I hate my budget holiday

[ValentinaTheVampire]

We have small children to do things on a budget so we tend to do self catering in the UK to avoid paying for flights and also so we aren't all squashed into a hotel room.

But ugh, it has been so miserable this time (we are away at the moment). The weather where we are staying is pretty miserable. We are staying near family where I grew up as we tried to do holiday and family visit in one and I am honestly just counting down the days. I'm so tired from all the driving about and visiting and trying to keep kids entertained in the rain with none of their usual stuff around to help.

The cottages we've had the past few holidays have been so tired looking and even then they are so expensive.

I have a small but perfectly nice house at home. Kids aren't exactly getting a cultural experience here (although they are loving seeing family).

Dh wants to do another holiday cottage for my 40th birthday which is coming up over other school holidays and I've just told him no fucking way 😂.

I'd rather spend the money on my house or save for a nicer holiday even if we don't get one as often.

I can't tell if holidays have got worse or if I have become a that who just likes staying at home.

Yeah, lesson learnt there I think! We were trying to get round relatives and do some sightseeing etc.

With your budget you could book a sunny foreign holiday once every two years or perhaps even twice every three years.

Another +1 for holiday park caravan with indoor pool nearby/entertainment: covers all weather. Paignton a great base with small ones.

Save up, go abroad and find a hotel with a kid's club, pool, half board so you're not worrying about cooking, guaranteed sun and plenty to do.
Your type of holiday sounds like torture!

We’ve just booked a week next summer in a euro camp in the the Netherlands staying self catering in a static caravan type home that sleeps six, including the ferry crossing for under £1500.

They can still be a bit grubby/not as nice as home, but there’s usually a pool & playground on site, plus kids activities, and the novelty of a foreign supermarket is great too.
A week is normally enough for me, after that I just want my own bed!

I'm in exactly the same position as you OP, work in a school so have to go on holiday at peak times. We're cottage holiday family and certainly the prices have rocketed up...you're right that we get less for our money now. Even basic cottages are expensive now.
BUT I think it depends what you're going for. We are guided by location, as in we want mountains and trail biking close by...as well as outstanding scenery. We tend to stay in Scotland but enjoy the Lake District too. Tbh, so long as the cottage is clean, comfortable and functional to come back to, we're not really fussed how naice it is. I always thoroughly enjoy them.
Why did your kids cry when they saw the cottage? Mine have never given a toss...they're just excited to be staying somewhere different.

We do a lot of mini breaks in the uk but always plan for crap weather. We pack the car with full rain clothes for everyone and budget so that we can have at least one nice meal out and an indoor activity like a museum or science centre if it’s really torrential out but then balance that out with easy fuss free evening meals that still feel special but take no work like cheese and cold meats and use national trust passes for “free” days out. Would you not be able to book somewhere cheap but a bit more family friendly? There’s lots of places with indoor pools and activities for kids that are really reasonably priced. Travelling round seeing family members does sound really boring and I don’t think my kids would think that was much of a holiday.

Agree @SunsizOut. I could also save a bit more by cutting back in other areas and take the kids somewhere lovely.

I'll talk to dh about it later

@ValentinaTheVampire i would do a true staycation I.e. stay at home and have lovely day trips - bare minimum on chores e.g. take aways etc.

Save a chunk of the money and have a proper holiday once every 2 or 3 years.

"Travelling round seeing family members does sound really boring and I don’t think my kids would think that was much of a holiday."

This is true.

Bognor is one we have been to in the past. Had great fun. Lots for toddlers - loved the shows, the swimming pool is excellent, and there are free toddler suitable fairground rides inside.

A couple of tips for butlins:

• Download the app on your phone
• Look at the activities now and give yourself a rough idea of what you'd want to do and write it down
• it may be a bit anal but write yourself a time table for each day building in a good amount of time for food/rest and naps when the kids would usually do that to help you work out what is on when and how it fits together. This took so much stress off for us. We are both neurodivergent and having a table which told us in one column what we planned to do and then in the next other options we could do instead at that time incase we didn't fancy that activity was so helpful.
• make sure you check your emails frequently as I think around 2 weeks before your trip it opens up for activity booking and they get booked so quick. You can still do stuff as there are queues you can wait in for access without a booking if there is space but you will want a good chance to book the shows and activities you really want to secure them.
• I usually make up activity bags which I put colouring stuff in, some cheap treats (the tat kids love sourced from ebay/Amazon etc) and snacks as it cuts down my spend on the break and the kids still feel treated. The first time I went I bought some bits that matched the theme of shows we were seeing and brought them out for that show as surprises I.e. peppa stickers, pj masks colouring etc. Cost so much less in advance and then wasnt asked for treats on site.
• take any flashing wands/toys with you and you'll be less likely to be guilted into buying them on site by the kids!
• if they will drink a slush, buy a cup the first time and then you will get cheaper refills

