To think nobody spends THIS MUCH on holidays with kids?

[GrahameSylvia]

Scouting around for September holiday ideas for us and our 18 month old and came across this in today’s Times.

25 cool family resorts in Europe, the cheapest is about £4k for a week, the priciest £32k but on average about £7k. Admittedly they are mostly all inclusive but REALLY?!?!? Is this the kind of silly money people spend on holidays are once they have kids?

www.thetimes.co.uk/article/25-cool-family-resorts-in-europe-g9knl5n7l

On a side note, if anyone has a great hotel or self catering recommendation for somewhere sunny in Europe that will work well with a young toddler do share, finding places that don’t cost the kind of money we can - but are not willing on principle - to pay is a nightmare.

What views?

You’re making a bit of a big leap based on a couple of phrases.

Me saying I don’t want to spend “silly money” every year on a £7k holiday “on principle”, is hardly me saying those that choose to do so should be hung from the lampposts.

I can live one way, and ask questions about how the majority live, without judging and despising those that live another way.

Also I don’t think owning a car and a flat and buying new clothes from Uniqlo is hugely frugal or monastic, for plenty of folks that would be luxury. I just don’t spend as much as I / we could, and chose to save a bit more.

Don’t forget some of these holidays have doubled in price, although you can still get cheap holidays if you’re not fussy. Plus at one time 2 weeks was not much more than a week so I’d always book 2 weeks. Again that’s not the case now.

@GrahameSylvia Plenty of people must do. We’ve visited a beach club a few days this week where families of four (usually 2 adults and 2 older teens) hire sun beds for the day starting at €100
day each. They are then ordering non-stop
drinks to their sun beds before having lunch in the restaurant where mains start at €24 - they’re ordering loads of dishes to share and lots is wasted, from many families. The way they’re drinking, they must’ve got a taxi here. So, at least €600 on a DAY out on their holiday. Their overall holiday must be very pricey. Mainly American, French and Spanish families.

We are paying £1450 for 10 nights self catering in the Canaries. Includes flights. Apartment has kitchen and washing machine and balcony. That's going in mid August next year. Its on a complex near the beach and has pool, bar, restaurant and entertainment too

We love it and go there most years, last year was the only year we didnt go. It's on air b&b and ranges from 55 to 75 pound a night

This isn't really about holidays, I don't think. You have some complex hang-ups around money that will take more than a MN thread to work through.

Don’t be one of those sad people that has money and never spends it and dies with hundreds of thousands sitting in the bank. See them regularly professionally and it’s sad.

Your child will be sentient soon you want them to have lovely experiences with you. If you can’t afford it that’s one thing but personally think fear of spending almost as bad as being too profligate. As you get older you appreciate how short life is (and how fleeting their childhoods are). That’s why pp spend on holidays and good luck to them.

Don’t be one of those sad people that has money and never spends it and dies with hundreds of thousands sitting in the bank.

Yes - there are no pockets in a shroud! Enjoy your life, you'll only get one of them.

As you get older you appreciate how short life is (and how fleeting their childhoods are). That’s why pp spend on holidays and good luck to them.

That's exactly why I spend money on nice holidays. My kids won't want to holiday with us for much longer and we have some lovely memories of places we've taken them. I'm quite careful in terms of saving but I can justify the money we've spent on holidays.

I for example always wanted to go to Disney when I was younger, after the third child was born we started saving - eldest was 10 when we finally got there (wanted to make sure they’d remember it and enjoy the rides) cost us £4/5000 and was worth every penny.

I wouldn’t spend that on a week in Spain, bit if you want something it’s worth doing.

OP may I direct you towards Caserio del Mirador (Spain) and Mousses (Greece).

I think you might like them. Not cheap but not super expensive either and small scale rather than big shiny. Caserio in particular is ideal for this age.

I-escape with kids has other good options at a range of prices (but generally cheaper than the £££ 5* places).

Even the comments on the original article are saying how expensive those holidays are. As a PP said, the Times' holiday coverage often reads like wish fulfilment for the journalists and a bit of escapist reading.

We didn't spend anything like that amount of money on holidays when the DC were small. Not on principle but because it didn't make sense for us. We opted for short flights - then rented an apartment or a villa. AI in the sun isn't our idea of a holiday.

I know you joked about therapy but it might be worth a chat with a counsellor about your money hang-ups, if you feel you have some. My upbringing was similar to your's. But I've always valued experiences. Our DC haven't stayed in a £7k AI resort but they have been on private tours of the Hermitage in St Petersburg. If your money only ever feels like a burden and something to 'protect' then you might want to reconsider imo.

