Cost of average summer holiday abroad?

[goldpendant]

DH and I took the kids to Menorca last summer (just before schools finished). DC1 is now 5 so we are bound by term times, and DH is struggling to grasp the cost increase in the same holiday....

One week in a lovely self catering apartment next to the beach (pool, garden terrace, restaurant on-site) is £2150 for 4 adults and 2 kids. Last year it was nearer £1000. Flights I've found for about £150!

We can afford the holiday it's just that DH doesn't want to pay that much having paid loads less before.

Can I ask if you think that's about right, too much, or even good value? It's our first one in summer holiday time so trying to get a guage of the prices.

TIA

We payed 3000 for ten days in mainland Spain last year, half board. There was a free child’s place or it would have been £4000. Just before English holidays (so cheaper) but flights from Scotland (so dearer). Agree with poster who said this kind of money used to be for luxury holidays! Bit too worried re brexit to book for this year —pretends I could afford it—

Thanks everyone, frightening money for a week in Spain isn't it!

Not necessarily our week for four adults and two dc is £1600! That includes a refundable deposit of £200. Just need food and car so it won't be awful.

Yes millimat

We can afford it, cocktails before dinner, no limit on what is ordered from a menu, post dinner drinks and then a glass of wine on the balcony.

Plenty of years we couldn't afford it, now we can.

Mortgage free and a very decent joint income.

DH works in banking in Europe, Monday to Thursday, so our holiday is our quality time, where the phone never rings.

Not quite sure what your issue is.

Oh sorry forgot to mention the flights are club class, if that helps you Millimat

@BreevandercampLGJ I've no issue, just genuinely shocked at costs these days. The flights were the shock but if club class that explains why I was surprised.

10 nights in Maldives 5 star kids eat free
6390

Paying more than 2k for Europe is nuts!!!!!

A look at the jet2 site, anywhere in Europe during school holidays for 4, pool, isn’t showing me much with change from 3 grand.

That's what annoys me @madeyemoodysmum - there's no value for money at all. In fact, we've just booked a rather nice trip to India and the middle east for the four of us and the cost isn't far off the menorca holiday!

Just had a quick search and I’m getting Monday flights to Portugal Spain or Italy for week self cater pools for £1500

Just eat out in restaurants if you don’t want to cook. That’s part of the holiday for me.

I do breakfast and lunches self cater and then eat out at night.

We have a lovely time

Oh in August too

We’ve booked to go to Canada this summer and cost £5000.00 flights car hire and accommodation. Two weeks 2 adults 2 teens.

But then I’d never go near a travel agent or tour operator.

Millimat

Ignore my narkiness,I didn't sleep last night. I eventually fell asleep at 5.30.

We go club out of Stansted because if you book early it is cheaper than economy out of Gatwick. We have nothing against budget airline, but by the time you book them, add in snorkels, masks and flippers for DH and DS and fifteen plus books for me they work out about the same.

We go to the same place every year as my DH who works in Europe during the week is always ready for a break, hefeels he is on holiday from the moment the same driver picks us up and drives us down to the resort, to turning the key and knowing where everything is.

So as I said again, apologies for being so narky.

Aibu to think that holiday prices are just MADNESS!! My brother asked my DP and I to join them on holiday in Tenerife in the summer - they’re paying nearly 7k for a family of 5. I just don’t understand how people afford it. I’m on over 100k and I can’t justify paying 7k for a holiday unless it’s somewhere like a 5* star resort in Thailand.

My DH has absolutely no clue about the cost of holidays. This is why I have booked every single one. I spend a lot of time finding the best possible accommodation I can for the budget then run it past him. We have one child primary age and one child secondary. Unfortunately apparently if you're over 12 you're classified as a teen or an adult these days.

I always book at the end of the summer if we are going to Europe. Generally, give or take, and for a week, its about £1k for flights. £1k for accommodation (self catering) and £500 quid for car hire/car parking/insurance plus probably another £500 or so for food and petrol and day trips.

So thats £3k right there and thats being fairly frugal (apart from the car hire - I can't manage without our own transport)

This year we're going for 2 weeks. We've splashed out a little as MIL gave us some cash.
So its £1k for flights, £3k for accomodation (one of those weeks is full board at a different place - both sites have water parks on site which will hopefully keep the kids happy) £500 for car hire and insurance and again, probably about £500 for the first week of food and day trips. Thats 5k. Five thousand pounds!!

We are probably going to be spending about 3 grand for 4 of us, in July school holidays.

To put this into perspective our first holiday with ds, out of school holidays cost under £700.

There are cheaper holidays, but if you want something a bit nicer, near to the beach and restaurants, and maybe with some food included, that's the kind of price you're looking at.

We go club out of Stansted because if you book early it is cheaper than economy out of Gatwick. We have nothing against budget airline, but by the time you book them, add in snorkels, masks and flippers for DH and DS and fifteen plus books for me they work out about the same.

