To be shocked at the cost of holidays?

I'm capable of reading properly. Jet2 Have released packages for summer 26.

Don’t book hotels and definitely don’t book package holidays.

We go away around 4 times a year and I never pay more than around £3,000 for a week, although I have 2 kids, not 3.

We always book a lovely villa with a pool, flights and car hire for around £3k. Spain, Greece, Italy, Portugal etc.

Eating out doesn’t have to be expensive and far better to go to different restaurants of an evening than being stuck with bland all inclusive. BBQ’s in the villa by the pool are also lovely.

I looked at some package holidays today for 5 days in May. Only for me, no children.

There were a few cheapie ones but remarkably few. The prices soon went up to £700, £900, £1200 - and were not talking luxury hotels here, or high season or even all inclusive, only breakfast or half board.

Have a look at that last week of august/going in to September so you're getting back as late as you can before school

Again, she is looking at 2026. Those packages wont be released yet for 2026.

Try Efteling, the drive from the ferry is easy. We stayed here a couple of years ago, https://guesthousehotel.nl/en/hotel/bunkhouse-room/ It's cheap but really nice. We are are a family of five too and all fitted in the room (it sleeps 6). Walking distance from the hotel to Efteling.

Portugal is cheaper than Spain, OP - the Algarve is supposed to be great value for money (admittedly I’ve not been, I’ve only been to Lisbon and Porto which are both great city breaks.

Crete in Greece is fantastic and not too expensive, lots of options for families and the beaches are warm. Because it’s a bit larger than other Greek islands it’s a little bit cheaper.

Germany is also great in the summer, as is Poland and if you were into a beach holiday, they have a very affordable and lovely stretch of coast in Pomerania, near Gdańsk (also a great city). We spent a week on the beach there in 2023, a self-catering cabin cost around £600 (space for 4 to sleep but you could get something bigger for not much more), you rent bikes and cycle everywhere, beaches are not crowded, forest is full of activities, food is cheap.

August expensive to go on holiday, you say? What a shocker!

I’ve been on Jet2 holidays and found a couple of packages in Benidorm in August 26 for a family of five for £3 - £3.6K. You’re not spending enough time looking around.

If you're North look to fly from a Scottish airport at end of August. Scottish schools go back mid august so you can get a slightly cheaper package deal then.

Fellow Northerner tip!

3 kids and a teacher here but we have never spent that sort of money-look at self catering villas, they are much cheaper.

Spain is ridiculously expensive in school holidays. Tunisia, Egypt etc all have cheaper packages and sometimes bigger resort hotels with more going on

We self cater, go in October half term as DD gets 2 weeks, look at easyJet holidays and sky scanner. Being limited by sea sickness and 7 days only etc will also make it more expensive. The more flexible you can be the cheaper options you will have. And if your DC is only 6 is he really that bothered? DD only went on a plane once or twice by age 8 and would have had no clue what her friends were doing!

Sorry, but that's nonsense. Perhaps it's impossible to have a cheap package holiday- I wouldn't know, it's not my kind of thing- but other kinds of holidays exist.

I have 2 DC and our usual holiday budget is around £1500. For that we have done massive camping tours of France and Spain (drive and ferry), Interrailed around Austria and Italy- and we're going Interrailing again this summer around Germany, Romania and Bulgaria. Yep, no swimming pools or all inclusive buffets, but we have a hell of a time.

Our daughter is now 29, up until she left home at the age of 21 she came away with us. She knows how lucky she is to have had a holiday abroad every year, sometimes twice. Having just one child is easier and cheaper for holidays, but I’ve got to say they have gone up dramatically since covid. There’s just the two of us now, but begrudge paying the package holiday prices. We’ve done quite a few Airbnb, booked cheap flights and hired a car. It’s great having an apartment instead of just a bedroom, having only a door between the bedroom and toilet, and the bathroom has no windows or extraction in 40 degree heat, NOT NICE (Portugal)

I heard Rio Ferdinand doing an interview, if they’re in a hotel room he’ll find the guests bathroom in the hotel as he won’t have a poop in the one in the bedroom, which I think is fab. When my husband has been you need a gas mask afterwards, how do they manage to make such a stink. I make my own natural air fresheners, and make sure I take a miniature away, don’t have a gas mask, I do have a snorkel and mask 😷🤣

I assume many people put holidays on credit cards and then spend the rest of their lives paying it off.

As it's actually 2026 and that wasn't a typo, that will be why things are so expensive. A lot of the big operators won't even have reserved their accommodation at this point, let alone released it. You are much better off waiting until the end of this year.

Have a look at Lalandia in Billund, Denmark.

We priced up return flights, 3 bed cabin for 2 adults/3 kids and Legoland passes this year. That was going to be about £3-3.5k.

Food is a bit on the expensive side but the facilities at lalandia are amazing for kids and Legoland is quiet in late August as danish schools go back much earlier. Weather is maybe not 100% reliable but honestly best trip we’ve had. Kids loved it so much we’ve been several times and only aren’t going this year as we couldn’t get dates that worked for us. Ryan air do direct flights from Edinburgh or you can go on connecting ones.

Billund is teeny and virtually everything is walkable

Definitely try easyJet holidays, they have a good website that you can filter to your local airport, board options etc. Have been to Spain and Croatia with them, all very smooth and you can book your flights, transfer, hotel/apartment all in a few clicks. Was very happy with them.

I agree with this. We always go for cheap accommodation that has good reviews as we dont spend our time int eh accommodation.

Go right now to Booking.com and look for accommodation in Nida, Lithuania - you can get an entire apartment with 4 beds 250m from the town centre for 7 days this August (not even booking a year ahead) for less than £1000.

Your kids get the full experience of being abroad - and they’ll be able to impress their classmates with their unusual holiday destination. A holiday doesn’t have to mean an all inclusive in Spain.

Agree. That’s what I’ve always done. Cheap flights, a lovely holiday house with outside space, e.g. a roof terrace. Then live like a local while there. We never go for expensive days out. Never go out to eat, apart from maybe once in two weeks. Just the beach with packed lunch/fruit, then dinner back at the house, with food, beers, wine bought from local markets/supermarket, e.g. pan fried fish with salad or a pasta dish. No hire car, just local buses.

@mindutopia absolutely - it’s a bit of sideways thinking needed- I think far too many constantly post about AIs and must have multiple water slides etc - and oh I can’t get it under£4.5k in July or August- not all kids like buffets- my H for one hates them and only time we got food poisoning was on our one and only AI holiday . Also I don’t like the idea of sitting round same place every day just because it’s included - most of them are massively overpriced too especially if you aren’t big drinkers or your kids are small - I appreciate some people do like those holidays though but don’t kid yourself it’s cheaper unless you get an absolute out of season bargain

You can be shocked if you’ve been living under a rock for the last few years yes.

Try less in demand locations - I suggest looking East rather than South.

My family used to go to the Île de Re in France every summer - sunny, beaches, pools, extremely flat so great for cycling with kids etc. But every year it was getting more and more expensive.

On a whim, we started looking into Eastern European alternatives and found the Curonian Spit in Lithuania - it’s only about 2km wide with sandy beaches, forests, sand dunes, beautiful wooden houses. It’s everything we got out of the Île de Re but flights are half the price (we fly to Kaunas and get a coach out there) and accommodation is barely a third of what we were spending to go to France. Renting bikes is also really cheap.

We’ve also branched out into Latvia and Estonia (though the latter is a bit more expensive). I’ve become a huge fan of the Baltic states and honestly can’t recommend them enough for cost effective family holidays.

There really is more to Europe than Spain!