Overwhelmed and need a break!

[CynthiaRothrock]

Looking for the help of Mumsnet ... I've not been abroad in over 20 years, last time.i booked a holiday it was with the help of Ask Jeeves! I just don't know where to start now!

Me and DH have had a rough couple of month and we need a get away. Was looking at the UK and it's so bloody expensive. I've though fuck it let's do one of those cheap flight and hotel deals and I've been sucked down a rabbit hole! So may deals and websites! £89pp flight and hotel here there and everywhere! But are they any good? Or £20 flight and then find a hotel? Where do we go, what do we do when there? If transfers aren't included how/where do I book them? Insurance? .

It's his birthday next month so looking at a last min midweek break. I don't care where we go but needs to be cheap. I've managed to cover child care from Tues to Friday night last week in September so 2 or 3 nights max.

But I need inspiration! I'm really not bothered where or what. The criteria is

1. Must be cheap this is a last minute though after a devastating month and needs serious budgeting.
2. Easy/cheap airport to hotel (I don't want to drive in a foreign country, I'm bad enough in the UK)
3. Must have something to do ie. Be all Inc so we don't have to leave resort for entertainment or cheap/free/not far places to explore and we can take a picnic etc.
4. Not be stressful 🤣
5. Flying from Manchester or at a push Liverpool.

6.Maximum 2-3hr flight (DH has never flown, and is a shit traveller not sure how he will cope)

We have never been abroad together so basically anything will be enjoyable. We enjoy a variety of things, shows, walking, museums, beaches, country side, city so very easy to please In That sense.

Where do you suggest? Good websites? Sites to avoid? (don't want to get scammed)
Best to book all together or do I do things separately? I've looked at so many things I've just confused and totally overwhelmed myself! Any and all positive suggestions welcome! My brain is at maximum capacity and a break is well over due, but I'm struggling to process and organise this, I promise I'm not usually this useless!

And before anymore jumps in, yes we have kids that have never been abroad but we are looking at booking a family holiday next year, this break is well needed for the 2 of us.

Thanks for reading and any help/suggestions.

I'm sorry, I've never done all inclusive.
But Italy, southern France, Spain, Greece. They're all lovely but I'm all about exploring. I've done self catering or just hotel.
I think you shouldn't rush your decision but realise that once you're there a whole new host of opportunities might arise. So sometimes being a bit surprised is quite exciting.

Thank you I will take a look. Do you have any suggestions on city's/areas in those location that you really liked? We love exploring too, although not had chance to do much of that and I want to change that for us!

It's been so long since I've been abroad there are so many more options 🤣

Not all inclusive - I’ve never done that, but Barcelona might suit you. Flights are cheap, and you can probably find a small apartment - having a kitchen will help keep the costs down. There’s a train from the airport, and then the underground system will get you all round the city. Or you can walk. I stayed in the Gothic quarter many years ago, which was about 15 mins from the beach.

For a short break on a budget, I'd start by looking at what flights you can get from your most convenient airports that are cheap and decent times, eg in the morning on the way out and afternoon/evening on the way back as you get more time away compared with arriving late at night and flying back early in the morning. Be aware that flights can go at different times on different days so look at this. You've likely got a choice of Easyjet, Jet2 or Ryanair and all these airlines have a search where you can look for 'where can I go for cheap' flights.

Liverpool Airport is a lot easier to get through than Manchester and parking is cheaper but the choice of flights isn't as good. But they might have something. You could try the deals section of Jet2holidays and Easyjet holidays and see what is on offer. Then your accommodation is also covered and possibly the transfer, but not if a city break.

But many places abroad have excellent bus/train services to local towns and resort centres so often you don't need to book a transfer.

If you want hot, I'd look at northern Spain for the shorter flight, or you could see Palma city, Girona, Barcelona or cities in France, Belgium, Germany or Poland for that flight distance. Or you could even look at somewhere like Belfast or the Isle of Man - there's multiple flights a day to the Isle of Man, so you should be able to get something affordable, there's a good bus service around the island and you could get an apartment and buy easy food from the supermarket (there's a Tesco and M&S in Douglas)

Having written all that, I'm now thinking 'what about the Isle of Man'? Short flights from both Liverpool and Manchester, should be able to go for around £100 pp or possibly less - look on Logan Air. Get the bus to and from the airport and book a self catering apartment in Douglas and buy easy food in M&S.

Spend a day wandering around Douglas, there's a free museum, harbour, beach, hill to walk up. You could also get the bus to somewhere like Peel or Castletown in the south, which you could go on the narrow gauge steam railway. Or you could go from Douglas on the electric railway to the mountain railway to go right to the top of the island. Everything will be familiar and don't need to cope with a foreign language or traffic on the other side of the road.

Turin. It's super easy from airport to the city - there's a shuttle you can buy tickets for at the airport, it's 11 euros return and drops you at multiple points in the city. Takes about 40 mins from airport. You can't miss the desk to book it - you have to walk past it to exit.

Everyone speaks English, esp if you start by saying hello in Italian, or being able to ask for something in v pidgin Italian (Buongiorno or Buonasera later in day; vorrei means I would like, so "vorrei un caffe, per favore" is 'I would like a coffee please'). Most signage is in English as well as Italian (cannot believe how welcoming this is!)

There are beautiful wee cafes, it's the chocolate and coffee capital of Italy (we did a walking/tasting tour which was incredible), the Egyptian museum, the natural history and cinema museum, lovely parks and squares, pretty churches, lots of palaces. Super walkable so no need to navigate buses/trams unless you want to.

What is the budget? Cheap is different for each person .

I loved s holiday with DH in Formentera. It was a deal that included hotel and flights; can’t remember if it was through the expedia, but easy jet holidays or booking.com.

