To think that I could find a nice holiday on a tight budget?!

[Teddypear]

Just wondering if anyone might have any ideas.

I separated over a year ago from exDH. We have three teen dc and it's been a difficult time for us all.

I really want to give the dc a nice summer holiday this year if I can. The trouble is, money is tight. I have a budget of around £1500. This would be to include everything - travel, accommodation, food. One of the dc won't be coming as they are working, so it would be me and 2 dc. I have a few weeks off work in the summer as I do contract work, so time is not an issue.

I don't think I can afford a holiday cottage in the UK. We could do camping or a caravan, but one of my dc is autistic and hates being in cramped accommodation. We would all be fine with any standard of accommodation, it could be very basic, but would probably need for it to be a bit spacious.

I went backpacking in Asia years ago, and you can get some very pleasant cheap accommodation and food there, but the flights seem quite expensive.

Flights, food and accommodation in Europe are expensive.

I'm probably looking for the holy grail here, but just wondered if anyone had any ideas that I hadn't thought of!

Plymouth- Roscoff would be about £500- 800 return in the summer holidays (Brittany Ferries have a monopoly 😬). They do do deals where you can go for a 5 night trip for much cheaper, but I don't know if they do them over the school holidays.

How would your autistic DC be with their own personal tent OP?

@ClareBlue the Baltic states is another good idea that I wouldn't have thought of! Re activities - we would ideally like somewhere quiet near a beach if possible, and/or culture and history.

We're all just living our holiday wishes through you. Happens every year when someone asks about holiday ideas. We all suggest holidays for you but we are really dreaming of holidays for ourselves😁

You can still get reasonablely cheap fares to Italy, Spain etc if you are flexible with your days.
We've booked 9 days in a small town in Spain. Our original plan was 6 days but the return flight was way cheaper 3 days later, and the accommodation only a little bit more for the extra days.

It did take hours of searching and putting in flight dates until I hit on the sweet spot for length of time and cheap flights.

We plan on mainly self catering, just as we would if we were home anyway, and food is cheaper there anyway so another bonus.

Another option could be Interrail passes, and leave the country with Eurostar. A 4 day pass is about £220 for an adult and £180 for a "youth", plus unfortunately you have to pay a supplement for Eurostar on top of that- 180 euros return for the 3 of you. (And a lesser supplement for high speed trains in some countries).

That could be enough to take you to the S.of France and back, or a lake in Austria, somewhere picturesque in Germany etc etc....somewhere with reasonable accommodation costs. It gives you the possibility of interesting stopovers if that would suit, or if you don't use all your days getting there and back you could use them for a day trip.

@crackofdoom that does sound quite expensive for a ferry crossing, but yes like all other travel options, the prices are always bumped up in the holidays 😬

Re my autistic ds, I think he could be ok with his own personal tent, but it would have to be probably a 4 person one where he could stand up/ move around in it. I know he definitely would not cope with one of those one person ones where you have to crawl into it!

Look at Palanga on the Baltic coast in Lithuania. Went last year and going again in September. You can fly direct from Stansted or fly to Kaunas which is a great city and get the train across. Trains in Lithuania are good and cheap.

We’ve driven to France and done campsite holidays with that budget.

For flights and apartments or hotels, we’ve always paid about double that

Flight for how many people? If that’s person then it would come to £1500 and she would still need to pay or food and travel insurance plus additional cost of travelling in the summer.

@ClareBlue Lithuania sounds lovely. Did you go in the summer, if so, what is the weather like?

Yeah, to be honest I'm not fond of the tiny coffin like ones either!

Well, if you can acquire enough tentage for the three of you you could find a cheaper channel crossing (problem is the Calais area is notably not very picturesque so you might have to drive a bit further). Or have a play with the Brittany Ferries website to see if you can find the cheapest crossings.

I'm very fond of the Loire Valley as an area with something for everyone. You can find some great value campsites, and the good thing for you is that the quieter ones without evening entertainment, water parks full of screeching kids etc are often much cheaper.

A couple of my favourites are Le Milin Kerhe in Brittany and Camping Intercommunale de Chinon in the Loire Valley. They both come in at about 20- 30 euros a night.

