To ask for your tips and hints on how to afford abroad (school) holidays?

[ErikaReadsTheDailyMail]

Hi all,

Our oldest son started school in September and we've entered a new world a world of being incredibly boundaried by our holiday availability.

Before this we managed to do it fairly frugally least once a year- we'd usually manage a d.i.y break- skyscanner cheap flights and an air bnb sort of thing. We'd keep costs down by shopping in supermarkets there, doing free stuff and staying in of an evening (no worries with two under 5's).

We'd occasionally go on holiday in the U.K instead but to be honest it never worked out cheaper and was usually a lot more expensive. Last year after swearing I never would, we had our first ever all-inclusive resort holiday (and it was absolutely fantastic with the free booze and the kids club and i had to swallow my words!)

We're on a pretty low income and I just physically cannot afford to pay well over 50% more for a holiday due to having to be so limited by school terms.

I'm hoping I just don't have to suck up the next 15 years of not having an annual week away to look forward to but I fear that might be the case.

Does anyone have any words of wisdom? Do people take the kids out and pay the fines? Cheap companies who offer it all-in? Camping in Wales forever more? I'm struggling to see how to do it.

Thanks for your help 😃

We go abroad every 4 years. Eurocamp. It’s great.

Why don't you plan financially for a nice holiday every other year, and have stay at home vacations, on the off year?

We used to go here with Siesta when I was a teenager Castell Montgri - L'Estartit , Costa Brava (siestaholidays.co.uk) (at least I think this is the same site) and it was brilliant. Not sure I would fancy the coach with really little ones but something to bear in mind for the future.

Our last holiday abroad was in 2018. We are going to Devon next week. Go in term time as prices are ridiculous.

That’s fine as long as you don’t expect the teacher to give up her lunch or evenings to provide you with the work your DC missed. Teachers are already working many many hours extra.
If a DC misses out key concepts in maths or phonics it can leave them with gaps in their knowledge.

Following for ideas. I really want a holiday where we can rest a bit (rather than eurocamp style which we have done before - although only once since constrained by school holidays - but essentially involves various lists of stuff to pack and do - sheets, towels, don’t forget the kitchen sink etc - and then a not hugely comfy caravan when we’re there where we have same shit without our own stuff around us). And our family income should put us in the right bracket for it. But it always seems like such a shocker of a price and I can’t justify it.

but then I wonder about spending £1500+ to rent a half decent cottage* in the West Country for a week and wonder why I’d be doing that.

*half decent for me includes a dishwasher and a washing machine. And yes, I have to do washing on holiday as we have bed wetting in the family.

Look at countries other than the main one like Spain, Greece etc countries such as Morrocco and Tunisia are very good value compared to other countries. I know they sometimes get bad press for various reasons but we've been a few times to Agadir and never had any problems or hassel, much prefer it to European resorts where there are drunk people and scantily clad women encouraging men into the bars.

A day or two either side can make a difference, particularly for Greece where there are a lot of Thursday flights for example. Missing 2 days always felt better than a whole week to me.

It is often cheaper to build your own holiday, rather than buy a package. I buy flights on skyscanner close to the holiday date, and then look into accommodation. If I spot somewhere I like on booking.com (for instance), I will give them a call or email and see what last minute deals are available. Because hoteliers pay commission to booking.com and similar sites, you can sometimes get a better deal by calling them direct. I have saved a lot of money on family holidays by building the holiday myself. It does require paying last minute and being flexible about destinations. We often go to Spain and I will look at the local bus network to arrive at a hotel from the airport. This is often vastly cheaper than paying for airport transfer or a taxi.

Go with friends.

We go away in August. 7 of us in total (2 families)

Ferry £700
Villa with pool - 4 bed - £1600 per family for 2 weeks. Found on VRBO.

Done the same each year for the last 8 years (except maybe Covid where we holidayed in UK for the same money).

To be honest, ignore term time! I’m a mum of a 10 yr old and we always stuck to school holidays and it just isn’t worth it. The last week of a term they just watch films. They don’t learn.
plan a holiday around a school holiday, so go 3 days before they break up for a school holiday.

I'd have no qualms about taking my DC on holiday in term time. But I'm in Scotland so we don't have fines.

Also look at Eurocamp type holidays which can be cheaper. Unfortunately now for any holidays it seems you have to book a year plus in advance to get any sort of deal.

OMG that was where I had my first girls holiday away... loved it, met the love of my life (for that summer anyway) and just had the best time... 😁

Such happy memories! Except for being hungover on the coach home. That wasn't happy at all 😂

This is a very good point.

When our DD was in primary her school used to have a shorter Easter holiday (Catholic school so they liked the kids in for Holy Week so didn't break up until Easter weekend) but would then have two weeks for the summer half term in late May and early June.

At first we thought "Wow, great we can have our family holiday then and it will be cheaper". But then we realised this would mean we still had the whole six weeks of summer to deal with, and when you are both working that it is no mean feat. If you factor in the cost of holiday clubs or other childcare it can make a difference

If you ring child in as having been sick they have to miss 2 days off school. Then leave for holiday 2 days before a half term you miss the expensive flight/ferry out and come back one day after the new term starts if need be. Weekend flights/ferries are so expensive. When kids are 5-8 I don't think a couple of days off each year will hurt especially if their attendance is good the rest of the time. Schools don't fine for 1 or 2 days off.

Canary Islands are usually cheaper in the school holidays rather than mainland Spain and the Balearics where the prices rocket.

At our primary it wasn't a problem to go in term time. We used to go in May or June as it also avoided the heat when they were small. The head used to say in her annual welcome "I can't authorise it but I hope you have a great time".
Secondary is a different story sadly!

Think about location, the more popular a place the more expensive it will be. We’re in Stockholm right now, flights, airbnbs etc are cheap at this time of year. We have a camper so we drove and essentially had some nice mini breaks on the way, we know people who hire campers and go on european trips.

Take him out of school and ring up every morning at 8am to leave a message on the absence line saying he’s under the weather and won’t be in.

Don't do this. Teachers aren't stupid. You will insult them by making them feel that you think they are, and they will think of you as being "that parent".

I really wish we could look at implementing regional school holidays so that the cost wasnt extortionate for parents.
We are going to America in October and thankfully my sons school has two weeks off for that half term, making the first week super cheap.
Im going to book an all inclusive for next year soon, and then pay it off in instalments

Would you be willing to drive? We drove to France last year and doing the same this summer. Staying on a eurocamp park. Last year near Paris, this time in brittany. We are NW England so it's a long drive but we love it. We are a family of 5, youngest is 5 years old.

I see that you’re looking at Jet 2. Try BA holidays as I find they are usually cheaper than Jet 2. Will depend whether you live near an airport that BA fly from and also you need to factor in that BA holidays don’t include transfers. I saved £1k on last summers holiday by booking with BA rather than Jet 2.

Also I find the last week of the summer holidays before they go back to school to be the cheapest.

Just take them out. Last year, at my kids school the last day of term fell on a Thursday. We were going on a jet2 package to Majorca and it was £1,100 cheaper to let them skip the last day of term than to go on the following Saturday. We rang the school saying they had a sickness bug en route to the airport - I couldn’t give a shit if they knew I was lying, when they went back 6 weeks later they had a different teacher anyway.