Wibu, summer 2020 holiday?

[sailorcherries]

I know that IBU for even mentioning summer 2020 holidays when it is still 2019 summer but, as we're Scottish, our summer is finishing next year.

A bit of background context - married couple, two children who will be 9 and 3 when the holiday comes around.
One is a teacher, cannot take holidays before the official school holiday starts and one is going to retrain. Due to teachers wages increasing, PT work and bursary for retraining partner (and a slight council tax reduction) we are only around 200-300 worse off than we were before retraining. We aren't scrimping or on the bread line, can afford to save and have days out/Christmas/birthday but a holiday would require more thoughtful saving. One partner has a fear of flying but is slowly dealing with this, long haul is out. Not booking anything in October next year as not too sure if training dates and school holidays will match.

Person A wants to do something similar to Eurocamp or a self catering apartment somewhere in France or Italy, for a week to 10 days. Somewhere with a pool for the kids but a nice local area to see. Person B agrees this is cheaper than AI but has a fear that the pound will plummet following Brexit, particularly a no deal, and even if accommodation is cheaper the total cost of extras over there might not be. Person A agrees this is a worry but doesn't think that should stand in the way of booking.

Person B wants to take inspiration from the NC500 and travel the route staying in two or three different key places using a mix of hotels/b&bs/air b&b/cottages to sight see and enjoy the area. Plans to spend around 10 days to fully explore key places, possibly tying up with some events like Highland games. They suggested tying this up with a stay at a caravan/lodge resort either a few days either side of the trip or a longer stay at the end so kids could enjoy pool and we could relax. Suggesting around a 2-2.5 week holiday instead. Person A thinks this does sound good but worries the children will become a bit bored and also if the weather isn't brilliant then activities are limited. A also worried that cost if petrol and food could add up but acknowledges we could probably shop around for lodgings and have more knowledge of the area.

Person A thinks we will spend a similar amount regardless of what happens with exchange rates after Brexit, due to rising costs here too. Person B thinks that, although neither will be cheap it makes more sense to stay in the country.

Neither person is entirely opposed to the others idea but want to see which idea people would go for, given the current economical uncertainty following Brexit.
Which idea is better A or B?

*finishing next week not year!

There’s no way I’d spend my main holiday in Scotland due to shit, unpredictable weather. So out of those 2 options, A.

Person A's idea would be my choice.

Person B's, I would also worry about the kids being bored and the weather being crap

The weather would put me off Scotland, not least because it makes it very expensive if you end up having to pay out for indoor activities all the time, and lots of driving around also adds up.

I normally do a holiday similar to your first idea and share the worries you have about rising costs thanks to fucking Brexit. But you could hold off booking until Spring when we will know a lot more than we do now about it and make sure you select a site that is fairly near the port you arrive at and a good supermarket with lots of activities on site. That will limit costs significantly.

That's what I'm going to do. If Brexit goes ahead the more time I spend out of this shithole the better, imo, whatever the cost - though I appreciate you are in Scotland and I'm not!

I don't think the sky is going to fall in after Brexit, so IMHO that shouldn't even be a factor in booking a holiday abroad BUT given that it's all happening in October/Nov you could just wait then to book for 2020.
Both options sound lovely but you know you take your chances more with the Scottish weather - but it summer it wouldn't be too bad...

Latte this is Person As view but Person B has rightly pointed out that the summers have been good for the past few years.

Together we did look at different holiday resorts/villages - Majorca, Ibiza, Spain, Portugal - but the AI was far too expensive for what we wanted or the facilities weren't that great. It was the same with SC, looking at Air B&Bs with pools as opposed to SC apartment/hotels due to the price difference.

Neither party thinks the sky will fall in, it just wouldn't be financially doable to go abroad if it were going to cost more for basics than staying home.

Both parties do want to book accommodation/have a plan at least as early as possible as then we already have an agreed price for that.

Go with A. Better for DC that age. NC500 will always be there and it’s more of an adult trip.

We're doing option B next year only in the outer Hebrides. Starting in Oban with a staffa trip then doing a week touring Barra and the Uists before settling on Harris for a week to explore Lewis and Harris, however, we are a couple with no children so can explore without any constraints.

My friend has just done NC500 with her 7 year old and 1 year old and they look like they've had a ball. Lots of crab hunting, paddling etc etc

If you are going to do something like NC500 and highlands then the good accommodation gets booked up early. I've already booked our Harris accommodation and I'm currently working through the other Islands. You'd be surprised at the amount of places already booked out.

