To be sad we're not going abroad this year

[Paraparanoid]

We go abroad on holiday most years. This year we just can't afford the 4k plus it will cost our family of 4. Instead we've booked week in a cottage in the UK plus a few nights either side in Premier Inns, so will be away 10 nights at a cost of around 1k for accomodation and allowing 1k for spends. DD (13) unimpressed and I admit I feel a bit worried about crap weather etc although have done loads of research on things to do to keep us entertained. I'm now worried I could've done better with our 2k budget and perhaps could've gone abroad afterall. It would be school summer hols.

AIBU?

The OP's DD is not 'spoilt'. She's 13. Her reaction is a completely normal one for a teenager who is used to a certain type of holiday and is now going on a different one. Teens are self absorbed and think something is unfair if it isn't completely the way they want it to be.

Anyway, I'm sure a family of 4 could go to Spain or similar for £2k but it would likely involve horribly inconvenient flight times and a 2 star Brits abroad hotel or sub standard S/C. Personally I'd give it a miss if that was my budget. We are going to Wales in May on hols as it's my favourite holiday destination but I'm under no illusions about the likely weather situation and we have another holiday booked in Portugal later in the year as I need a dose of sun at least once a year.
We have 2 small DC and didn't go abroad last year due to the cost so completely understand your pain OP. Ignore all the 'get a grip' comments. Yes, some people never go on holiday, only have enough to spend 3 nights in a caravan in Bognor etc but that's not your fault.

£4k to go abroad? I second the idea of a mobile home in a French campsite. You don't even need to go south. Britany would be great.

You could even look at Centre Parks abroad. I think they are a bit less pricy than the UK.

@PrimalLass,
So you have spent £500 on flights for 4 and £1200 on accommodation for 4. That's £300 pp on accommodation, does this include food and drink? I assume not otherwise I'd be sceptical of the quality! Add in meals, snacks/treats and spending money it's going to be a fair bit more than £2000 total which is what the OP has to spend. I'd say £3k is more realistic.

Is this post real?

You’re obviously on very hard times if you can only afford a 2k holiday this year.

In the summer hols you couldn't get a mobile home in southern or western France for less than about £1200 for two weeks, but it absolutely would be possible for a week, if you drove. But you'd spend two to four days driving in total, depending on how far south you go (assuming you'd want good weather) and where you live in the UK.

@Paraparanoid
Op maybe you're fussy with where you go abroad but we always go away a few times a year (Spain, Portugal,Greece etc) and never 'have' to pay more than £2k. A quick check and you can get return flights to Alicante for 4 people for a week leaving 26july for less than £600 (if you include luggage) and a lovely penthouse apartment for just over £1k. Car hire would be a few hundred quid so doable!

@Mummyshark2018 but the OP is saying 2k is her total budget for the entire holiday. Therefore also need to factor in food, drink, snacks/treats and spending money.

Driving to the south of France isn’t cheap. You have the channel crossing, fuel and tolls to factor in.

Blimey, when you work full time and have basically no life for most of the years, I am sorry but at least a couple of holidays a year is the minimum you can expect. How depressing if some people are fulfilled because they barely survived and compare with others who have even less. You might as well stop working if you got no money, you won't be any richer but at least you will have some free time and enjoy your family.

some posters are just ridiculous.

And a stopover, unless you’re into endurance driving.

I can't understand people that compare a UK holiday to one in a hot country a few hours flight away. No comparison!!

Not everyone wants to go to "a hot country", strange as it may be for you to understand. Spent the skint 90s holidaying in Scotland or ferry-drive to Dutch farmstays, had a fab time. Better than bloody Benidorm.

So you have spent £500 on flights for 4 and £1200 on accommodation for 4. That's £300 pp on accommodation, does this include food and drink? I assume not otherwise I'd be sceptical of the quality! Add in meals, snacks/treats and spending money it's going to be a fair bit more than £2000 total which is what the OP has to spend. I'd say £3k is more realistic.

The £1200 accommodation includes a deposit, which we will get back. It's actually just over £1000. 8 x 128.50 = 1040.

Flights were £554 because I included the seats I wanted plus a wheely trolley and hand luggage each. Could probably have been £50 less at least.

So that's £1600.

Car hire there and airport parking at this end cost around another £300. Could get it cheaper but choose not to.

£1900.

Then £200 in the supermarket but we'd spend that in the supermarket at home anyway. Mallorca is expensive in general but we go to Lidl on the way to the apartment from the airport and it's like our holiday tradition now.

Maybe £200 on eating out for dinner a couple of times - again a bit more than usual (takeaways for two weekends at home etc) but not excessive. Last year we did dinner out twice and lunch out once. The kids get some holiday money from family for a smoothie and chips every day at the pool with their friends - we nip up the stairs and make lunch to get out of the sun.

We are happy to just be there and don't spend that much when we are away. We go where we do precisely because we don't have to spend lots extra and now have some sort of 'routine'.

