What's the cheapest holiday you've ever had? (out of pure nosiness...)

[Tamz77]

Just a curious question...

I'm turning thirty this year - aaargh - and have never been anywhere before so am treating myself to some travelling, one blow out trip alone with ds to Orlando, and one super-budget trip to Italy with ds and his dad - my ex!

Have seen so many prices for the same holidays, was wondering what kind of bargains everybody else has managed to find in the past, or comp prizes, or freebies.

I did a Sun holiday last year so only thirty quid or so but it was so awful we checked out early and came home: horrible site, bad service, terrible weather, and to top it all - the pool was freezing. So not such a bargain after all.

We went to a Haven caravan place once when dd was tiny. £90 for 3 of us in a caravan for one week. It was hell. Noisy neighbours, dd would only sleep in our bed, it was boiling hot and the caravan felt like a sardine can, I could go on and on. Never ever again.

Cheapest hol apart from the sun hols was pre-kids! Went to Amsterdam for 2 weeks for about £250! Obviously went down the easyjet route, but didn't go near a travel agents! Looked for hotels online and rang them up directly to book! Maybe see if you can get recommendations of campsites/b+bs/hotels in areas where you'd like to go, and if poss book out of school holiday times?
Or (no experience of this!) you can do a house swap? I'd imagine you'd not really pay for much apart from flights and entertainment. Will watch this thread and see what else comes up!

Went to Portugal when DS1 was tiny, three of us for £330 (including all the daft Scottish flight supps).

Last year stayed in a wooden wig wam, four of us, two nights, less than £50. It was grim.

Last couple of holidays have been to the Murcia area of Spain, cheap flight to Murcia airport and rent an appartment.

£66 for a week on a wonderful campside in Wales, have my own tent and kit. In the middle of the summer holiday, for three of us

Apart from Sun holidays (which have always been fine for us) it would be £200 each for a fortnight in a studio apartment in Portugal with DH, pre-kids.

bliss.

Long ago, when DH and I were Bright Young Things in London, we spent a week camping and surfing in Pembrokeshire.
The campsite was £15 a night, we surfed all day, drank mulled wine by the fire in the evenings, ate chips on the beach in Tenby and drove around with the top of the car down - marvellous.

When we got the next month's bank statements we'd actually saved money by going away as we weren't buying Pret lunches, getting taxis, going clubbing, ordering takeaways, going to restaurants etc.

I think if you go on a holiday that is meant to be cheap (house swap, youth hostelling, cmaping) you'll do better than going on a cut-price version of an expensive (foreign, sunny) holiday.

MrsSpoon did you go to one of the Scottish wigwam sites? I went last summer to the one in Tyndrum just for 2 nights and it was one of my most memorable trips anywhere, ever. Absolutely wonderful. Though we did get superb weather and I imagine the place to be a bit dull if weather was miserable...

Not really a holiday as such but I once booked dp and I a suprise weekend away through last minute.com it was to a four star hotle in Windemere, we had a bottle of champagne and chocolates on our bed waiting for us. Then ordered room service and ate at the different resteraunts on the site charging it to our room. They never ever charged my switchcard for either the room or the meals!!! This was in 1999.

sorry for crap typing and spelling in my last post.

in 1999 i baged £110pp for 2 weeks in june to gumbet turkey,one bed appartment bargin in 2003 bagged 125.00pp for an amazing 1 bed apartment in side

We went to Croatia last summer. We spent 2 weeks in Split. The flights were £40 per person each way (easyjet) and I got an apartment for 44 Euros a night which worked out at around £30.

I still have the Croatian apartment email if you're interested.

Camping at a great campsite (not telling which as want to keep guarded secret) for 10 pounds a night for huge tent.

I was quite interested in Croatia (esp when I saw Ryanair flights for a fiver) but the first hotel I found via Google looked so 'Borat' I got put off

CAT me and I'll pass on the email address. We got an apartment in the old part of the city which was fab, no cars. It was 10 minutes from a shallow sandy beach and near the port where boats to the islands departed.

Borrowed a posh Portuguese villa from a friend of DH's (he would only accept money for the end of week cleaning as it was empty). Flew there on Airmiles...
Blagged our way into the tennis club for free.
Only spent dosh on food/ drink.

Fabulouso.........

Best bargin was £99 each with Esprit for a weeks skiing. Included flights, food and alcohol We booked it on the Thursday and flew on the Sunday.

Also went to Barcelona once for £14 return via sleazyjet. aCCOMADATION COST £10 a night for 2 of us.

£99 each for a week in ibiza inc accomodation, flights and evening meal

Ours was probably a cheap Esprit summer deal, £130 per adult , ds(then 5) about £30 and dd (then under2) free - self drive, all in one room, full board for a week. Booked at fairly short notice via iglu.com for last week of June.

I am the queen of bargain holidays.

Camping with our own tent helps. We can do a week in cornwal for around £100. However We have managed a week in France last summer for £300 ish. Campsite was 200E, ferry was about £50 (used loads oftesco vouchers and even had priority lading for that!!) Hotel on way down £100 (posh night!!)

We have tried the sun type thing but they are hideous

We have done a last min apartment in Corfu for £99 each - in late sept

Skiing for £199 each a few years ago

Centre parcs on a freebie (guess that doesn't count!!)

beat this!!!7 of us four nights haven in wales week before Easter £79. Including cot hire bed linen day passes heating!!!

You know you are depressing someone somewhere who paid more for the same dont you.

We went for a week ski-ing in finish lapland, saw santa, snow mobiles etc.. Cost me £2,500 for me DH and our two sons.

We were talking to another couple who had 3 kids and they said how cheep it was, que suprised look from me, then she said we booked last minuet and it cost us £500 . Ok so they did not have the ski package that pushed mine up by £650 but boy was i fed up.

booked a week in Lisbon in May for £330 for 2 adults and a 3 year old. Thomsonfly flights, cheap hotel from octopustravel.

Sailed down the river Seine into the Arsenal (?sp ) marina in the centre of Paris, drinking champagne in a big fluffy dressing gown at 6 am as we cruised past the eiffel tower.
Cost nothing as parents boat !
Mind you a bit close living on the boat with parents for weeks, but cant complain as no cost !

Tamz77, sorry only just seen this. It was the one in Thornhill. The weather had been fantastic every weekend until we went then it poured with rain the whole three days, so probably more the weather than the holiday, I would imagine it would be fun in the sun.