Impossible to have a holiday away?

[Cawanaka]

DC dying to go abroad this summer (and so am I).

Is there any way we could afford something for a grand or less? That would be a stretch but think we could just about swing it. Not a city break I don't think as I'd want to eat out lots in a city and we just don't have the cash for it.

DC are 6, 4 and 1. Don't really want to camp but happy to stay in a mobile home kind of thing.

Open to any ideas but ideally not something that requires a lot of driving. That's the only requirement really. Plus sunshine of some description!

Is it at all possible?

I think it maybe just possible if you took the kids out of school a few days early and managed to get an absolute bargain but I think it would be nearer £1500 and that would be camping/lodge are you talking £1000 in total for all food flights days out and accommodation?

Depending on which part of the country you live... but ferry from Dover to calais is pretty cheap... lots of mobile home sites booking direct with the site rather than tour operator also works out cheaper. It also depends on when you go.. as mentioned above going before schools finish would bring costs down further.

I think you may have to drive. You can try Tui and jet2holidays who both offer 1 free child place, meaning you'd only have 1 to pay for given the other is an infant. You'd need to be flexible on dates and location though to get a free child place, i would think self catering would be your best bet too

If your on Facebook look up the sun holidays £9.50/ £15.00 page.

All the codes are on there and they have holiday parks in Europe

Try October half term if Summer hols are over your budget. Agree that Jet2 is a good one to look at.

I managed a week for £1.3k last year during the summer holidays. We flew to a big airport in central Europe - if there are lots of flights going in & out, you get better prices than the smaller airports. Also flew mid-week as the flights were cheaper then, picked up a hire car, which I had pre-booked as soon as I booked the flights, so it was cheap too. Drove for a few hours away from the airport to a cabin/mobile home on a campsite. I booked it privately direct with the campsite - rather than going via one of the big camping firms, who often add their own mark up. We went right at the end of the UK school summer holidays, as by that state many of the European countries have just started back to school, so the campsite had the flexibility to do a mid-week booking and the price dipped down too.

Costs:
Flights - £750
Car - £160
Cabin - £670

We flew BA & stayed in a higher grade cabin, so I could have brought it in cheaper than that.

Thanks for all the advice. Re holiday parks/campsites how on earth do you know if they're ok? There are so many and they all look essentially the same to
Me?

Most of the sites have online reviews on Tripadvisor. My own view is that most mainland European campsites are fairly well run, if not very well run. The French, Germans and Dutch (usually the biggest groups of car number plates you see) are no more likely than we are to put up with crap sites, and may even have higher standards. If you find a site that has translations into those languages and looks decent - you'll probably be ok.

Have you all got passports? That can add to the cost

Can your parents or your partners parents go with you?
Last year we went with oh’s parents.we booked for our dd to go with us and ds to go with oh’s parents via Thomson website,so we got a free child space for both the kids.i think your 1yo will go free anyway.
We paid a little over £1000 for a weeks all inclusive in Ibiza.

Any recommendations?

take them in the May/june week. Its much cheaper, and weather is starting to heat up all over europe. Take a look at eurocamp and canvas holidays maybe

Duinrell is good. Huge park and free 2 hours in their pool if you book with them. Or eurocamp have vans their. You can also take your own tent!

You can buy all your shopping in the local town's supermarket rather than using the onsite shop to save more money. The town is 400 yards away. It's called Wassanaar I think.

Hiya. If you book it all separately it can work out cheaper. The yelloh camps in France good. We flew Flybe from Southampton to France and got mini bus to site. It came in around £1200. There were 5 of us and we stayed in mob Home x

Just to add, we stayed at la chenaie and flew in to Nantes. If you go last week in August the French schools are already going back so prices are cheaper x

Have a look at ice lolly. Com they have some cheap hidays, also kiwi. Com for cheap flight you can search anywhere at anytime and look at Airbnb for accommodation.

Another vote here for Yelloh Village sites.

Intrigued that a 6,4 & 1 year old are dying to go abroad. Would they not be just as happy in the UK? Some fabulous places here-Cornwall, Isle of Wight if they'd like a ferrry, Wales etc.

You can eat way cheaper in cities because of street food which is on the go,cheap, quick and delicious so I wouldn't rule it out . We end up spending far more on food when we are out of the city as it's also less competitive .

Cheapest way to get "abroad" is the Dover to Calais ferry. From there you could drive easily to Northern France, (eg Normandy is nice) or Belgium/Holland (lovely sandy beaches on the coast). Of course, the weather is not always reliable . You could go further afield in France if you were prepared to drive but be prepared for petrol and toll costs.

Most places in France have municipal campsites which are good value. Look at a region you are interested in and Google "campings municipals". Some are very basic, tent-only sites but there are some with their own accommodation and pool etc.

We’ve done Spain flying from Scotland last two weeks of August villa, car hire all for 1200 quid for two weeks family of four. Flew Ryanair, booked villa via facebook seek and sell site.

Center Parcs in Europe ferry to Dunkirk or Calais

Also did Sweden in August flying to Copenhagen for £1200 or so car hire, flights and villa for a fortnight. Booked villa with novasol. Last two weeks of August end of school holidays in Sweden so much cheaper.