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

I was a solo mum on average income and no child support. If I scrimped and saved all year I possibly could afford a trip to somewhere in Europe. However, my parents lived in Devon so I got a holiday for next to nothing in a beautiful place in the UK, it just wasnt worth giving up any treats (meals out, movies etc) for a week in Spain.

DD, however did go abroad four times as a child / teen, but they were either funded mostly by my parents or inheritence.

@Heyduggee123 look for cheap flights, find an air b n b etc even with car hire we managed to do a week last summer in Spain for £2400 for 4 of us.

Ibiza is ridiculously expensive. Try Majorca, Menorca.

We went AI a few years ago but decided to go out for drinks after dinner one evening .... a round for 6 people (two were kids), was 100 euros!!

I don’t know how people find cheap deals. We used Jet2 this year and it’s costing 2300 for four people (teens and adults) for a week plus flights in Italy in a holiday chalet type thing.

When ours were little we used to do this to afford a holiday abroad

1. Go to Spain, areas where there are a lot of retired expats who like to rent out their apartments for a bit of extra cash, like Torrevieja which is near to the sea, beach, shops and an easy drive to water parks and theme parks.
2. Only go for a week
3. Rent a two bed apartment from retired expat cheaply, access to a shared pool was always included.
4. Book flights our self using cheap airline, fly mid week if cheaper.
5. Hire a small car online to pick up from the airport
6. Self cater, buy food at the local Lidl or Aldi, pack up lunches, eat breakfast at the apartment and have BBQs . One meal out in a week only.
7. Split spending money into envelopes, once for each day and stick to the budget.

Honestly, it might sound grim but we did this for years and our kids had a ball. They had no comprehension of all inclusive or fancy hotels or luxurious destinations. They had guaranteed sun, sea, sand and a pool and wanted nothing more.

No way would they be happy with that now as twenty something adults but we have tonnes of happy memories.

Are you tied to that destination? Our favourite holidays are euro camp in NL and France. Really quite affordable and there are some lovely lodges in France.

I always go to the travel agents if you tell them the budget they can recommend locations and hotels that meet your needs

"Even if you do have a car I expect camping in France would be just as cheap."

Unless you live in the south of England, petrol would probably be more.

@ENoeuf

I don’t know how people find cheap deals. We used Jet2 this year and it’s costing 2300 for four people (teens and adults) for a week plus flights in Italy in a holiday chalet type thing.

Your problem is you are going through holiday companies. Search on airbnb for apartments

I really don’t know where you are looking. We are going to Majorca for 2 weeks with Thomas Cook and the cost is 1900 including transfer etc . Hotel is decent,child friendly and not too noisy .

I would suggest looking outside of the usual holiday destinations that the majority of Brits go to. They are far more affordable than the likes of Spain, Canaries etc. Our best holidays have been to Bulgaria. Fantastic hotels, amazing entertainment for all ages and tastes and excellent weather. We've been 4 times now, to different areas and are going again in a few months. First time we went DS was 9 or 10. He's now 16 and has opted to come with us again this year rather than a group holiday abroad with a youth organisation and his friends! We always book with Balkan Holidays and get the best deals, both in and out of school holidays.

@Gwenhwyfar it does amuse me when people say oh just drive to France/Spain/Italy. For us it’s a 7 hour drive just to Dover, with a 6 year old and 2 year old that’s not my idea of fun!

You don't have to do AI.
I prefer not to be in a resort, to get to know the local area. For less than 1/4 of the cost I have gone abroad with kids by

• train (to Paris/Italy).
• boat to Picardy, France.
• flights plus booking.com apartments
• Eurocamp
• go for 5 or 6 days rather than a whole week or two
• go in May, Easter or October instead of Summer

Of course going abroad is possible for people, it's all about cutting your cloth accordingly. The cheapest foreign holiday I ever had was when I was on benefits as a carer for my son. I think this was 2016, I took my three kids to Corfu for a week and it cost £64 each (self catering)I took £200 spends for food and we had a brilliant time for less than £120 each. This was early may. We had also booked a "cheap" caravan in the U.K. For later in the year and that was £750!!

There are plenty of bargains to be had. This year we are off to Rome in June. Flights were £70 each and accommodation was £50 each (Human travel caravan) but we had a voucher carried over from cancellations etc. £120 each for a week in Italy is amazing value. It'sa beautiful site too with pools and slides.

We put flights and accommodation on our credit card and then cut corners/economise as much as we can, kind of turning it into a competitive savings game/do surveys/sell stuff on fb to repay it as quick as possible. We manage at least two foreign holidays a year doing this at a cost of between £1200-1500 . To put that into context, it's around £25 a week. I save that just by giving my kids the choice between walking to school or going on holiday and buying bulk food in catering portions and scratch baking etc. I make my own pizza bases, sauces, bread and make full use of the local "saving food from landfill" place. I teach my kids to look after their things so they can be sold on. On a good financial year we can easily spend £4000 taking 4-5 trips with our kids.

I am always shocked when people say they pay 4K to travel to somewhere like Spain (even as a family of 4!) it’s perfectly possible to travel abroad for much less, if you know where and how to look.