For balance I input the same dates into EasyJet at the weekend, same dates, same flight times more or less, it was £1,100 without luggage.

BA Club was about £1,400 with a checked in luggage allowance of 64kg each plus cabin baggage which if I remember correctly is about 10 kg.

Despite my best efforts I have yet to hit it.

I'm going to Turkey in early July, 9 nights self catering for £1100 (includes flights, transfers, accommodation). That's for me and 3 kids.

We are a family of 5 and if we want five star luxury holiday then we are talking £10k easily in Europe fpr a week.

I was quoted between £17k and £25k recently for a week in August in Europe in different resorts.

I still think I should have two weeks in Greece for £300 so struggle a lot with the cost of holidays. Obviously I didn't book those holidays as am not insane.

I've fancied Menorca for ages but priced it up for me and DD and it was over 2K for a week. Just seems such a lot for such a shorthaul destination.

I can't believe the prices most of you are quoting! I'm a teacher and single mum and have a £2k budget pa. usually get 2 holidays abroad a year for the 3 of us and they are 15 and 17. I book easyJet/Ryanair/cheapest flights then book direct with a self catering apartment place after researching online- FB forum, here and trip advisor, book Hoppa (when they do their 30% offdeals) or local taxi for transfer. We save on excess luggage by packing shoes etc in hand luggage and only taking 1 case - or hand luggage only for a week. Stay sc, have breakfast in, if by the pool we make toadties inland eat on balcony or if on beach will have something cheap (salad, toadties, chips) beach side. Eat out every night, some nights in restaurants, some in grill rooms where you can get souvlaki pitta for €3.50 (Greece). I've done 3 weeks on Corfu for £1200 inc flights, transfers, accommodation and taxes, 2 weeks in Greece for £800 and then £900. It is doable, we stay in basic accommodation and use the same beach as everyone else! Usually you get more of a laugh with the locals in basic accommodation anyway and as long as it's clean it's fine. Still have to put loo paper in a bun in a 5 star hotel!
Shop around and check places like booking. Com for their prices then when you find somewhere join a FB forum and ask about property. If all good then get contact details and you can save £££ by booking direct, plus you help the local economy directly, have done the 5 star big resorts and kids and I much prefer the basic SC holidays. Usually sirens about £1000 spending money but it's rising now they are getting older and having the odd wee drink!!

The thing is, people are looking for very different things from their holidays, so it's hard to compare. We (family of four) usually go to Europe for 10 days in the school holidays, and spend max £2,000 (not counting spending money). This year we're taking a 10 day trip to the south of France. We've got a lovely little self-catering property for a week (no pool but very nice - £850), Eurotunnel (£190), four nights' worth of journey there and back staying in independent country/city hotels (c. £150 a night). If I allow money for petrol and toll costs, it will probably be just under £2,000, which is far less than lots of the prices quoted above. But - I always book all the elements myself, using lots of research and price comparisons. We don't have any interest in resorts or kids' clubs. I have high property standards, but equally I'm not interested in 'extras' like hot tubs. If we fly, I book Easyjet as soon as the flights are released. If we hire a car, I go for the smallest possible that will fit our luggage. Apart from meals out (usually about half the nights we're away), we spend very little while we're there (we're mainly sightseeing and hiking, so a few entrance fees and ice creams, but no water parks, night life etc). That's a very different proposition from someone who wants to book an all-inclusive holiday in a popular beach resort with kids' clubs, full board, BA flights, transfers, activities, pools, bar bills etc. It's not surprising that the cost will be very different.

Absolutely! Horses for courses & what’s one persons idea of a great time isn’t going to be another’s. There’s the matter of time you’ve got to plan as well - we often fly into one destination then travel around by train & stay in apartments so that involves lots & lots of time on the internet, looking at budget airline flight release dates etc. I can do that & am a massive cheapskate so am happy to put in the hours looking at the cheapest quality options but not everyone can.

School holidays are expensive wherever you go, even if you stay in this country. I don’t blame the holiday companies - it’s supply and demand after all -but it is frustrating.

I’ve just booked 11 days in August in Nerja, Spain, self catering in a 2 bedroom apt, with easyjet flights for 4 (2 adults, 2 teens) for just under 2k. I could have got a cheaper apartment but wanted a particular area of Nerja , wanted 2 bedrooms so the teens don’t have to share a sofa bed, and the kids want WiFi!

If I had booked exactly the same holiday two weeks later in September, the cost would have been half the amount.

I got 26 nights almost a month in Spain with DP for €1700!

Are you all booking with travel agents? I search for cheap dates with flights and use alpharooms and travel republic for hotels. 2 weeks in Calpe for 600 then 11 nights in ibiza for 700. Flights about 200 each return