Holiday ‘extras’ eating into holiday budget!

I get the frustration with some of this, some of it is not avoidable (tourist tax). The rest probably is - the meal deal is your best friend, it is no longer cheap in airports but it is generally about £5 and at least it is what you want to eat, when you want to eat it, and as others say, you can take sandwiches, crisps, snack etc. from home, and buy water (at eye watering prices) - you can take an empty bottle of water through security and in MOST (but not all airports) there are places to fill up once you have gone through security. Seats can be very difficult depending on who you are flying with, and what importance you attach to this part of the journey. If you have kids, then pay (and to be honest, you must unless they are very confident flyers) if you care, then pay, if you are not sure, then don't pay and take your chances. Agreed most airports charge a drop off charge now for taxis and ubers (Newcastle and Leeds being outliers on this - within a 5 min walk you have 15 mins for free in NCL, and Leeds, you have an hour if you are prepared to walk for 5-10 mins). Not sure about the AC, but I would definitely pay it, and maybe would not have booked without it. Sure, you can do some stuff if you haven't got it, with wet bedding and fans but it isn't great, especially if it involves opening your windows. Mosquito central.

She means it’s 2 minutes to unload the car at the designated drop off

A four hour flight with also involve a journey to the airport, then a two hour window to get through security, passport control and be at thr boarding gate. Plus disembarkation. That’s at least 8 hours. It’s not weird to want to eat something. If it’s an early flight that’s sandwiches squashed in hand luggage until you are hungry.

I don’t think paying for seats is worth it it. Check in online when it opens. They will put you close together.

Why don’t you walk with all your luggage if it’s only 2 minutes?

why don’t you make a sandwich at home to take on the plane? Can you survive if you haven’t eaten for 4 hours?

Why do you need to sit together for 4 hours? Can you split a parent and child and have the cost?

The hotel I stayed at in Greece last year charged for air con, I think it was 4 euros per day.

The drop off (and pick up) fee is annoying. Are you going from Manchester @Revolutioniser? There’s no “free” drop off option anymore, and the train in from my side of the Pennines (Yorkshire) is currently a rail replacement service which takes twice as long.

This country isn't broken because you have to pay a few extra quid for your holiday.

The key here is research and planning. Too many people book the basic budget holiday options then want every extra that sometimes means booking a more expensive upfront fare would have made more sense. I book budget because I don't care where I sit and wouldn't order a meal on a short flight

The best deal I got was when I went to Turkey was via Turkish Airlines. It included food, a 25kg luggage allowance & free seating allocation. It initially wasn't cheaper than the budget airlines but once you added the extras on easy jet, Turkish airlines came out way cheaper.

The air con is probably necessary but it should be standard in hot conditions.

Bit is a stretch to say this country is "broken" when you are going abroad and your whines are a tourist tax and payment for air con. Get a grip.

I've never heard of a hotel charging for AC!

Does it charge extra for heating in the winter as well?

I'm sorry,what sort of shonky hotel charges extra for A/C?

Although we stayed a couple of days at a 2 star hotel in France this year where only "premium rooms" had A/C and standard ones didn't. We knowlingly took a gamble and lost as it was it a hot week in France. However the hotel owner were lovely and eent oit and bought us a massive standing fan to go with the existing tower fan already in the room.

But flights that cost less than a medium distance train journey in the UK didn't exist then either.

I've just booked a weekend break in Mallorca in 2 weeks time. Return flights £120 pp, we'll spend a fiver on a Boots meal deal, which I don't think is bad for a wrap, nice yogurt and smoothie. We'll also get free water after security. We'll take what we're given seat wise and tourist tax is less than half what the OP is paying.

We were thinking about London but transport, hotel and food/drink out would be pretty much double what we're paying so Mallorca it is.

We were able to sit next to each other on our Easyjet flight. Didn't charge us. Easyjet food is shit and v expensive. I'm gonna definitely take our own this time. I can't survive 4 hours plus hanging around for luggage & the transfer the other side without food!

Lots of these charges are optional though

you don’t need to book seats together for everyone and just select seats for one adult per child or if you have older kids sit separate the majority of airlines will sit younger children with at least one adult anyway. It’s only 4 hrs so being separated from DH or older kids isn’t too bad

take food with you for the plane if you feel you will need to eat in the 4 hrs (sandwiches and crisps from home and empty water bottles to fill in the airport after security)

decide about air con when you arrive and if you need it as sometimes keeping curtains closed keeps the room cool or if your not directly in sunlight all day

tourist tax can’t be avoided

most airports do have free drop off but it’s further from the terminal so arrange to get there early and most have a free bus to terminal

This is what happens when you book budget holidays. The added extras make up the price difference unfortunately.

I wouldn't be paying for food or seats

£22pp each way to get seats on the plane next to each other
£8.50pp each way for a bit of food on the 4hr flight
£8 per night AC for the hotel room
£8 per night tourist tax
£6 to drop us off at the airport for less than two minutes!
£300 of the holiday spends gone already!

only because you paid it. Tourist tax, fair enough.
Dont pay for seats, Take your own food, organise your own taxi for transfer. Dont get AC. You'll climatise better without it. Dont book a package holiday... book a flight, book accommodation. Lot better

To add, why did you book with a BUDGET airline if you are complaining about the additions? it’s a well known fact that you have to pay for food on these airlines and sometimes
sit next to each other. if you booked a more expensive airline these would have been included.
And for a hotel to charge for AC, was this not obvious on booking?

Either way, this tells me you probably can’t really afford to go away if you are making such a statement about these costs. Its not that much money and some things on your list not totally necessary.

More fool you is all I can say

4 hours and you need feeding?????

We would usually get the "red eye " - 6 am flight - up from 3am - we buy a meal deal

We have never ever paid to sit together and have never been separated . Check in online as soon as it opens - never once have we had a problem

Tourist tax is unavoidable where its added , where we are heading its £3 a night per person

Do you really need AC? Only used it once abroad - heatwave in Turkey and it was high 40's .; Otherwise a sheet, mozzie spray and the windows and doors opened and we didn't die

Thankfully we can get our lift to pull into a layby near our airport and take the 6/7 minute walk

What country is broken as evidenced by these fees?
I don't understand your logic, do you honestly think everything you've mentioned is the fault of one country? Unless you mean the country you're staying in?

But I agree with you. There are now always overpriced add on's which never used to exist. Its very tedious.
Yes but ticket prices were generally
higher.
I am happy to sit anywhere and not pay extra.
Im happy to take a small carry in free for a 10 day holiday and i don't need to eat on a short haul flight.

I was just looking at my booking actually and there is a charge to guarantee you keep your on-board luggage on-board and not in the hold, WTF??!! So you get 10kg per person on-board luggage included but then it "might" need to go in the hold on busy flights!

I agree, the add on costs are huge. Cleaning charge if you're in a holiday let, airport parking, transfers, check in luggage, seat reservations. Cheap flights are not cheap.
The cost of food and drink in airports is shocking too. £3 + for a bottle of Buxton water at WH Smith. Holidays are insanely expensive now. Tourist tax was €5 per person per night where we went. We didn't have to pay extra for air con though.

How does paying for AC in a presumably foreign hotel have anything to do with Britain being “broken”?

Ha ha, I didn’t even notice this bit of the original post!

People just repeat popular phrases without thinking about them 😂

So they do have free seats. I've used them often.Never paid, still get allocated one at check in. Never been left standing yet