Uk holiday that’s just as nice as going abroad

[Pinkunicorn21]

Help! I’m trying to find a holiday for next year that’s a bit better on the bank balance….! We usually spend around £4k going to Greece but we can’t afford it this year coming, with the cost of living going up we really can’t do it. Is there a next best thing? Something with pools, kids entertainment, near the beach, nice accommodation, clean, spacious? I think we have been spoilt and same for our little one. Is there anywhere in the uk where you have thought this is nicer or just as good as abroad?

I would also say France, I’d go south rather than Brittany though, we had a really wet week there one year, south is more predictable. We have previously found Lot region pretty good value, we have done hiring a villa with a pool, stock up on wine and food, bliss. We would go with another family, kids had company, parents could share pool duties, obviously only works if you have some good friends with similar age kids.

In the UK best we’ve done is Haven in New Quay, west Wales is stunning on a sunny day, there’s a lovely beach, amazing ice cream in town and some really good restaurants. Beautiful sunsets and dolphins if you’re lucky. It’s definitely not like Greece though.

If center parcs appeals then it’s cheaper to go to NL or Belgium than the UK, even factoring in travel costs.

@Pinkunicorn21 do you drive and have an ok car- ? As if so I would be looking at something like this - add in a crossing , fuel and tolls and even in mid August you are looking at about £1700 in premium for a week - do an overnighter on way down and back and maybe £2000 - mix of BBQs ,self catering and takeaway food on site or campsite cafe and I reckon you could do it all for about £2600 -

Forgot to link

www.eurocamp.co.uk/campsites/france/provence/lacs-du-verdon-campsite

The nicest holidays I have had (childhood and as an adult) have been Haven ones.
I went to one of the ones near Weymouth. It was lovely. Weymouth has a great beach.
Obviously if it's absolute downpours the whole week it wouldn't be as brilliant but you can't guarantee perfect weather in Greece. Isn't Greece one of the places that's so hot they have fires? I think I'd rather be stuck inside because it's raining rather than breathing in forest fire smoke.

Are you expecting all inclusive? That can be hideously expensive so I would bin that idea for a start, you can save so much that way.

I would be weighing up what my priorities were in your list. If your top priority is nice weather guaranteed you're going to have to consider certain parts of France and the possibility of driving there ((with perhaps a cheap stay overnight on the way) You could go on the shuttle as that's often cheaper than the ferry, and exciting for kids - they like the novelty of sitting in their car on a train. Once you've narrowed it down to there, you have to decide if being by the sea is essential for your kids' enjoyment. We can get drawn into thinking that a holiday has to be a certain way for it to be a "proper" holiday, but we've found that to not be true. There are lakeside beaches in France with watersports etc.

Next, is kids' entertainment a real priority? If it really is (and personally I don't think it's essential for children to be able to enjoy themselves), then you're looking at considering a holiday park. But you'd probably have to compromise on the standard of accommodation you're used to. If you decide that organised entertainent ISN'T essential then you could consider nicer smaller gite complexes where there are likely to be other children for yours to play with. They tend to have nicer, prettier and more relaxing for adults shared pools than the overcrowded ones at holiday parks. Most have games rooms, playgrounds, trampolines etc. Most kids love the freedom of making new friends at these sort of places and going off to play table tennis with them or a game of football etc.

We could never afford holidays abroad when the kids were little so went to Devon or Cornwall. After one terrible holiday in a Haven where we thought "never going to a holiday park in the UK again! Not even for the kids' sake!", we had a few successful holidays on non working farms in Devon or Cornwall with groups of self-catering cottages with shared pools and indoor and outdoor play facilities, animals, sometimes organised activities etc. When they outgrew those we just rented extra nice cottages or apartments in picturesque towns and villages by the sea.

But to be honest, after one too many weeks where we had rain and miserable grey skies every day, not being able to use the nice garden or balcony we'd paid for, no barbecuing etc, and rip off entries to museums etc to try to fill the time, we looked to France instead and wished we'd done it sooner! We loved the Dordogne - perfect for kids of age 8 ish and up. Loads of stuff to do, absolutely loads, in certain parts. I'm not very sporty but canoeing on the Vezere or Dordogne rivers is very pleasant and gentle indeed. It's gorgeous weather. Very pretty everywhere. Loads of prehistory stuff everywhere, plus castles, adventure parks, really great.

We had a couple of very successful holidays here. https://lebanquet.com/en/

You're looking at traditional country style for those kind of gite accommodation though in France. Not what you might be used to if you're used to pristine standard type of modern hotel rooms.

I'd always go for somewhere with a dishwasher if you're self catering, and try to budget for as many meals out as possible. Even though sitting in the evening sun by the river with a glass of wine while your other half sips a beer at the barbecue can be VERY relaxing, you still want few nights of not having to cook.

We went to Kelling Heath in Norfolk which felt like a classy holiday park. Lots of forests, gorgeous beaches nearby. Indoor/outdoor pool , gym , sauna etc. kids entertainment and live music in the square with street food every night. We camped but the lodges looked amazing 😻

We went to Aviemore, Scotland a couple of years in a row and it was gorgeous. (Hence why we went back). So many places to enjoy. We've had lots of holidays abroad but have equally enjoyed the Lakes, North Yorkshire, Cornwall Devon, City breaks.

Beautiful chalet in Aviemore by river, sleeps 4 to 6, £900. X

Jersey is gorgeous but very expensive.

I’d actually avoid the UK as you just don’t get value for money. Accommodation and eating out are just pricing people out these days.

