If you've booked an affordable holiday this year

[Shesnotveryself]

Where on earth are you going? Desperate to have something to look forward to but everything is so expensive. UK or abroad. We have no camping kit or desire to buy right now, which I think rules that out

Driving to Europe for a week in a caravan or similar is cheaper than booking a caravan in the UK. I usually find good deals on hoseasons Europe. Or Eurocamp but stuck to lodges/cabins.

Or some well know parks like Duinrell in Holland.

Where are you staying in the Lakes? This sounds very inexpensive including two hotels. Asking as I’d like to do both these things next year!

Sorry, meant to quote @TwoLeggedGrooveMachine

Just booked Portugal £140 flights incl share of hold
luggage Ryanair. And £700 pp hotel for a week b&b basis. 1st week in August

may half term Brittany chalet on a campsite £600 self catering £300 for two people for return ferry.

I've been doing home exchange for a few years now - love it, and wouldn't holiday any other way now.

Some people would be delighted to share their holiday with your cat!

We’re staying at Duinrell for a third time. There wasn’t much else open that late in October. We’ll take bikes and cycle to the beach, The Hague, Leiden and the station to get into Amsterdam.

How does this work please? Do you have to let yours out and then swap with someone from a different country? It’s not a straight swap with the person who lets yours by the sounds of it?

Centre parcs in Europe is often cheaper than in the UK and their schools tend to go back earlier so end of August can be more affordable.

You have to go out of season for affordable holidays.

To be honest I prefer it as crowds are not my thing.

But if you're clever with dates you can have nice weather. Even in season that's not guaranteed anyway.

But I generally avoid school summer holidays and go away at half terms, easter etc. I live in a nice part of the UK though so that's not a sacrifice.

You can get the ferry from Portsmouth. It's not quick, but it is nice, like a mini cruise. It's possible to just go as a foot passenger.

We are going to an Italian eurocamp for 10 days at the end of August for around 1k. Flights were around £100pp and then car hire too.

And we are driving to a centre parcs in the Netherlands for a week. According ovation cost £1.5k for the week.

Budapest - 4 nights and return flights for one just under £250. Accommodation is an apartment with space for two, so another person would just be the flight. All booked last min.

We're going on a road trip, ferry to Netherlands, driving around Netherlands and Germany - a few nights in a eurocamp type place (Landal) a few nights in an airbnb appartment and a few cheap hotel nights. I think accomodation and travel will cost 3k (4 of us, leaving mid august). But food and spends extra. would be probably a lot less if we were prepared to travel to Dover for the ferry or eurotunnel (we are getting the overnight ferry from Hull instead which is expensive but convenient)

We did go on a package holiday in May half term which was lush but cost double that.

Normally in August we spent around £1k on a UK holiday cottage - had some lovely holidays that way especially Norfolk last summer when weather was amazing. But also spent a similar amount of money and weather has been poor and we've been stuck inside the cottage.

I think if you're flexible with destination and dates, there are really good flight options. If it's too late to get good flights for this year, I'd keep an eye out for next summers flights.

Last year we got flights to Italy (trieste) in June for 100 pp. Stayed in a euro camp which was 600. Total cost for a week was 1000 for 2 adults 2 children.

2 years ago, I got flights to faro for 100pp in August. We booked a self catering apt in a hotel near the beach. Total price was 1200 for 4 people.

This summer were going to London, but we have a week of winter sun booked for December for 1600 for flights and airbnb.

not campsites per se but look at Landal. We stayed in a lovely one near Gouda and are going to one in Texel this year.
Getting the Hull ferry this year which is expensive yes. Harwich is an absolute killer of a drive from the north west, did it last time and never again

Go on Air b and b and find a cheap caravan to stay in somewhere on the coast. Norfolk is lovely and also the Kent coast

@TwoLeggedGrooveMachine I do love that bit of the Netherlands- the city’s are all lovely !! And close together and well connected-

@babasaclover you and the other person choose. So I advertise mine for either straight swap or for points (which I can use to go elsewhere). And people contact you and suggest one or the other, and you can say, well you could stay but I don't want to go to where you live, can we do it for points. It is quite easy to communicate via the platform and negotiate there.

You don't need to go abroad either, there are lots of people offering it in UK too.

We went to mainland Europe in May half-term. Took the DC out of school two days before, which saved £££ on the flights, which together with the (nice 3-bed with pool) air BnB only came to around £1500 for the week. Obviously then had to pay for food and we hired a car, but probably not more than £2k in total.

I find the opposite personally, especially in the UK. Just looked at three nights in a kid friendly cottage in Yorkshire - £900!

I love Budapest in the summer. It's got great cafe culture, amazing cakes and floating around the spa is 👌

We’ve done a static caravan on a Haven site in a beach town in Wales, £245 for 4 nights

Non-school holidays / out of season are so cheap I’ve seen some dates for £45 for 4 nights

Little one loved it

There’s also some deals on Jet2 - Greece and Cyprus actually in the summer holidays for under £1k two adults one child including transfers etc

You sound just like me. I go with my sister.. the biggest expense for us is the hire car.
But l look for cheap flights.. then an apartment.. then book a car hire.. and off we go for 5 nights.. we don't drink alcohol.. eat out about 3 times.. but prefer salads/ cheese/ meats / prawns etc on our patio.
Then a drive around to interesting places.. always a beach hol.. Greek islands / portugal/ Canaries.
Just got back from 5 nights in Corfu.. flights £120 ret including 10kg.
Villa with pool worked out at £118 each.
We spent £120 Euros each including petrol.
Car hire worked out 70 euros each.
Just over £400 each.

We are going to Cyprus for a week. 4, all inclusive. 2A 4C - £3k all in, flying 19th August. I felt that was very good value, albeit very nervous for a 4 as I am unashamedly a hotel snob and I’m more of a large resort, 5* type of gal.