AIBU to ask where the hell can I take seven people on holiday without bankrupting myself?!

[Whysomany]

Not really an AiBU but posting for traffic after weeks of research and coming up blank.

Promised the kids a holiday, specifically abroad, as they've never been. August 2024. Made the mistake of promising before fully researching and quite frankly I feel a bit fucked now.

I think they'd all like to travel by plane having never done so before and probably unlikely to again but blimey, flights for seven people. I severely under estimated. Looking at driving instead. This we can do but DH doesn't want to drive too far because his car is old and crap, basically.

Originally looking at South of France, Italy, Spain, etc. They all seem out now because of flights and hire car costs. And I don't think I could persuade DH to take his car that far. I have since looked at pretty much every destination in Europe...

All I've got at this point is a week in the Netherlands but honestly at this point, that feels a little disappointing after dreaming of a hot destination and somewhere a bit further away to the UK.

Am I doing something wrong or basically I'm right and it's just not doable? We were looking at Eurocamp and the equivalents.

No set budget. Originally looking at 2.5 - 3k plus food, days out, etc. Might be able to go a bit higher.

Could you drive to Puy de Fou historical theme park in France?
Staying in their themed castle rooms etc would be pricey but I suspect you could find cheaper nearby with a year's notice.

Centreparcs in France. So
Much cheaper than the UK the. Of the weather is bad at least there is stuff to do.

Camping de la yole in Beziers, France. The caravan will cost you £700-1000 for the last week in august. Then get ready jet/Ryanair flights, between £60-150 each ( but not released yet for 2024). Transfers from the airport are £10-12 each and the camp site is next to the beach and on a bus route . The bus tastes you too the big supermarkets and also Beziers town. So less than £2k before spends . In reality , with experience, it will probably be about £1600 for accommodation and flights.

If you find a campsite you like don't book through Eurocamp etc look at the campsites own website as their own accomodation is often cheaper and better.

I’ve just had a look, but dearer but for £3900 you could go to Bella italia (eurocamp -£1100 for accommodation) at lake Garda 7/8/24-14/8/24 with flights from Stansted to Verona (jet 2 £2800 inc 22kg each so could be done cheaper) this is supposed to be a really good site with lots of water sport activities! X

I just looked on TUI for August next year, any destination, flights from London, 2 rooms with 2 adults and 2 youngest in one room and 2 adults (18 and 20 year old) and 1 child (16) in second room.

Corfu 1 week £3,507 total cost self catering is the cheapest I could find, but there are better deals to be had in half terms/Easter etc (and on sites other than TUI!) - this was just the quickest search I could do. If you were able to stretch your budget upfront to include food (rather than having to budget money for it on the holiday) there are deals to be had on half board and all inc.

Don't be despondent, I'm sure you will find something! This might sound a bit left field, but keep your eye on cruises too, especially no fly cruises from Southampton. They're often not that much more expensive in school holidays, all food is included and they sometimes run promotions where extra guests in cabins can sail for £1. There are often very good early or late deals to be had.

What about north of France eg Normandy? Still hot in August and lots to do but not a long drive. Can even get the ferry to Le Havre. Or ferry to Calais and staying not too far. Gites are nice and affordable in France. Or could go to centreparcs Europe, which is a lot cheaper than the UK version.

Another option is to fly to Eastern Europe. Loads of budget airlines go there and cheap once you get there. Eg flying to Krakow

I wouldn't camp in France. It's so expensive once you're there. I think heading for one of the less plush resorts on the Costas is your best bet

Look at centre parks in France, I just did a quick search and was coming back between 5-6k. You could drive there or do public transport with the euro star.

Look at easyJet holidays. I searched for 3 adults and 4 children, 7 nights, early august 2024 from London airports and got £2200 in Krakow, £2300 Hungary £2400 Prague. £2500 Madrid and Milan, £2600 Pisa, Venice, Athens and Seville, £2700 Dalaman Turkey, £2700 Kos, Barcelona, £2800 Rhodes, Rome, Algarve. That includes flights, accommodation, bags and transfers.

If you are not fussy about the specific dates or airports you can adjust and look around.

We are going to South France. Hiring a minibus which was £1.2 k I think, could have got it much cheaper £800 if I'd hired in Jan. Hiring a Gite for under 1k (sleeps 8).And then add on ferry costs. We are going as schools go back hence Gite was cheaper.

