How do people afford good holidays

I would save for a holiday like this over a long period of time. I’d plan it years in advance.

I'm wary of TF with a family.

For a 3 week South African holiday and safari they wanted £20k (2 adults, 2 kids). Hotel rooms which are impractical and lead to further spending on food whilst there.

We are doing with apartments, air B & B and booked direct with safari for £9k.

I don't think TF are as good or as helpful as they used to be.

We're doing a last minute to Florida next month, it's costing around £400 pp for fights and a villa. I suggest shopping around, playing with dates, times etc ... Maybe fly to a different airport and book an internal flight? Have you looked into booking everything separately? What's the cost breakdown?

Yellowstone was an amazing place to visit if you want a US trip. Think I ended up paying around £1,500 for flights and accommodation for two weeks (one person).

Personally I would do anything then travel to America at the moment. Too many horror stories at the borders and potential of rioting/civil unrest is quite high. Also I would not want to support basically what is becoming a right wing dictator who is starting a potential war with Iran.

In terms of prices, the cost of flying has gone up hugely because of the price of fuel so Hawaii will be expensive because of that. Why not look at somewhere closer but still amazing like Canada? Or somewhere that is much much cheaper when you're there so you can afford to go a bit more luxury like Vietnam or Thailand?

I’m not sure Hawaii is all that to be honest. Friends has relatives there and goes frequently coz she has too, and says there are just as nice if not nicer islands and tropical islands in easier reach of UK that aren’t full of Americans.

A trip to the US only costs £15 -25k if you want it to. You can book flights and find yourself an Airbnb for less than that, though Hawaii or Florida are going to be expensive choices particularly in the school holidays.

We’re doing a big US trip later this year and have been paying for it in chunks - one month paid for the Airbnb, one month paid for the flights etc - it wasn’t just a big lump sum in one go. Some travel companies will
also let you set up a 0% agreement where you pay for it over 6 months.

Find yourself some flights on Skyscanner or one of the comparison sites and then try Airbnb for accommodation. We just booked a beautiful Airbnb (with brilliant reviews) in a very popular US city and paid $150 a night for a 3 bed.

I've known people who do credit cards / save up / inheritance.

I don't go on holidays these days. Before I had DC's I saved up for them.

We go on a "big" holiday about once every 5 or 6 years, and go very cheap in between. One year we had 4 days in a Premier Inn by the sea!

Was just remembering paying less than £500 in my 20’s to fly to Australia / Indonesia for a year.

Prices are nuts op. Completely!
credit card 0% interest and spread the cost.

Surely the budget varíes massively depending on type of hotel, where you eat etc?

We’re doing 2.5 weeks in USA this summer, 2 adults 2 kids. I got very cheap flights by booking almost a year in advance. Total costs including all food and activities is about 9k, staying in some nice hotels, some average hotels on the road and a week self catering for £1500.

You’ve chosen an expensive combination of places- but you could get it in cheaper than that for sure.

Holidays have gone up loads, when I think of the places I went to in my 20s… this year I wanted to go to Italy or Greece, but ended up in Morocco as it was so much cheaper and I’m currently eyeing up Malta instead of Majorca as it’s more affordable. Trouble is the popular places can command the asking price.

The facts that some people can afford it ,is neither here or there really.My own DS is 30 and his GF a few years younger. Been to US around 6 times now!.Earns well,saves hard has a good bonus.Also bought a house recently. This is in addition to trips to Thailand. Probably over the last 5 years. Not everyone is struggling

Another "how long is a piece of string" post. Surely you can look up the individual costs of the flights, and then the varying prices of the hotel options or other types of accomodation??? It all depends on 1) the level of luxury you want for said holiday (flying economy and staying in hostels is going to of course be cheaper than flying first class and staying at the Four Seasons!) and 2) what you plan on doing while you are there.

As for how people afford things: same way they afford anything else. They save up and pay for it, or they stick it on a credit card and accrue a load of debt.

As with all things if you can't afford it then don't go. Use the time between now and when you think you might like to go to figure out some money saving options if you are open to the idea: make use of credit card offers that give you frequent flyer miles - these can often reduce the cost of flights considerably. Same for hotels (though UK points offers are far less lucrative than USA credit cards). Research times of the year when costs may be less expensive (for example you don't want to be travelling when it's the US spring break time, or over christmas, or at peak travel time on Thanksgiving or various of their other big holidays!). Remember that different parts of California have different weather: If you want to drive up the parts of the Pacfic Coast Highway that are still open then do NOT go in the summer months, because the fog will block your view (same for summer in San Francisco). Go in Spring or Autumn.

