Few holidaymakers are as parsimonious as Simon Calder, travel correspondent of The Independent. But even he was shocked by the response when he asked readers for their tales of acts of miserliness while on the road.
Free child places
“When the kids were little we used to holiday in the Lake District, and we would always spend a day at Lowther Park. I would pull up just before entering and one of the kids would go in the boot to avoid the entrance fee. They loved it and would fight for who went in there.”
Tim Coxon
“Does bribing your five-year-old to tell the theme park entrance staff they are only four so they get in free count? All the way there: ‘Tell me how old you are again?’”
Fliss Knowlden
Not paying for drinks
“I once (with a group of friends) did a runner from a bar in Hannover. In our defence, we had asked for the bill three times. In the bar’s defence, it was Eurovision night and they were inundated because the city square was showing the contest on a massive TV screen. Felt very naughty though!”
Isabella May
Hard bargaining
“Whilst in Tashkent, Uzbekistan: informing my son he’s just negotiated that taxi driver down from a 70p ride to 40p.”
Mark Stapley
“Whilst holidaying in Turkey I tried bartering in a shopping mall over a hair band. I think I saved myself 25p.”
Ralph N
“Haggling in Chiang Mai and then realising I was holding out for 10p!”
Shane Williams
“I once refused to take a rickshaw in Delhi because the driver wouldn’t meet my price that was 3p cheaper. It was a horrible walk too, served me right.”
Ian Naylor
“I went with a friend to Turkey and she bartered so hard, the very insulted trader left a 10,000-lire note outside his shop and watched as she chased it around the courtyard trying to pick it up, not realising he’d attached it to a cotton thread so he could pull it out of reach!”
Four Corners PR
“Many years ago, in Sapa, Vietnam, I was offered a haircut on a side street. We agreed a price and being the only foreigner it drew quite an audience. When finished he asked for 10 times more. I stormed off through the shocked audience and never looked back. Not my proudest day.”
Roger K
Tipping culture
“Once had such bad service in a restaurant in New York City, we left only paying a 1 cent tip. I honestly thought we were going to get shot.”
Dave
“I remember sneaking out of…
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