On Friday I head home again

[Suff]

After my disastrous situation with travel last time I looked for options. It's winter so none of the cheap flights are running deeper into France except Easyjet (well on the days I need to fly) and Easyjet is simply too early in the day. If I want to take a 13:15 flight from Edinburgh airport I need to leave work at 11am which is simply not going to happen, so I'm left with the usual suspects.

I was going to go via Bordeaux and hire a car for the 400km round trip. But if you don't book 3 weeks in advance, then you wind up paying £330 for the ticket.

So I checked Paris and a hire car. Expedia, hire car for the weekend for £19 CDW and unlimited mileage... Total price with flight and car. £224 plus €60 for the return fuel. Cheaper than the train but I do have to drive around 1,000km in all return.

It means I arrive home at about 1am but then I was going to arrive home at 1am anyway and Mrs S does not have to drive out to get me really late and wait at nearly midnight in the train station garage. Also she doesn't have to drive me up and back again on Sunday.

Now all I need to do is change my AirBnB, not a good experience this one and I need to extract myself from next months booking. If I wanted Student grade accommodation I would not pay £800 per month for it... We live and learn. The one I've just booked is £1,100 per month but is not in the same category at all.

[saundra]

I read an article in the d m I think we're you can get a seat on a private hire plane
Or become a pilot and build your own plane
Good luck

[Aggers]

Travel cost systems nowadays are as complicated as those in the computer world.

The business of buying just a simple rail ticket is horrific, well it is to me, who was brought up in a world where the price of a ticket from A to B was the same whatever day or time you wanted to travel. I don't know why it is now fashionable to make everything so damned complicated.

But I'm sure you will be able to sort your problem out.
(I can send you a few swear words by private message if that will help)

[Kaz]

Why am I reminded of that film with Steve Martin "Planes, Trains and Automobiles" when you talk about your travels Suff? Hope you get it sorted

[saundra]

My grandaughter was telling me tonight she booked in December to take Lilly to Disneyland in Paris
In March
So she booked in December to travel to London on March16
She got single tickets £18,00
And did the same to come back to hull on the 20
It was cheaper to do that then go London to Disney on a package deal
Very complicated
I also like reading about trains boats and planes suff

[victor]

Aggers,why make life easy when with a bit of thought and effort it can be made bloody difficult-seems to be the motto for today's travel

[Suff]

If you look at the late booking tickets for the last few seats, or for booking seats ahead of time but not in the sales, you soon realise that those who do not, or cannot, fly mid week booked 6 weeks ahead, are subsidising those who are free to travel at any time.

It is no mistake that whenever I hear the Ryanair jingle the alternate version goes through my head “Scumair the loss leader airline”…

Granted I should have booked this flight last week, but I have laid out nearly 4,000 in travel, accommodation booked up front, storage and all sorts of monthly subscriptions. I haven’t been paid since Dec 22nd and I won’t see any pay yet till Feb 12th and Dec was a short pay due to the two week close down. Jan will be a short month because I didn’t start work till the 13th.

Normally I’m willing to just pay in order to make my life a bit easier. It’s no fun driving a distance which is not that much short of London to Newcastle, both ways, After the flight from Edinburgh. However neither is coming in late, missing your train and being stuck in Paris overnight at exorbitant cost for a bed to rest your head on and only getting a few hours sleep… However I just don’t want to pay £400 or more to get home this weekend. Hence the car hire and the effort to drive.

It’s not quite as bad as Ashford in Kent to Stockholm in 24 hours with 4 hours sleeping in the car. Ferry and drive 1,100 miles… I’m getting a bit old for that. Stockholm to Home in France was worse as it's further but I had to stop for a night and sleep on that one after 19 hours driving.