This is a lovely apartment in a fantastic residential complex where people go back year after year.

Some people would hate our holiday because they want to eat out every night etc but we don't. The kids would rather stay in the pool until it gets dark and I'm happy to sit watching them with a massive Lidl gin.

And to answer someone else - yes we get a v early flight so we have that day there. We are 25 mins from the airport at this end.

I mean what is this obsession with going abroad anyway?

It's not an obsession . Experiencing different cultures is educational, broadens the mind and makes children (and adults) more open to foreign people, other languages and unfamiliar cultures, food etc.

Having said that, not being able to go abroad one year, when you usually do so every year, is very very far from being a hardship fgs.

Anyway, I'm sure a family of 4 could go to Spain or similar for £2k but it would likely involve horribly inconvenient flight times and a 2 star Brits abroad hotel or sub standard S/C.

Nope our flights are out early then back at night, which is perfect. The apartments we stay in are pretty lovely with beautiful gardens and a large pool. It took me some time to pin all this down but now it's perfect for us. We don't want AI, kids clubs or spending £100 a night in a restaurant. If I asked my kid whether they would rather stay in the UK and eat out every night or go abroad and have dinner in the apartment I know what they would choose.

I guess if you are used to going abroad it will feel a hardship. But I am sure you will find lots to do.

I havent been abroad for 13 years or so. And even then was not an annual occurrence. I have been abroad perhaps six times to various places. Dont have a mad desire to go abroad, although there are places it would be good to see.

I feel lucky to go away this year with my kids as we didnt have a holiday last year. Staying in uk, going with friends, self catering and dividing the cost and will have to have cheap days out while there. IE a picnic on beach or walking, or free museum or NT place (have membership), or use tesco points etc. My total budget for accommodation, petrol, food and activities and treats is £700 at a push. We can still have a good holiday, it's what you make it.

' Only £2000' is way more than lots of people have. I think you are lucky. I hope your daughter will enjoy her holidays and appreciate what you all do have instead of what you dont.

Only £2000

I think the OP was asking whether she could have got more bang for her buck though:

I have to say mine have only done a 'summer' holiday twice (ie gone away in the summer holidays - once in the UK to Butlins and last year we did a short break to Amsterdam

We generally go in either half term or Easter when it is so much cheaper - but we aren't those who will do beach holidays anyway

We've never spent 2K on a holiday never mind 4 - and thats for 6 of us (closest was 1.6K and that was DisneyParis half board)

Well tell you DD age 13 who is unimpressed that you are not flying this year as you are worried about your carbon footprint!! And that you are trying to save the planet for her and her generation!!

For god sakes lady get a grip!! My kids have not been on a holiday in about 5 years but they are happy . Plus you are having a holiday in the UK 🇬🇧. Last week we had to pawn dhs musical instruments to pay the bills. Seriously get a life. 'Poor little me' stories are so boring

Is a minimum of 2 holidays a year really the norm for most people? I do usually have one decent trip a year but I make sacrifices to pay for it. Guess I need one of those high paid DHs that every second poster on Mumsnet seems to have ...

Much better for the environment.

Is a minimum of 2 holidays a year really the norm for most people?

What counts as a holiday? I would say for people with disposable income it's not unusual to go away more than once but those aren't necessarily all foreign trips or week or fortnight trips. This year we are going away as a family 3 times, a week in Italy, a week in Britain and a long weekend at a music festival. DH and I are also taking the kids to visit our respective families separately for a week or two, both families live in popular holiday destinations. I'd describe all those trips as holidays.

We can't leave the country even if we want to, because we would need our visas reapproved for re-entry, so we have been stuck in america for the last 6 years. We just do road trip holidays, sometimes camping, sometimes hotel or this year we found an air bnb for a week. We are splitting it with our next door neighbours as it is a big house, with a local clubhouse with variety of pools, swimming lakes and wooded areas and rivers... cost $550 for our family plus food. It isn't about the cost or the sun or the exoticness, it is about family time without daily stress, good food and fun memories for the kids. yes, I feel bad I can't give my kids the wonderful trips to Greece, Spain, Portugal etc I enjoyed as a child back in the UK, but it doesn't mean they aren't still getting a vacation and learning things. If anything England is far better for that. We are stuck with limited history here, relying on caverns and an occasional Amish farm for entertainment. You have a whole host of museums, landmarks and scenic places to see. You might even get a bit of sun too if you are lucky.

This has got to most pathetic post I've ever read on ANY internet site, ever! So let me get this straight. You and your family are living (illegally) in a country roughly the same size as the EU, but all you can think to do for vacation is go camping and visit Amish farms? Are you serious?

The US has PLENTY of history ... and sure, it may not be old as the UK's, but that doesn't make it any less relevant! (And also, your claim that the UK has better scenery than the US is just laughable ... as is your claim that we apparently have no decent museums here? Like, what??)

Just fuck off back to the UK why don't you, if you think it's SO superior. What the hell are you even doing here anyway?