Cheap holiday ideas

[georgedawes]

Other than camping! Which we do, but haven't for more than a few days or in bad weather..

We used to get a cheap Airbnb but those days seem to have passed. Are youth hostels any good? Any other ideas I've not thought of?

We like to stay in youth hostels. Definitely a good call for a bargain break. Would recommend the YHA hostels in York and Whitby and the A and O hostel in Edinburgh. My son also recently spent a few weeks in the Lake District and stayed at a few good YHA hostels there

Cheers! What sort of prices for youth hostels? Appreciate will vary on location/rooms etc. Do they have kitchens you can cook in? Have never stayed in one. We're a family of 3 so guess would book a room, although wouldn't mind the dorms.

Would you consider a house swap? We've been using Guardian Home Exchange for a few years, there is an annual membership fee but it's not huge, and we've had great times. There are members all over the world as well as UK and Ireland.

Assuming you have a car.... find a premier inn for £35 a night? I say about a car only because the cheap premier inns might not be in a great location. Take crockery and cutlery and can eat cold things from the supermarket. We did this a few years ago and had a great time, it might not be ideal but it's still a holiday in a hotel with lovely beds and showers

I think house swap in theory would be amazing for us, we live in quite a scenic part of the UK. Our house is not sadly in the best state of repair though :(

I am another who has stayed a lot in the hostels. If you join you get rooms a bit cheaper but you don't have to be a member. Prices really vary - cheapest I had was probably £29 but they vary a lot. Rooms come with either private bathroom or just a hand basin with a shared loo (which are cheaper). I have never stayed in a dorm. Some room will have 3 beds (prob bunks) or 4 beds so you could look at those.
They all have kitchens - they vary but are normally fine. In some you can buy meals - these are normally really good value.
We have had some great YHA trips and some not so great (mainly because of noisy folk). I would definitely recommend it though - and it's fab for families.

Totally agree about Premier Inn, we've done this a few times too. Some real bargains to be had, and you know it'll be a good room.

Thanks for the info on youth hostels, that's really helpful. Are there opportunities for kids to mix, like camping? DD is an only child and I do feel guilty at times that she misses out ln mixing with other kids. She's 12.

Another vote for House swap. Your house needn't be in pristine condition, just as far as 'ok'. If you swap photos your visitors can always say 'no thank you'. We used to do house swaps before the Internet and used to really look forward to strange envelopes arriving from all over the place. It also makes you look at your house in a different light. We are in rural Bucks. We used to get a lot of offers from USA. I've always thought Bucks was boring, but accessible for London and Oxford, day trip to Bath/Stonehenge, Bicester village. (I cannot see the fascination). That's four of the top 5 places which tourists aim for.
And you get to go to places which are not normal touristy places. We went to Denmark twice. Fantastic place.
It is very affordable. And a bit more interesting than a hotel.

Some hostels have a games room with different stuff (table tennis etc) where kids hang around. There is usually a "TV" room/shared lounge where people meet and chat. If there is a nice area outside kids are playing around outside. Some hostels are more aimed at families than others - they would be better. Have a browse on the YHA website - there are loads to choose from.

Thank you, really helpful.