Holidaying abroad is not an option for most people - is it???

[Heyduggee123]

So looking for next year - looking at Ibiza in June for 10 days AI - costs for a half decent hotel, not in the middle of nowhere are coming up at nearly £4k!!

By next year I'll have 4 year old twins and haven't been on holiday outside of the UK yet. This isn't even in the school holidays. How on earth does anyone afford this?

For context yes there are cheaper options, but anyone wanting anything other than just a room with separate bathroom for 4 of us with half decent reviews the costs just spiral.

I think I'll have to stick with our annual 2 weeks in Wales for a few years longer

We can't afford anything abroad other than canvas holidays in northern France & we've been to Holland and Germany.

We both teach so have always had to go in school hols regardless of the children being small.

They're older now and only ever been away in UK or camping in France.

We did book a holiday with Landal in Germany which was lovely & a bit like Center Parcs.

I can't see us affording a holiday with the children which involves flying somewhere hot & sunny.

Try start of May - weather should be nice & maybe look at Menorca or a Greek Island?

Ibiza would definitely be child friendly. Went a few times pre kids & stayed in St Eulalia & it was mostly families.

When it comes to costs we often do last minute deals but you have to have a specific mindset and accept you have less choice.

We got our Kenyan safari honeymoon via Teletext like this almost 25 years ago. It was 1.5k instead of 3k. Been to places in France and Spain doing this. I appreciate it’s a bit harder with children but we did still do it with DS. Part of it was because DH job meant he didn’t know when he could have leave hugely in advance. Only very stressful once when we had no accommodation in Brussels but we ended up in an amazing hotel suite with about 75% off.

Just booked Morocco in June for 4 adults and 2 children
Hotel flight and breakfast included for
£1200
Something not right with those prices your looking at

@NightmareSlashDelightful

June is about the most expensive time to go to Ibiza, because it's when all the clubs have their big opening events. So flights and hotels across the island even the ones away from the club areas are priced at an absolute premium.

Was coming on to say this. Try May OP, likely to be a lot cheaper.

@charsiu It is and he just doesn't seem to get why I get annoyed. I think of it as well I get to watch the kids grow up, they only do that once and those countries will still be there to explore in 20 years.

@converseandjeans

We can't afford anything abroad other than canvas holidays in northern France & we've been to Holland and Germany.

We both teach so have always had to go in school hols regardless of the children being small.

They're older now and only ever been away in UK or camping in France.

We did book a holiday with Landal in Germany which was lovely & a bit like Center Parcs.

I can't see us affording a holiday with the children which involves flying somewhere hot & sunny.

Try start of May - weather should be nice & maybe look at Menorca or a Greek Island?

Ibiza would definitely be child friendly. Went a few times pre kids & stayed in St Eulalia & it was mostly families.

Have you looked at the Eurocamps in Spain? Some of them look fantastic, and they’re close to airports like Girona, which is serviced by a lot of budget airlines. I also know someone with a massive fear of flying who drives to Spain a couple of times a year. It’s a long drive but you get to see a lot of France and older kids might enjoy it.

When kids were younger, we did Eurocamps or budget airlines and found our own accommodation. I wouldn't pay £4k for a package.

We did a tour of Europe for almost 3 weeks, staying at a mix of Eurocamp places and hotels via Trivago. Taking fuel, tolls and accommodation into account, it was less than 2k.
Just back recently from Italy, and flights and accommodation were £220 for 4 nights. I did pack a small bag to get round the stupid charges though.

@Chely all the travel was really good for DH career and had a good end result, hope there is at least that for you both. Take care it comes to an end. Toddler DS is now 21, because for those first 10 years of his life it was often just us we are very close.

My husband and two children are currently in Turkey, on a 10 day trip in a 4* All Inclusive and the hotel cost £380.

My husband is a great bargain hunter though.

He books flights a year in advance and then finds hotels and books with them directly rather than go through travel companies.

Even when we go on our two week holiday abroad in the summer (all inclusive) I don’t think we’ve ever paid over £1500.

@PaddlingLikeADuck yes booking far in advance - particularly for package deals - usually pays off.

I booked us HB to 4 star hotel in Lanzarote for October half term a few months ago. It cost £4000 in total then ( two rooms because DS16 is bringing a pal) and the same holiday is now around £900 more expensive.

Oh and normally I'd never spend £4k on a holiday and DIY but because of the whole Covid thing and because we're taking a friend for DS , it seemed simpler to book as a package.

I've not been able to afford a holiday abroad since having dc. In the leaner years holidays were camping. A couple of the last decade + we've been able to do cottage rentals, with a budget of £1k. That isn't every year by any stretch of the imagination, but always thoroughly enjoyed.

Most families I know now who are going abroad as families of 4/5 are budgeting £4-£5k all in. That includes parking for car at airport in UK, flights, resort, excursions. The ones doing it for a bit less £2500-£3k or so, are flying but staying in Airbnb's and not doing excursions. Mostly things like a coffee and lunch out, plus an ice-cream but each day spent at holiday let pool or beach and not sightseeing beyond walking in the local town, nor taking boat rides etc.That's for families of 4/5.

I think the only reason you would go AI is if you are out in a group and are huge drinkers

Otherwise if you are going with children then it makes it very expensive.

I wouldn’t go to ibiza either because again it is expensive. It is a small island and like other small islands it needs everything bringing to it by boat or plane which jumps the price up.

You can get an Airbnb on one of the Costas or Portugal with a pool for about £100 per night, flights are probably another £100 per person. That leaves £2600 spending money to hire a car, do a big shop for breakfast/brunch type items, drinks and ice creams etc (we always buy a Water melon which we slice bits off and leave in the fridge for a cool snack. The watermelons though are nothing like the size they sell in the U.K. they are enormous. In fact all the fruit and veg is enormous. Dh likes to sit by the pool and have a cold beer or 3. They work out at 10p each) We tend to go out for dinner in the evening and day trips out to the beach or an attraction or wander around a local town.
We tend to stick to around £100 per day + the food shop which means

1. A 10 day holiday is about £2600 (I tend to drive and take our own car. The next time we go I am going to see what the longer ferry journey SW France or Santander is going to work out at (we used to get free petrol through dh’s work). Pre lockdown we were looking at Barcelona or Southern Italy

1. You can get a proper house with a kitchen and tables over looking the pool and separate bedrooms etc and not fee cramped.
2. It is going to cost you a lot less than £4000.

Look at Jet2 to Turkey in April. Not too hot and you can get a real bargain AI.

What’s the pool temperature in Turkey in April?

@Patented

Are four year olds being deprived of they haven't been abroad at such an old age? Really? What a world!

At four they won't even remember. My brother and I went to WDW Florida. I was seven, he was five. My recollection is considerably better.

Turkey in April can be a lottery with the weather sometimes. But it’s a good budget option as the quality is usually nice for the price you pay.

lapasion

Thanks will look. Always think flights are too pricey in school hols.