Ibiza is pretty but it’s neither a budget friendly nor extremely kid friendly destination, and wouldn’t be my first choice with kids. I have been to Ibiza and whilst pretty I found it incredibly expensive (everything is priced up from the supermarket to any activity you want to do) for what it is and I find Majorca as pretty and much more affordable.

I love, love, traveling and travel a lot and heavily depend on finding good deals to travel as much as I do and I would never pay 4K to go to a destination when usually you can find a similar destination for much cheaper.

Last time I invited my family (2 parents +2 kids) to Spain we did the Costa Blanca and I paid 150€ for the week for an apartment in a resort with swimming pool and I think another 150€ for the car rental and maybe 400€ for the flights ? We did self catering so would only have one meal a day at the restaurant and eat at home the rest of the time which is also a good way to save.

This year I am taking one of my siblings through Greece, the Maldives, Singapore and South Korea and it’s looking like it will cost about 3000€ (flights + hotel for each destination + inter country transportation) for the both of us. Mind you for this price we won’t be staying in a resort or over the water bungalows in the Maldives, but we also won’t be staying anywhere dodgy.

I also did 1 week in the Seychelles + 3 weeks in South Africa + a few days in Mozambique for I think 2000€ total for me and my grandma in June 2018 and we even did two different Safaris within that price.

If you look for good deals you can find them but that means often giving up on AI/ high-price resorts, and being okay with a bit of adventure and going off path, going through a bit of a detour.

The type of holiday you are looking at will always be at a premium rate...
We did camp & Drive to Europe while DC were primary school age and always managed it at around £1800 all in.
Not sure what it will be in a post covid-19 post Brexit word though.
And granted, camping isn't everyone's cup of tea!

Lanzarote-7 nights all inclusive for the 4 of us always around £2000 or less. Lovely beaches, hotel we stay at is great for children and adults

We did 11 nights SC in Ibiza (August) in 2019 and it cost us about £1500. That was SC but I actually think that works best for kids. And really all the kids wanted to do was be at the pool (there was a great splash pool).

We flew EasyJet and booked with apartments direct.

They were excellent and kids loved Ibiza. (We were in San Antonio Bay).

Was really pleased we didn't do an AI as we wouldn't have got value for money an because we had the kids with us we weren't drinking loads.

We go in term time. (Scotland so no fines, but know plenty of English friends who factor fines in to holiday cost)

We are going for a week all inclusive 4* to Lanzarote for £1,800 in June.

We could get it a lot cheaper if we went self catering but didn't fancy that.

All under £3k in May.

www.tui.co.uk/destinations/packages?airports%5B%5D=EMA&units%5B%5D=000242%3ADESTINATION&when=18-05-2022&flexibleDays=3&flexibility=true&noOfAdults=2&noOfChildren=2&childrenAge=4%2C4&duration=7115&searchRequestType=ins&searchType=search&sp=true&multiSelect=true&room=1%7C2%7C0%7C2%7C0%7C4%2C4&isVilla=false#f11031a668c168ecc79a297dce6e03f77f3a578b

Try somewhere else like Menorca ( was brilliant for young children ) and HB not AI . Our holiday isn't costing that this year half board 2 bed apartment in Italy peak school holiday with 3 children 🤷‍♀️

Holidaying abroad, yes. 10 days all inclusive in Ibiza, no.

look at other types of holiday for a week and it will be much more affordable.

AI for 2 weeks in a hotel is hardly the same thing as SC for two weeks in a cottage. If you compare like for like and don't go to Ibiza, which is really expensive, then you can easily find a nice holiday overseas for under £4k. Flights to mainland Spain and a SC cottage/apartment/villa would probably be comparable with Wales, although you may also want car hire, which would bump up the price a bit. However, eating out in Spain is ridiculously cheap, so all in all I doubt you'd end up with a much more expensive holiday overall.

Thanks everyone some really good tips and links provided

Myself and DH haven't been abroad since 2016. We've only ever been to one AI. Prior to our DT's arriving we always holidayed in cornwall with our dog and loved it (we were very blessed with weather) on most occasions.

I guess I'm just not used to going abroad anymore. The last 3 occasions myself and DH went away it was in a villa with a shared pool as I couldn't bear the thought of just one room between the 2 of us. I do like to chill out on a terrace or balcony in a morning with a filter coffee etc. I suppose the pull of AI is that for once I didn't want to have to think about what to plan to cook. One of my girls is extremely fussy and the thought of ordering from a menu at a restaurant and then her refusing to eat it would really stress me.

We really do love our holidays in Wales, we feel as though it's a quieter cheaper cornwall but still as beautiful.

Some of the holidays suggested in Turkey look amazing and the prices are extremely tempting. We will see. I admit I was totally ignorant about how expensive Ibiza was.

Sometimes by booking your accommodation and flights/transfers yourself you get a better deal, but the truth is that the cost of holidays has gone up. I've never done AI but I imagine that unless you would spend a great deal on food and drinks then it may not actually be a saving for you.