First holiday with friend...

[LollipopViolet]

Right, I am officially, going away in October!!!!

Going with a friend who I've known close to 6 years, really nice girl, i trust her completely, sensible etc etc etc.

We're both 21, but we have several problems:
We've never been away alone before
We can't decide where to go
We've got about £190 to spend on the holiday itself, plus spending money obviously.
We have no idea about talking to travel agents - will they see ££££ when two girls walk in or are they generally good at finding the holiday that will fit best, so to speak?

We don't mind self catering, want some nightlife, and would love to be near a beach. I'm thinking Spain somewhere? Or possibly Malta, there's been some good prices I've found online.

Or is it worth waiting til September to book a late deal? Only problem there is neither of us drive so we're wanting either Manchester or East Midlands Airport as they're closest to us. Do they tend to come up in late offers?

Oh and are airport lounges any good? I'm seriously thinking of treating us, but don't know if it's just a waste of time/money.

£190 really isn't much at all for a foreign holiday, are you hoping to go for a week or a long weekend? bear in mind the prices you see on tv/websites often are low because it's a 11pm flight from Gatwick (e.g. inconvenient time at one specific airport) and there are hidden extras, like transfers. I wouldn't worry about travel agents ripping you off when seeing two girls walk in, if you say how much you have to spend they will look for roughly that price range. I think with your low budget, I would definitely want to go in September (cheaper outside school holidays) and would look for a late deal. Manchester is a bigger airport so more likely to come up in a late offer than East Midlands.

ooops just realised you were planning to go in October anyway. Yes October should be even cheaper than September, (except school half term week!)

Thanks Chaos, that's really helpful!

I think we'll have a look around when my friend gets paid, and then if we don't find anything within budget, we'll keep an eye on the late deals to make sure Manchester does come up! Doing Gatwick or Heathrow wouldn't be impossible to be fair, I've got family down south who've always said if I needed a place to stay in situations like that, I could ring them up.

We'll see after the 25th :) We're looking at a week, and as I say, I have found some holidays in budget, so just a case of checking things out and going from there I think.

About your question about the airport, I guess East Midlands offers some late discounts. Plus when I visited the place myself, I found the lounge pretty decent. If you have a lot of time to kill at the airport, I recommend you check out this guide, some quite useful info there. Enjoy!
www.east-midlands-airport.co.uk/

I'd be inclined to save the money not using the airport lounge and treat yourselves on holiday instead.

Right, thought I'd update you all.

We're going to Cyprus!

Through the amazing generosity of a cousin who has a holiday apartment in Paphos, we've managed to get a week's self catering (flights and apartment) for approx £275 each. It's probably more expensive than with a travel agent but my cousin is making some other arrangements for us as well (a friend of the family lives in the same complex, I think, and is going to meet us, show us round and generally be a friendly face), so we've taken him up on the offer.

Now all I've got to do is figure out how to inform Easyjet of my eyesight (I'm registered visually impaired but don't need assistance), as they've said even if you don't need help, those with a visual impairment need to inform them no later the 48 hours prior to the flight.

Also thanks for info re: lounges, think we'll save money and indulge while we're on holiday :)