Youth Hostels with family rooms - some of them are absolutely lovely buildings. They’ll be in great locations, have games rooms, bar, restaurant or self catering.

What about Eurocamp in France or Belgium at one of their Centreparcs 👍

If you can face flying check out EasyJet holidays - price includes flights, luggage and transfers. There’s stuff within your price range even in August - this is 2 rooms (I put 5 adults and 2 children in)

My cousin and husband are both teachers and do house swap holidays during school breaks. They’ve holidayed in Germany, the US, Scotland and numerous other places around Europe. The holiday swap website they use is for teachers but I’m sure there are others. They love it. Obviously you still need to be able to afford the flights but it’s free accommodation.

Maybe think about home exchange? We did that for three years in a row when my DC were 3, 8 and 10 through to 5, 10 and 12. We went to Denmark, Spain (near Barcelona) and southern Germany. We were able to stay longer because we weren't paying for accommodation. We made a point of exchanging with people whose families were similar to ours so the house was suitable. We did it through what was then called Home Exchange International. In those days it was a booklet, but these days they have a website. https://www.homeexchange.com/ . The upside is an incredibly cheap foreign holiday although not necessarily in a resort-type area. The downside is having to get your own house really clean and tidy and make space in wardrobes and drawers for them to put stuff away, and obviously leave their house in the same state when you leave. We literally had no problems with any of our exchangees - one we didn't even meet but each of us collected keys from a neighbour, one we met halfway and stayed at the same hotel to exchange keys, and one came over to the UK early and stopped at our house to exchange keys. We took our car across the channel for the Denmark and Germany trips and flew and rented a car for Spain. The only reason we stopped doing it was our older DC hitting their teens and feeling they needed campsites with more facilities for teenagers, but much depends on where you are.

Villa in France then easy/Ryan flights. This one sleeps 8-10 and minutes from beach. Approx 2k for last week of school hols, not including flights. Consider 5 nights not 7 when searching to cheapen. Villa also means elf catering which is cheaper than hotels. https://www.vrbo.com/648809a?adultsCount=3&arrival=2023-08-28&childrenCount=4&departure=2023-09-02&unitId=648809

And you're less likely to cook in August if you don't go right to the south

Denmark is a great locations. Flights are cheap and there’s a beach and loads of kids stuff to do. Had a 10 day holiday for £1400 for 3 of us. Self catering and ate out a few times.

I have not read all the responses but Loire valley is only 4-5 hours south of Cherbourg France and we tend to get good weather first week of July. We did Dordogne last year and there was a heatwave and it was 44 degrees. Most British kids will be happy with a solid week above 25. It may rain once or twice but it's generally good. Eurocamps tend to have other providers on the same site with access to the same facilities but cheaper so try Canvas, Roan etc (Google eurocamp alternatives). I also think sun holidays offer some of these sites so perhaps you could bolt on another site for an additional few days to make up a week and save some cash?

Spain is considerably cheaper to eat and drink out though.

Have you considered whether a house swap might be feasible?

Also there are working holidays if your 20yo or you happen to have a trade/are handy?

Sorry my post above is jumbled. The Dordogne in July comment is meant to say be careful what you wish for! I think that in August most of France should be pretty good at least half of the time. At least good enough for pool splashing and soaking in the sights.

We're doing a European train holiday next summer with the kids. There's an overnight sleeper from St Pancras to Berlin which looks very interesting.

There's some great Youth Hostel accommodation in Europe which is often city centre (so close to the train station) but way cheaper than city hotels. We do love a city break though.

No useful information but this thread represents the best of Mumsnet.😍

If you're willing to share 2 cabins, this could be very close to your budget. Children classed as 17 or under. https://www.ambassadorcruiseline.com/cruise/a12410-summertime-multi-generational-fjordland/

All meals included and you can get off and if you research the ports you could explore yourself without needing to book many excursions.

We got flights to Nantes in Brittany this August for £50 each. I go on Skyscanner and select whole of August, from anywhere in the UK to anywhere in the world and see where comes up cheap.

Last summer we also had a cheap ferry crossing from Newhaven to Dieppe with dfds. It was around £250 for a family of four in a car in August.

We often go to campsites in France and the very last week of August is always cheaper. (I think french school hols finish before ours).