (and What to Pack, Buy, and Skip)
Let me start by saying: we went WAY over budget. Europe is expensive. Like, "I budgeted for this, I swear" expensive. The exchange rate alone made me stare at my banking app in a Scottish doorway like it had personally betrayed me. Ugh.
But I'm going to lay it all out anyway, because if you're a mom thinking about dragging (er, inviting) your teenager across the Atlantic, I'd rather you know what you're walking into. This is the budget and packing breakdown for a week in Scotland, London, and Oxford. The Potter side of the trip lives in The Harry Potter Pilgrimage, so go read that if you want the itinerary. This one is about the money and the suitcase.
The Vibe: Smart, Not Broke
I'm not a broke-ass-backpacker-in-a-hostel kind of traveler. Nothing against those who are, and believe me I did my time. But I have a firm belief that some things are sacrificeable and some things are not at all (or not at my age). I want a real bed and a door that locks. I want a hot coffee in the morning that doesn't taste like regret.
My filter for spending is pretty simple. What's special? What's unique? What's essential and not tacky? If it's a tourist trap with a lanyard, I'm out. If it's the one cloister my kid has dreamed about since she was nine, take my money. For the deeper philosophy on how I travel, read my nomad life post, and for the bigger-picture numbers, there's our Europe budget breakdown.
Where the Money Actually Went
For the deeper philosophy on how I travel, read my nomad life post, and for the bigger-picture numbers, there's our Europe budget breakdown.
How I Counted (Read This First)
Everything is in USD, for two humans (me and a fourteen-year-old), seven days, three cities.
The flight is one-way. We're still on the road. Next up is London to Paris by train, so the trip home isn't in this math.
The total is essentials only: lodging, flight and entry paperwork, food, transportation, souvenirs, and emergencies.
It does not include our splurges. Leave room in your budget for cashmere, Islander leather bags, and tea. Scotland and England will get you. Ask me how I know.
Where the Money Actually Went
The essentials total: $4,284.03. Ouch.
Lodging: $1,550.75. Over a third of the whole trip. Edinburgh Airbnb in Portobello $757.41, London hotel $530.46, Oxford Airbnb $262.88. Late August is Fringe season in Edinburgh, so book early.
Flight and entry: $830.78. One-way Seattle to Edinburgh was $775.22, plus $55.56 for the UK ETA, the electronic travel authorization Americans now need. Do it before you fly.
Food and drink: $806.68. About $115 a day for two.
Breakfast and coffees: $291.03
Dinners: $216.04
Lunches: $152.59
Snacks and water: $98.12
Groceries: $48.90
Harry Potter Studio Tour plus bus: $431.00. Worth it. Full details in The Harry Potter Pilgrimage.
Trains: $236.88. Edinburgh to London $88.88, Oxford and London round trip $148.
Souvenirs and gifts: $219.48. Books, chocolate, perfume, postcards, a magnet, a Potter ticket souvenir from the first shop, Pitt Rivers souvenirs, and a gift for those back home.
Getting around town: $150.05. Lothian Buses, the Tube, a couple of taxis, an Uber, and a London bus.
Entrance fees and a photobooth: $31.33. New College for the cloisters was $27.44, and a photobooth strip made up the rest.
Laundry: $27.08. Not glamorous, but one week of a teenager's wardrobe adds up.
A quick note on food, because it changed how I ordered. Portion sizes in the UK are big. Like, share-a-plate-with-your-teenager big. Halfway through the week I stopped ordering one entree per person and just ordered one and a side. And UK baked goods are a delight. Do not skip the bakeries. That's a hill I'll die on right next to slow travel.
Also, and I say this with love for Scotland, I could not stomach haggis. My brain said no. You may have better luck.
One more thing for the moms out there. Show your teenager the budget. Gaia knew exactly what we had and what we'd blown through, and it made her a better trip planner and a way more graceful sport when we had to say "not this one." That's worldschooling for you (more on that in my full guide).
What to Buy (and Where)
In Scotland: an Islander leather bag and cashmere. If you're going to spend real money on something, spend it here, on things that will outlast the trip.
In England: TEAAAAAA. I'm not sorry about the caps. Buy breakfast tea in England. Bring back way more than you think you need. Its delightfully strong and full flavored.
For the superfan: a Hogwarts acceptance letter and a sweater headband. This is peak fourteen-year-old happiness and worth every penny. If you're planning the Potter side of your trip, the full rundown is in The Harry Potter Pilgrimage.
What to Pack (Last Week of August)
We were in Scotland, London, and Oxford in the last week of August. Here's what earned its spot in the bag:
Walking shoes. Non-negotiable. You will walk more than you think, and cobblestones are unforgiving.
Sweaters. Layers, always. It's gray more often than not.
Jeans. Boring, but reliable.
A rain layer. We didn't end up needing it, and then it downpoured the day after we left. Of course. Bring it anyway.
A utility day backpack. Something you can throw a water bottle, snacks, and a sweater into and forget about.
Skip the travel converter. Just buy a charger there. Little corner shops (bodegas, if you're from my neck of the woods) sell them, and it saved us bag space. Nerd note: what you really need is a plug adapter, not a voltage converter, and most phone and laptop chargers handle UK voltage just fine, so check the label on yours.
The Bottom Line
Seven days in the UK with a teenager will cost you more than you think. Guaranteed. But it's also the kind of trip that sticks. Be smart with your budget, protect the stuff that matters, let go of the stuff that doesn't, and buy the tea.
And if you're the kind of traveler who wants a real place to land instead of a cookie-cutter hotel, that's the same instinct behind Shabby Sheek Rentals back home in Bozeman. I have opinions about where a traveler should sleep, and I've built them into the place.
For more on how we decide when to move fast and when to plant ourselves somewhere, see on the road vs. at base camp.
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