Summer 2024 can’t believe prices!!

[Daydre4mer]

I used to work in the travel industry many years ago, haven’t been abroad for a few years. Obvious reasons.

would really like a Europe beach holiday during school summer holiday 2024 I just can’t believe what you have to pay these days for a pretty standard AI week abroad 😮 well 10 days.
2 adults and 3 kids. Like £6000 plus!!

just talking it over really unless anyone has any great ideas ! Flying from pref Stansted.

To be fair that's only just £1000 each - it's not exactly astronomical.

Just over, that should have said. For AI for 10 days that's pretty good value.

We've decided it's not worth it anymore and have a combo of a week in a nice caravan park by the sea in wales, a week in Center Parcs and various day trips/weekend hotel breaks throughout the year instead.

I might consider a Eurostar to France for a camping/adventure type holiday if we get sick of British weather.

We have small children still and a week long holiday can easily be ruined by an unexpected stomach bug or bad weather and we just can't afford to drop £6000+ on a washout holiday.

We try not to spend more than £2000 for a week, so we don't feel too bad if it goes tits up.

Prices for everything has gone up massively, but I wonder if leaving booking a few months may see a reduction, prices are always dearer in January as that’s when most people think of booking for this summer and next year’s prices also reflect this. Look again March/April. We go to UK cottages where prices for 5 people summer time can be up-to £3,000 per week and that’s without food and entertainment.

Interested in this as I'd like to book our first family beach holiday for Summer '24 as well. I'd like to take advantage of a free child place but wary of booking when prices are high.

We're not far from Scotland so I was hoping to fly from a Scottish airport in the second half of August in the hope that prices might be a bit lower, but it's not looking much different!

They were hovering around £750 a few years ago, £1000 for anything decent. Seems about right to me. There's a premium on booking ahead !

We book with under 2 weeks to go, much better deals

Just priced up our holiday from last year with Tui to next year, it's £1200 more (family of 4 from £4400 to £5600) it's a lovely hotel but I'd probably rather do long haul for that amount (less luxuriously).

Although interestingly can book it for this summer for about what we paid last year, this hotel is usually fully booked this close (for our room type, we check every year) so the price for next year may come down if bookings aren't as forthcoming as they used to be. Used to be youd get the best price this far in advance (for that hotel)

Thanks will read in a bit!

I'm looking at booking just now for this summer (2023)

Do you think I should hold off a few months as well? Or should I just bite the bullet and book now? Just booking separate flights and accommodation, somewhere in Europe.

The days of bargain basement holidays are largely gone I'm afraid, for the time being.

I work in the industry and after being one of the hardest hit in the pandemic, and now experiencing pent-up demand like they've never seen before, they're making hay while the sun shines.

There's no need to scrabble last minute selling rooms at a loss just to improve your occupancy, when you could have sold the whole hotel out 4 times over for the peak months.

@FettleOfKish thanks for your input. I’m so out of touch. Was a travel agent for 15/16 years but 12 years ago… 😄

I’m going to also look into a holiday camp/resort euro camp type place in Croatia. But just concerned to book flights /accom separately and not be ATOL protected should one of those components fail!

Well quite @Daydre4mer, I've never had any issue booking my own independent bits and pieces and self-packaging with the confidence to sort things out myself should they go awry, but at the moment still I'd be very careful about booking anything without ATOL protection.

I left the travel industry around the time lots of airlines and tour ops went bust. Icelandic ash cloud and other things 😆 I’m always cautious now!

We paid 6k for 14 nights AI last year, Balearics and are lying 6.2 for august. Yours doesn't sound astronomical.

I think that sounds about right for peak season, family of 5, 10 days all inclusive.

Paying around £3000 for three of us this summer (2023). It is a lot but I haven’t had a sunshine holiday since 2019 and feeling the need of one.

That’s how I feel. I’d love to go abroad, we last went in winter 2019 I think.

We’ve just booked eurocamp again after very successful holiday last summer and flights seemed really reasonable- we are booking earlier than we did previously because we are less indecisive! It’s obviously not all inclusive luxury but there are nicer standards of accommodation which we tend to choose. I don’t think an abroad holiday has to be all inclusive or nothing so well worth a look especially with children!

I’ve always booked summer holidays myself. Airbnb or owners direct (whatever they call themselves now) in the preferred area and a cheap airline flight. Usually jet2.com as they fly loads of destinations from near us. We get a taxi or local transfer.

it keeps the cost lower, but we have never been the bed & breakfast, hotel kind of family. We prefer the extra room and flexibility that comes with SC. We have done this type of thing since the DC were tiny, they’re now mid and late 20s and do the same as type of DIY holiday.

Worth noting that airline fuel is paid for in dollars, and hotel rooms in Europe are paid in Euros - which package tour providers pay for in advance in a lot of cases. The exchange rate weakening has made GBP not stretch as far which is having a big impact.

I was also a TA for many years, many moons ago 😁

We booked an Olympic hols package this year for Greece ( not AI) as was cheaper than booking separately. Perhaps if we went off season it’d be different. Looking this year, Mexico cheaper than Greece/Spain. Mad prices. Cheapest good AI type place I saw was Marrakech.

We escaped for 3 nights to Dubrovnik pre pandemic in June and booked within 4 days of travel - flight and room separately and got an old style bargain! It can be done, still, I think but only off season.

@Withholdingvitalinfo another ex- travel!

Something else I am looking into is Eurocamp
Croatia. So staying in a really nice static /mobile home. 3 bedrooms. 10 nights is £2300 for this year (2024 prices not out yet)
Corresponding EasyJet to Zadar is £1250 incl baggage. So £3550 plus transfer and it 30 mins from airport in Zadar

Meant corresponding dates. I’ve priced up this summer holidays as next year prices not out. So it’s something like 27th July for 10 nights. 2 adults 3 kids

Absolutely this.