to think that a weeks holiday in the uk should be cheaper than going abroad?

[carriedababi]

would liek to go to either cornwall, dorset or east coast,so pretty flexible

for 1 week

2 adults 1 4 year old

flexible on accomadation, either b and b, hotel, caravan
so flexible there

but can't seem to see any accomadation for less than 800 a week

We have decided to go abroad. I'm doing a ton of over time to afford it :( just booked the flights yesterday to menorca for £575, going the 22nd august and for 11 nights. I have been trawling through hotels now, not sure if to pay out more and go all inclusive or stick with self catering

"crappy hotels and b&bs with rude owners and rubbish overpriced food in the local restaurants. same bloody shops in every town, hardly anything local. "attractions" that cost £££ for a family of four for one day - but my kids are little and we usually leave after a couple of hours and go sit in the crappy b&b while they nap."

You are looking in the wrong places for a holiday. Does it have to be in a touristy resort? Does it have to B & B or a hotel? We always rent a two bedroom cottage with all the creature comforts we want. We book through places like Cottages for You, English Country Cottages, West Country Cottages etc. We have stayed in the middle of nowhere, in small market towns and last week we were in Tenby which is a very pretty seaside resort, but not at all like Blackpool. If you have small children you aren't even tied to going in the school holidays. We are members of the National Trust so some of our sightseeing doesn't cost and arm and a leg and we don't like theme parks, which I agree are horridly expensive.

I love holidaying in the UK, but perhaps it is because I have had some fabulous holidays in beautiful places and have different (and realistic) expectations from a UK holiday than say, a week in the Med.

YANBU - I need to go to Manchester/Stockport in August [have a terminally ill aunt who has months left]

To get a hotel etc is extremely expensive, I dont think there is a caravan/haven/pointins in that area so we are thinking of the premier inn, which has to be paid upfront [and is miles away from my aunt]. Its a bloody nightmare!!!!

If anyone has come across accommodation in that area, would really love some pointers

i also went to butlins acouple of weeks ago self catering the price of holiday was reasnable but everthing else was extortionate although a lot of stuff was free they had many small additional charges [15pound per person not that small] and the drink chareges were ludicrous as soon as you go to skyline pavillion there were loads of rides that my ds 1wanted to go on that you had to pay for never again i felt i was being ripped off all the time

Where can you go abroad, near the sea, sleeps 6 for less than £600/£700 per week in summer? Not abroad, thats for sure.
There are holiday homes near the sea to be found in england and wales. We stayed in one just feet from the sea, less than £600.
There is no reason at all to skint yourself going abroad!

Oh apart from the weather, but we must be lucky as we always get at least 5 days out of the 7 on the beach.

Well we went abroad near the sea (2 adults 2 children) for £500 (flights, accommodation, car hire). Not summer, Feb half term but it didn't matter as we had summer weather.

The accommodation was actually the same price all year so the difference between that and summer prices would just be the cost of the flights.

shudders at camping

I have tried to make those sums add up in favour of going abroad, but the taxes on flights are the thing that makes the UK cheaper, IME.

It does make me laugh when people go at us doing a long-haul summer holiday (as in, at the cost) when they will have had 2 or 3 breaks in ("desirable" villages in) Cornwall and a skiing trip during the year - my guess is that adds up to more than we are spending on our 1 "extravagent" holiday.

Go to Skegness . It is said to be bracing.

Why are hotels SUDDENLY so expensive - and why are B&Bs charging the same price as hotels?

I think my problem is that I just do not view a break in this country as a holiday. I want to lie on a beach where we are guaranteed sunshine and be waited on, ie not having to cook and clean for a fortnight. Plus this country is so expensive that it seems a false economy in thinking you can do it cheap. Just take fuel and food costs for example. I have decided to work lots of extra shifts over June and July for us to afford to go abroad

Try this website. Lots of cottages/apartments/caravans to rent direct from the owners. Also very easy to search by lots of criteria/area etc.

I agree that accommodation in this country is ridiculously expensive, particuarly in the summer holidays, but to be fair it is a very short season, and they have to make the bulk of their money over a few weeks.

Another thought - I've seen campsites that have camping huts (wooden tents). Basically you take all your stuff except a tent, and then have no problem pitching it/leaks etc. They're probably much cheaper than cottages and probably more fun for DCs as well. for example.