I was going to suggest camping in France too, we did it one year with the kids when they were little and they loved it. It's a good way for them to meet other kids too. Or as PP suggested a caravan park in UK or Ireland. Otherwise foregoing a holiday for a few years to save up for a decent one abroad is probably the way to go!

If nothing else, at least this thread serves as a good cautionary tale for avoiding Minehead Butlins at all costs next week.

We tend to do static caravans. Mine loved flamingoland. Caravan was decent, the parks a bit tired but they loved walking around the zoo part each morningg and the bad kids entertainment on a evening.

Hi OP

look abroad. We just returned from Zante - paid £1600 for week in August for 2 adults and 2 teens self catering. Gorgeous resort and inc accommodation flights and transfers

there are plenty of family of four self catering in Greece for £1500 in school holidays

We did a weekend at a local Haven site (Sun holidays) so was really cheap. Went after school on a Friday, left early Monday morning and DCs were at school for 9am. We didn’t tell them we were going so was a big surprise. I think it was early September so was quite warm. It didn’t matter that we’d only driven 15 miles, it made no difference to driving for 4hrs. A caravan, beach, pool etc were all we needed and took food from
home. DC are adults now and still talk about it being a fab weekend

We have small children to do things on a budget so we tend to do self catering in the UK to avoid paying for flights and also so we aren't all squashed into a hotel room
It often works out cheaper to pay for flights because accommodation abroad can be a lot cheaper than the UK.

Cottages can be hit and miss we've found over the years - the last one we stayed in was pleasant enough but covered in dog hair as most rentals seem to be 'pet friendly' but seem incapable of running a hoover round afterwards. We've had better luck with lodges - Lovat are good or Darwin Escapes. Might look into eurotunnel/ferry next year.

I agree.
But it’s Brexit, war and worsening climate too. Covid marked the breakpoint.

Butlins is getting some positive press, I must try it!

I fear even Eurocamp isn't under 115 a night unless you go really off peak. Middle of of August to stay in a mobile that won't make you sob....

yanbu. Self catering holidays in our country are not a break at all, especially with young kids. They’re a lot of work and really expensive. I can’t believe what people are charging for holiday cottages and the quality isn’t great. I’d be inclined to go less often and save up to go abroad.

@Newmumatlast thanks so much! I'm hitting home bargains tomorrow with all that in mind 😁 brilliant

We've just had a crap rainy UK holiday where we spent a fortune doing things we weren't particularly excited about doing purely to do 'something'. Feel like we threw £1800 down the drain. We can back early and have booked to go to an all inclusive in October half term somewhere that will hopefully be hot. We are incredibly fortunate to be in a position to do that but it's cemented for me that I am absolutely never booking a UK holiday a long way in advance before. I will wait to see if the forecast is good and if it's not will probably do a last minute somewhere hot.

The Netherlands go back to school end of August so there can be bargains to had end of the month. See Landal.com and Roompot.com along with CenterParcs and Duinrell.

I have 3 young kids and the two UK holidays we have had ended up costing more than an all inclusive abroad!
By the time you factor in all the food, drink, ice creams, petrol, meals, excursions, rides, etc and the shitty weather, I’ve come to the conclusion that I would just rather stay at home!

Holiday abroad less frequently that a shitty overpriced holiday in the uk.
£2.50 for a bottle of water at Bournemouth beach yesterday!

We're just back from a week here.
https://cove.co.uk/sealbayresort/special-offers/?gclid=Cj0KCQjw3JanBhCPARIsAJpXTx4WVa4g0oNhKmnfiNCIyLsQXZsXhNlhEpycXCl-FGbbaoG-pF8ukvgaAlxUEALw_wcB

Caravan park right on the beach with amazing pool and loads of activites. We had such a lovely time, the weather was gorgeous though, which helped.