booking holiday last minute? How cheap does it get?

[Piddypigeon]

I haven't been on holiday with the DC but I promised to take them somewhere this year. They are absolutely desperate to go somewhere in the sun.

I have a teeny tiny budget only (max 1.5k for the three of us, DC are teenagers if that makes a price difference) and couldn't find anything now for the Summer.

Is booking last minute an option to get something really cheap in the school hols? I am thinking of booking a week of annual leave and then try to find something at short notice for very little money?

Both have disabilities, and camping is out of question. We need a hotel.

Could you look at getting a free child place (might need to book earlier rather than wait)?
Also have you factored in insurance? For me and two dc (dc2 and me with medical needs) last year the cheapest I could get was £250.

Also just to add if you need to take medication/equipment you can take that separately to your allowance. You just need to ring the rour operator (jet 2 have always been brilliant at this). Look at special assistance at the airport (I've used Manchester it's meant we have limited queing and support when we need it at both ends of the journey.

Go on Jet2 or First Choice websites, they still have quite a few options with a free child place available. You will only be eligible for one child place though. Don’t discount all inclusive as there are some cheap options and you can afford to add what your food budget would have been into the cost of the holiday and you won’t have to worry about how much the kids want to eat and drink. Not going to be anything fancy in your price range but it is doable.

Try Skyscanner. Search from your airport and put ‘everywhere’ in the location. Be aware flights are cheapest on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and Sundays tend to be cheaper than Saturdays.
then look for an airbnb near where you are staying.

I searched from Liverpool and found flights for £83 each to Barcelona tues to sun in August and airbnb apartments near the beach for £150 per night which allowing for 5 nights plus flights plus some meals out and some cooking would be in budget

This is true, last minute is more expensive now I'm afraid. You need to book well in advance and outside of the school holidays to get a bargain.

Puerto Rico, Gran Canaria
Puerto de Mogan, Gran Canaria
Puerto Rico 2, Gran Canaria
Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife
Los Gigantes, Tenerife
San Antonio Bay, Ibiza

Anyone remember the days of going on Teletext and finding a holiday for £200pp and leaving 48 hours later?

We used to do that all the time.

Try Hays Travel on fb. You can get some amazing deals on there, for families too.

Sometimes people sell their holidays last minute, if they can't go and can't rearrange. There's a site called Sparefare or something. I will state that I've never used it through

I agree you'll find something, Jet2holidays have quite a few options for under £1500 for a week from 4 August from Liverpool, mainly to Turkey or Canaries. That's for flight, transfer, hotel and more luggage than you could possibly need (two cabin bags and 22 kg hold luggage per person).

Even with flight only, their basic ticket includes a rucksack and a cabin case, so you'll probably not need any extra luggage, so while the flight prices might look higher, they're often cheaper as with the others you'll probably have luggage costs to add on.

Another couple of tips - if you're driving to the airport, parking at Liverpool is much cheaper than Manchester, so you'll probably save around £30/40.

If you're going to Spain, Mercadona, Eroski, Lidl or Dia are the cheapest supermarkets so if you're planning on self catering, if possible find accommodation in walking distance to one of those.

For a short break and for your family, it's probably not worth the hassle and expense of travelling to London, so BA is off the cards.

www.jet2holidays.com/beach/greece/zante/alykes/souda-studios?duration=7&airport=3&date=15-08-2024&occupancy=r1c13_14&board=4&oflight=1117785&iflight=1118024&rooms=56716&gtmsearchtype=Smart%20Search&smartsearchid=3e69503f-1578-4025-b06b-06c96e5e2124

Zante for a week?

Everybody's talking about flights and package holidays as if that's the only way to go on holiday.

I don't know if this would be compatible with your DC's needs, but I took my DC Interrailing last Easter- Brussels, Innsbruck, Italy, Paris and back- for about £1600, which covered all transport and accommodation. I booked all our accommodation through AirBnB and Booking.com.

What about a more simplified version to the S. of France/ Northern Italy and back?? You could overnight in Paris on the way. Transport all in would be in the £800 price bracket with 4 day passes plus supplements, leaving you about £700 accommodation, which should get you a simple AirBnB for a week somewhere, or French chain hotels have very reasonably priced family rooms. I have no idea if this suggestion would be heaven or hell to your family though!

I know you said no camping but have a look at Eurocamp or similar, chalet style mobile holmes, 2/3 bedrooms and variety of facilities on sites. Plenty short distance from airport. Or you could drive and take loads of dried food and home comforts to save on food budget.

Oh, by the way, accommodation on Booking.com has a significant price drop on the day, but I doubt many people travelling with DC would want to leave it that close!

How about Benidorm? All inclusive too for £1590.

www.easyjet.com/en/holidays/spain/costa-blanca/benidorm/magic-cristal-park-hotel?ibf=true&to=10-08-2024&from=03-08-2024&dst=ALL&sAccId=&geog=ALL&flex=2&org=LPL&aa=1&rooms=2_1:14&outId=E5e4ab0182f2642cf4e281827448dc8f5&inId=E73195e38f12bde931a218cdd10f1dda8&accId=ESCB0044&packId=2170680859/2/2408/7&boardType=AI&offerRooms=2_1:14/DB01&transfer=W2MS009665SS&dtransfer=W2MS009665SS&isExt=0&lateRoomCheckout=0&theme=beach&__ejhsort=hotels_list6GhiT7C1R&utm_source=easyjetholidays&utm_medium=share_icon&utm_campaign=Copy&utm_term=en&utm_content=UK

Yes! In 1998, my friend and I packed our bags and went on Teletext and got a week in Marjorca leaving the next day for £80 each, flights, transfers and accommodation. Those were the days!!

Both Easyjet and Jet2 have packages from next week for under £250 pp for flight, transfer, accommodation and luggage. Account for 26 years of inflation and it's probably comparable.

My experience is that the you don't really get last minute deals anymore.

Miss those days. I got a return flight to the Maldives about 25 years ago from Teletext for £149.00 Booked and went the next day! Those were the days of being carefree 😊 OP you will find something as it sounds like you are flexible on where and also accomodation.

For a different angle to search (and no I've not checked)

Ski resorts in summer - sun, pools and some decent 3* hotels - might be some packages or DIY trips there

What about lake holidays eg Garda?

There are loads from Manchester all inclusive in your price range from Love Holidays

Oh god. Please DONT pitch up to an airport and see what you can get like a PP suggested. This simply doesn't exist anymore. Maybe in mid 1990s

'Last minute' cheap holidays also doesn't really exist any more. Demand pricing actually means prices go up the closer you get to travel dates.

Try a bunch of travel websites and punch in some dates and look at your price range is the best you can do I think.

Cheap holidays tend to be in Sunny Beach, Marmaris and Rhodes.

Does it have to be a hotel, would an apartment work? When we plan our holidays I go through all of the major sun spots and find the cheapest flights, then check accommodation in that area, we never spend more than 2k euro and that is for 4 adults for a week so I think you can do it if you shop around. We stay in apartments though, usually with booking.com, or you could use airb&b. At this stage there might not be as much choice but it is doable imo.

You can try Bulgaria, the seaside is very expensive but there are lovely hotels with outdoor pools with mineral water in the mountains. I was recently at a hotel called “five elements” and it has super fun outdoor swimming area, at least 20 different pools and play areas. Food is included and hotel room is around £150 per night for 2.

You can get that with your budget, try on the beach or similar. You might need to travel to an airport not close by and accept early or late flights. The canaries and Costa Dora come up cheap last minute but cheap means not being too fussy.