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Holidays

Use our Travel forum for recommendations on everything from day trips to the best family-friendly holiday destinations.

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Original poster

Summer holdays - how much have you paid?

26 replies

unicorn · 14/08/2004 22:55

We haven't 'done' the summer holiday stretch this year - couldn't afford it... but we are now thinking of next year.
Please help, and give me some price comparisons - how much did you pay/ what did you get/would you recommend?

OP posts:

Original poster

unicorn · 15/08/2004 15:25

I guess everyone is still on holiday!!!

OP posts:

mckenzie · 15/08/2004 15:57

I would recommend going into your travel agent 2 or 3 days before departure and asking for a Thomson, minimum 4 star hotel in, for example, Spain or Majorca.
We paid full price for 2 weeks at a Thomson Super families place in Majorca for 2 weeks, end june/beginning July this year. It was a fantastic holiday dont get me wrong but tinged slightly by another couple telling us that they had paid less than a third of what we had paid (and there were 4 of them, only 3 of us).
SO, as long as you dont mind not knowing exactly where you are going, I think this is a good option. They've done it quite a few times apparently (the Thomson minimum 4 star is the bit the ensures you wont be going to a dump) and have always been somewhere really nice.
We'd paid £1700 for the 2 weeks self catering and that included a free childs place.

My sister goes with Direct holiays and usually books about now ready for next year and I think she gets some good deals too.
Hope this helps.

froot · 15/08/2004 16:20

message withdrawn

lillymoo · 15/08/2004 16:23

we've booked to go to benidorm next yr 19th july - 2nd August we're going half board in a 4 star hotel and it's cost us £1200

froot · 15/08/2004 16:27

message withdrawn

fruitful · 15/08/2004 16:30

Week in a self-catering cottage in Normandy, driving own car there (via high-speed ferry) for 2 adults and 1 toddler: £520 for accom & ferry. £350 for food, petrol, spending money. It was lovely - very relaxed, nice weather, good mix of things to do and time on the beach. And because we had the car we could just take everything with us (travel cot etc) and not worry about plane luggage allowances.

Original poster

unicorn · 16/08/2004 19:42

anyone done a club med or mark warner this year?.
just looked at next years brochure previews- and we are talking seriously expensive.

what's the maximum you would pay for a summer holiday?

OP posts:

whizzz · 16/08/2004 19:45

About £1000 for 1 week in house in spain (including car hire) for me,DH & DS - we only booked a few weeks ago & are going at start of Sept. So all a bit last min !!

Original poster

unicorn · 17/08/2004 18:57

friends of friends have paid nearly 4 thousand for their holiday.. which I think was a Club Med type affair...
I wouldn't a)be able to afford it.. b) dream of paying that much for 2 weeks abroad.

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sammac · 17/08/2004 19:10

We've booked a club med for the school October week, which is costing about £1200 approx. This is the first time we've gone with them. Also have to include flights to/from London, but hopefully use dh's airmiles. Last couple of years we've gone to Menorca at the same time with Thomsons. It's worked out slightly more expensive this year, however- last year ds was under 2 so free, it was self-catering, weather can be dodgy, pool was so cold none of us were in it.
This time there are loads of thing for us all to do, which is included in the price, all food and beer/wine at meal times included, kids clubs- including circus school for dd, and nicer weather. We reckon that we will end up spending less overall(hopefully) just paid more upfront.

Yorkiegirl · 17/08/2004 19:15

Message withdrawn

Original poster

unicorn · 17/08/2004 23:44

make the most of it you parents of non school age kids, because believe me, it does make a difference when you are constrained to school holidays.

OP posts:

SueW · 18/08/2004 00:50

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at OP's request.

dejags · 18/08/2004 10:36

We went to Goa for two weeks this year. 5* hotel with private beach, 7 restaurants, childcare, and lovely aircon rooms cost £2600 for 3 of us for accom, flights, transfers and taxes.

Further £150 on food/drinks spent while we were there.

tiredemma · 18/08/2004 10:45

suew i agree, i would never, ever go anywhere in july and august, im a travel agent and there is no way that i would pay the extortionate prices just to go away when somewhere is just how you have described it. i love to go on holiday in june, weather is just as good as july and hardly any kids around- only my own!!

deegward · 18/08/2004 10:57

We went to Protaras in Cyprus, boys had their own room (interconnecting door), 5* hotel 1/2 board (boys 1.5 & 4.5) £3800, upgraded to all inclusive when there for an extra 300. Expensive but v good

enid · 18/08/2004 11:01

tiredemma and suew - how old are your kids? Are you not constrained to summer hols?

tiredemma · 18/08/2004 13:04

enid- my eldest is 3 and youngest 1 so im not tied to school holidays at the moment, but to be honest and nobody shoot me down for this!!- i wouldnt have a problem with taking them out of school for 5 days once a year, i cant see the harm there. at work i see first hand just how much the holidays jump up as soon as 18th july comes around and tbh im not prepared to pay up to an extra 1k to go on the same holiday that would be so much cheaper the week before.

miranda2 · 18/08/2004 13:28

We're going to italy (sorrento) the last week of sept, £1300 for the three of us (ds is 3 so we;re making the most of our last opp to go out of school hols!). We had a week in Norfolk in April for £85!!! It was brilliant. Blue Riband holidays website, I'd highly recommend it. They were only 3-400 in July/Aug too, so i'd def consider that for next year. We've just come back from a week in the lakes, but that was at a friends cottage so free.
I wouldn't dream of spending £4k on a holiday - even if I had that sort of money to throw around, I'd feel awful spending it on a holiday rather than giving it to Oxfam or something. 1500 is my limit for the main posh family holiday, and not every year! I'm more of a cottage somewhere in Britain for 5-600 person myself.

notthecod · 18/08/2004 13:30

£2k for 5 of us

muddaofsuburbia · 18/08/2004 13:35

Nothing at all except for food and drink!

My parents have a holiday flat on the Isle of Cumbrae off the west coast of Scotland, so we use that for free . It's a perfect family holiday place and a great base for days out and boat trips. We'll be going there every year for the forseeable future cos being an sahm means that finances are tight.

Friends have used it before, so in all seriousness if you fancy a Scottish holiday then let me know.

For Easter, we'll go on a canal boat holiday cos my FIL owns a canal boat hire business. Otherwise we'd be stuck.

Original poster

unicorn · 18/08/2004 13:42

may take you up on that sometime mudda, sounds lovely!
friends near Manchester are letting us have their house for a week, whilst they're away, so hoping to 'do' a bit of the North West (my old stomping ground)see some relatives etc.

OP posts:

lou33 · 18/08/2004 13:44

Just under 2k for 6 return tickets to Thailand, but that's in Nov, and we are sorting accommodation when we get there and decide where to go.

Blackduck · 18/08/2004 13:51

too much...(partic when the last one was free! - thanks mumsnet...) 1500, but thats cos we are forced to go the first week in Sept when its still high season.......

SueW · 18/08/2004 15:26

This reply has been withdrawn

This has been withdrawn by MNHQ at OP's request.

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