How do you find an affordable holiday in the summer holidays?

[mancmum]

For the first time ever, I am stumped on holidays this year guess it is first time we are limited by having to go during school holidays... we have looked at keycamp but driving is a bit offputting... but all the other options reasonable hotel or room somewhere suitable for the kids seem to cost ££££££ so does any one have any ideas where to look for a summer holiday .. 1/2 board or SC.... near a decent beach... that is not going to cost me over £5?

Mark Warner best quote from them was £7K for 2 weeks WTF!!!!

Would appreciate any advice from anyone who manages to go on holidays with kids and does not lose their house to achieve it!

that is £5K -- obviously not expecting 2 weeks hols for 4 for a fiver....

BLOODY HELL! £5K...forget it!

Just booked a simply travel holiday for 2 weeks (may admittedly) with free car hire for 2 weeks, self catering apartment, creche for 2 weeks for 3 people £1300.

yes we got to just below £4 k for the 5 of us in shcool hols

Mancmum....you can fly drive and do things like Eurocamp....it racks up the cost but still mus=ch lower price than £5000

And can I just say £808 for the 4 of us in France in the summer hols, two sites and two days in Disney for that price! Camping rocks!

if you want to fly somewhere sunny from Manchester there are loads of cheap flights even in school holidays if you hunt around on the web a bit. and then you can book accomodation separately. for example we flew (2 adults 2 children and baby) from Manchester to Murcia last Easter holidays for £6 each one way and £60 each back for the Easter fortnight. with Jet2.

A couple of years ago we flew to Barcelona for about £130 each for the second half of July, school holidays again. that was Easyjet.

then for accomodation you can really choose at any price level but look for local sources in the country you're going to for the best deals.

\link{http://www.keycamp.co.uk/cfm/Travel/UKFlights.cfm?ver=2&intTravelMenuID=1\ info here on fly drive with key camp}

i woudlnt dot he " gettting a flight " thing a sn seing hwo it goes
too unpredicatbale wiht three kids adn also you may not find anwyhere nice - haev toa lls l;eep in one room etc etc

Britanny ferries do lovely gite holidays that arent ridiculously expensive, caan even hire luxury places with pool if you want to spend a little more.

\link{http://skyscanner.net\skyscanner} good for cheap flights

Sorry its come up in Spanish but you can change the language.

try \link{http://www.venueholidays.co.uk/UK/index.htm\venue holidays} not the breadth of choice of keycamp et al, but the sites they are on are the same sites as keycamp etc

la palmyre is nice on htat site

and you can fly drive from Nantes

haw he haw
took us 7 hours to drive that far last year

driving is part of the holiday - an experience i think. and you dont have to go to southern france

hmm we ofudn the driev wearing last year
so are flying to greece instyead

the first year it wasnt so bad somehow - over night ferry methinks

would it be cheaper if you had a last minute cancellation, or does it not work like that?

we break the drive on the way down and back. Drive 4 hours to tunnel, hour on tunnel, 4 hours in France to Normandy. Stop for te night. Second day , leasurly start 4 hour drive, stop for picnic lunch somewhere nice, arrive in pleanty of time to do a shop, put up tent etc.

I give dh the choice of a longer ferry crossing to cean or st malo, but we are all dreadful sailors so we stick with the tunnel

we stop
\link{http://www.bandbnormandie.com/pages/1/index.htm\here} a very nice farm b and b. The kids love it and the ownder plys you with their own cider!

hi mancmum

we have always booked our holidays independantly.One website we have used is www.security travel.com. You can book hotels and flights through them.This nearly always works out cheaper than booking through tour operators.Also some hotels we have stayed at, we then have booked directly with the hotel which we found works out cheaper.This year we are going back to Greece and staying at the oceania club.website is www.oceania.gr . by booking through the hotel website and flights through BA we saved over 600 pounds compared to brochure price. Also have a look at sani resort I think website is www.saniresort.gr The beaches beside the hotels are lovely.

if you can do without the stop over and the flights you can have a good 2 week holiday for under £600 depending on the site. as MB says i think its better to splash out on the eurotunnel rather than sailing with kids for hours and hours. also bare in mind cabins will cost you more on a sail

\link{http://www.venueholidays.co.uk/UK/France/Guilvinec/Guilvinec.htm\here}

17/6 in a eurotent - already set up with cooker fridge beds etc £540 for ten days - but there is a 14 for the rpice of ten days offer

this includes a ferry crossing - however i would pay extra for eurotunnel

never been to that partic site though .

thats PER TENT not per person. - its your whole hol

we never do package holidays - it's too expensive with three children and we don't want to be in a hotel room anyway.
This year we're going to the Costa de la Luz for the fourth time, same place as usual but different house - a 5 bed with a big private garden and it's own swimming pool, 50 yards from a stunning beach, and it's costing 2.5K for five people including flights. Ok, it's during Easter, but that is still considered high season and it won't be much more during the summer.
Personally I think booking your own flights and a rental property is the best thing (if SC is for you) and works out so much cheaper. And you end up with much more space to yourself.