£1200 for 4 long haul flight tickets - Christmas 2025

[StillSittingInACornerIHaunt]

Ok £1200 or thereabouts for flights. £1000 spenders. 1 week min.
2 adults, 2 DC (13&16).
I want to go somewhere exciting and different.
Happy to fly on Christmas day etc for cheaper options. Ideally not Europe as want to explore different cultures.
Budget for whole holiday is tiny I know - but this is the challenge.
We are used to backpacker level accommodation and cheap eats.
I know many readers will think it is impossible to do a family holiday on less than £20 squillion. It isn't.
The challenge really is the flights on the budget to somewhere fun and once the location is sorted I'm confident I'll find cheap accommodation etc
Thanks cheap flights sleuths...over to you...!

Bah sorry - flying from London or the south of England.

Ai suggests
India:
Mumbai: <a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=www.skyscanner.net/routes/lond/in/london-to-india.html&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwipro_WrbCNAxXmcaQEHdbqAKkQjJEMegQIFRAB&usg=AOvVaw0Sx-h0fMR91xnpsB_fyNib" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Skyscanner lists return flights to Mumbai for around £272.
Chennai: A return flight to Chennai can be found for £306, <a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=www.skyscanner.net/routes/lond/in/london-to-india.html&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwipro_WrbCNAxXmcaQEHdbqAKkQjJEMegQIGxAB&usg=AOvVaw17F8oDx_Zqj5Ss-inyRxHP" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">according to Skyscanner.
Kochi: Return flights to Kochi are available for £310, <a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=www.skyscanner.net/routes/lond/in/london-to-india.html&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwipro_WrbCNAxXmcaQEHdbqAKkQjJEMegQIGhAB&usg=AOvVaw0sCME37PGbOZPt1cGznP6p" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">according to Skyscanner.
Thiruvananthapuram: Return flights can be found for £317.
Amritsar: Return flights to Amritsar are available for £323.

Dominican Republic:
Punta Cana: TUI offers direct return flights to Punta Cana for around £300.

Other Destinations:
Istanbul:
<a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=www.expedia.co.uk/lp/b/flights-under-300-pounds&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwipro_WrbCNAxXmcaQEHdbqAKkQjJEMegQILxAB&usg=AOvVaw3En_eVdXtdVsYVHYjEQ_LC" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Expedia suggests that Istanbul is a popular and often affordable destination for flights from London.
Cyprus:
<a class="break-all" href="https://www.google.com/url?q=www.expedia.co.uk/lp/b/flights-under-300-pounds&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwipro_WrbCNAxXmcaQEHdbqAKkQjJEMegQINBAB&usg=AOvVaw27qidRuBj3YhC9eU5-_YkH" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Expedia also mentions Cyprus as a sun-drenched island that can be found for under £300.

Have you looked at Skyscanner?
For that budget you are probably looking at North Africa - if you don't want Europe.

I didn't get anywhere with long-haul but it looks like you could go to Turkey, Romania, Latvia or Morocco.

Turkey's so huge, interesting and varied, I'm sure there's tons of low-budget exploration to do.

I was going to say that you would be lucky to get to Morocco for £300 per person at Christmas. It’s peak flying season. Somewhere like Thailand on Christmas Day is £800 per person for flights. Have you looked?

You are already leaving it pretty late to book if you mean this Christmas. We fly to our home country on the other side of the world for Christmas every year and try to book in Feb, (flights generally released 11 to 12 months out), as the cheapest tickets sell out first. Sorry, realise that’s not helpful, but don’t dither now - find what you want and book it asap.

Don’t go to Cyprus! You might be lucky but we lived there in 2017 and Christmas was really cold!

Thanks all, I have done plenty of searching online of course. Asking here as I am wondering if there are any off the beaten track or less common locations - if you search online for the whole of the world, the 'usual' places tend to come up.
Skyscanner I find shows all manner of cheap flights to places but when you click on the links they're always loads more? India for example I'm not finding anything like those prices.
Thanks though @cestlavielife - I can see Xmas day flights to Istanbul for less than £300 each and I'd love to go there.
I don't mind cold by the way - it doesn't have to be winter sun.