Have a look at things like Brittany Ferries hols in France and Spain - you won’t necessarily get the entertainment, but many properties have a pool, are near the beach and other attractions and are much better value.

Also, Centre Parcs resorts in Europe are far better value than the UK - Parcs in France and Netherlands are supposed to be lovely.

That's a matter of opinion, certainly less of a shit hole than butlins or Haven and we only paid £800 for a week in the school holidays so can hardly call it a rip off.

@CurlyhairedAssassin I agree on all your points- I don't think some think sideways though and I guess some may not have a car they think is up to it- the other thing people always mention is they don't want to be washing up/ clearing up- to be honest to me it never felt a big deal on these holidays- I used paper plates and plastic cutlery a lot too and never did anymore than cereals and bakery goods at breakfast- or occasionally a few rolls and fruit at lunch- even then we had lots of simple lunches out and most evening meals out apart from the odd BBQ and it still never came close to the prices people mention- I certainly spent little time cooking or washing up

Yes I agree it's really expensive but you wouldn't get flights to anywhere for a family of 4 in the School holidays for that. Ferry was overnight (Plymouth- Roscoff) and cost included a cabin. Overall holiday price still loads cheaper than any all inclusive in school hols.

Lovely self catering accommodation in the Cairngorms op. Here's a link

https://www.escapecottagesscotland.com/

Good advice. In the event the weather isn't perfect, there's still plenty to do and eating out doesn't have to be expensive.

I'm so fed up with how much everything costs.

I don't think anywhere is cheap tbh.

I've been away a few times this year both here and abroad and have felt totally ripped off, apart from camping in Dorset.

Another vote for Weymouth. I think the caravan site was called Waterside or something like that. Loads to do for kids and right near the beach.

I spent 3 weeks in Mallorca, swimming in a turquoise sea, eating fresh sea food, and then 3 weeks in the UK, where it rained when I was in the countryside or beach, or was too hot when in city, last year we went to Cornwall, paid £1k for 4 nights in an Airbnb in July. We had one gorgeous day and 4 days of driving rain, plus 11hrs of driving each way. And this year spent £1k on glamping and camping whilst wearing waterproof jackets. Frankly there’s no way I’d do either again. City based holidays, with options to have days in the countryside if the weather is decent makes sense for me. But ending up trudging around in the rain, or on beaches being scoured by wind carried sand just doesn’t seem fun or restful to me .

the only way I’d want to holiday in the Uk is if I didn’t need to commit until the week before. I don’t want spend ££ on accommodation in places where there’s nothing I would want to do when the weather is dismal.
But other people book up stuff months ahead so that isn’t feasible

maybe I’m missing the point.
and that deep joy can be found lingering around in drizzle and gales.

I do think it is very difficult to afford a really enjoyable holiday these days with the cost of living being the way it is. The cheapest ways to holiday, if we were to be brutally honest, can often turn out to be not that that enjoyable. You get your diehard camping fans who insist that there's no such thing as bad weather, only the wrong clothing or equipment for such weather. But if your only week away from a stressful job consists of really stormy weather with the tent flapping around all day, and pouring down apart from an hour or two the whole week, it's depressing to realise that it's ruined the dreams you had of lovely relaxing sitting by a barbecue or camp fire with a glass of something and the kids playing cricket nearby with their new mates.

No-one really wants a worse week than what they could have had at home, do they? At least at home you have proper home comforts when it's pissing down all week.

Maybe the answer is to have shorter breaks, but a couple of them. And then you might have a chance of one of them being nice weather.

Or not have an actual holiday one year so that you can save up to have one somewhere with guaranteed nice weather, even if it's self-catering? We shared with grandparents in the past and the kids enjoyed having them there. Pooling your resources may be an idea if you can.

@MumonabikeE5 I actually have fond memories of going out with my parents to the empty beach over the road from our caravan site and being absolutely windswept and looking at the wild and stormy sea. We were all wrapped up warm and it was quite energising. Its nice for a while, doing games such as who can find a particular kind of item first etc. And then you get back in all cosy to have a hot chocolate and play a game. It's sometimes what you make it. Granted, I wouldn't want to do the windswept beach thing for more than an hour and certainly not every day of my holiday.

*@MumonabikeE5

maybe I’m missing the point.
and that deep joy can be found lingering around in drizzle and gales.*

You're not missing the point, there's no joy in that and anyone who says there is is lying!

Well who would want to admit that they just spent a fortune on having a shit time all week? 😆

@hazelnutlatte do they provide bed and bath linens or would you have to take your own? Neither my OH nor I drive so we take the train or fly places. I wouldn’t want to lug linens with us, IYSWIM. I’m thinking of doing a cheaper French holiday next year.

If you're organised about it, ok with Ryanair, and a crack of dawn flight (4am alarms!) then you can fly in August, we just had 2 utterly glorious weeks in Italy, return flights to Milan were £365 for 4 of us. Italian trains are excellent and cheap. We did it with the tiny Ryanair bags and one checked bag (£80 of the £365 was that one bag 🤣). Small bags are better for trains anyway, and they have washing machines in Italy. Mixture of self catering and hotels, booked well in advance.
2 weeks was about £2k. Meals out, water parks, supermarket pasta dinners and pizza on the beach watching the sunset.
I've done years of centrepars and camping in the UK. It's abroad for us now. You can do it cheaply, it just depends on what priorities you have. 4am Ryanair alarm calls or 3 hours in traffic on the M25?