Looking for idea for October half term

[NightOwlGirl]

DH & and I want to take our 5 year old son on short haul break to Europe in October half term. We're on a fairly tight budget (around £500 total). This will be his first ever flight so we want to keep it short 1-2 hours maximum. Does anyone have any recommendations? there are so many options.

Do you want warm or less so?

City break or smaller place?

Where can you fly from?

I would suggest finding the cheapest flights of the right sort of duration and going from there

Sadly £500 doesn't go far at all when it comes to going away.
You could start off by looking for cheap flights from your local airport but bear in mind there will be so much more to factor in.
If not try onthebeach or similar?

Which of the following is £500 meant to cover?

• Return flights
• Accommodation
• Meals
• Transport at the destination area
• Entrance fees to attractions
• Drinks and sundries

Apologies if this sounds like a silly question, but some of those things you might be spending on while you're at home, so you might not include them in the budget.

I have to say, though, that if it's got to include return flights for 3 people with anything other than the free 24-litre underseat bag, you are going to struggle to get below £300 just for the flights. So you are probably looking at a 2-night stay maximum.

With a 2-hour flight time limit you are also not going to get to anywhere cheap (like Bulgaria or Albania), even if you are starting from Gatwick. Certainly not from Manchester.

If the budget is just for flights and accommodation, have a look at Bergamo. It's a huge Ryanair hub and they sometimes have very good prices because their capacity on that route is very high. The town itself is a little bundle of Italian goodness. Not especially cheap but not major-city prices.

I can’t see how you can go anywhere in half term with 3 people and that budget. (At least not flying unless you go 1-2 nights)

Thanks all. We're hoping out budget will stretch to flights and accommodation. We have some separate savings that will cover spending money- enough for 3-4 days. We would prefer a coastal holiday somewhere warm (or warmer than England in late October!) as opposed to a city break. The thought of trying to navigate around a major city, dealing with a language barrier, with a five year old in tow doesn't appeal to me.

Where are you flying from?

I’d look at LoveHolidays or the like, you might just do Mallorca or one of the other Baleriacs for 2-3 nights.

We're in the south east so probably Gatwick. Southampton is also accessible too. Not keen on Stanstead or Luton as we'd probably have to travel up the night before and stay in a hotel nearby.

This is very unrealistic. A 1-2 hour flight limit gets you to Northern Germany or Northern France. Not a significant improvement of weather. Gatwick to Mallorca is 2.20hours, Southern Italy (which will be warm in Oct) is 3 hours. I highly doubt you will get more than 2 nights during half term for your budget. IMO that’s not worth it and I would try and save more and fly next year. Has your DS got a passport? That will be another cost to factor in.

Or do a long weekend during term time instead- take your DS out of school Friday and Monday and go end of September for example. Half term prices are always much much higher.