Pricing & payment

Below you can find information on the overall cost for the tour, including advance payments made to DUPO, as well as costs of other items whilst abroad.

⚠️ Things to bear in mind

Know what you are signing up to - the costs outlined on this page are binding and you will need to complete all payments once the deposit is received unless you are able to find a replacement in the event of withdrawal
We want everyone to be able to go on tour - we avoid using tour companies or coach travel and minimise costs everywhere we can, but we appreciate the cost of tour can still be difficult. Please, don't suffer in silence - consult our funding and scholarships section (below), and speak to us about it!
There will be a few other costs - you will need to book your own flights to Porto or Lisbon. This can be done on a budget but is not included in the budget below. There will also be costs for meals and sightseeing when on tour. This can all be done cheaply but is worth bearing in mind before making a commitment.

This is a breakdown of the costs by category. These costs have been slightly inflated to account for any changes in cost leading up to the tour, as well as changes in conversion rates between EUR and GBP.

There are 50 places available for players, and the overall cost is evenly split between you.

Drivers receive reasonable allowances within the budget, in addition to van hire:

Van Hire cost is inclusive of insurance for young drivers (<24), VE103 forms and breakdown insurance for EU
Refuelling costs for the van during travel in the UK and Spain to Portugal
An allowance for both van drivers to cover reasonable expenses during travel days
Parking costs for the van in a secure location throughout the tour week
Overnight accommodation for drivers whilst van travels to Bilbao for returning ferry
Ferry travel between Portsmouth and Bilbao, including a 2-berth cabin

In addition, in the absence of a formal renumeration for the van drivers' time driving, we cover the costs of accommodation and venue hire, which means the cost is split between the remaining 50 people.

Payment schedule for DUPO Players

See below the terms of making payments for tour. There are three installments, totalling to the rounded cost of £250.00, paid on the dates shown.

Payment Schedule DUPOrto timeline

Payment Schedule - DUPOrto25

Bursary & Financing options by college

There are a number of funds and bursary provisions in place in your college to assist in financing opportunities related to co-curricular activities such as Orchestral tours.

Use the button below to access the Colleges page of Durham University, and head to "Funds and scholarships" pages for your respective college.

Colleges at Durham University

Funding available by Durham Student Music

Durham Student Music offer a number of funds and grants available to contribute to your music enrichment during your time at University, namely the Chris Higgins Bursary. You can find out more and apply using the link below.

Durham Student Music Funding

Remember above all that we want to make tour accessible for as many as people as possible - because we appreciate it's a lot of money to put forward, we are always happy to discuss ways of paying (whether it be delayed installments etc.) so please don't hesitate to contact us if you're having any problems!