How do people afford good holidays

[Penguinbiscuitsarenowtiny]

Just researching about a treat holiday/trip for my 50th in a few years time…Hawaii and California, obviously was expecting it to be several thousand as a special trip.
Chat gpt predicts between £15-26 K for two adults & one child

😳

How on earth do people do this?

Was it always this much?

Ive been to Australia, New York, India etc, none of them were anywhere near this price!

Why are you asking chat gpt. Ask Trailfinders. I’m sure you can do it less than that. It’s like anything, price difference will be huge depending on flights, dates, hotel quality, board etc. get what you want priced up before panicking

Because they have more money. Not everyone is struggling

Have well paid jobs.

If you ask ChatShit that's exactly what it will give you

I find it baffling that so many people seem to be able to tbh!

I earn well and I can’t afford it.

But then not every one is a single parent or lives in London so that would explain it.

Ditch Hawaii and you’ll get it down to a much more manageable fee. We did that with 2 dc travelling around we chose a couple of nice hotels (particularly in Vegas) some cheap motel kinda places where we were only going to be a night en route. I looked at adding Hawaii both times we did the trip and it became unmanageable

I am sure there are lots of hacks and websites where you can find cheap flights, accommodation, transfers etc, and bring the cost down this way, OP, however I completely agree with your sentiment.

For those saying "earn more money" - we are a household that earns 6 figures a year between us, however with mortgage, childcare, student loan, pension and a plethora of other costs (and getting taxed out of the wazoo), we are only able to save about £1500 per year for holidays, which doesn't get you very far with 2 adults and 2 kids.

a Californian colleague mentioned to me that going to Hawaii from there had got a lot more expensive in the last few years.

but YABU to expect a trip to an island on the other side of the world to not cost a lot.

How do they afford it? Who knows?! This question gets asked daily on here. Some people earn more. Some people earn less but save well. Some people get inheritance they tell no one about. Some people have parents who pay for family holidays. Some people whack it on a credit card. For some people 15k is fuck all. For others it’s life changing.

No, holidays didn’t used to be anywhere near as expensive. A nice hotel in Portugal for 2 adults, 2 kids under 6 in the school holidays is £6750. It’s a nice hotel but not exceptional.

Holidays are just extortionate.

Umm... no, did California recently for £7k.

Do more research. Chatgp is useless.

I usually book my own hols, no agency. Flights booked direct with airline - look at different dates/airports etc as fares can vary substantially. Reseach destinations-look at areas/hotels/board type etc. you can get pretty good deals if you look hard enough and are flexible

Not been personally but I know a couple who went to hawaii, said it was very commercial, touristy and underwhelming.

How on earth do people do this?

What people do you know @Penguinbiscuitsarenowtiny who do Hawaii AND California?

Trust me, if you break it down a bit, you'll see that doing both is the cost issue. Just because they're geographically in the same quadrant so to speak, doesn't make it 'cheaper'

YABU

Booking flights separately and airbnbs might work out better. Have a look at various options like a return to Hawaii from California.
You can do it cheaper but you have to spend time researching options.

I afford it because im single and childless.

That seems like a horrendous amount.
We travel to USA a lot and always DIY.
Flights - look at indirect, odd number of days and outside school hols.
Hotels - husband travels for business so we often stay on points. Or look at vrbo.
California and Hawaii is 2 holidays, pick one.
We haven’t done Hawaii yet but were looking at Hawaii cruises eg from Vancouver. At certain times of year were decent prices.

I can afford it because I live in the north, didn’t have kids, bought a cheap house with low mortgage and earn enough to go.

3 people from London to Hawaii via Los Angeles in August this year is £750 each, so 2250 on flights. Then you still have 20k for hotels car etc

We afford it because we are high earners, we don't have children, we don't have a mortgage, we don't have an extravagant lifestyle. It's not rocket science, some people have more money than you.

So you just believe chat GPT?!

The world is truly doomed.

Work out what you actually want to do, then split it down into separate elements. California can vary wildly and it can be cheaper to fly to particular regional airports and then drive or rail to where you want to be: this year instead of flying into San Fran and then Reno for Burning Man, we’re flying into Salt Lake City, hiring a truck, and driving in - works out half the price and I’m really looking forward to seeing more of Utah and Nevada on the way. Hawaii is expensive, but it all depends on what sort of accommodation you’re looking for.

People either afford it by having lots of money to play with, or they afford it by getting more creative with how they spend it. We’re in the middle of the two, and it’s a fun place to be.

ChatGpt can be useful for some things but I wouldn't rely on it for holiday quotes.

Have a look on Skyscanner for flight prices for the time of year you want to go and look at hotels on booking.com etc. I'm not saying book them through those sites, but it will give you a rough idea.

You can use Viator to price up excursions you want to do.

Hawaii and California is not going to be cheap but I am sure you can do it for less than suggested, assuming you aren't looking for high-end luxury or business class flights etc.

I saw an advert last month for trip to Vegas, LA and Hawaii for just over £2000pp.

First post nails it.

We have been to New Zealand this year with Trailfinders and have booked with them to go to China next year. Neither one came in at £15k (not quite) and the two together less than £26k.

We DIY'd to NYC and Boston last year and it cost about £5k for both of us.

Depends how you want to do the trip. Can probably shoestring it for under 12k all in - several thousand was a pipedream though! Did chatgpt give you a breakdown?

Cali/Hawaii is a very expensive combo in the first place - in my head it’s less ‘good holiday’ and more ‘trip of a lifetime/for the wealthy’. I go to California a few times a year for work and every time I go, I’m reminded of why I’d never go back for anything except work - I love it but it’s INCREDIBLY expensive. With business class flights/decent hotel/local transport and food my company pays an average of 10k each time I go for a week on my own.

First you research high/low/shoulder season and pretend to book each one through a few different providers and then find the most affordable compromise you're prepared to determine your dates. Decide how long you're prepared to work for it.

Get a credit card amd make sure you pay it off fully each month and earn airmiles and use them.

Then when you have a baseline price, wait for a sale.

We're doing Universal Studios for a week in October half term, with 2 days of fast passes, for approx 1.5k per person (Inc hotels, airport parking, estas, insurance etc.)