to want to book a big holiday this year...

[ssd]

would love to take the dc;s away we cant afford it
have taken them abroad once in 16 yrs

would so love to do a good holiday, florida or something

being working poor is crap

Check out offers from dfds, it's the Newcastle-Amsterdam ferry. They're always doing good deals for hols in Scotland so I assume they do the other way too. Duinrell is great - also look at texel (Island north of Amsterdam). Believe it or not I got so hot there my skin blistered! In ducking holland!

duinrell looks great..but maybe like a wonderful butlins???

but but but I know this sounds awful, its all for the kids. we;ve done the kids holidays so long and we all spend so much time together that another week in a place like duinrell would end me. I know that sounds awful, I just need something else except what suits the kids all the time.

So ditch the kids at duinrell and nip in to The Hague (stone's throw) or Amsterdam for the day.

Duinrell is brilliant OP but it is mainly for the kids I must admit.We are also a bit meh with holidays with stuff constantly on tap for kids.Have had enough of aquatic centres and theme parks now they are teens.Tis hard to get something that would suit us and also them though!

I have to agree with Norma and say that Salou is awful. We went to Portaventura and stayed on one of the onsite hotels (which was fab but £££). We visited Salou via the landtrain and the town itself it not very nice. If you want another Benidowm then its your bag.

I also agree that you shouldn't discount Greece. Thomson have a holiday for 2 adult and 2 children at the Pefkos Beach Studio for £1357 flying from Manchester on the 16th July. The flights are a bit of a killer as they are really odd times but if your DC's are older it wont be so terrible.

how about a house swap?

I knew someone who went to Greece last summer and said although it was beautiful and the accomodation was great (and very £££), Greece itself is very run down now, lots of places have closed and the town they were near, which they'd loved before, was like a ghost town. Kinda put me off...

have to agree with wendywishes's post ^^

But not all of Greece is shut down. Its like someone going to Blackpool and telling you that all of England is shit and run down.

I am starting to wonder if you are looking for the impossible? You are never going to get to Florida on £2k, so why not wait until next year?

We're looking at PA for 4 in July too the el paso hotel AI is £2700 with jet2 flying from Edinburgh.

We did Florida last year when a policy matured. Was just what we needed after a few years of crap.

agree about me looking for the impossible. its true!

Don't go away this year and save the money so that next year you can go abroad. An annual holiday isn't compulsory.

Are there European cities you have always wanted to visit? If so how about booking cheap flights and then doing a mixture of activities for your DC and for the adults so it doesn't feel like a holiday just for the kids. We've done a few breaks like this and brought a guide book which lists 10 top attractions for children, 10 best beaches/museums/nature things etc and everyone has a chance to pick something. With 2k I'd go for that type of option or a week all inclusive somewhere hot booked through Travel Republic or similar cheap holiday company.

How about the Costa de la Luz on the Spanish Atlantic coast? Most Spaniards go there for their holidays instead of the infamous costa del sol which they leave to the Brits. There are plenty of activities to suit all ages & budgets.

Yhere are other places to visit in Spain other than Ibiza & the costa del sol. We flew into Malaga, hired a car & drove upto Cordoba, Grenada & Seville and the whole trip for a week cost £1000. That included flights, car hire & accommodation in 3 cities for the 2 of us.

en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_de_la_Luz

www.costadelazahar.net/
The costa del Azahar is in between Valencia and Barcelona so you could combine a beach & city break.

OP you aren't going to get Florida in the school holidays within your budget, but you don't seem to be happy with annoy thing else so you either need to be realistic about what your budget will get you, or save up until you can afford what you want.

Jet2 have got 10% off return flights. This will make flights about £800.
Is there a Spanish equivalent of grand Prix hotels in France?
Or look on euro camp etc and then find the website and book direct?

We had a fab holiday in Turkey too here:

www.hotelpirat.net/

Does anyone know more about house swapping?

What about putting it together yourself? This website is good links to a villa for £800 for a week, as an example and then use a screenscraper to get best deals on flights? www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-flights

You've got plenty of money with £2k for a holiday for a family of four. I'd recommend ballearics for cheap flights. We did that last year, found cheap flights to mallorca, then chose resort we fancied (puerta pollensa) then did a lot of research on trip advisor for hotels and managed to find one of the good ones on expedia at reasonable price, got all inclusive to save money. It was about £1600 in total in summer hols - but only a week.
This year we are going self catering to croatia - flights from monarch apartment from owners direct, £1200 in total, this time for a fortnight but we'll have spending money on top. I love doing all the research, it takes us ages, but you can always do it.

How about a cruise? MSC do free kids under 18
www.msccruises.co.uk/uk_en/homepage.aspx

How about a euro camp holiday?
You could drive and Eurostar.
France, holland, Italy....