To be shocked at the cost of holidays?

Spend some time shopping around. I try to book a year in advance. We are a family of 6. We have paid £3500 for 10 nights in lanzarote in the summer hols this year. 4 star hotel (labranda) with 4 star trip advisor reviews. Know well spend £1500 on food/ meals out when we’re there but I don’t think that’s too bad for 6 people

If you are in the North, if it is in England could you get to Scotland easily and fly from there?. School holidays finish around mid August so flights could be cheaper. Martin Lewis had some tips on finding cheaper travel during school holidays including this

Holiday tips

Edited to add sorry, just read that your DH needs to be around for GCSE results

I never go on holidays in August. Too hot and too crowded. Try the October or May half terms instead.

Also Greece / Cyprus / Portugal are usually cheaper than Spain. Adriatic cheaper still.

Flight scanner for flights and an air bnb. Self cater! A lot cheaper!

Where are you looking? Jet2 are selling return flights to Majorca for £411 per person during the half term break, for a week.

Is that just for the hotel? I looked at May half term and only flights to Majorca were at £900 pp!!! Greece the same! So that’s nearly £4K for flights plus the hotel plus everything else 🙄 I’m new to the half term travelling as my son is in reception so it was a massive shock!

Where about do you live op ? The Scottish airports are half price when kids go back after 17 August we live in Scotland and always fly out from the English airports when schools break up end of June. Try splitting carriers ie Easy jet out Jet 2 back and hiring an apartment with pool make your own lunches go out for dinner every now and again. Portugal food and drink wide wise is cheaper.
Hope this helps

I have just priced up to go to a Yelloh village (much like eurocamp) in the Algarve this August for a week, staying in a 3 bed lodge. Added on flights for five of you from Newcastle to Faro (Ryanair, all the baggage and seat reservations included), and the total came to around £3200. That’s for this year, so next year you could get a better deal, as often the Yelloh/Eurocamp sites will have an early booking offer on (summer 2026 will come out in probably October or November this year).

that site is only a short distance from the airport, so could get there with a taxi and use public transport for exploring. I think you can search on the campsite websites for ones that are close to airports and don’t need a car.

anyway, just an idea!

I do go away abroad yearly - I book flights the first day they come out as never cheaper then that. Put them on my cx and pay over 3mths

Doing tenerife sc apartment in resort - in august - apartment is £49 a night so £350 a week plus flights for 1a and 1c is £600 so less then a grand plus obv money for food - eating our is cheap and you would be so spending food money anyway even if at home

family of 4 would be another £600 for flights

3 dc does push the price up as many only cater for 4people but there are places for 3 dc

agree with the person who said ask on holidays board as they love helping find bargains

flyinf from a diff airport keeps costs down. I’m near Gatwick but if drove to Luton or even Southend airport much cheaper - tho do Gatwick for ease

Jet 2. 4th August 2026 flying from Leeds Bradford to either Rhodes or algarve, self catering for around 2700. If you have little ones self catering would work out cheaper as you can have breakfast and lunch in the apartment (has kitchen) and then maybe a dinner out? If you book now it’s less than 200 a month as you have 14 months to pay off x

No I literally did a search and screenshot the first one as an example. It’s not my actual holiday so I was to going to sit here researching for more than a minute. Got mine for £1800 in summer hols but only one child

Perhaps have more of a think as to what kind of holiday you and your children would actually enjoy, particularly as you say you already live near the beach, and your children are very young still. Don’t feel you need to head off for an AI holiday in Spain just because that’s what other people are doing. For example, I imagine a European campsite where the weather is nice, there are pools and slides and other children to play with would be more fun than a UK one in the rain.

Have a look at sun holidays. We have 2 short breaks booked this year, the 1st is in 2 weeks time. A long weekend in Devon - 2 adults, 2 children, 1 dog £250. The 2nd break is October half term, mon - fri again down to Devon for £103! Absolute bargain.
Both caravan holidays, on the coast.

I would love to go abroad but cannot justify spending thousands. Contemplating France next year, going on the ferry and booking an air bnb.
but we may also just do another couple cheap breaks here.

Have you read the trip advisor reviews?!? I think you’d have to pay me to stay there!

Try the eurocamps they look amazing and when I looked at one near Nice Italy in August the last week was £400 for 6 people. Flights would probably be quite expensive though x

There are other countries to visit rather than Spain which are more affordable.

This summer we are going to Tunisia- lots of Roman sites, great beaches, all inclusive with a two bedroom apartment in a hotel with private beach and free access to a theme park and a water park was the same price for two weeks holiday as one week in a 4* hotel in the Balearics with two basic interconnected bedrooms and a standard pool.

The cost of excursions etc…. Is also much cheaper too!

Our DS starts school in September so also looking at this. Family live in two “holiday” locations, Cornwall and Devon so we use it as a base. Another family member has a massive garden in the countryside so will camp there. Grandparents paying for a Center Parcs 3 night trip this summer. And we will camp (at a campsite) at least once. But annual leave is more my problem, we tend to just do a few nights. The last two times I went abroad was because I had a relative living in the country and they paid for almost everything, including flights.

Farm camps in the Netherlands are fantastic!

We had our first holiday abroad last year, kids were 11, 13 and 15. We paid £6600 and went to a 4* AI in Tenerife.

I'm sure it can be done cheaper, but not being seasoned travellers we wanted to know everything was booked, it was good reviews, no concerns about kids food or driving to places, figuring out how to books flights etc.

We booked in Jan 2023 for July 2024 and left literally the first day of school holidays for 10 days.

Incidentally I was looking at Haven holidays this year and even that's pricey. 3 bed caravan in Skegness for 4 nights was around £700. Seems lot for 4 nights.

Look at October or May half term. Jet2 with a free child place. Self catering. If you book now for next may, you have almost a year to pay it off.

Try easyJet

Try easyJet, I just looked at found 2 adults 3 children for £2250 end of August 2026

Do a cheap camping trip in the UK in the summer- enjoy UK at its best.

Book 1/2 weeks in October you will enjoy and appreciate the weather but you need to go south if Spain or canaries for reliability.

I went TUI to Turkey. Weather was balmy 26 degs but I think we were lucky.

if you want aqua parks then go canaries.

You are putting a lot of barriers up about travelling which is why you can’t find what you want and what you can afford. The ferry for example go overnight and get a cabin. Or find cheap flights somewhere and then look for an air b n b. Go on a relocation cruise. So many options. Don’t look at popular places go more outside the box don’t think Spain think Albania etc.