How the fuck can people afford to go on holiday?

We hadn’t been abroad for a decade until last year we went to Disneyland. Not going abroad this year but we are going to America next year.

We save up and mostly go glamping in the uk. We are on holiday in Cornwall at the moment and the children are having a brilliant time surfing, playing on the beach and visiting interesting things- you don’t have to leave the country or spend a fortune to have a good holiday!

Like PP we have one child which makes a huge difference, we have two full time incomes and compress hours/ have grandparent help (very lucky) so our childcare bills are low. We stay in a smaller house because we are only a family of three and at the moment we have only one car. I think your DH will need to look at more steady work, and with three children probably a holiday abroad every second year would be more realistic unless you are high earners.

The realistic answer is surely because they might go without different things to prioritise a holiday. Plus, I appreciate your DH isn’t bringing in a full wage, but it may be different in the future if he is. A lot of families sacrifice expensive holidays for a few years (especially during the childcare years). However, you can get last minute deals for much cheaper if you’re not too fussy where you go.

Also forgot to mention Cheapholidayexp and BudgettingMumofficial are great accounts for travelling, budgeting in general. It’s Instagram but they have websites/ you tubes I think as well.

Shame so many posters still think holiday = abroad and that if you dont go abroad you havent 'travelled'.

@Fuckgrancanaria

It's the place you booked, plenty of nice hotels there, try booking one that is adult only. When we still had to go in school holidays we also went to more unusual places eg n coast of Spain via ferry, or Baltic coast via the tunnel for great breaks without the noisy crowds (not just the Brits but the Germans, Dutch etc) failing that book Spanish owned hotels, definitely more sedate

Don't read the £9k budget thread!

We have a budget spreadsheet which captures how much we can spend in a year on holidays (as well as other things like Christmas, birthday presents, new clothes etc) and then spits out a monthly saving figure. Every month we set that much aside.

I think with 3 children it’s hard to find something affordable. We currently just have the one and I was stunned at how much the cost of holidays increased when accounting for a child. It’s not just the extra flight and bedroom, it’s the fact you tend to only find bigger properties which are suitable, or disproportionate hotel costs for family rooms etc. I feel for you, it isn’t easy!

It's not "canaries" as much as it is your specific hotel though.

I don’t have kids but one on the way and this is the first we haven’t been away in 18 years as we are saving for May leave. Normally we book a cheap air bnb outside of a city or town and rent a car l. We’ve also thought about camping in the mountains abroad as we like hiking. Maybe you could do a more kid friendly camping version, or book an air bnb. Don’t stay in cities or near big resorts. Buy your own food for day time and just eat once a day maybe at night?

Also places like Bulgaria and Albania are cheap. I think package holidays are boring and over priced, much more interesting to be in nature and be with the locals, harder with kids but still doable I’d say.

Because my outgoings are low. Simple as that.

I am not a high earner, I'm a single parent of 1. Take home after tax/pension is £2300 per month. My rent is £500 per month then all other bills (council tax, energy, water, TV, phones, insurance) are another £500. I have no childcare costs as my child is 16 so don't need it. That leaves me £1300. I prioritise holidays as it's my favourite thing to do so I usually put away £500 per month for holidays. Then I've got £800 left for everything else - clothes, food, other luxuries etc. I rarely buy myself new clothes as I'm not that bothered.

I receive some UC so I can't save any more than I've already got saved as it will reduce my UC. So the money goes on holidays for now.

Our DS didn’t have a holiday until he was 4, because we were hard up; I was also on mat leave, sick leave, then we finally bought a house. So we just visited family and had 2 weekends away in B&B’s, one of which MIL paid for.

Now we’re a bit better off, and only have one child. We’d never do med package holidays though - far too expensive. We plan it ourselves, mostly do UK. Echo others saying camping (if someone can lend you a large enough tent and the equipment) and if we go abroad I look for cheap flights/Eurostar tickets and we book it all individually.

Packahe holidays costing £7.5k as a pp said blow my mind- especially when you consider future cost of living rises, pensions etc. But it’s horses for courses.

Hopefully when your DC are in school your DH can up his hours.

We just went on holiday 4 nights for £960 for 3 adults and 1 child - was half board as well. Would have been £1500 for a week but the others didn't want to go for so long.

Wow! £1k altogether, not each? That's amazing. Defo deserve pat on the back.

We have two children. Heading to Thailand for 2 weeks in August. £6800 in total for flights and villa. We prioritise holidays and between us, earn well above average.

We went abroad in may for 1.8k all inclusive.

We have a small mortgage, small childcare. Buy second hand clothes and eat fairly cheaply. We can afford a few treats.

Cheap holidays. There are often cheap deals, £1100 for a week all inclusive in Cala Ratjada, Majorca. Flights to Italian cities using skyscanner in September for £19 there, £15 return. £360 for 5 days self catering in Kalavasoss*, Cyprus, including flights. Search and search. Save each month, and if necessary put any spending on credit card which gets paid at the end of every month, or very rarely spread over 2 months. All this insistence that people go into debt for holidays is not what any family I know does, so I disagree, they just plan agreed and prioritise it.

I amthinking of doing house swaps to get cheaper holidays either UK or if it works then abroad. There are a couple of UK companies who do this. You would have to clean tidy and photograph your house then either do straight swap or swap for points so can do any timing.

I really like this idea as airbnb in UK can be £3,000 high summer. Would that work for you OP?

I went away to a sunny place 3 hours flight away very recently for one week, stayed in a 3 bed airbnb, near the beach, swimming pool on the estate, clean, my children (10, 8, 6) LOVED the place, It wasn't frantically fun, but relaxed and lovely. It felt residential and we felt like locals, food was reasonable.

Flight and accommodation for 5 came in at £1000. I couldn't believe it, honestly. I pat myself on the back, I do! OP, if you want the details, DM me and I'll send you the airbnb details.

I have one child so a lot cheaper

I couldn't afford 3 kids flights

I book tenerife a year in advance and pay a little monthly off apartment

Then book flights when out. Usually 9mths before and pay over 3mth on credit card % free

To me holidays are important. I work hard all year round to enjoy 10/14 days in the sunshine

U.K. holidays are often costlier ans no guarantee of weather

I love sun as does mini blondes who spends most do the day in the pool or playing with a friend

I prioritise having a holiday. I book well in advance 12 to 18 months and pay it up. lts a bill that comes out each month. Don't have sky or prime or drink or smoke..have very few luxuries really.
I worked nights my husband days, years back to afford it when kids were very young.
Family are older now no childcare issues so have better job and usually only us 2 go, 'kids' ask to stay home now!

When our dc were young we simply couldn't afford to go away, and didn't earn enough to be able to save up for a holiday, and we certainly didn't want to get into debt for a holiday, so we just didn't have go abroad.
The most we could afford (occasionally) was the £9.50 Sun Newspaper caravan breaks for 4-5 days that you used to be able to collect tokens for.

Now the dc are grown, and we've progressed with our careers and earn more, so we can finally afford holidays abroad.
We went to a Greek Island recently for 13 days for £995 inc bed and breakfast, luggage and transfers, but that was for 2 adults only, so there are bargains to be had.

We go on shared holidays with friends. With a large group to spread the cost, a week in a large holiday house in the UK becomes surprisingly affordable. We also take turns cooking for everyone which is fun and keeps the food costs down.
Another option for an affordable family holiday in the UK is to rent a canal boat for a few days or a week.

Definitely
Loved haven camping holidays as a kid