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.

Expedia has some good deals

can highly recommend Budapest although it’s a bit longer than 2 hours (not much)

I like love holidays- others don't. have booked loads of holidays through them and never any issues. you put in your budget your airport and dates and it will list every thing that is avaliable we have found good last minute holidays that way

We did Krakow on that budget in November last year for three nights. In a 5 star hotel room only. Cheapest hit place will probably be Benidorm or Palma Majorca. Put your deets into skyscanner or lm.com and see what comes up

Trip. Com does incredibly cheap flights and could book accommodation separately to make it cheaper?

For those criteria, maybe Cologne?

1hr35 flight, £44 each Ryanair on your dates and a 15 min taxi/train from the airport into the City Centre.

Could do one of the cheapish brewhouse walking tours and then plenty to see in terms of museums, Cathedral etc.

Do you need to know where you are going? If you google mystery holiday, you can get ones for £99. Wowcher are a big provider, but others exist. You can specify short haul. You get allocated things that haven't sold at the last minute.

How about Salou. Ryanair flights to Reus airport are quite cheap, transfers take about 20 minutes to resort and bus can be less than €5 each way. Hotels are cheap, the hotel we stayed in cost less than €100 per night at peak time.

You can travel easily to Barcelona for a day trip for more culture.

For 3 days you can just take a small bag if you’re going somewhere warm to save baggage costs.

Not sure why my post has been hidden

Budapest is lovely and good deals on Expedia

Gdansk

if he's a bad traveller do you really want to surprise him with an overseas trip?

To be honest, on that budget and with all the stress I would choose somewhere nice in the UK to ease yourself in.....nothing from your posts indicates that a foreign trip on that budget with your circumstances would be relaxing....especially if you place so much value and expectation on it

Definitely do-able, for that budget, look at on the beach and sort from lower price. Just wanted to give you a heads up though that some budget airlines have changed their carry on bags policies recently, so you have to pay for overhead storage bags now and the only free hand luggage is supposed to go under the seat. I haven’t flown since they brought this is, so I don’t know how strict it is, but I think it’s just another way to make money from people who travel light and don’t book hold luggage. Some packages will include hold luggage still though (easyJet holiday, jet2).

Skyscanner to anywhere brings up cheap flights, to say Italy.
Cheeky trip had good search engines.

If he’s a poor flier - just skip over the seat bookings and take your chance to sit separately.

Nice quiet flight!

Salou is 2 hour flight land at Reus airport and a bus ride to the sea front - try Cambrills for hotels under £50 a night all inclusive - or go haf board - drinks are really cheap and lots of supermarkets.

Athens! I went recently and it was cheap, beautiful, interesting and friendly. Plus the food was unreal. It was also very arty and some areas had a trendy vibe to it.

Go to Malaga.

Cheap flights, it's a great little city & has a beach. Bus or train from airport, easy.

No need to do all inclusive.

Try this website ! I went to Spain with a friend in May for £265 all inclusive. We had breakfast in the hotel and drinks in the evening but ate out mostly as the food wasn’t great. The £265 was for hotel, flights and transfers from Belfast to Girona. We stayed in a little coastal town about 45 mins north of Barcelona and went to Barcelona one of the days for £25 return on the bus. Hotel was very basic but it was clean and we were mostly out and about anyway so didn’t care.

Forgot the link
www.loveholidays.com/holidays/?destinationIds=918%2C920&mrIds=293259&departureAirports=MAN&nights=3&rooms=2&flexibility=0&sort=PRICE_LOW_TO_HIGH&f.boardBasis=BB&clickref=1011lzxLDNYI&app_clickref=1011lzxLDNYI&ch=afi&WT.mc_id=apz-cheapdealsaway&pzc=1101l6027

can you get onto groupon and get a "surprise deal". you can go abroad for 90 quid each on these?

but you dont actually know where your going until you get to the airport!

The uk can be cheap - see haven and butlins midweek breaks - not amazing but for a cheapy might work?

just over £300 for two of you for three nights tue to fr

Thank you every one. Lots to think about. Found what i thinknis a good deal. Tillé in france £50 each return. £300 for quaint little ;B&b forest on one side, city on the other about a mile from the airport. Can't book until I've received passport (only applied 10 days ago and I know it's a busy time of year I suppose) so hope fully the deal will still be there.

Cheap holiday in Dublin 🤣🤣🤣