I think people forget there are a hell of a lot of comfortably off Europeans - in Copenhagen when we lived there , there were families renting good big social flats for £800 or so and childcare was cheap, so both parents worked full time. They spent money on 3 weeks away (and quite strangely very expensive light fittings and beds and sofas) they just didn't spend colossal amounts on mortgages

Was going to recommend this place too! Nice lodges as accommodation, pool on site plus free access to the great zoo right next door (direct gate access from hotel complex) and also free access to the fun watermark next door to the zoo which was good for a change of scenery

As a PP said, the Times' holiday coverage often reads like wish fulfilment for the journalists

They very obviously cover the resorts that give them freebies or that they wish would in future!

A friend of mine worked for a Condé Nast magazine (so different publisher but similar target demographics) for a few years and was sent on the most incredible holidays as press trips. She also didn't need to buy a single beauty product while she worked there as they were permitted to help themselves from a cupboard full of press samples. She had to wean herself off a ruinous Crème de la Mer habit when she left.

Rubbish! In a treehouse maybe.

Of course people do, that's why those holidays exist.

Holidays are that much. For a cheap week we get the ferry to France (we are an hour from a port) and get a self-catering cottage, load up on good food, cheese and wine! Some even have pools.

As you can go out of term time, it’s the best option we found when the kids were little, and we still go in half terms now

Booked a holiday with Virgin for a family of four going to Orlando next yr. Came to just over 5 grand. Tickets to the parks cost nearly as much as the holiday then there's spending money on top. Holiday prices are going to rocket in line with the price of fuel.

A couple of years ago we stayed in a lovely Eurocamp resort in the south of France in June. I paid £100 for the caravan for the week and then just flights. I’m sure you would get something in September time. Look for the small sites they would be perfect for a toddler. I think the one we stayed in was called Green Park Cagnes Sur Mer xx

Before my daughter started school, I went in September to Kefalonia (Gorgeous Greek island), we got cheap easyJet flights and booked accommodation direct. I think it was around £500 for 2 of us for 6 days (we never booked 7 as flights were so much cheaper for 6). The beaches in Lassi are gorgeous, perfect for young children. We stayed at Marino Apartments. It can be done!

We often stay in a Eurocamp site for a week at the beginning of September and it's always a fraction of the price you pay in August. (Luckily my kids don't go back until mid- Sept). If you can avoid school holidays, do it while you still can!

With a toddler you're travelling for you - things like airports, delays, flights, carrying toddler plus baggage, getting the necessary child safety equipment at your destination can add to the holiday stress. It doesn't matter if the destination is £50k or £1k if your flight is delayed and they don't have a travel cot, high chair, tolerance for toddlers it doesn't feel like a holiday.

What does holiday actually mean to you? sun/ relaxation/ change of scene/ no tech/ no catering/ no childcare/ no washing and chores

Looking back (mine are now 18, 16 and 11) I wish I'd had the budget to do UK to UK cruises when the elder two were toddler age.

We did some when they were a little older. So easy being on board, choice of restaurants, lots of childrens activities (onboard childcare) so some nice restaurant adult only meals or just afternoon tea, knowing the DC were happy doing things that excited them, plenty of beige child friendly food too.

Whilst I like staying in a place for a few days plus, toddlers tolerance can be more a quick bus journey around or whistle stop visit of sights including an ice cream which suits the cruise brief stopping at different destinations.

For me, higher end holidays are better value when DC are an age they can enjoy them.

There is no set price for a holiday. We have lovely breaks but never spend huge amounts. There would have to be a very special/ unique reason for me to spend £600 on a flight to the Canaries (early post.) I’m very good at shopping around. This summer holiday is a ten night cruise with P&O - £900 per person. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but great value .

Tbh I find that an expensive for the 3 of you in September. We as a family of 5 (3 teenagers) are going to Egypt for 10 days over Christmas and it came to just over £4.5k with holiday insurance included. This is all inclusive 4* hotel.
We usually go for a week in a 4* hotel all inclusive the first week of the summer holidays (we're Leicestershire so tend to break up 10 days before the rest of the country) to Salou, Teneriffe, Ibiza, Me orca etc and again it costs us 1.5k insurance included again. However, the July holiday we book everything separately - flights, hotels, transfers - the whole lot and that's where we save our money. This year with going Egypt we looked at going Centre Parcs etc and it was 1k for the 5 of us Mon-Fri - I couldn't believe it. Needles to say, we're spending lots of days out etc this summer instead.
Have a look at booking things separately yourselves, you'll be pleasantly surprised. X