Extortionate uk holidays .. again

[Justwantohibernate]

Sorry I know this topic has probably been discussed before but I can’t get over how expensive uk holidays are compared to abroad, the problem is we have a 2 year old and school age children so long drives wouldn’t be fun and I don’t like flying, I don’t want to stay at some dirty mouldy super cheap resort/accommodation. However looking at holidays for the Easter/May break the prices are extortionate. How do ordinary people like us on decent salaries but mortgage etc afford these prices? Where do you go on holiday in the UK with children during the school holidays?

The usual cheap classic holidays - camping or caravanning.

I agree that UK holiday costs have gone through the roof since Covid, they used to be incredibly cheap.

Can you not bear a short two and a half hour flight to Portugal or France?

Staying in self catering a bit away from the main tourist areas helps - more rural accommodation tends to be better value.

Having a shorter city break - say three nights in a premier inn - can also work well.

Otherwise, yes holidays taken in school holidays are expensive.

As per PP - I wouldn’t write off caravans. Some are lovely. But the nicest / lux caravans on a site tend to be in demand and cost more.

I’m afraid I almost always go abroad for my holidays now. It’s not much more expensive, if at all, to go to Greece or Italy where I will be almost guaranteed better weather and nicer, cheaper, food. Adding in the things to be seen and experienced, it’s a no brainier that if I am spending good money on a holiday, it is a better bet to go abroad.

Dirty mouldy accommodation is also available in the U.K.

you could drive to France and get the shuttle/eurostar? Self catering?

Youth hostel association. You can get a private en suite room for up to six people. Book Monday to Thursday as the price usually doubles for the weekend.
A lot of them have self catering facilities. The breakfast is really good though....
They also have games rooms with books, games and a pool table.

Get the Eurostar to France, Belgium or Holland?

What are you looking for? We mostly holiday on the UK for lots of reasons, it is almost always cheaper than going overseas and much easier for us. We use hotels or self catering cottages. Cottages were much easier when the children were small. We would eat out for lunch and dinner, or take a picnic.

If you tell us what you like doing, we can probably suggest options!

No :( we did a few drive to holidays in Europe before our youngest was born, the quality and price were amazing even in the school holidays. We did a UK one in term time earlier in the year which a great price, 5 times cheaper than the school holiday price. Looking a a caravan for the Easter weekend and £1000+ just ridiculous for 3 nights, we’d have to scrimp and save all year for that

Yes think we might look at that again, we’ve done a couple of Airbnb types holidays through booking.com and they’ve probably worked out the best value, although quality of the accommodation is always a bit hit and miss, usually about £150 a night and have national trust membership which helps,
still works out at £7-800 for just a long weekend in rainy April though whereas we get a whole week at an amazing sunny Italian holiday park complete with pools, parks, entertainment and kids clubs for less

Just go abroad then...? travelling really isnt that bad and is a means to an end!

Had looked into it but Eurostar still quite expensive for 5 of us (4 paying)

Yes we did before our youngest was born and will again in a couple of years as find not so bad travelling once they’re 4-5

Definitely be nice for our older children but don’t think would suit so much with our 2 year old, easier to be in our own contained accommodation where can be cooking in the kitchen while she plays in the lounge etc then a shared kitchen

That’s what I’m saying, actually everywhere we’ve stayed in Europe has been exceptionally clean but our experience of the cheapest uk holiday parks made us wish we were just in our nice clean dry warm home

@Justwantohibernate the one in York has toys for all ages ❤️.

Yes we did Italy and it was absolutely amazing and for the price too, we were all sad to have to leave so soon!! I couldn’t get over the quality you get compared to what you pay in the UK and then the lovely weather etc too.
The major expense was the French toll roads but we’d perhaps choose a different route next time. The journey was exhausting but we’ll be back in a heartbeat as soon as our youngest a bit older, our next youngest was 4 when we went which worked out well

There is a really nice caravan in park we go to in Devon that our kids think is amazing and is very clean etc, we went earlier in the summer during term time and got an amazing deal but now our oldest is in secondary school I don’t think we’ll get away with another term time holiday as they are really strict about everything. We used to go during the summer holidays but it’s so expensive and just can’t do it with the current cost of living.

I live in a nice coastal area in Scotland, not mega touristy, and even here, a 2 bedroom cottage is around £1800 for a week.

Ridiculous.

Looking for something in a scenic area within 2 hours of the midlands during Easter or May school holidays, 3 bedrooms, and closeish to some not expensive local attractions (NT parks with adventure playgrounds a huge bonus) or online playground/activities/pool be good. Price wise, not more than £500 including travel and entertainment etc for a long weekend or around £1000 for the May half term. People will probably laugh at our budget but I really don’t understand how people
are affording more unless quite well off, low
mortgage, inheritance, family gifts etc

It’s just crazy!! Would love to go up to Scotland but think it might be something for when the kids are older

sorry just realised re previous post

Peak district, Yorkshire, North Wales are all within that travelling time. There are plenty of NT properties and also English Heritage. Having looked recently, 3 bed self catering cottages are available from around £750, less in less touristy areas. We tend to stick to NT places, geocaching, walks, beaches - so activities are minimal cost usually.

Hoseasons will have holiday park options in your budget. You'll get something better at May half term with the larger budget + better chance of decent weather.

Try somewhere like Tywyn or Barmouth. There is a holiday letting company called Lounge Lettings which is reasonable,
That area of Wales will be cheaper than Pembrokeshire or Wales for example. Not much to do for older kids though,
We also had a long weekend in a Travelodge in Llandudno and adult dd has booked a couple of nights in a Premier Inn in Blackpool which can be very reasonable. I know Blackpool gets knocked on Mumsnet but it’s good for kids.