To be shocked at the cost of holidays?

I thought that sounded a lot so I went on tui and put in 2 adults and 3 kids flying from London to Spain and got deal significantly cheaper. Only spent about 2 mins on so I’m not certain of any details but I think you might just need to do more shopping around

They have definitely gone up but I definitely dont spend that amount on holidays!
We use several tricks we live in Scotland so school holidays are before English so we drive and fly from an English airport! The same works in reverse if English and flying from a Scottish airport last week of August (our schools are back then).
Same with flying from a Scottish airport for October holidays as most are the first few or mid weeks of October. The cost of petrol and a Premier Inn (£56 per night for a family room) far outweigh it. Our last holiday there was a 2k difference.

If you live in London check other airports Heathrow is the most expensive for example.
Self catering can be cheaper with a hire car depending on the country although need to do a rough factor in of daily costs we were minimum 80 euros a day for ice creams drinks and dinner as a 4.

Booking in sale season also helps as does places with free child places. Depending on the site it doesn't always show up. Also clicking through the calanders as there can be a big price difference for going Tues to Tues for instance.

We don't spend more then 3k for 4/5* AIs in Europe including flights.

last few weeks of august from edinburgh too

We are going to Tenerife in August (Hotel Coral Los Alisos) We get the apartment cheap because we rent from a friend but looking on booking.com you can get a week there in August for £1300. I paid £108pp for our flights using Skyscaner (No idea what the cost of flights are currently, I booked them last November)

Ours is 6,300 for 7 days all inclusive hotel has water park and theme park etc that's for 4 of us its taken a whole year to pay it off buts it's my 40th so want a nice hotel something for kids who are teenagers aswell xx

Same here - one child makes it much more affordable - we don't always do 5 star all inclusive either.

3 dc is your downfall. I have two dc but take a relative away a lot in the uk. but to take him abroad with us in the holidays reduces our options and is a crazy price.

i second the Netherlands centerparcs and equivalent. We got cheap flights to Eindhoven and a taxi to dekampervaanan site and loved it. most people we met got the ferry.

or villa holidays? Air b&b?

We do house swaps. Usually through HomeExchange but there are plenty of different sites. It means we can self cater, pay nothing for accommodation, stay somewhere with lots of room and a proper kitchen and usually a spare room for a family member or friend too.

Broadly it means a week in a nice European city, flying, at peak time is about the same cost as 3-4 nights of CentreParcs a two hour drive away.

Did you try looking at love holidays? I find they can be a good bit cheaper than other operators.

The prices have became absoloutley ridiculous. Doesn’t help that I used to be cabin crew and used to get staff discount hence very cheap flights . When I look at the prices now I’m shocked.
I’m a single mum so holidays abroad are out of the question for now. My childfree friends that do holiday abroad often use credit cards for them. Having said that, my grandma got a very cheap return flight to Tenerife recently. I see some good deals in the travel agent windows but they are never in the school holidays. I guess they’d would be worth it if you’re willing to pay the fine.

Go in May half term and fly from Glasgow or Edinburgh with Ryanair. Book accommodation separately. Some very good deals to be had

I don't think anyone has picked up on this, but you say you are looking at August 2026? More than a year away? Most of the cheaper options won't even be available yet will they?

Tui are expensive now, Jet2 are better, also heard EasyJet are doing more holidays with free child places.

Agree with this. I didn’t go on a plane until I was an adult and I don’t feel I missed out. The only thing is I’m a bit nervous about flying as I’ve done it so infrequently but I suspect I might be the same had I flown as a child.

Anyway, I would recommend Eurocamp. We did TerSpegelt last summer (we drove and took the Eurotunnel) - it was lovely. Great days out to a theme park (Efteling) and safari park (Beekse Bergen), and a nice time at the lake/pool on the campsite. Thinking about returning this year. Little Clogs Holidays have SO many ideas of places to go in Belgium and the Netherlands, and do an Instagram post every now and then saying when the main Belgian/Dutch school holidays are. May half term and end of August seem good (affordable) times to go.

You dont mention if you considered self catering?
Most people i know do that type of holidays, not the hotel ones.

I hear you, OP. Due to kids’ ages and various personal things we’ve not been on a traditional coastal holiday abroad. Had a look at one this year. Five grand! Just a stupendous amount of money that I don’t understand at all either from the price end (how is that justified - £800 and more per day!) or the affordability end (five grand spare? You must be joking!). But I found cheaper alternatives. Going for an apartment pretty much halved the price. Eurocamp similar.

We’re doing the Netherlands at Easter via ferry from hull. We’ve also done the Newcastle crossing too three years ago (our last holiday). It’s a fab country and it’s not far to drive to Germany, Belgium etc. we’re going to the waterpark/theme park at Wassenaar and there’s another one called Efteling.
we’re doing mostly air bnbs and travelling around by bike if that’s your thing!

The trick is to make the journey part of the trip. You have a 2 week holiday but only one week is in the resort. I was 4 hours from the port, day one is driving to Portsmouth, over night ferry then you stop in overnight in …. you get the drift

I don't know where you are looking but we've managed to go abroad to Spain, Portugal, Greece, Lanzarote etc.. every single year. Most years we pay no more than £1400 for a family of 4 and always in the middle of August

Go on love holidays, select any destination, search for the whole month of August and go from there.

Absolutely no need to pay over 2k for the whole family.

Actually this year we are going somewhere outside Europe and the whole v exciting trip is only £600 for the flights and same for the accomodation!

It's not hard to find cheap holidays for 4 people..

How about Tunisia? It's cheap and the people are lovely. A 4 star hotel with flights for a week and board can be around 1500£ in August (check out the dates, if you can go end of July it will be cheaper).

As mentioned by pp, look at Skyscanner.net or Google Flights for your rough dates and see where you can get a good deal. Then look at booking.com for apartments etc. Eurocamp is NOT cheap in the main summer holidays but is certainly worth a look. As also mentioned, end of August in NL can throw up some really good bargains as schools go back. I haven't done a package holiday in 30 years - I do get why people love AI etc but even in Europe there is so much to do and see. Self catering doesn't have to be an exercise in martyrdom either. Go the markets, get a pizza, look for streetfood. Eat out as much as your budget allows. Better than a beige buffet any day.

Go away in October instead? That's what we do and we have 4DC.

Some tips to reduce the price. Which you can if you manage your expectations. We are one of those families that are always on holidays. We earn a reasonble wage tbf . But also travel wisely. No 5* resorts or all inclusives. I just love travel.

Sky scanner drops -nearer the time or even for this year have seen some amazing August prices pop up recently for europe and beyond.

Air bnb - with 3 kids you'll have more space and likely cheaper for nicer places. Self catering also saves a fortune.

Eurocamp and similar- mobile homes with quite alot of space. Many have AC and dishwashers. They also offer a blue light card discount i believe. So as a teacher you can access that. Nice sites, with pools, activities and kids clubs.

Travel also in lower peak times. May half term, february half term, easter, October. Usually all cheaper. Especially if you have an inset day you can utilise.

I can always find holidays cheaper than that.

i think your issues are the 3 kids, and the fact you are looking at hotels.

Try self catering places.