Hints & Tips for keeping costs down for holidays out of term time

[MooseyMoo]

My eldest will be starting Reception in Sept 2014 and realised it will be our last year of going on holiday out of school holiday time.

I won't be taking her out of school for holidays and wanted to see what tips people have to keep costs down as much as possible.

start saving now because the jump can be pretty high. have a look at the holiday you are doing this year and compare the price you are paying with the price for the same hol in august. this is the easiest way of doing it as I don't know what your budget is/what you like to do. I always think the bargains are to be had if you book early and go away oct/feb rather than easter or summer this according to others as we have to go in term time.

Thanks mummymeister We're booked to go to bluestone in early March and is £299 in a Dina. Same accommodation is £1.5k mid July

Looks like we will be taking holidays in Feb and Oct and doing day trips in summer holidays!

Before kids I used to book flights and hotels separate and make sure it was a mid week flight that included a weekend as that made the flight cheaper.

Keep an eye out on flights and book them as soon as they come out - usually 11mths beforehand for Easyjet, but depends on airline.

Book accomodation direct through owners, worth asking for a discount, if you feel cheeky.
Go to non typical holiday destinations - we go to Dordogne as we find it too hot most other places in Summer anyway. For UK book privately - all places like Center Parcs etc bump prices up massively - can't imagine who can pay them.

Second rookiemater. Keep an eye on INSET days in September and book that last week in August when everyone else is buying school shoes and getting hair cuts.

Packages such as Mark Warner and the like are so expensive but independent travel - flights and separate accommodation are much cheaper. Do 5 days rather than a week or two and you can have a couple of holidays rather than one big one.
The half term in October is good for places that stay hot like Spain,Greece etc. Places that are really hot especially in Italy that "close" in August are good bets for August if you can stand the heat.
Short city breaks in winter are brilliant when the crowds have gone.
Mostly you just have to go against the flow (no skiing in Feb half term for example) and you'll find good prices.

School isn't compulsory for most of reception so they can't fine you.

Hi
we have yesterday booked last week of summer holidays which is really first week of sept. (saved loads compared to weeks just before) we get back 3 days before school starts so if you're organised it is fine.
Also we often go in May half term as it can be cheaper.

Plus ring round companies to see if they will beat your last quote
(a la MSE) eventually you will get the bottom price- we have saved a lot doing this.

If you can start a holiday account that will help.
Look for special offers- we have just booked a short break v. cheap. Flights sometimes have sales on mid year keep checking.
If city break we look for budget, central accommodation as we will be out most of the time.

ditto inset days - we saved £500ish on flights for our Florida trip going one day earlier because of inset day.

Go to a country where the kids are aleady back at school. We went a couple of times to the Netherlands mid to late August and it was considerably cheaper than July.

Also if a week or less we only take hand lugguage.
A small case fits enough clothes for that time.
We used to come back with a least a suitcase full of unworn clothes and take other stuff we didn't really need.
If we need more stuff say if we're going for longer we just pay for 1 extra case between us.

be aware that October half-term isn't always great in Greece. It won't snow but it can be wet and cool, which doesn't work in holiday accommodation designed for heat.

I agree with last week of hols, seems to be substantially cheaper not sure why

I've been a teacher for 12 years so even before dd I've always had to go out of term time. I'm really interested to hear some of these tips as I haven't ever really managed to save much money

The only thing I've found is that easy jet flights are cheaper if you book the week they are released.

We are going to bluestone in august and it's £1400 a week self catering cheaper than center parcs though!

Lots of great tips - thanks!

My tip is that May Half Term is not a holiday in most of Europe. Prices will be high if you fly, but if you drive to Holland, France etc places will be quieter than other school holidays.

Dutch Center Parcs for example do not make May Half term an expensive week like the British ones do.

My second tip if you want a a short break is to use the week of Easter that is not Easter itself and travel not at a weekend. Those flights tend to be quite good.

Oh yes I'm so jealous - we're in Scotland so we don't get the May half term, I imagine the weather would be just right in loads of places where it is far too hot in summer.

Ooh, thanks suttonmum1

That reminds me that we took Ds to Phantasiland in Germany in October half term and found we had just missed the German half term so nice and quiet. Brilliant park/rides and amazing themed hotel. Even with the travel over it was still cheaper than a weekend in Chessington Adventures with a hotel. Bonkers.

We are doing long weekends this summer by the nearest bit if coast

Second the Dutch CPs and also www.Landal.com - you can get some excellent bargains and if you register on the website they will send emails when the promos are on. Same goes for Easyjet/Ryanair and Premier Inns. Booking.com also does a lot of special offers. You can use Tesco points on the Eurotunnel. Companies like Canvas/Eurocamp have the best offers if you book WELL in advance. We saved about 25% on 2 weeks in France this year by booking last year. www.duinrell.com is also fun for little ones. French gites can also work out much cheaper than mobile homes. It is also worth looking at direct booking prices with campsites - can be much cheaper but you don't obviously get access to the English run kids clubs etc.

Great tips Portofino thanks for sharing. I remember my parents used to book 3 weeks in France and booked direct through a French gite company. Last day of school we would 'break up' for school holidays and then drive down to Portsmouth and get overnight ferry to St Malo and drive couple of hours to gite on a farm. Lots of lovely holidays spent there

I really wish we had a Tesco near us