Sad that we will probably never overseas again

[BooseysMom]

Just that really. We're in our early 50s and had a child late in our 40s. We never seem to have enough money and everything just gets more and more expensive. We are both working but don't earn that much. We rented for so long that we didn't get on the property ladder until late. We have holidays but they're the same each year, a caravan in Devon. Never anything more adventurous. We would have to get passports sorted too which is more expense. I don't know what i'm asking really except why have we got so boring and even too scared to go anywhere different? It's crazy when you only get one life!

Whilst I agree with pps saying in fact holidays abroad (in the sense of European countries anyway) can be cheaper than UK, one big motivation for me in keeping healthy is to be able to travel a bit more when no longer tied to school holidays!

OP to me £570 for a week in a caravan sounds extortionate. But I’ve never been a caravan sort of person. But why would you pay that when you can get an Appartment abroad for less? Yes the travel might cost a bit more than driving to Devon, but usually you’ll find cost of living - food etc - to be slightly cheaper. I hope you enjoy researching and pricing up some options.

Well it depends where we're going. I used gites.fr for France last time. I don't really understand why people are so wedded to Airbnb, I usually look on there first and then try to find the same/similar places either directly with the owner or via a platform that doesn't add on so many charges.

Vrbo is supposed to be good for self catering overseas.

OP look on the extreme day trips Facebook groups. People do short breaks as well as day trips, although obviously passports add to the cost. But there's a few places in Spain and Poland are comparatively inexpensive.

Do you both work full time? I know costs have gone up, but a lot of the time, people can't afford 'big' things like holidays because they're leaking away a few quid a week here and there on all sorts of other stuff so sometimes all that is needed is a budget review to make sure you're not spending too much on things like phones, broadband, subscriptions, food and drink etc. Or look for ways of making bits of extra money like changing your bank account etc and ringfence that money for holidays. Moneysaving Expert is good for things like this.

Look at the money makeover and get the weekly email for ongoing tips on how to make your money go further.

https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/family/money-help/

But it’s not a total cost - you’ll have food costs there

Imjustwonderingnow
Sorry for the late response. I had your post bookmarked to go back to and never did!
So I was 40 when I had mine. I really wanted another but it never happened and luckily DS is very happy being king of the castle!

So true about memories can be just as nice in Devon. We have had the best hols in Woolacombe 😃

This year we have collected the 5 tokens for the Sun holidays but maybe we were too late as all the dates we could do are gone!

@BooseysMom Does anyone in your family like city breaks? Do a shorter trip and explore a European city, booking cheap flights when released and renting AirBNB? You can get good deals that way.

Could one or both of you do some extra work at the weekends or evenings to put the ££ aside for a holiday?

scissy that's a good idea but being a country bumpkin born & bred, I'm not sure I'd cope with a big city!

FormerlySpeckledyHen Well I have been doing some overtime at work and have put aside enough for a car which has to come first as I need it to get to work. I hope I can carry on saving though for a holiday but being on a low salary it won't be anything exotic

What about your husband OP?
Tutoring maybe, or any temp/agency/seasonal random work during the long summer break?
Advertise himself on your local FB site.

We both have good jobs and have only been abroad on holiday twice in 15 years both times to Europe. We have to prioritise and would rather go less but have the holiday we want when we do go. I don't know many people who go abroad every year, and those that do compromise in other areas.

Look for the flash sales that come up with Eurostar & then book own accommodation. Doesn't have to be a full week.
We did Rome for a few days in October half-term one year and it was much cheaper, quieter and better temperature than the summer. Cheap flight & a hotel from booking.com

I think "never" is probably not right. I remember overseas holidays seeming absolutely out of reach when our dc were little, but now I have teens and don't need to pay for childcare, both our careers have continued and our income has increased, so it's a possibility now.

I think, in the middle of the slog of parenting young dc, it seems like things are never going to be different, but they will be.

For affordable holidays, I used to go on the budget airlines that flew from out closest airport and look for the maps for direct flights, then try to find unpopular dates to travel. We had a couple of lovely holidays in Paris with very cheap flights (under £30pp), chose basic accommodation and didn't eat out, but had a great time.

We've loved driving to France using the ferry when our kids were small. And then staying in gites or campsites. France is really good for driving as their service stations are usually a bit nicer than ours! And you can avoid the peages and take the back roads.

FormerlySpeckledyHen that's not a bad idea actually..thank you. 😃

City break doesn’t have to be in a big city.
it can be a small European city even in the south of Europe so you can have a beach there and have some swimming too.

Exam marking for some extra cash?
Taking your own car on a ferry is the cheapest way of getting abroad as a family in school hols. Even with a port hotel. Package with ferry and sc accommodation from Brittany Ferries (France) worked out cheapest for us.

Air travel can have loads of add on costs like parking, transfers, check in luggage, seat reservations etc.
But Devon is lovely, don't knock it!

You are on the property ladder and you have a delightful child.

Some people would relish a holiday in Devon each year.
Count your blessings.

We save up and take one big holiday every 5 years. No holiday inbetween, just days off work at home. Depressing but it is what it is and the big holidays are amazing and memorable.

Thanks. I am indeed counting them! (My blessings that is!) and have given myself a good talking to..and have booked a holiday in the Isle of Wight! It will be kind of like going abroad and we won't need passports! And DS will enjoy the ferry ⛴️

We’ve taken ours to Florida and all sorts of places around the world, but the one holiday they bring up more than any others? Our caravan holiday to Isle of Wight during Covid, they loved it. Have a lovely time OP.

I have also just booked May half term self catering, but in France, for 5 people. The ferry Dover - Calais is cheap, but if Calais is inconvenient try Newhaven - Dieppe or Portsmouth - Caen or Le Havre.
Eurocamp is very cheap, but sometimes it is even cheaper to book direct through the campsites they use.
You can use Tesco Clubcard vouchers for Eurocamp, P&O and Irish Ferries. You can also use cashback sites for some of these.
If you prefer flying, use skyscanner.net and filter by whole country and whole month. That's how I ended up on holidays in Germany and Spain in the past, with flights for around a tenner per person each way + fees. Then book self catering accommodation separately. It really can be cheaper than the UK.
We will be in France for 6 days, 2 adults and 3 kids, and it is costing us under £700 for travel and accommodation. I do need to renew some passports though.

I'm on a low income (single mum and I had my youngest at 41 😱) and I'd go mad if we couldn't go abroad!

We've had a lot of camping holidays in France. Yes, there's the ferry over there- and we're in the deep SW so use Brittany Ferries, usually about £500 for a return trip with car in the summer holidays- but I'm sure Dover/ Calais or DFDS's routes are much cheaper.
We have been known to come back 1 or 2 days into the autumn term, which mysteriously makes the return ferry crossing much much cheaper.

Once you're over there, camping is very cheap and very good! Forget Eurocamp if you're on a budget and search for "Camping Municipale" or "Camping a la ferme"on Google maps. We have rarely paid more than £30 per night for the 3 of us.

I find that since the price of food in the UK has gone up, French supermarkets don't seem that expensive any more!

You can get camping stuff really cheaply on Facebook Marketplace.

If not camping, I find Booking.com is usually the best place to get cheap accommodation. You can filter by price- or search on the map to see where the cheapest places are. I've used it so much that I now get a Genius discount on a lot of places, which makes them even cheaper.

Ooh, forgot to say- Brittany Ferries are definitely erm "reassuringly expensive", but they do some really good 3 or 5 day return ferry+ car+ family deals for a very good price. I'm talking something like £200- odd.