As an American living in the UK, having continental Europe on your doorstep and not hopping over for holidays seems borderline sacrilegious.

Unfortunately, my budget has other ideas. And one of the most common suggestions for enjoying a holiday on the cheap is to ‘staycation’ instead. For those unfamiliar, a ‘staycation’ is a holiday in your own country. For an American, this would just be called ‘a vacation’, but I suppose in the UK, staying in country considerably slims down the options.

I enjoy exploring the rest of the UK, but it doesn’t have the same feel as going abroad. I can’t justify buying wine because it’s cheaper than water and then there’s the weather.

In some circumstances, like visiting a family member, saving by staying in country is more or less guaranteed. But if you’re taking your own trip, and paying for a hotel, food and transport, is it really that much more to look abroad?

The obvious conditions of this question are that it depends on when and where you’re going, and where you’re going from. I’ve decided to go with the most popular choices for Brits (according to TimeOut). Starting in London and going abroad to Spain or staying in country for a trip to Cornwall, for a family of four at the end of August.

It’s also worth noting that my fake trips are being planned slightly last minute, to fit into the summer holidays. This might make the prices a little bit more than they would be otherwise, but still in the range of normalcy.

HOW MUCH WILL THE TRAVEL COST?

It’s no secret that traveling by rail in the UK has gotten expensive, but each time I book a ticket, it surprises me all over again.

To avoid the most expensive rates, I chose to travel on a Thursday and return on a Tuesday. For a trip to Cornwall, going from London to Penzance, it would cost a single person about £162. For a family of four, provided the children are between five and 15, getting a 50% discount, this would mean a total price of £486.

Or, you could fly to Spain (Menorca, specifically), for about £155. Since planes are not so keen on child discounts, this would mean £620 for flights. One point for the staycation.

WHAT ABOUT THE ACCOMODATION?

But what about once you get there? Most places, if you’re willing to rough it, you can find affordable places to stay. A search of Cornwall accommodations found many of the economical options are caravan parks. In Menorca, the penny pinchers would have several alternatives resplendent in 80s decor. For a once-a-year holiday, I decided to splash out a bit more with my fake budget.

So instead, I took a look at places in the four-star range. In Menorca, I found a variety of apartments around the £1,000 mark for five nights, including amenities like a pool and... well... it really seems to be mostly about the pool and a nice ocean view.

Searching the same site for places in Cornwall, the options I found in the £800 to £1,000 range looked to be mostly homes available to rent (no pool in sight). Notably, more affordable properties were in towns that were further inland, which somewhat defeats the purpose of a beach holiday. When I narrowed down my search to waterfront properties, the price jumped considerably, to closer to £1,400 for the inexpensive options. Others breached £3,000.

To get a more accurate average, I filtered by waterfront properties with a four star rating for both locations, from lowest price to highest. The 10 lowest listed in Cornwall averaged to £2,047, while the 10 lowest listed for Menorca averaged £1,477.

AND ACTIVITIES?

It seems a waste to go to Cornwall without enjoying a little time on the waves, so factoring in a surf lesson may also be on the docket. Airbnb experiences offer a variety of options here, for about £45 per person, board included. For a family of four, this means £180 extra pounds.

Menorca is less of a surf destination (they are apparently more into wind surfing), but for comparison’s sake, there were a few options. A surf lesson was around €40, which as of 14 August, is £34.40. However, Cornwall likely wins out on the better waves.

FOOD AND DRINK COSTS?

Like almost all of these categories, food and drink prices come down to where you pick. For a beach holiday, a nice restaurant on the bay seems like a staple choice for a night out. Many restaurants had options for entrees of about £23, with a bottle of wine ranging from £28 to £82.

In Menorca, meals were priced about the same due to the currency conversion: while many main courses sat around €28, it converts to £24. Wine by the bottle ranged from £16 to £47, although there’s always the option to save with a trip to the grocery before.

Remember, you can help yourself save on currency exchanges by using a card with low or no exchange fees and choosing the euro option when paying instead of pounds. Usually, the set pound rate is higher on the card readers.

THE FINDINGS

The obvious asterisk to this article is that each location can be done far more affordably. My coworker is heading to Cornwall this weekend and staying in a campsite that costs £7 per night, and this would be a hard rate to beat abroad.

But it is worth asking if staying closer to home really helps for the type of holiday you’re looking for and having a look at where currency exchange rates sit. The devil is in the detail. Choosing the right accommodation, flight times and restaurants could be a far better determiner of trip costs than the location.

I took a trip to Menorca this spring on a £60 flight, and stayed in a reasonably priced local hotel, looked after by an enthusiastic owner named Pedro. It was worth a little extra searching.

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