To holiday in the UK?

[HoneyPie12]

So, first world problems obviously but summer holidays.. we have 3 boys ages 15, 12 and 7 and in 2024 we went on our first ever abroad family holiday. It was bloody lovely - we had the best time. It was a very impulsive decision made 2 weeks before at the travel agents and my equally impulsive husband went from looking online to us sat booking it with a travel agent within a day or 2! I cannot stress how much of a great time it was. We put it on our credit card and then didn't go anywhere in 2025 as we told the children we were still paying off our lovely holiday - they totally understood. It's all paid off now and we are now talking about doing it in 2026. However, while we were chatting, I've just heard myself say out loud - well if our budget is 5k...

5k. For one week. 5 thousand British pounds. I had the best holiday and we had so much fun but 5,000 pounds for one week?! We obviously don't have that spare or we wouldn't have needed to put it on a credit card last time. We have very little savings really and the sensible thing would be to stay home. We could go away somewhere in the UK for half the price I suppose - although not all inclusive and maybe no flipping sunshine!

I guess my question is:

AIBU to book a 5k family holiday in 2026 knowing that 5k is a LOT of money and could potentially be spent on other things?

Or is it a YOLO situation where my lovely husband and amazing kids work hard all year and why shouldn't we just say sod it and book - not many years left where they will be at home and want to spend time with us?!

Would be reckless to suggest you book as we know bugger all about your finances other than… well, you have just cleared a debt

There is a happy medium to be found, you can have great holidays abroad that don't cost £5K! It might not be AI but if you are willing to camp or stay in a holiday let in the UK then why not do that abroad where you can enjoy different cultures, warm seas and more reliable weather?

But nobody is unreasonable for holidaying in hr UK, we have some beautiful parts of the country to explore. It's great to get to know your own country too.

Surely you can get a holiday abroad for elss than that? It all depewhere you want to go and the type of accommodation. I would imagine eurocamp or the canaries in May or October would be cheaper.

Where was your holiday can I ask?

Oh good point. I should edit it to say we rent our house, don't really have debt, pretty comfortable month to month but if something big came up that was more than about 2k it would need to go on a credit card. We have an emergency fund tucked away for dire straights but other than that we just kind of month to month live a nice life - we were very very working class people who have very slowly found ourselves to be managing better than we ever thought we could! 5k is a lot to us though!

I wouldn't go if I had to put it on a credit card. No holiday is worth getting into debt for.

Lanzarote- we went in August school holidays (back end) and all inclusive and it was 4.5k and the best weather, lovely hotel etc! The lady kept saying it was such a steal for that time of year - I'm seeing now it was!!

It all depends on the time of year, the type of holiday and destination. Does the £5k include spending money? Was the previous holiday all inclusive?

I wouldn't get into debt for a holiday but I guess it's just like paying it off in instalments if it's on an interest free credit card. I love holidays and allocate money every month to saving for them but not an amount that impacts our day to day quality of life. It really depends on your circumstances but £5k is a good price for a peak season holiday for 5 of you and all inclusive in a nice hotel

You rent? With any intention to buy?

my focus would be squarely on getting a family home that isn’t vulnerable to the whims of a landlord

We definitely want to go all inclusive if we go away but other than that we are happy with anything- it seems the problem is the amount of children we have..maybe if I left one or 2 at home it would be much cheaper but they all seem to attach to me with cute faces when I'm ready to drop them for some sun! 😄 🤣 x

Against the grain here… if you are living comfortably and can afford it then go for it. Life’s short, the kids will grow and go on holidays themselves soon enough.

what else would you be spending that 5k on? Is there something else you need it for?

We definitely want to go all inclusive if we go away but other than that we are happy with anything- it seems the problem is the amount of children we have..maybe if I left one or 2 at home it would be much cheaper but they all seem to attach to me with cute faces when I'm ready to drop them for some sun! 😄 🤣 x

We go abroad regularly for far less than that but it’s just a different type of holiday. We don’t really care for AI. I don’t think holidaying in the UK is any cheaper particularly if you want the same sort of experience. We regularly go to Europe and what we spend is on a par with holidays we spend in the UK.

Could you have a cheaper holiday this year, and then start saving for a more expensive holiday next year?

Use this budget planner to work out your expenditure and what you can afford.

www.moneysavingexpert.com/banking/budget-planning/

I put every holiday on a credit card, it gives better financial protection. So that point in itself isn’t good advice. If you can’t pay it off in a reasonable time, that’s when it’s problematic.
Don’t spend £5k, put it on a card now and pay it off before you go, giving time to save your spending money too and you won’t return from holiday in debt. I’d say go for it.

Hmm as someone who has never taken my kids abroad yet but contemplating taking money out of savings to do it this year I can see why it's tempting. For us using our savings will mean we won't have much left if something big happened.
To me my issue is whether we can actually repay and recoup the savings.
You have shown you can do that by paying off the credit card previously - maybe you need to reflect on whether that was relatively easy or if you had to go without, and also whether you were paying interest or managed to get a card that was interest free.

I sure do! If we could get a mortgage we would. We can't so we, don't. Everyone has to live somewhere and my landlord is pretty lovely although I have had some horrors in the past. I don't know that not being able to get a mortgage should be punishable by no holidays though x

When did you manage to clear the 2024 holiday debt?

You could go abroad just not in the summer. I dont thinm UK holiday is worth 5k though it easily can cost that.

As I say, it’s what my focus would be in your shoes
but no issue if not yours!

What is it that you liked about the holiday? If it was the weather, then the only way you can guarantee it is to go aboard. But honestly, how you can spend so much on a holiday when you don’t own your own home is mind-blowing to me. The holiday you had and the one you’re planning to have will be over £10k in total. That’s a lot of money!

With three boys of that age, I bet they would love a Eurocamp. Massive outdoor pools, water sports, climbing trails, biking, football pitches, activity clubs. A chalet so everyone has some of their own space. And a fraction of the price.

The 5k was the budget for the all inclusive holiday - so it included everything but spending money. I presume it would be around 4.5k like last year but I wasn't sure I would get that deal again so just rounded up! We wouldn't spend much outside this as we would be AI but yeah would need trip/ice cream money if we went out!

Why don't you just save the same amount that you were paying off your credit card each month, and then book your holiday when you have enough saved (on a credit card for protection), and pay it off at the end of the month, therefore not paying any interest?