Most cost effective way to book a holiday on a tight budget

[SugarPlumpFairy3]

I’m looking to take my 3dc on holiday next year (single parent) and I’m looking for the cheapest way to do this.

Are packages cheapest or is it better to book flights and accommodation separately? Does self catering or all inclusive generally work out better?

id be very grateful for any tips. Thank you 😊.

Depends on where you want to go. We've had great holidays where we flew cheap, RyanAir etc then stayed in apartments booked on booking.com. As a rule we are fond of Eastern Europe which can be quite cheap

It depends on where you want to fly from. The smallish local airport near me has little competition so you pay extra for the privilege of flying from it. It is always loads cheaper booking a package.

If you live near London or Manchester it may be cheaper to book it all independently although you need to remember to factor in things like luggage and transfers to get an accurate comparison.

All inclusive is probably cheaper, personally I prefer self catering and eating out every day for the variety but this isn’t a cheap option. Some places have cheap local supermarkets, some are a lot more expensive than home. Start by looking at packages, when one is interesting price it up separately. Bare in mind the budget airlines are not on sale yet for next summer for flight only but scheduled airlines tend to sell 11.5 months out.

If you are on your own with children personally I would always book a package for the simple fact that if your flights get cancelled or delayed then you will be sorted out by the rep - they won’t leave you without accommodation and will do everything they can to sort you out. (Said from bitter experience)! I would go on to the Tui and Jet2 websites - if you’re prepared to go self catering jet2 has lots of reasonable packages.

A package holiday gives far better protection if anything goes wrong.
We used to book flights & hotel separately, until we lost a lot of money in 2020.
AI can be good value, & you know exactly how much it will cost.
Also, check what's on offer for the DC at the resorts. If you go sc, you'll be paying extra for their activities & entertainment.

Maybe tell us which airports you could potentially fly from, then we can suggest options

Depending on the kids ages, you might also get a free child space with jet2. I know a family member always uses them for this reason.

I’ve found OnTheBeach the cheapest site, although self catering looks cheaper after you have factored in food it’s generally not. I think half board is the best with young children, you won’t be drinking loads of alcohol if you’ve got three kids in tow so if not bother with all inclusive and after a big breakfast an ice cream at lunch and an evening meal i don’t think it’s worth it as kids can’t eat lots anyway.

if you want cheap and easy I’d go to Spain, short flight and lots of cheap accommodation, as you prob already know term time is much cheaper than school holidays.

Dc will be 17, 11 and 11 and we’re in the midlands so EMA and Birmingham are best.

Are sites such as On the beach ok to use? I don’t know why, but I thought they were a bit dodgy 🙈.

They’re basically a booking gateway - they won’t be held to account if anything goes wrong. I’m on several holiday groups on Facebook (try and join some, very helpful- there’s ones for Tui, jet2, general holiday help etc with thousands of people) and tons of posts come up moaning about On the beach.

What are you looking for and what do you call a tight budget?

The absolute cheapest would probably be somewhere where you can get cheap flights, that also has cheap accommodation and is cheap for supermarkets and eating out, but mostly eat supermarket food, not from restaurants. But that's likely to be somewhere that's not a mainstream popular destination for UK holidaymakers, eg Eastern Europe, Bulgaria? But this might not be something you want to do if you're not a confident experienced traveller.

You could try looking to see what Jet2/Tui offer and see what AI ends up costing - if your 17 YO counts as an adult, you might get a free child place. The big saving will be if you go in term time, but not everyone wants to do that, especially if your 17 YO has exams.

But budget AI might not be a bit basic, so it's up to you to decide whether that matters - you might decide that you can put up with a daily beige buffet to get away in guaranteed sun and not worry about spending much when you get there.

OTB is fine, and you get ABTA protection as they're selling you a package holiday.

What about Euro camp or similar in France or northern Spain?

Have a look at Jet2 packages. I’ve used them ever since they started flying from Stansted and found they have the best prices and they’re actually a really good company.
Thetrs always discount codes available too