Flights to and from Gatwick to Milan Malpensa with EasyJet 6-14th August are £216 for an adult and 2 teens.

Hotel Orchidia in Strasa on Lake Maggiore (30 min drive or 1hr on public transport) is coming in at £580 for 8 nights. You could cut a night or two and save there.

Beautiful quiet town, restaurants and lake activities nearby. Mountains. Nice towns to explore if you wish. You can eat and drink very cheaply in Italy. Gelato will be around €2, Pizza €6-9, half carafe wine €3.50, pasta dishes from €9

If you can hire a car great, if not public transport around the lakes is fine and is excellent in Milan itself.

It's warm at beginning of September when we go and hot but not mad hot in July and August. Have been loads of times as we get cheap flights from Shannon to Kaunas at around 80 Euro return and Shannon airport is only 40 minutes away from us and takes 10 minutes through security. It's a euro from airport to city on the bus. Was there a week in March and it snowed. Winters are cold.

@Countryqueen thanks. Just had a look at the hotel, it looks lovely!

I really appreciate all the ideas everyone - thanks so much. I need to look into all the options, but I feel much more hopeful now that I'll be able to give the dc a lovely holiday this year.

That should read Stresa. Another option is same dates, flights return to Pisa £311, Pisa camping village £600 for the week. Added bonus of being a short bus ride away from the airport and walking distance to Pisa Centrale for trains to Lucca and Florence and walking distance to the leaning tower

You can get a holiday flat for that in the uk for sure. Prob not Cornwall but maybe Suffolk or Kent? Go inland a little and drive to beaches?

Fly to Tirana and stay in durres. Absolutely stunning and cheap as chips when there

Not sure if this rec is based on experience or just availability. We've done Pisa as a couple pre children and as a family with children 10 upwards and it wouldn't be on our list of recommendations. Pisa is expensive and was having some serious issues with crime and drugs the last time we were there. Maybe just our perception, and maybe it's better now. That was 4 years ago.

@flowersandmaterials I think you will struggle with flights at that unless you take no luggage whatsoever - or possibly cram everyone’s luggage in 1 hold case only - the budget airlines have got very crafty at this and are routinely adding £75 to what looks like a cheap basic price if you want to take so much as a cabin bag - I was looking for a friend in a similar situation and found flights to everywhere even going at shit times and just with a cabin bag each we’re coming in around £700 minimum return for all in July and august

Why are you discounting the UK?

You can get a cheap holiday in the UK, some of these options suggested look great on paper but once you add on all the little extras that going abroad incurs it wont be cheap

Where in the UK would you want if you stayed here?

@ClareBlueI found Pisa relatively cheap and noticed no drugs! I hate the stench of weed that you find in most UK cities but Italy was not blighted with it just yet. The menu of the day was €12.50 and half carafe of wine €3.50 2 years ago in pretty much every town centre restaurant we ate at. Ciabatta and a coffee at a nice cafe €8.

And get the overnight ferry to Ancona and fly back to Stansted. The ferry journey is stunning with the clear sky and huge moon.
31 Euro Ancona to Stansted on 24th July with Ryanair.

The prices I’ve given are hand luggage only but it’s perfectly doable. Amazon have a decent range of perfectly sized bags, even Primark do them now. Or add one hold case (total cost less than £100). Not worth the expense and hassle of dragging it about in my opinion.

The UK is extremely expensive to eat out and the weather questionable. Beautiful, but only on a sunny day!

It's strange how we remember and perceive things differently. A now adult son who has been to nearly every European Country said that Pisa and Frankfurt and Belgrade are the 3 cities he wouldn't bother going back to or recommend anyone to go to. A daughter who lived in Berlin thinks Frankfurt is great but agrees about Pisa. I'm with him on Belgrade even though it was inexpensive for an Irish wage. I suppose it's about finding out for yourself.

Ive just checked on airbnb, for entire properties (so not a room in someones house), for w/c 26th July, for the whole of England for a week, one adult 2 kids, free parking included, 2 bedrooms and there are over 1000 options which are no more than £700, I filted by price.