About holiday costs

[Chippychipschips]

I always holiday in the UK because it’s what I can afford plus I don’t really like travelling.

For some reason this choice always warrants a big lecture from people about how holidaying in the UK is too expensive so that’s why they go abroad.

I am all for people doing what they want but just think this is bullshit.

If I have a budget of £800 to spend on accommodation for a family of 4 the UK is my best option. Yes I know I won’t get the guaranteed sunshine or cheap dining but the UK is all I can afford.

What people actually mean when they say things like this is you can get more for your money abroad. This is probably true but if my budget doesn’t stretch to £3/4k for a weeks all inclusive then it’s not an option for me!

It really gets on my tits that people imply you are spending badly when they don’t realise choices are obviously dictated by budget!

It does bug me that the UK is overpriced but I still want to go on holiday. I could save for years to go abroad but if I’m not really bothered why can’t I enjoy a UK holiday once a year?

I know this is not a big issue but I have shared my holiday plans with 2 people this year only to be told how badly I am spending my money (by people with a lot more disposable income than me)!

No.

I didn't say I assumed she is English because there are more English people. That's... wrong...

It is more likely she is English than Scottish because there are ten times as many English people than Scottish people. But assuming any nationality (like you did when you assumed she was Scottish) is silly when anyone can post on Mumsnet.

I don't know how much clearer I can make this for you...

@BedKnobsAndBroomStix i think I just had a weird week. One person was my BIL (who I don’t like) being snobby about my plans. He seems to find holidays in the UK offensive! The other was a friend who I do really like. I need to find a way of managing these conversations with her as I see her all the time. For some reason she seems to think I need constant advice and help. Some people are just like that in their conversation style, but it’s bloody annoying.

I think when people compare they are comparing expensive UK trips to the basic price of the abroad trip

The example above someone gives of a caravan in the UK for 2k and then 400 euro in France

I have never and would never pay 2k for a caravan in the UK. Caravan sites/holidays sites are expensive, very expensive, we book holiday cottages/airbnb in the UK and dont go above 500 quid

In addition to go abroad you need passports, if you havent already got them thats a huge amount up front but yes, you only need that once

You then need to arrange car parking, fuel to get to the airport, transfers in the country you're travelling to. There are tons of extras that you add on that you wouldnt in the UK.
Our trips abroad are far far more expensive than our UK holidays

op asked for school holidays and I provided them.

There is an assumption on here (and elsewhere) that England is the default position - for example, if you read the religion in schools thread, you will see a lot of people talking about schooling in the UK when really, they mean England.

I even had an English person try to tell me I was incorrect about the Scottish schooling system. The one I have not only attended, but worked in.

So although that might not be the intention and it might not be the point of this particular post, it is a common issue for Scottish people (as several others have already shared on this very thread, and others)

UK holidays can be cheaper and they can be more expensive. Holidays abroad can be cheaper or they can be more expensive. There's a whole range and it really depends on what you pick. It's really impossible to make a sweeping statement that one type is cheaper than the other. Either can be done cheaply if you hunt around for the right deals, are flexible about location and research the best dates.

OP, £800 for a school summer holiday caravan in Devon is a pretty good deal. The kinds of holidays abroad that you could do for that kind of money would be camping (pre-erected tents) or caravan in France (pick an area driveable from Calais for cheaper ferry costs), apartment in Barcelona, hotel or apartment in Prague or Budapest, camping in Belgium or Netherlands. For France/Belgium/Netherlands it's best to do either May half term, or the last week of the English school summer holidays as they are outside the local school holiday dates.

I think you'd be hard pushed to find a typical week in the sun with flights for a family in a resort in the school summer holidays for that price, unless you bagged an exceptional deal!

We've done a range of holidays as a family from UK trips to trips abroad, and they've all been great. UK holidays are just as much fun as ones abroad. It's nice to go abroad too though.

I think it depends how many people you're paying for and when you can travel too. I'm only paying for myself and even outside school holidays many self catering properties cost more than a week abroad with flights and food included. But if a property sleeps 4 people that's a lot cheaper PP than the cost of going abroad multiplied by 4.

Well, exactly. You shoehorned your (justifiable) annoyance about people's English default onto this thread by assuming a Scottish default, which isn't helpful or relevant to the thread. The point of this post is that travelling in the school holidays is expensive for this poster. Saying "It's not if you're Scottish" isn't very helpful if you're not Scottish, which the poster isn't likely to be.

There are probably just as good deals flying from Scottish airports in the English holidays as there are flying from English airports during the Scottish holidays, btw. Scottish people do this to get cheaper holidays. Not only this, APD is more expensive in Scottish airports than in English airports. So it isn’t a case of Scottish people getting it cheaper.

The cost of accomodation in Europe is more expensive in mid August than late June.

And the OP has already said that the cost of passports and airport parking are prohibitive. Now you're adding travel to a Scottish airport to the cost. You're so keen to make your point that you're not listening to what the OP needs.

Except I wasn’t even talking to the OP, I was replying to a different poster with completely different situations, who already had passports for everyone in their party?

Make your mind up.

op asked for school holidays and I provided them.

You initially provided dates in the Scottish school holidays as a reply to a poster who was commenting on the OP's situation.

In fact, your first post is completely unhelpful:

For us, it was still cheaper to go abroad last year - only the two kids needed passports, travel insurance is free through our bank, and we spent £50 on parking for a week. It cost £250 more for a week AI than it did for a week SC, granted we did still eat and drink out but we didn’t HAVE to, but with SC in the UK we would have most certainly spent more than £250 for a week.

Yes, if you can go in the Scottish school holidays, and if you already have passposrts and if you have already paid for your travel insurance and if you can find somewhere that charges £50 for a week's parking, then you don't have to shell out so much!