Help me book a getaway I'm overwhelmed!

[CynthiaRothrock]

Looking for the help of Mumsnet so Posting here for traffic and inspiration.... I've not been abroad in over 20 years, last time.i booked a holiday it was with the help of Ask Jeeves!
Me and DH have had a rough couple of month and we need a get away. Was looking at the UK and it's so bloody expensive. I've though fuck it let's do one of those cheap flight and hotel deals and I've been sucked down a rabbit hole! It's his birthday next month so looking at a last min midweek break. I don't care where we go but needs to be cheap. I've managed to cover child care from Tues to Friday night last week in September so 2 or 3 nights max.

But I need inspiration! I'm really not bothered where or what. The criteria is

1. Must be cheap this is a last minute though after a devastating month and needs serious budgeting.
2. Easy/cheap airport to hotel (I don't want to drive in a foreign country, I'm bad enough in the UK)
3. Must have something to do ie. Be all Inc so we don't have to leave resort for entertainment or cheap/free/not far places to explore and we can take a picnic etc.
4. Not be stressful 🤣
5. Flying from Manchester or at a push Liverpool.
6. Maximum 2-3hr flight (DH has never flown, and is a shit traveller not sure how he will cope)

We have never been abroad together so basically anything will be enjoyable. We enjoy a variety of things, shows, walking, museums, beaches, country side, city so very easy to please In That sense.

Where do you suggest? Good websites? Sites to avoid? (don't want to get scammed)
Best to book all together or do I do things separately? I've looked at so many things I've just confused and totally overwhelmed myself! Any and all positive suggestions welcome! My brain is at maximum capacity and a break is well over due, but I'm struggling to process and organise this!

And before anymore jumps in, yes we have kids that have never been abroad but we are looking at booking a family holiday next year, this break is well needed for the 2 of us.

Thanks for reading and any help/suggestions.

Bulgaria is very cheap and has some nice resorts and good weather. Take a look at jet2holidays or easyjet holidays. They usually come with bag allowances, transfers etc and you can filter the results by price and what you want such as all inclusive

We've been to Valencia twice. There's lots to see and preferred it to Barcelona. Used booking.com for accommodation and booked flights separately.

What's your max budget?

Just go to a site like Tui or Jet2, put in your dates, your airport and your budget, and see what pops up. Then click on the ones you like the look of. It's very straightforward if you're looking for all-inclusive, as that will include transfers from the airport as well.

What about Spain or the Canaries? Plenty of good value options for all budgets, not long flights, and nice weather.

Look at last minute.com and the ilk

Croatia is good

Use Jet2 site search facilities. Key in where, when and budget. It should throw up some suggestions. Then before you book look at the hotels web site and where it is on Google maps to make sure it’s in a good place, ie. Not next to a railway!

X post PonyPatter44!

Great minds and all that!

When you say cheap, what you consider cheap will certainly be different for everyone you need to say what your budget is. However based on what you’ve described, a site like Jet2, easyJet holidays or Tui will meet your criteria in that you can get an holiday deal that’s all inclusive, transfers taken care of, etc and you won’t need to worry about anything else. We just returned from a family holiday with Jet2, first time we’ve used them and we’ve already booked for next year because everything was seamless.

Another vote for jet2 holidays. We've found them to be really decent when we just wanted something easy and no planning on our part

Love holidays has some bargains.

Worth a look.

It's nicer travelling from Liverpool. We flew from there at Easter. School hols and we haven't flown in 15 years . Took 20mins from parking at the airport to being sat outside the gate. Absolutely whizzed through security. Flew with jet2 brilliant.

Ok, you say DH is a shit traveller - how shit? How.is he eith navigsting foreogn countire or different food? Can he mange a city break or will it need to be an AI resort?

If he has never flow before and you like meusems and beaches how about a French or Norther Spanish city? Short flight, decent weather in September and lots of culture. Somewhere like Beziers is near the beach (a short bus or train ride away) and also has a lot of decent old stuff! Not too expensive either.

500 would probably be my top line for travel and accommodation. Is it possible?

I will have a look at those sites, I had shied away as I though they would be more expensive compare to skyscanner/holiday pirates.

Thank you everyone who has replied

Dubrovnik might work. There are resort type hotels with pools and you can catch buses easily to the gorgeous centre from them. Jet2 do flights and packages which will take you to hotel on transfers. Enough to do for a few days.

£500 each?

With that budget, I’d ditch going abroad and book an Airbnb in the UK and spend the rest of the budget on nice food, days out etc.

Lots of people are boycotting TUI atm as they take tourists to dolphin attractions where the animals are poorly treated.

Dh is "fidgety" in a car. Complains of his ears popping going over the M62 type, i know he will be a PITA on a flight. Doesnt drive and shit at any kind of navigation, so all that will be on me. City or AI would be fine. Food will be absolutely fine, will try a variety of things.

Go to onthebeach. Put in your dates, Manchester Airport and destination anywhere. Filter to all inclusive. Sort price low to high. Use this to get a destination you like with flights that suit. Then search the flights on the airline website and Google the hotel to see if Expedia or similar have a better deal.

I'd recommend a resort around Malaga for all inclusive and really good train links. Budapest for a city break. Lisbon for the best of both worlds.

Each?

£500 each? It'll be a push. £500 both no.

You don't get last minute deals like there used to be.

Not sure why my reply has been hidden unless we are not allowed to name holiday websites??

250- 300 each really FOR TRAVEL/hotel/apartments. I will sort spending money separately. When i say budget I mean budget. That's why I'm looking for suggestions.eg; I've seen flights in sky scanner for 50 each return, one cabin bag each (only going 2 or 3 nights so don't need much) then hotels for 250 for 3 nights. So I think it's possible but it's been that long since I've been anywhere I want advise if this is the way to go or not? How and where have you all booked/been. What did you do when there etc. I used to work with someone who would book 20 flights then find a cheap place to stay, he was constantly abroad and never spent much but always came back with stories of an amazing time. Unfortunately we have lost contact or I would ask them how they do it!

For £500 I'd look around Malaga/Benalmadena. The train is cheap and goes directly from the airport and takes 30 minutes.