I think it is just that you want to go abroad, not that it is more expensive. I love a holiday in this country. Even when we go abroad cheaply, it is way more expensive, with flights, travel insurance, airport travel, or petrol to drive to France, and the hideous price of basics in France these days, and European breakdown cover etc etc. We just find a nice cottage in UK for a few hundred and off we go! We also go with other people to share childcare and costs.

I have been astonished at the price of holidays this year. It really is cheaper to get a last minute in the sun holiday than go to a B and B in this country!

My tips for cheap holidays in this country are as follows:1, go in the opposite direction to everyone else, so when they go to Cornwall, think about a city break over Easter/Christmas/summer hols (can be great fun going to London and doing the free museums, for example), then go to the popular places in a week not in term time 2. Go on something like a barge, cottages are quite pricey 3. Pick somewhere you want to go, say, Devon/Cornwall and find a less popular place nearby that has the big hotels in it (say Plymouth) which have really cheap deals on Last Minute. If you pick Padstow in August, it will cost a fortune, if you are flexible and go somewhere less obviously touristy but nearby, then you can get much cheaper deals and just drive 20 min to where you want to go. For some reason, B and B's are incredibly expensive at the moment, I've found cheaper brand hotels to be better, sometimes you get a swimming pool thrown in whereas in a B and B you can't even hide in it if it rains!

We are renting a timber chalet in Pembs for 690. I know we will spend much more on food, petrol and etcs. But we can just chuck everything and everyone in the car and go. So easy.

Not to mention I hate lying on beaches, I don;t like extreme heat and I happen to think we live in a beautiful part of the world.

welshbyrd i live 10 mins away from stockport so may be able to think of soemwhere for you. How many are there of u and what area is close to your aunt and for how long are u thinking of staying?

14 nights in a cracking caravan park in Kirkcudbright for a little over £800 (my folks are paying as a gift, my mum booked it but I found it). Direct beach access. There's an ASDA near enough, our children are young so we'll buy passes to the leisure complex, Explorer passes for the region's historical sites, sling everything in the car and all 5 of us are out of here.

I prefer holidaying in the UK as well. I think it's a beautiful place.

I can see where if you live in London it might be easier/cheaper to go abroad, but it's a PITA from this area.

My rents her caravan on th ecoast at Selsey for £499 in teh school summer holidasy if Hampshire coast is any good to you. DS loves it there.

Welsbyrd, would you consider a Travelodge (I quite like their basic but pretty standard charm!)? The reason I say this is that they have a 10 pound sale on at the mo, and if you go on the website and type in Manchester in the sale section, there are lots of 15 pound rooms in August still in the sale.

Perhaps you would hate that, and it's too cheap and cheerful, but you could book a week for about 100 pounds.

The Travelodge sale is great, but only if you like staying with your child in the same room, but chances are that you would be doing that in a B and B anyway.

Allinabinbag - yeah I looked on travel lodge website, for the days I need the deal is not on, thank you though

mrshess, she lives in Brinnington- there are 2 adults [me + my mum] and 3 children
The date 17th August - 21st August
My DH has offered to keep the DC with him, so if its a massive increase in budget for them, I can leave them home, its DS birthday the day before so feel abit naff leaving him

Thank you so much for your help I really appreciate it
Aunt started a new chemo 3 weeks ago[to prolong life], she woke yesterday morning, and all her hair gone

How about this guest house its about 10 mins from brinnington.

www.lodging-world.com/UK/needhams-farm-bed-and-breakfast-in-hyde-116704

If u bring your kids with u to this guesthouse it is a bit remote so you would have to drive them if they were going anywhere without u (depending how old they are)

How old are the kids?

School summer hols only 6 weeks away of course it is difficult to find a bargain! Last minute holidays are the ones left that no one else wants otherwise they wouldnt be left. Try some of the late websites like lastminute-cottages.com and next6weeks. Guaranteed sun shine abroad? Hmm 40 degree heat that you can't go out in when its a heat wave, stuck at airport due to strike, ash cloud , leaves on the runway. Plus i bet you all recycle like mad but all the greenness it is all blown out of the window with one flight. Stay at home, have a lovely time in your own country.