To think you can’t get a family holiday for £500

[Lalalawhitenoise]

inspired by a thread of a woman who’s taking her kids to florida, one of the poster said It was obscene spending that amount of money and that some families spend £500, maybe £1000 max on a family holiday for a family of 4.

I read it got me wondering, can you really get a family holiday (not tent camping) for £500? If so where? That would really help us out as was maybe thinking we might not be able to get a hols this year, what hols can you get (summer time ish) for under that £1k mark? Is it even possible?

My mum's going away for a few days with The Sun...its not her main holiday, just 4 friends in a caravan at the seaside Skegness, Mablethorpe, something like that.

You can. If you book flights and accommodation separately and don't go in school holidays ;)

It's a matter of opinion. Some people think having to walk to a shared toilet roughing it. It's an experience, not a holiday.

Some of the holiday cottages at the cheaper end of the scale look like they would smell of damp. That wouldn't bother some people, others would rather pay more for somewhere in the sun.

Some of the cheap places in the sun look, ahem, basic. I can just imagine the faint smell of sewage when I see the very thin curtains.

I've stayed in all sorts of places from basic camp sites, to glamping, and brothel hotels very basic hotel rooms to 5 star hotels. With DC I'm prepared not to have a "holiday" for me if they are having an experience and a good time.

But to have a nice beach holiday for the family in the school holiday it's going to be at leat £700 for accommodation that doesn't smell funny and then there is petrol etc. TBH I'd rather stay at home than risk a week of rain in Wales and come home £1000 poorer. I've had some very wet weeks in Wales

Does it need to be in school holidays OP?

Have you considered youth hostels? You can get family rooms which work out at a reasonable cost.

I've booked Thorpe Park for four days/five nights at the end of May for under £250. That's for two adults and two kids.

There are a fair few Cornwall chalets, lodges and cottages on Airbnb for less than £500 for a week in July.

Obviously would be self catering, but lovely free beaches, walks and parks.

You can go on a haven caravan holiday for a week for around £350

At the risk of sounding odd it does depend on what a holiday means to you.

For me it means a break from the house, staying somewhere else. A literal change of scene.

So yes, in some very lean years we have stayed in yha for the night and had a holiday!

If holiday means hotel with pool in a resort, which always usually work out expensive I would be scouring news papers for coupons etc.

Holiday to me doesn't mean hotel with resort in Europe though.

Yes. We have used love holidays twice. 10 days all inclusive for less than a grand I think. Easter and oct half term though. Greece and Majorca. Lovely it was too.

Also we went to Butlins for 4 nights it was about £200 for a 2 bed and £180 for inclusive breakfast & dinner (which were very nice actually, although the room not so much)

Hoseasons definitely have UK breaks for 7 nights which are under £1000. It all depends what you look for in a holiday? Plenty of caravan/lodge sites to choose from but if you want specific things to be available to you whilst you are there then obviously the price will creep up.

Loads on here - https://www.hoseasons.co.uk/lodges/england?start=29-07-2023&regionId=21667&regionName=England&destinationURL=%2Flodges%2Fengland&infant=0&accommodationType=lodges&adult=2&child=2&pets=0&range=3&nights=7&region=21667

You can get flights to Germany or Holland for £50 return and there will be some cheap accommodation options.

You have to be creative. Get a hotel chain credit card and save points to use, saving Topcashback money, Clubcard, Nectar, BA for airmiles. We're flying to the Pacific for £400pp this summer with airmiles. We're looking at New York for £100pp later in the year too. Takes a change in habits but doable.

Yes but it us still a holiday. You asked if its possible to holiday for under 500. It is. You just adjust your expectations.

We did six nights away for £499 in Kent last year. No it wasn't a particularly touristy area but plenty of leisure pools in driving distance and days out with dc. It was a change of scene and a chance to relax with the family. We had a similar holiday up north a few years ago for a slightly cheaper price. But those prices don't include the food or days out.

Hotukdeals has a travel section: https://www.hotukdeals.com/tag/travel

If it sounds too good to be true ….

We just did Mon-Fri at Bluestone, as a family of four sharing a big lodge with two other families who are close friends of ours. This was the first week after the Easter holidays. We booked a special offer and paid £650 for the whole lodge so about £220 per family.

In the last couple of years we've also stayed in a 2-bed cottage in North Cornwall (inland) for £750 for a week in May, a 3-bed cottage in Weymouth next to the harbour for £900 for a week in September, and some holiday bungalows near Minehead in July for £90 a night.

All self catering, UK, outside term time so might not be feasible or enjoyable for everyone, but we've enjoyed our holidays.

Holiday cottages in Wales you might be able to just about

Not to me, it's a practice which should be outlawed under human rights legislation or the Geneva Convention.

I am going to this hotel for a long weekend in a few weeks . This is for 2x adults 2 x DCs 9 nights at the end of may . Its only the room , added breakfast is £12 per adult per day ( not d
sure about dcs) but there is a great cafe on the corner that does a good breakfast for about £7 bookings.britanniahotels.com/rates-room1?city=20&hotel=724&arrival=2023-05-28&nights=9&rooms=1&adults%5B1%5D=2&children%5B1%5D=2&infants%5B1%5D=0&adults%5B2%5D=1&children%5B2%5D=0&infants%5B2%5D=0&adults%5B3%5D=1&children%5B3%5D=0&infants%5B3%5D=0&adults%5B4%5D=1&children%5B4%5D=0&infants%5B4%5D=0&adults%5B5%5D=1&children%5B5%5D=0&infants%5B5%5D=0&adults%5B6%5D=1&children%5B6%5D=0&infants%5B6%5D=0&adults%5B7%5D=1&children%5B7%5D=0&infants%5B7%5D=0&adults%5B8%5D=1&children%5B8%5D=0&infants%5B8%5D=0&adults%5B9%5D=1&children%5B9%5D=0&infants%5B9%5D=0&adults%5B10%5D=1&children%5B10%5D=0&infants%5B10%5D=0&code=

I love it there and that is a bargain! Which accommodation did you get for that price?

I've just put 'cheap holidays' as a google search. Briefly looked at cheekytrip.com and holidaygems.co.uk and both have holidays under £200 pp Majorca, canaries, Turkey for a week in June. There are other sites too. You would probably want to check out reviews etc as they are unlikely to be either luxurious or necessarily well placed .

Was it full of midges?

But you'd have to buy food anyway.

Yes, there are things like travel costs and entertainment, but you don't need to spend hundreds of pounds on those things - it can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be.