I need help booking a cheap holiday

[FrootloopsIlike]

I have never been on a proper holiday with my DC (teens) due to finances.

Just has a little bonus, and after a shit year for us decided I would take them a week abroad into the sun. We want a beach, sunshine and are otherwise non fuzzy. ideally half board. I know it's very last minute and prices are high.

Since I have never booked a holiday, and I don't have a lot of money, I wanted to ask for tips how to get the lowest price possible. Do I wait and just buy something last minute or am I better of settling for something now (planning on going in the 2nd half of August). We would be fine with booking just a few days before as we aren't too bothered where we are going as long as we get away .

Ultra-last minute deals are for gamblers!! I love the idea of just booking whatever is available in two days' time, but the niggling little voice in the back of my mind says, but what if there are NO HOLIDAYS LEFT???

Do a quick price comparison. Go on Tui or Jet2 websites and see how much you'd save between something booked to leave on Monday and something booked to leave in a month. Have you all got valid passports, and have you got any preference as to country? Spain and the Canaries are cheaper than Greece, in my experience.

thanks, that's great. We do have passports so that's not an issue. Didn't know about Spain. will keep in mind.

We fancied Turkey for some reason but it doesn't really matter!

I found easyJet holidays cheaper than Tui & Jet2 but may depend which airport you can fly from.

Oh my friends are just back from Turkey & said it was unbearably hot. Her DD also hated all the men making comments to her!

What's your budget? I just had a quick look on tui and you can get a week half board in Mallorca for 2k departing LGW, assuming you are all in the same room.

I don't think I could wait to book until a few days before!

Have a look at Love Holidays or similar which search the different suppliers for your dates. Just make sure whoever you use is ATOL protected

@FrootloopsIlike

How much would you like to spend?

I recently had a holiday in Greece with flights from Jet2 ( found them cheaper than TUi and EasyJet) and booked very reasonable accommodation via airbnb.
We had an entire house to ourselves within walking distance of the beach. We had air con, our own rooms and had the choice of cooking own meals or eating out . I would never go with package holiday accommodation ever again. It’s a rip off imo and often has no aircon.

The whole trip was a fraction of the cost of a package deal.

Just checking you have passports?

The second half of August, as late as possible is a good shot for getting something affordable.

I know you say you want half board, but depending on finances, self catering eating out once a day, then stocking up on drinks, snacks and easy food from a supermarket could well be cheaper. If you stay half board, it's likely you'll have no cooking or food preparation/storage facilities, and if you buy drinks in the hotel, they can be expensive.

I'd look along the Spanish Costas, or the Canaries. The Balearics can be a bit more expensive. Malta is also quite good value.

Try a deals search on Jet2holidays, Easyjet holidays and Tui to see if there is anything in budget.

Or you could look at flights and then an apartment on booking.com. Don't forget about transfers, but if you stay somewhere fairly near an airport, you could often just get a public bus very cheaply. If the cost is looking tight, you could cut this by going for 5/6 days, which is still a decent break.

You might also look at a caravan or camping pod/tent on a Eurocamp type site.

What a blissful position to be in! The world is your oyster!

TUI and Jet 2 are unbeatable.

More choice with TUI.

Just go into their last minute section.

You'll get something brilliant 🤩

I'd look at the end of July to get the best bargain for 2nd half of august but you'd get something good now as well.

Fethiye area is gorgeous in Turkey.

Just book flights and accommodation separately - no packages. I did it last week. Booked a flight Monday morning for the Monday afternoon, then something cheap on booking.com. Just used public transport to get to it (make sure you choose a city or town where you can do this, I stayed in Alicante).

Might be harder in school hols as flights more likely to be booked up but I didn't have any issues.

If you post your budget, maybe we can suggest some holidays for you based on places we’ve personally been to and liked?

That was also my experience on my one and only trip to Turkey … men commenting and hissing at us !
Never again !

Turkey has some great deals at the moment on the Jet2 website.

I would never go with package holiday accommodation ever again. It’s a rip off imo and often has no aircon

Well it depends on what you choose. 'package holiday accommodation' can be exactly the same house, apartment, hotel, caravan etc as that booked on Airbnb/booking.com or direct with the provider. It's just a way of booking everything all in one go. We've often found a package holiday cheaper than booking all the individual elements directly for the exact same accommodation, flight etc.