Look into options like house swaps or AirBnB/house stays versus hotels.

Understand that Hawaii is always expensive: they rely heavily on imports, and have a love/hate relationship (more hate than love these days) with tourists. Particularly tourists who don't make the effort to learn about local history and culture and just want what they have at home (so if you are a Brit who expects a full english breakfast and a cup of tea versus embracing local cuisine and customs then it's not the place for you - though frankly those sorts of Brits shouldn't be leaving the UK anyway as they are just an embarrassment). Also understand that the price of food/groceries in the US has increased markedly over the past decade - and it's especially noticeable in California. The high costs of real estate are passed along to consumers.

Again, we have no idea what you want to do when you are visiting these places. If you just want to drive around and look at stuff then consider renting an SUV and buying a few tents/camping stuff when you get there and going camping - there are AMAZING campsites in the US national parks - many of which are very very affordable and lovely - though a good number require advance planning and advanced booking to get the best spots. Some camping facilities have cabins and other structures - it all depends on where you are going and when - so put some effort into doing your research and learning about where you are going and the various national and state parks, together with the options available for camping at each. Of course if you are the sort of person who only wants to stay at all-inclusive resorts and Marriott hotels then that advice won't help. But having stayed at everything from the Four Seasons to a tent in the Sierra Nevadas I'd say the tent in the Sierra Nevadas was by far the most delightful (if not necessarily the most comfy - but if you have your SUV nearby you can always take an airbed with you).

Well paid jobs and save up. That is the holiday of a lifetime and most families go to cheaper places and only one place. A holiday like that even someone well earning and going in the school holidays would likely have to save up over a couple of years

I LIVE in California and go on holiday to Hawaii sometimes. For one week in mid-range hotels, with flights and car hire for two adults, one kid, it’s easily $6,000. That’s before any meals or excursions. I’d honestly recommend doing one of the other. There’s SO much to see in both States.

Either road trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles or San Diego, taking in the coast (Monterey, Malibu, Santa Monica…) etc and National Parks (Yosemite, Sequoia, Pinnacles are some of the best).

Or choose two Hawaiian islands (I’d recommend Oahu, which is busiest and most famous and one other - probably Maui, Kauai or Hawaii (the big island).

Have fun whichever you choose!

ChatGPT's job is to give you a plausible sounding answer, not necessarily the correct one.

We managed Florida - Universal, Disney, Cape Kennedy, Everglades, Keys for about a third of the cost of a Disney only, hotel based package. Not sure our holiday would count as "good" by your standards, but we had a brilliant time.

Start collecting airmiles now. That's what we dp and rarely pay for full priced flights. Some of the credit cards give you hotel status too so you get free breakfasts etc that also helps and some do free lounges too.

I went to a good old fashioned travel agent to book my flight to Australia and accommodation. It really saved me so much money,particularly the flights.
The internet was just beyond my comfort trying to work out best airline.
I left Travel Agent with my seats booked as well..bloody marvellous 🤩

Oh shit hold on to your hat! I have no kids, higher than average earner and… oh dear are you sitting…have the pearls properly clutched… smelling salts at the ready?

……….….……
…………
……
…
..
.

I’m an American😱🤯

Weirdly I’m still relevant even here on MN.

@Penguinbiscuitsarenowtiny sorry for the smart ass interlude I couldn’t resist 😁

Hope you find good deals out there for your trip.

They earn more? They sacrifice spending on other things? They go out of season? They book cheaper accommodation?

What the heck?! Why has my post been hidden?!

I never spend that much on a holiday and I'm really well travelled and stay in amazing places.

Get a CC with great points to a hotel chain/airline. Use it to buy everything and PAY IT OFF IN FULL EACH MONTH.
Research, research, research. Yourself, not Chat GPT.
Definitely look at VRBO/AirBnb (I personally have never had a bad VRBO experience). Also, if they have a link to their own website, check it out as it can work out cheaper but is more of a gamble.
Car hire, I use Expedia. It's often cheaper than going direct and it has made zero difference to any car upgrades. I use the car insurance that comes free with my CC. We have had 2 crashes over the years (neither our fault and both in California) and the CC insurance was fine.
Don't just go with the most well known hotel chains. There are some fantastic independents out there.
Be date flexible.

I kind of find the planning quite therapeutic, especially in the wintertime. Enjoy your trip!

hawaii is extortionate

just do cali