Short break, limited budget - where to go?

[Kerenwoodwardsleftearring]

My DH and I have £500 (not a penny more) saved to spend 2 nights midweek, mid-October somewhere just the two of us, which hasn't happened for a very long time. I'm really struggling to work out where to go. Happy to fly/Eurostar but can't find anything quite cheap enough once you add a cabin bag and seats (and avoid Stansted and Luton, which would add to the cost because of travel and parking) so it may have to be UK. We like exploring cities and towns but don't mind holing up in a nice hotel. We're near London. Would love some recommendations if anyone has any ideas, please.

Do you need to sit together - it'll be a short journey wherever you're going. And you can fit plenty in the basic bag (the one that isn't cabin luggage or hold luggage) for two nights. That would save immediately.

What about a Groupon deal or the like? You'll struggle for a room abroad for two nights + 2 return tickets + food for £500 if you don't use some sort of deal site.

I should add that so far I have used Skyscanner (the prices on there are without a cabin bag etc.) and Google flights for inspiration. I was on lastminute.com but saw some terrible reviews which put me off, and every time I clicked on a holiday, the price would go up massively. I almost booked Prague but then remembered the current floods and thought they might still be dealing with the aftermath of that in October.

Good points - we don't need to sit together I suppose, and that's the budget for flights and accommodation - food and sightseeing have a separate budget. I thought the bag you can have on easyjet etc was teeny tiny?

45 x 36 x 20cm which is probably bigger than you think. It's (very roughly) akin to a tote bag. Worth taking a tape measure to a bag/backpack you have to get an idea of what it looks like. I've done 2 nights with it and was surprised by how much I could fit

Cheap flights with no cabin bag (ok for 2 days) may be 150 for 2 people. (I frequently travel alone for about 60 return. I'm not in London but there are London flights that cheap). Hotel will be harder, but you can get 2 nights for 150 in some European capitals. It leaves 200 left for all the rest. It's tight but doable. I usually have one or two meals from the supermarket (which means I'm paying the same as I'd pay at home for a meaI) I would start in skyscanner to check the flights and booking for the hotels.

What about going to the website of your preferred departure airport and scanning the departures/arrivals on a couple of different days? Direct flights are quicker and usually cheaper for a start. Might give you some inspo.

Sign up for Jacks Flight Club to get cheap flight alerts.
Choose somewhere where the airport is close to the city and the entertainments costs are reasonable.

Likely to be cheapest to fly Tuesday to Thursday. I can find loads of flights for £30 return each to Spain, Italy and other European destinations for tues-Thurs. Yes they are via Stansted but even increased travel costs of parking etc should offset the very cheap flights. Agree with pp a small rucksack should be plenty and if you really have to have more share a cabin bag - don’t add cabin bag + seat booking, click no then add a single bag separately.

i never really stay in hotels as find much better choices via Airbnb, more space, can make your morning tea and grab your own breakfast easily etc

Honestly, I would forget the idea of the flight, save yourself some travel time and cost and get a nicer hotel or Airbnb in this country.

Winchester? Royal Tunbridge Wells? Oxford? Cambridge?

Ryanair usually has some reduction on flights if you wait until less than a month before you go.

Loads of options

www.loveholidays.com/holidays/?departureAirports=LHR%2CLGW%2CLCY&nights=2&rooms=2&date=2024-10-01&flexibility=-2&sort=POPULAR&f.maxPerPersonPrice=30000

My sister and her partner went on a three day break to Budapest around this time last year for about £120 per person. That included flights and an okay hotel. They were located in the part which isn't the main bit (I get confused whether that is Buda or Pest) but she said it was extremely cheap to get a taxi to the other side to look around (maybe £2 or so) or you could hire electric scooters.

She had a great time there and pretty sure they didn't spend more than £500 between them. I think they found the deal via Holiday Pirates.

Gdańsk? Lovely city, cheap flights, cheap food etc once you're there.

UK how about Oxford and/or Bath? If you stayed somewhere in between you could have a day in each.

Also Cardiff maybe, cheaper accommodation than a lot of other cities

We also had a lovely holiday in Whitby, if that isn't too far

Lucky trip is a good app you can use to search.

Also my friend went to the Netherlands this summer and loved Rotterdam, preferred it to Amsterdam and it was cheaper.

And Cologne and Ghent are beautiful and cheaper than Berlin/Bruges etc

A scroll through https://www.reddit.com/r/HerOneBag/ will help you with your baggage and packing.

We stayed in Sopot nearby, fantastic place. We had 4 nights around a bank holiday for about 600 inc flights and accom so I’m sure OP could get a couple of nights for 500

I don't think you need any special advice or tactics to pack for a 2 day trip using a rucksack or holdall that fits within the size limit. You just put some clothes, toiletries and chargers etc in a bag.

For the trip, I'd look on the 'cheap flights in October' section of suitable airline websites (Easyjet and Ryanair) and see what it suggests. You should get your flights for under £200 for both of you, leaving £250-300 for the hotel and transfers, which can be by bus or train in just about any European city, so not expensive.

There are lots of options! Look on TUI even ai for your budget. They offer city breaks as well as coastal. How about Mallorca, flight time isn't too bad

Gdansk is a great call, lovely city and super cheap for eating and drinking out.

Look at British airways or jet 2 holidays. You can get some really good deals when you book flights and accommodation together, you also get a checked bag free when you buy a package with BA (not sure about Jet 2). We’ve just got a good deal to go to Budapest next may for 2 nights and flights for £240 each with BA. hardest part is working out where to go.

Thanks for the suggestions. We've decided to go to Brussels by train and head out to some nearby Belgian cities (as I don't think Brussels is the most romantic place). That removes the luggage question and means we don't have to travel to Stansted or Luton for a cheap flight.

I was very close to booking Dubrovnik but my DH didn't want to fly from LGW and LHR is too expensive 🙄

Dubrovnik is lovely but very expensive for eating out.

I love it when OPs update - enjoy your trip!