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 .

If your dates allow you to get back just before school starts, especially if there are inset days, you can often save a bit of money.

Have you looked at Portugal? It can be surprisingly cheap, plus it’s a fairly short flight.

Make sure you're maximizing any discounts available to you

If you have a staff scheme that does cashback or vouchers compare there. And check Quidco and Top Cashback for their deals too.
Make sure you get any Nectar/Tesco points too.

My tips would be:
Look at an odd number of days. 7, 10 and 14 are the most popular for packages but you can get good deals for 6, 9 etc
The very end of August is often cheaper as Scottish children are back at school and many UK tourists don't want to travel immediately before a return to school.
Don't know where you are but check flights from every airport within reach of you. Prices can vary quite a bit.
Don't write off travel agents. They can often find a good deal if you tell them your dates and budget.
Good luck!

Sun Holidays are open for bookings at the moment, and they have options for abroad. The codes you need to book can just be found by googling. They have sites in Spain, France, Italy etc. It's mobile home accommodation and most sites have swimming pools etc. Then I'd use Skyscanner to look for flights to the nearest airport to the site you've chosen.

I have been to Turkey multiple times and have never ever been hissed at. The hard sell can be a bit full on but a firm no thank you usually suffices. Even better if you learn to do that in Turkish

Home exchanging if you're up for the idea, @FrootloopsIlike - all you'd be paying for is transport and spends while you're there so could go further or for longer

I've done 63 of them now, and while it's more about being in a real community than the money for me these days it's still hard to beat if it works for you

TUI are advertising they've still got free child places this year if 2 adults are paying. Not sure what age your DC are but you could look into whether you could take advantage of that offer

You don't need a visa for Turkey anymore

Does it have to be August? October temperatures are lovely in some places that are extremely hot at the moment and might be cheaper.

How old are the teens? If one is 18 they are an adult and you may be able to get a free child place for the other child? search free child places on the apps

ignore this whole message, just saw you’re EU residents not Brits!

I find airb&b cheapest way to travel. Always loads to choose from and you can read others' reviews to get a feel for a place. Maybe I've been lucky but I've never had a bad place to stay in yet and I like their budget tools. I usually find cheap flights first then narrow down the area we're flying to.

I just booked 11 nights in a Greek island for end of August -£620 each self catering . 3 adults one teen . (Two rooms ) Swim pool and next to the beach . This was with tui . Baggage included

Register for TUI secret deals or whatever it's called this year, there are some absolute bargains like 80% off but generally you need to be a bit flexible on day flying (more likely to be midweek) which airport etc. Friends recently paid £225 each for a weeks ai in Spain but they booked 24 hours before going. My parents paid £310 each for a cruise leaving 4 days later. It's a gamble but can really pay off and as you haven't been to these places it's all new anyway.

The best places to look for reliable packages (usually cheaper at short notice) are TUI, Jet2 and EasyJet but be aware that EasyJet doesn't always package transfers that add up and if there's delays there can be issues, whereas with TUI and Jet2 they simply reschedule the transfer for an hour later or whatever.

Whatever you decide please buy travel insurance, it's one thing never to skimp on and order ghic cards today if you haven't already

On Skyscanner website, you can search for "anywhere" in "August" and it'll give you loads of options eg Gatwick to Ibiza, 12 to 21 August £35 per person

Secret deals sounds fab. I have just registered

Which ones are your local airports?

If you could fly on or around 27/08 you could absolutely do it in budget.

If you pick jet2 then shout as I have discount codes.