Eurocamp is ACE! Fantastic for kids, great base for investigating local areas, lots of kids activities etc. Plus you can find a local supermarket so you can eat simply, or eat out if you fancy.

Brexit will be what it will be.

Have a look at different companies though, Yelloh! is quite reasonable, and look at independent sites too. plus if you can book at the start of July you are likely to get much better deals because English schools won't have broken up yet.

My only concern would be driving from Scotland to France/central Europe!

I’d do C - which is person B’s idea but do it in the south of England where the weather will be nicer and Hoseasons type places can be very reasonable.

We did person A’s holiday last year in Northern Europe and found the food and petrol had increased quite a bit from the previous years, which has put us off booking it again.

@sailorcherries they’ve not been too terrible but hardly “good”. Still plenty of rain and thunderstorms! (I live in Scotland too)

Plus it means we must be due a shit one next year

My only concern would be driving from Scotland to France/central Europe!
We're currently driving from Italy to Scotland so that wouldn't put me off.

Latte true, we have had no thunder this year though but the area desperately needs it. Each time it has passed by even by 5-6 miles and not made it's way over.

Jezzoh we did look at driving South and over to the Isle of Wight, the Aria resorts(?) I think. With a few small stops on the way up/down with sightseeing/touristy.

If you are paying a lot for a holiday, whichever you choose, you might as well spend that cheap side table sum on the holiday you will most enjoy.

Not compromise because if peripheral unknowns.

The £ may / will plummet but post Brexit prices may be more expensive in Scotland than the Gvt regulates price of the French Baguette! You can always ‘cut your cloth’ when holidaying abroad.

Eurocamp or AI: again, the one that will give you most pleasure.

Since you are not scrimping and saving for the last penny, teaching us a secure job and the re training is presumably for a better future.

The South if England where we had floods and thunder last weekend, the forecast is so bad that a major festival in Newquay has been cancelled for this weekend at a cost of millions....

Reasoned we'd probably enjoy both. Neither of these are really us compromising, we have different reasons for wanting to stay/go but both are options we'd consider at some point anyway.

I vote Scotland. The pound will fall against the Euro post Brexit and it its a no deal Brexit and or a delayed Brexit there will be border issues as well.

Scotland is cheaper and more reliable as a plan. But maybe hedge your bets and do one week bodding about and one week at a place with pool. If it ends up not being the best holiday ever at least you’ll have tried it.

Id definitely go for a eurocamp especially in june when it will be cheaper. Our most successful family holidays have been these

I think that the NC500 could easily work out more expensive than Eurocamp. I do think there is also a limit to how long DC of those ages will want to spend in a car.

Never ever have good weather in Scotland as a factor in the enjoyment of your holiday. Lived here my whole life and seen temperatures go as low as 8 degrees in June and July, accompanied by howling wind and rain. It's shite

With the age of your children I would do A.

Three year old will not get anything out of the travelling around 'Are we nearly there yet?" and would possibly not enjoy the lack of routine.

Nine year old will love Eurocamp - ideal age to make friends and play with others on site.

Do the NC500 in a few years

I would do Eurocamp, we stayed at a lovely one right in the North of Spain, flew into Barcelona (but you could drive it) right on the beach, weather was gorgeous, lots for the kids to do, wasn’t touristy it was in an area where the Spanish typically go on holiday so hardly any British people.

Check out Canvas - based in Scotland and often cheaper than eurocamp for same sites. We always did Hull-Zeebrugge overnight crossing, and it worked well.

Elliebell thankfully we are Scottish and are more than aware of the weather. I actually enjoy the weather this summer - a mix of hot enough for suncream and the beach, a few rainy days where we've taken ourselves indoors at museums etc and then days like today where it's dry but overcast and still good enough to explore outside.

bran due to when the school's break up it will be the end of June/start of July, not a big difference but noticeable in prices from even the start of June.

Rhi person B thought about that too. Say 10 days total travelling the NC500 but not 10 days of driving. 3ish days driving, broken by lunch stops/sight seeing, and then spending 3ish days at key places along the route - looking at a mix of hotels with pools, b&bs and cottages. With a lodge stay with activities/pool tacked on somewhere.

As an aside we had looked at places like Centreparcs too, with the swimming, but it seems extortionate for what it is.