Best budget family holidays?

[holidayplanningnewbie]

I'd like to take the family on holiday and to spend about £1k on booking. DC are 7 and 11.

If it wasn't for covid I'd like to take them to France or elsewhere in Europe before we leave (the DC have never been abroad) but is that a bit of a risk right now?

What budget holidays would you recommend in the UK or abroad?

Camping? You could buy all the gear and pay for a couple of weeks’ site fees for £1000 and then you’ve also got it to use next time.

I live in Cornwall and there are lots of sites around here which are now fully open again.

Do your children like Theme Parks? In the southeast you've got Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventures and Lego Land. You could alternate these with a quiet, more relaxed day in between. You could book a self catering holiday cottage, if you are going to be going out everyday, all day facilities won't be important, you just need beds to sleep in, a bathroom and a small kitchen. You can often get 2 for 1 vouchers for these places (currently on Carex handwash bottles). You can save money by taking a picnic and snacks with you too.

Isle of Wight - good for family holidays, as has a wide variety of activities, plus going on the ferry feels like going abroad.

Lodge holiday - Cornwall

Cornwall

Do your children like Theme Parks? Ooh, now there's an idea I hadn't thought of. We ALL love fairground rides!

I must admit to being thoroughly underwhelmed when I went to Chessington - it just felt like loads of queues for rides that we pretty much the same as a decent fairground. (This was some time ago).

SIL felt much the same when she took the DC to Lego World - loads of queues.

Is Thorpe park better? Do you have spend the whole time queuing? Isn't it all overpriced?

I can't imagine wanting to spend a week there though haha!

Are any of the theme parks near interesting historical sites or beautiful natural landscapes?

@Chickoletta

Camping? You could buy all the gear and pay for a couple of weeks’ site fees for £1000 and then you’ve also got it to use next time.

I live in Cornwall and there are lots of sites around here which are now fully open again.

We've got a decent tent and a fair bit of the gear. We sometimes go on camping weekends with friends.

We do love camping! DP has a bad back though and I'm not sure he could manage a week in a tent at the moment.

I think we probably need a step up, at least a rustic lodge!

Cornwall is a nice idea. We have friends there as it happens. One idea I've been toying with is visiting the Jurassic Coast in Dorset and looking for fossils and then heading over to Cornwall.

Sandy Balls. Like Center Parks but a whole lot cheaper!!!!!

Hoseasons and Canopy & Stars are both excellent for glamping/lodge type holidays.

I like theme parks but Thorpe Park was like Hell on Earth when I went there with a school trip a few years back. Very little for younger kids and full of really loud, chavvy people. Huge queues for everything. I like Alton Towers best of the big theme parks.

Avoid Thorpe Park like the plague right now. Huge queues (1-2 hours per ride), no tap water available and rubbish "social distancing" (lots of photos on their twitter feed showing people crammed into lines like sardines). With a stabbing/lockdown last week to add to the ambiance.