Cheap holiday involving a plane in school summer holidays, possible?

[FoofFoof]

OK, so DS, 11, really wants to go on a plane and really wants a holiday abroad as he hasn't done either of those things. We have to go in the school holidays. We have to book well in advance. We would not want to be anywhere massively touristy (we go to the quiet bits of the UK) or ridiculously hot. We do not want to be in a tent or caravan. Being nearish to the coast is essential in the UK but we may need to trade that for being abroad. We spend £700 for holiday cottage hire in the UK plus approximately another £300 on travel, food, activities etc and budget is not going to be bigger.
Does any such holiday exist?

Thank you.
Like the tip about timing, both in the holiday and the day of the flight. Had never thought about Poland, interesting. Had assumed Sweden was expensive?
Definitely do not want Spain. Personally anything over 20 degrees is too hot!

Have you considered Brittany?

Could you still have your Summer holiday in the U.K. but plan a long weekend in Dublin so that DS can go on a plane? If you book ahead you should get cheap-ish flights and a hotel.

Even better if you can take advantage of an unusual inset day you could get an extra night.

Sweden is very expensive.

Try Biarritz- easy jet flight. Lovely beaches and nice town.

Naples is another reasonable place with heaps to do and day at beach possible. Lots of cheap pizza and a trip to Herculaneum an circumvesuviana.

Lego, that's an idea, I'd really like to go to Dublin. Won't wash with DS though as that isn't 'properly' abroad (I know, I know, but I see what he means). But we could substitute Copenhagen or Amsterdam or something.

Foof Is he into any sports? We are looking for a weekend to fly to France to watch one of the rugby teams as his birthday present - Toulon, Perpignan, La Rochelle etc. It doesn't really matter what the game is (it won't be a top-flight match) but he'll just love the experience.

Accommodation in Amsterdam and cope are very expensive and there are no beaches

Poland is cheap. Lovely beach resort of Sopot is just a few miles from Gdansk. It does get very hot in the summer months though.

Sweden might be expensive or not depending on what you do. I like it but I'm a bit biased.

You could go island hopping and stay at hostels. Search for "vaxholmsbolaget island hopping map" and you'll land on the page, divide the prices with approximately the factor 10. You can stay at hostels but there are other options as well, renting a log cabin, stay at hotels, and what not. Don't go later than August 15.

Otherwise I'd suggest Mallorca...

I recall going abroad for the first time at age 10. It was exciting. We went touring by ferryboat to Åland in Finland, nothing really, I bought a dictionary. First time abroad. (It'd be like crossing the channel and back.)

I bet it would be even cheaper, although I dont know much about Polish beaches, I believe they do have them
Of course they have them! Sopot is a lovely it is near Gdynia and Gdansk. Stodgier beach is good as well.
Poland is a great place for kids.

Crosspost with scrabble about Sopot.
There are loads of other beaches that are less popular but lovely.

You can get to the coast from Amsterdam easily and rent a place on the coast. We were in the Netherlands at the end of August this year and I was surprised how warm the sea was. Sea was a bit murky (algal bloom?) but the sand was golden and soft.

We were at Duinrell which we enjoyed but busy and very Eurocamp (we were in our own tent). Last week of August was mainly Brits as the Dutch and Germans were heading back for start of term.

Have a look at the two centres in Normandy here

Food/accommodation/activities are included. They will do transfers to/from the airport at Dinard (for a fee).

Scilly Isles are hellishy expensive, channel Islands not cheap either.

It's a tall order I think. In my experience the best way is to go into skyscanner and type Uk to whichever destination you fancy and then select whole month of August. You'll get the cheapest flights. I've just found you flights to Amsterdam for £200 for all three of you from London and then a quick search on homeaway found this nice house. www.homeaway.co.uk/p2040360
You'd have to get there though...hire a car or public transport... and then your spends....so I do think it's a bit tight.
Not all of the flights for next summer are out yet...easyJet are next week....Flybe is soon hopefully....but the one that are out are more expensive than usual I think. Holiday houses are already getting booked up. We booked ours for France last week and got the last week they had available in the summer hols...
Good luck.
Ps I wonder what flights to Spain would be like in May half term...there are usually good flights to Malaga available and some gorgeous places to visit, nice beach towns like estepona, nice hill towns like Ronda....or Barcelona like someone said before....some gorgeous little coves and towns around girona too....Defo worth a look.

Dublin is cheap to fly to, but super expensive to stay in, unless you want a dormitory in a cheap hostel. I looked into it. Same with amsterdam. Then youve got other places that are expensive to get to, but cheap when youre there. If you want somewhere thats cheap to get to and cheap accom and yet still interesting then thats much harder

Easyjet have some really cheap tickets on the Gatwick / Milan Linate route. If you book early you can pick up some bargains. You could visit the Lakes and tour the area, we hired a car and an cheap apartment and stayed near Lake Garda, lots of options.
Our apartment was under £500 per week, we could have found cheaper but wanted a large pool and a view! A small hire car would cost about £90 week if you shop around and book early.
This is where we stayed, www.housetrip.com/search-properties/toscolano-maderno/602121-7277006/

We are currently staying in between Gdansk and Sopot at the golden tulip hotel - would thoroughly recommend it! Great sandy beaches, brilliant cycle routes to explore the rest of the 'Tricity', loads of museums if you are into that in Gydnia and Gdansk but also Aquapark about 4km away. We flew from Aberdeen which is notoriously expensive yet only cost us £150 each return then price for hotel was £500 for week. Not sure how much would be during peak season. Gdansk is a v interesting city too, food so far is fab and I really think that Poland is very underrated as a holiday destination - we went to Warsaw earlier this year too!

We flew to the Med during may half term and halved the cost of the flights by travelling via Amsterdam. The connection was a bit of a pita, but if the flight is part of the interest it might be worth considering. It also allowed us to start from a regional uk airport so cheaper parking and less driving needed.

May half term is generally not a long holiday for the rest of Europe so prices are more reasonable.

Go to a "business" airport like Geneva/ Milan that doesn't have peak prices in summer and then spend the holiday in the Alps where it is low season so can get some good deals on accommodation. Some of the village resorts have lakes/ outdoor swimming pools, there's great hiking and loads of other activities too.

Slovenia (Kranska Gora in August is beautiful)
Croatia (fly into Split on easyjet)

basically avoid sandy beaches and you'll be fine

ski resorts in the summer are often a good bet