Am I deluded or have holidays become almost unaffordable for many families?

[Tractorprincess]

Looking at holidays and everything is so expensive.

We usually pay around £1200 for a very very nice holiday flat in the UK right on the beach but we're all getting a bit bored of the same place. I always thought £1200 was quite pricey but I'm starting to think it's an absolute bargain.

I can remember going abroad a few years ago with ds1 for around 1k, now I can't find anything half decent for less than 3k.

Thought about doing a few UK weekend breaks but nice places for the dc, the Legoland hotel is £700! I know you can go to cheaper local ones but having done than previous years I was thinking about making it extra exciting.

Centreparcs is extortionate too.

Dh and I are both on ok salaries, hardly rich but above the apparent UK average.

I don't know how people afford to go unless they're very well off or go in term time.

Havent RTFT but YANBU - thing have got crazy in the UK at least. We took the DCs to legoland on a school TD day in April (the Monday after the Easter fortnight) and used Tesco vouchers to get a good deal on the entry. Booked the Holiday Inn at Slough (family room for 4 inc breakfast, free parking, £40, 10 mins away) and entry for a similar price where it would have been £140 on the gate. (If you don't have Tesco vouchers it's a bit cheaper booking online and in advance, but I think there are other offers through Merlin deals etc). It was still busy enough, even with a free 'fast pass' for my autistic son, so I'd recommend going out of season or paying extra for the QBot. You can def do things for less than stupid money, but it does take some work. Good luck!

Another vote here for French campsites (we go to Brittany). The kids would love to go to somewhere like Spain to an AI hotel, but it’s way cheaper to go to France for a fortnight than fly so where for a week.

Yanbu but the well off won't admit it.
Went to stay with relatives in Paris last year...fee accommodation. If you are sc you can always eat out.
This year we can't afford to go abroad. We ate going to a festival. Not relaxing but for 200 each we can have a week of music and cultural events.

A few of you have recommended campsites in Northern France (Brittany, Normandy etc). Sorry to hijack the thread but can you name any which have static caravans?!

For French campsites, have a look at Les Castels. It's supposed to be 5* sites and the ones we've been too (Chateaux Les Eaux for example) were beautiful. Their accommodation is usually cheaper than booking the Eurocamp equivalent.

@kate223244 I’m going to Yelloh Village Les Mouettes at the end of August. For the three of us including Plymouth to Roscoff Ferry it’s cost just under £900 for 10 nights. It’s a fab site, huge range of accommodation, indoor and outdoor heated pools, splash park, mini golf etc.
Les Mouettes

We’ve rated at a few Yelloh Villages and love them! Can’t remember the specific name but the one in Benodet was fab.

*stayed not rated- grr!

We have been to Domaine des Ormes (Brittany), La Vallee & Chateau de lez Eaux (Normandy) & Domaine de Drancourt (Picardy). Bookes through Eurocamp/Al Fresco or direct.

Homestly I think most of you are insane - you would all rather have no holiday at all than one where you need to lower your expectations?

False economy. That’s having a holiday for the sake of having a holiday.

Interesting that people are saying going abroad is expensive. In my experience, nice UK breaks are far more £££! We went camping in Cornwall for our honeymoon (and trust me, we are not fancy people!) and still probably spent more than we would have done on a cheap week away in the Canary Islands or on the Adriatic for example.

Rhubarb Was it Pontins?

We went there once (Somerset I think) and I have never seen anything so grim in my life.

Incy really!? We camp a family of 4 for under 400 total. And a cottage is about 600 for a week at easter. I dont see how going abroad could be cheaper at all!

We've just had 2 weeks in France near Saint Nazaire on the coast for £1200 including a 6 hour Brittany ferry crossing. Self catered so food wasn't much more than eating at home, and the wine is obviously relatively cheap

happypoobum

That is so funny, it actually wasn’t Pontins, but my neighbour asked me exactly the same question! Must be pretty bad... I’ll remember to avoid! And it was in Somerset, weirdly!

Scared Maybe we’re just a bit scummy? 😂 My expectations abroad are possibly a bit lower because if you’re guaranteed good weather, I figure you’re only using accommodation as a base. We’ll happily go without a pool if there is good acccess to beaches, nice walks etc. And food and drink tend to be much cheaper! We tend to do nice Airbnb places or cheap self catering apartments, rather than all inclusive. We’ll also go for unsociable flight times to save a bit of money. I find in the U.K. we end up spending a fortune on food and activities!

Incy - 4 of us could go abroad for 400?? I dont mind basic (we camp after all!!)

Whenever ive looked its been over 1000 ny the time you have flights or eurostar or whatever. But if i couild do abroad for 400 Id be tempted. Weve never been AI types but even borrowing a friends villa in france once added up!

When we go to Lanzarote (which I know a lot of people dismiss but actually it's safe and clean, the volcanic interior is amazing and they have interesting cultural events like concerts in a venue created by carving into a dried volcanic stream) we pay £300 for a one bedroom balcony apartment, wifi and cable set up, with a sofa bed which allows much more space than a hotel suite and can accommodate four (two in twin bedroom, two on sofa bed) in a complex with three pools, two restaurants and a bar plus Jet2 flights which obviously vary but are usually around £120 each return so yes for four more than £400 - about £800 all told but unlike the UK it's guaranteed sunshine and it's a quiet beautifully maintained complex a short walk from the beach which feels really luxurious.