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.

^this^

with bells on

Pre-covid we were paying 2.5k per person for our AI week in Sardinia, so I can completely believe this. Now we would be looking at b&b only at that price.

If you stay in these resort places it's very expensive.

We flew to Barcelona from our local airport - flights weren't too bad at all, about £120 each return, then took the train out of the city to an Air Bnb that had its own pool. That cost us about £500 for the week. So all in not too bad. And I much prefer self catering as I can't be arsed faffing around eating out on holiday and never really want to eat much when it's hot anyway.

I don’t but my children, especially my son, absolutely do

and it bloody wonderful to see him stuff his face with incredible food after 8 hours in the pool playing and swimming and know that I didn’t need to grocery shop, plan, prepare, cook and then clean up! Rinse and repeat!

Well I didn’t quite say, it was unprincipled to spend this amount of money did I. I said I didn’t want to ‘on principle’ aka it’s not something that is within my personal code to do.

There’s a difference between universal principles aka rape is always wrong. And personal principles, aka I personally choose to live my life in this way and not that.

This is what confuses me when people always trot out the line that uk holidays are more expensive than going abroad. What we spend for a week here wouldn’t even cover the cost of half of us going anywhere abroad. Even looking at going to Scotland for a weekend is more expensive than a week here.

But the actual cost of providing hotel and catering services to tourists is genuinely lower in poorer countries, so it makes perfect sense that a hotel stay in a poor country would be cheaper than a hotel stay in a rich country.

The wages paid to hotel staff or catering staff in a poor country will be significantly lower (measured in £GBP) than wages for the same staff in e.g. Switzerland or most of the EU.

We were under £1400 for a week in Menorca in May for 4 adults (3 large men and me) self catering, including booked seats, luggage, transfers, insurance and airport parking. Nice apartments, lovely beaches and many places offering decent food at around 15 euros for 3 courses. Very chilled family orientated and you make your own fun. Have breakfast and lunch mostly self catered and eat out in the evening. We took 1000 euros and despite paying the tax, we still had a few euros left at the end of the week. Everybody fed and watered with plenty wine/beer and cider, and entertainment was mostly walking, swimming or a wander round the markets.

I would say when we've done a bigger holiday during school holidays e.g. a private villa or an AI for nearly 2 weeks we've still been under £4k all in.

We've found it more expensive for UK cottages/lodges.

I really don’t understand that kind of personal code. I’ve been very financially challenged in my life and having nice things was a distant dream. I live a much more financially comfortable life now and I’m definitely not going to keep depriving myself of nice things. Shrouds don’t have pockets and I’m going to have all the lovely holidays, nice things for the house and great clothes I can afford. You’re only here once.

The latter is personal preference! Bugger all to do with “principles”.

you can make the issue one of principles

but if you can afford but choose not to - its personal preference plain and simple. Not a “principled” action!

You don’t understand it because it’s nonsense

the op is dressing up “principles”

with personal preference

Yes actually. We have a third hand car, live in a small flat and buy most of our clothes from H&M and Uniqlo. Our kid is 18 months old but she’ll be going to the local comp when she’s old enough.

It is of course entirely up to people how they spend their money. I was just trying to find out if spending this much on a family holiday was typical or not…

I think you’re mistaking my use of the phase “on principle” to mean that I think people who do spend this money are unprincipled. Which isn’t the case. It’s just me saying that my personal principles for living and spending vs saving money don’t align with spending this much on holidays.

I put in the point about being able to afford it. Because I didn’t want to mislead and come across as pleading poverty.

My children love water park holidays and so that’s what we do most years.
We’ve had some great AI holidays (although that’s been in more recent years as we used to do B and B when the children were much younger).
We choose a decent hotel with a great water park attached but in an area where we can also explore and do other things outside of the resort with the hotel as a base.
Our budget is up to £1000 per person but there are not many good ones at that price and it’s getting more expensive each year.

We also try to do another self catering mini break each year too so holidays end our being a large part of our budget.

We will just have to agree to disagree

I found your OP dripping with barely concealed judgement against those of us with different “principles” to you aka as “unprincipled” in your eyes who choose to spend “silly money” on their holidays

out of interest

what is the amount of money your principles allow you to spend on your family holiday?

We are in Spain. 2 adults for kids all over 3 years old. Villa cost 2k for 2 weeks. Flights where 900 plus about 200 for baggage and seat choice.

We have spent about £1500 and due to go back on Wednesday.

We are self catering and going out so we bought a big food shop and have been to a few restaurants. And we have been clothes shopping for shoes which added up. So I'm estimating my the time we leave it would be 2000 spend.

So all together for 2 weeks and 6 people just over 5k ish. But that works out at between 800and 900 pounds each for 2 weeks which I think is quite good! We did book in January though

Oh and hire care I forgot cost 1k for a 7 seater for 2 weeks from the airport.

I’m curious about this too!

I know all if not all of these Sani is particularly popular as is Ikos Aria. They’re the high end - and the most expensive places to go for families. Very naice.

To be honest @Blossomtoes I wish I had a bit more of your mentality.

My half sister is much more of a spender, despite being both brought up my parents that drummed save save save into us, and I think she has a lot more fun than me. I’m a worrier though, and somehow can’t seem so shake off the fear that hard times could be just around the corner.

Perhaps I should get some therapy - oh but wait that’s really expensive too 😂

I'd spend up to £10k for a week for four of us at an all inclusive, although usually more like £5-7k for a nice 4 star. Flights extra (although we try to use airmiles).

Holidays are one of our luxuries. We don't spend much on clothes, jewellery, makeup etc relative to our income but I really enjoy a nice holiday.

Even the Cyprus one is one of the most expensive bar the 4 Seasons: you can get holidays in all those locations AI lots cheaper you don’t have to do Sani/Ikos etc

Fair enough, sorry if my OP stung. All I can say is that wasn’t my intention but then you don’t know me so if you chose not to believe me - okey dokey

Thank you

It didn’t “sting” as obviously I know linking principles with holiday preference is daft.

but I see it often on mumsnet. Some sort of nobility in not spending more than a budget to afford a week’s camping off an inaugural estate in Skegness.

Industrial

Of course you don't have to spend that much in September - those are pricey Times recommendations. We're doing a week half-board in Cyprus this September with Jet2 and a soon to be 2 year old and paying £1600 for that. That's with flights. Only thing to add on top is spending money and lunches but we're in an apartment in the resort so may do some self-catering. We haven't done it yet so I can't tell you if it's any good but the hotel that the flats are attached to is 4 star with good reviews. We used to organise our own and do Airbnbs and pay less (depending on how much self catering happened) but with a toddler, we want to try it this way