OP the other consideration is what luggage you take. Ryanair and Easyjet only include a rucksack type bag in the base price and charge quite a bit for a cabin or hold case.

Jet2 include a rucksack and a cabin wheelie case in the base price, which is likely enough for a week in the sun. Or you could all take rucksacks and one big case between you. Don't forget the liquid rules and buy your suncream post security in the UK unless you're going to be near a proper 'locals' supermarket because it's stupidly expensive at convenience stores - 15-20 euro a bottle.

If you do end up self catering, look for somewhere in walking distance of a Mercadona, Eroski or Lidl, so you'll be able to buy normal price groceries instead of nearly double the cost at convenience store.

https://www.holidaypirates.com/holidays/last-minute

Also if you are on a tight budget Google to check for any unexpected charges. We have just come home from a great 2 weeks in Italy. When we checked out we found we had an extra 58 euros to pay because of local hotel taxes. Wasn't an issue for us at this stage of our lives but when we were young and broke that could have been an important factor. Might have been what had been ear marked for airport snacks ect. On the way back to the airport I did reflect that this information should be on a hotel notice board or in the hotel greeting letter. Then those on a tight budget can factor that in to their spending at the start of their holiday. At our time of life not a problem but I well remember the days when it might have been. Good luck in your search op. Hope you find something great.

I've found some brilliant deals on the holiday pirates app. You just need to check tripadvisor. Some places are super cheap for a reason, others it's just a very lucky find. All inclusive is well worth it for sticking to a budget. The food usually isn't brilliant but unless there are endless complaints on tripadvisor, it should be perfectly edible. I normally use the search function just above the trip advisor reviews to look for key words of things that are important to me. Like "sun lounger" because I can't be bothered to get up at the crack of dawn just for a place to hang out for the day. If you all swim, Egypt is brilliant and I'd always search "snorkelling" because a lot of hotels have reefs which provide hours of entertainment for the cost of a snorkelling mask from Amazon.

On most of the booking search sites you can do an open search for destination, or search by multilple destinations, multiple departure airports if that's an option for you, and flexibility around dates which will help you find the best prices.
If you're travelling with teens then read the room configurations carefully as extra beds might be sofa / pull out type or they might have to share a bed.
Always read trip advisor reviews (particularly anything less than 3 stars but these can often be because people didn't read about where they were going!) before booking.
Check flight departure and arrival times and factor in how you'll get to/from home.

@shiningstar2 makes a great point about local taxes. I remember going to Turkey as a teenager years ago and they charged £10 per person at the airport. My parents (who had been young and broke when we were little) had to step in and pay for a woman who was there with her 3 children. It was obvious she was trying not to panic in front of the children when she realised what was going on and it was basically all of her spending money.

Thanks, so many helpful suggestions.

budget is 500-600 per person. Could stretch a bit more but ideally not. Is there a big difference in pricing locally between the different countries? or is it roughly the same what we will need in spending money?

We are EU citizens, not Brits. Would mot pay visa to Turkey.

That's a very tight budget for August! I think you just need to get searching and see what's available from your local airport(s). I've just done a "go anywhere from anywhere" search on Jet2 Holidays from 19th August and there are options within budget but they're mostly self catering and the departure airports might not be convenient for you. If you're in the north then look at flying from Edinburgh or Glasgow as Scottish schools return around the middle of August so prices might drop in the later half of the month.

https://www.jet2holidays.com/beach/greece/rhodes/faliraki/old-windmill-studios?duration=10&airport=3&date=19-08-2024&occupancy=r1c15_16&board=2&oflight=1119471&iflight=1119408&rooms=17432&gtmsearchtype=Smart%20Search&smartsearchid=6b4ab939-fa85-49d4-9bdb-e4d77977a44c

This is the cheapest half board in Aug I could find on jet2 is it 1 adult 2 teens?

I do think your budget is quite low as I have found when I went self catering early in the year eating out and supermarkets were quite expensive so we went self catering for a week and spent an additional 2k on food

There's some fairly good deals on Tui website, I'm tempted to get my passport out and head for some sunshine myself at those prices!! Last Minute Holidays & Late Deals | TUI Deals & Offers | TUI.co.uk

I booked Turkey on OnTheBeach fairly last minute and got a good deal.
We avoid all inclusive and asked a local where they would eat so we avoided the tourist traps.
We had a fab time.