Have you got passports?

Look at Tui or Jet 2 for a last minute package. All inclusive means you get three meals a day, drinks and usually entertainment every evening. You must have insurance which will bump up the cost of the holiday but it covers cancellation, loss of belongings and,more importantly, if you are taken ill. Especially if you need to be flown home or your partner needs accommodation to stay with you. BTW, you need travel insurance for the Isle of Man too.

Portugal - flight to Faro and then air bnb, lots of places to stay in distance of airport are gorgeous and easy with Uber.
DH and i did a cheap all inclusive holiday but we didn’t book it until the weekend before we went as we didn’t care, just wanted to be away. Booked with jet2 - was excellent.

I love the Isle of Man suggestion. It isn't particularly cheap to eat out etc but you can certainly keep costs down. It's much more unpredictable in terms of cost (and weather I guess). Also you don't need a passport which would add cost if you don't have one already.

If you want an AI that's a short flight and relatively warm I'd look at Costa daurada. It can be very British abroad with pubs showing soaps etc. but it doesn't have to be. If you're feeling up to it when youre there it's a good base for longer trips but it sounds like fly and flop might be right.

If your head is totally full I'd personally go for a package so Jet2 holidays etc. that way everything (Inc transfers) is done and you have certainty in costs. You can even buy your travel insurance at the same time (which is a more expensive way of buying insurance but convenient). It's not always cheaper to buy everything separately particularly relatively short notice and short haul in particular

I agree Barcelona or Portugal might be easiest. You won’t really need all inclusive, just get a hotel with a nice pool with b&b. Keep it simple.

Good luck.

All inclusive and cheap, in Europe, easy and no stress. What is your total budget (roughly)

You will need passports and travel insurance, so add that into the cost also.

I'd do Amsterdam or Copenhagen. Both are cheap to get to. Short flight from Manchester and a simple train journey from the airport to the Central station where there are lots of hotels. Easily walkable and plenty of sights x

Malaga, feungirola way.

There is a train that runs from the airport and all along the coast.

Plenty to do as well from beaches to cable cars.

Then I'd look at booking flights separately to hotel.

We stayed in Torreblanca at a hotel right next to the train station (I'll try and find its name) and it was right by the beach too.

We loved Malaga! 2 big modern art museums, amazing food market, huge choice of restaurants - loved the bbq on the beach set ups. Really easy to hire bikes and cycle along the promenade for miles. Was an amazing holiday after a stressful year. We got cheap flights and I found a central Airbnb, near the sea, with an outdoor patio area so we could have our morning coffee in the sunshine ☀️

https://monarquehotels.com/hotel-monarque-torreblanca-google/?utmsource=GOOGLE-MY-BUSINESS&utmmmedium=ESP-TORREBLANCA&utmcampaign=TORREBLANCA-GOOGLE-MY-BUSINESS

Copenhagen
there is a train from the airport terminal to the city center
lots of hotels of all price ranges..the Comfort Hotel Vesterboro is central and good value and includes a breakfast buffet that is extensive.
Lots to see and do
Everyone speaks english
You can get an app and rent a bike by the hour and tour a bit further out
The flight is direct, quick and can be v inexpensive depending on dates

Malaga is very easy
city nice or train to beach side

jet2 might have easy package or check British Airways holidays hotel and flight
try diff flight times and days for cheapest

Don't know about flights as I always go by train but for places I've been:

Lyon in France was lovely and a really surprising amount to see - had booked it as a "quick trip" but wish we'd done it for longer. Some good day trips too.

Avignon is really beautiful and if you want a trip to the sea you can get to Marseille easily from there.

If you want to be really culture vulture Tours in France is a nice city and has great public transport links to the chateaux of the region. Even by French standards it was fabulous for food.

Berlin is incredibly interesting if you like your history but less scenic.

Siena is gorgeous if you want somewhere in Italy that's slightly less touristed than Florence.

Malaga. It's reasonably cheap, food is great, loads to see and do and not so big its overwhelming.

Google the EasyJet and Tui websites. They’ll have loads of last minute all inclusive.

Having written all that, I'm now thinking 'what about the Isle of Man'? Short flights from both Liverpool and Manchester, should be able to go for around £100 pp or possibly less - look on Logan Air. Get the bus to and from the airport and book a self catering apartment in Douglas and buy easy food in M&S.

Spend a day wandering around Douglas, there's a free museum, harbour, beach, hill to walk up. You could also get the bus to somewhere like Peel or Castletown in the south, which you could go on the narrow gauge steam railway. Or you could go from Douglas on the electric railway to the mountain railway to go right to the top of the island. Everything will be familiar and don't need to cope with a foreign language or traffic on the other side of the road.

But don't stay in Douglas, stay in Peel or Port Erin...much much nicer. Or Laxey.

Malaga https://www.easyjet.com/en/holidays/spain/costa-del-sol/malaga-city/barcelo-malaga?ibf=true&to=11-09-2024&from=08-09-2024&dst=ESCDMG&sAccId=&geog=ES,ESCD,ESCDMG&flex=0&org=LPL&aa=1&rooms=2&outId=Ea7893f20bbe6346de8adfd3b1841fc69&inId=E71843557b0c25fc9895ee64418066375&accId=X9082434&packId=2152726167/2/2442/3&boardType=RO&offerRooms=2/ROO.PI-SU!NOR.OPFRROHBD&transfer=&dtransfer=&isExt=1&lateRoomCheckout=0&theme=city&__ejhsort=hotels_list|5|Z5AkfGWU

Málaga is a great suggestion. Don't get sucked into the cheapy cheap deals. It's very rare that they actually are as good as they sound. You either end up adding as much £££ for add ons that it's no longer a bargain or you'll be in a dodgy airport hotel miles from anywhere