What's a sensible budget for a family beach holiday?

[NoParking]

I've never taken the kids abroad, and now they're finally old enough to notice that everyone at school has been on a plane and they haven't. So, I'm planning on saving up for a week abroad next summer. I'll be looking for short haul, nice swimming beach and pool and either a little apartment or connecting rooms (they're 6 and 4). I really don't want to drive abroad, either, if I can avoid it.

I've had a look but I don't know where to start, and everything looks so expensive. What would be a reasonable budget for this type of holiday (2 adults, 2 kids, beach, school summer holidays)?

My tip if you're trying to save money is avoid travelling on Fridays and Saturdays! We've booked a villa in Majorca for the summer, and because we booked with the owner (via Owners Direct) we were able to negotiate 10 days Thursday to Sunday. The flights were less than two thirds the price of Saturday flights.

I'm surprised how much people are saying you'll spend once you're out there, but I guess it depends mainly how much you plan to eat out. In a 10 day trip, I'm expecting to eat breakfast and lunch mainly at the house or picnics (maybe a couple of cheap cafe lunches), then eat out in the evening maybe three or four times. But I love cooking, so not a hardship to eat in. And activities will be mainly pool and beach (free), walking (free) and a few visits to caves/churches/museums/gardens/etc (not too expensive). Plus ice creams, obviously! Would hope to get away with five or six hundred?