AIBU to ask for top tips for booking a holiday abroad for a family of 5

[PoodleJ]

AIBU to think about trying to book for a family of 5 abroad for the summer of 2020?
How is the best way to book now and pay monthly?
2 adults 2 teenagers and a 10 year old. It’s the room thing that I find difficult.
Any top tips would be really welcome.
For context usually we stay in caravans but don’t want to do camping.

We have three children of the same ages. Don't waste your time looking for "family rooms" or rooms which sleep 5 people, they are few and far between and do you really want to be sleeping all together for a week or a fortnight?

We usually book 2 rooms, the websites make you put an adult and a child in one and an adult and the other two children in another bur you are free to sort yourselves out when you arrive. We have always managed to get interconnecting rooms, or one room next door to the other.

It's up to you how you pay but most of the big travel agents offer very flexible ways to pay. Pay your deposit, and as long as you've paid the whole thing off by a certain date you can pay as and when you want. £100 one month, £200 the next month as you wish.

We haven't booked a package for years so hopefully someone else can advise on that but we tend to stay in villas.

I book the flights usually as soon as they come out and then pay a deposit on the villa and you usually have to pay in full a month before you go.

We find villas work as we all have our own bedrooms, there's far more space, we can relax by the pool and if the kids have had enough they chill inside, we try to still book on a resort type place so there is stuff to do at night etc

I would book two rooms, when we would go away when I was a teen my mum would always book me a separate room and get a friend of mine to come sonas not on my own (only child) the two teens could go in one and the ten yo in with you (or with them if you felt comfortable) . Just make sure to speak with a travel agent so you cna book a hotel which will guarantee the rooms to be next to each other (not all do)

Enjoy though! The Greek Islands are lovely and can be done quite cheaply, it would be better to book sooner rather than later as you can pay off a little each month, tui and Thompson usually require the payment to be complete 12 weeks before you go.

Thanks so far for the tips.

We book everything separately as it works out cheaper. Flights then an apartment via Owners Direct or AirBNB and then car hire. Much prefer doing it this way as you have more control over your holiday.

We do both the booking separately and the package thing and both have pros and cons.

We're going to France in the summer - flights with Easyet, accommodation booked online through two separate providers and yes it allows for more flexibility. But the downside is that with the flights there's no option to spread the cost and as you're not booking a package, you could lose out financially if there's a problem with one element of your trip.

Package holidays are the no-hassle option, pay your deposit then chip away at the balance. Everything is included in the cost and if the hotel falls down the day before you travel, it's the tour operator's problem and not yours. We're going away for a week on a package in October.

We are a family of 5 with 3 kids similar ages. We book through TUI or Thomas cook. I always look for a two bed apartment within a hotel, one bedroom must have a double bed and the other bedroom 3 single beds. But not for sky high prices!! If you pm me I’ll message you details of specific hotels we’ve been to so far.

Separate flights and apartment or villa.

Book separately
Look on icelolly.com for ideas - back track the airports and who runs the flights etc
Buy insurance that includes airline failure - same protection as ABTA

We’ve stayed all inclusive cheaper than room only - don’t rule it out

Some place allow self catering in site with added use of hotel facilities

What sort of holiday do you want

I’m thinking about a easygoing holiday. Nice food a couple of tourist sites to see. By the coast and not too hot in August.
Not Spain but maybe Greece, Italy or France. I would love Florida but it’s out of my price range.

Thomas cook do it so you can pay monthly. We are a family of 5 and I look for family rooms. We are off to Greece in Sept through Thomas cook.

We're a family of 5 with similar aged children. For the last few years we've found it cheaper to book cheap flights and stay in air bnbs.