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?

Something like this?
https://www.hoseasons.co.uk/accom/penllwyn-lodges-penl?adult=2&child=3&infant=0&pets=0&range=3&nights=7&accommodationType=holiday-parks&start=26-05-2027&index=search&accommodationTypes=&features=&siteFeatures=&page=1&sort=priceasc&displayMode=LIST&ne=53.200594636958854%2C+-2.45220478940553&sw=52.33986103358527%2C+-3.50689228940553&regionName=Map+area&minPrice=null&maxPrice=1000&searchPageReferrer=true

Have you tried glamping? We really like staying in Yurts or Shepherds Huts.

This one is great - https://meidrimmeadows.co.uk/

I think it's about £100 per night but it is cheaper for a week booking. I think we paid about £600. It's got a mini kitchen and microwave so we cooked in some of the time to keep costs down.

We also like the yurts at graig wen:
https://share.google/pGxfMGax201fRMOAd

But you don't have ensuite with them.

Park & pool onsite
https://www.hoseasons.co.uk/accom/brynteg-country-and-leisure-retreat-bclr?adult=2&child=3&infant=0&pets=0&range=3&nights=7&accommodationType=holiday-parks&start=31-05-2027&index=search&accommodationTypes=&features=&siteFeatures=&page=1&sort=priceasc&displayMode=LIST&ne=53.47157778673825%2C+-3.9587222389984578&sw=53.04604289855662%2C+-4.486065988998457&regionName=Map+area&searchPageReferrer=true

I bloody love blackpool. Grew up near to it and used to do day trips and when me and my kids used to stay with grandparents we went all the time

the tower, the beach, my son still remembers ripley’s beleive it or not and they loved loved loved the pleasure beach.

do you have any rellies you can visit? That’s usually helpful for accommodation. We usually went to grandparents.

Eurostar! Train holidays are fab for young kids as they can move around in the carriage, you can eat, play etc. Agree long car journeys would be horrible.

In the UK you can do some nice farm stays and things which are lovely for young kids but you do need to hunt around.

Would you like some recommendations, where in the UK would you ideally want to go? Do you have an idea for budget?

@Justwantohibernate why won’t you fly?

If it is a fear, you really should consider fighting it and pushing yourself to go. The few hours you are uncomfortable for is going to be nothing compared to the discomfort of days of driving to go anywhere. You’d also set a good example to the kids about facing fears.

Apologies if it’s another reason or health related

You could go over to France on Brittany Ferries to Roscoff. Lots of nice places to stay within 10 miles and close to a sandy beach for little one. I much prefer the boat to a plane. You can walk around and they do entertainment for little ones. I get a cabin and go overnight so decent sleep too. Restaurants on board are ok and good value foroney also doing a kids box. You can take your car too.

When my kids were small I took them to a Haven holiday park at Primrose Valley but there are lots of other ones. They do kids clubs and good kids entertainment as well as a big swimming pool with lots of fun bits in it.

We go on one holiday a year in the summer for a week and save for it. This year we paid £1500 for a weeks caravan Haven Devon cliffs

I don’t.

I usually pay £660-£1000 for a nice 3 bed cottage or similar at Easter or in the Summer Holidays
We go abroad as well but we like to do a few Uk breaks with the dog as well each year
We go to Northumbria or North yorkshire and its lovely - cold but we don't care. We got hit by Storm Dave last Easter and still had a brilliant time

Are you scared of flying, or just thinking it could be hard work with little ones?

Thinking a flight to Amsterdam takes less than an hour and some fantastic, reasonable bungalow parks once you are in The Netherlands.

Thank you, that looks lovely!! Can even get a £40 blue light discount apparently, around £600 for a Monday to Friday break or £865 for a 7 night break, something we’ll seriously consider!! 🥰

A bit of both, yes loads of amazing eurocamp parks if only I was ok with flying!! Although some of them can be difficult to get to unless hiring car

Do a home swap with someone if you live somewhere nice

Thanks, maybe something we’ll consider for year after, hoping will be a bit easier to travel with our youngest by then as usually find they start to get a lot easier to travel with by around 4, so perhaps something like that then and then a bit further afield the year after. The kids loved the ferry when we used to go abroad

book a premier inn about a year in advance to get the cheapest rates

Get the Eurostar to somewhere like the Belgian or Dutch coast.

I’ve done eurostar with small babies and older children and it has been great, our youngest just at that age when anything more than a 45 min train journey gets quite stressful, found with the others though that even by 3ish gets a lot easier as happier to sit and focus in an activity book etc so hoping definitely by 4 can do Eurostar again, just quite expensive but sometimes good deals early in the morning

We did a premier inn recently on a stop over and got an amazing deal and quite impressed with it, looked up for the following week and was 4x the price for same room

We definitely don’t pay that. We did 5 nights at a very nice holiday 3 bed cottage (think cute village, thatched, walking distance to a nice pub, tree swing in garden, hot tub) for about £800 last Easter. This was in Dorset, which is about a 2 hour drive for us. I never pay more than £90 a night for accommodation in the UK and we always stay in similar quaint holiday cottages in Cornwall/Devon/Dorset/North Wales.

The week altogether cost maybe £1500, if you include fuel, a few paid days out (we went on a steam train one day was was probably £60 for a family pass), ice creams, a couple meals out. I do my usual Tesco shop so we aren’t spending a whole lot more on food than we would be during the school holidays at home. We take packed lunches and tend to cook dinner at the holiday let. I’m not a bit fan of eating out. A couple times is plenty but definitely not every day. I don’t mind cooking and my food is better than a restaurant anyway. I don’t drink and dh will have a few beers some evenings, but we don’t spend loads on alcohol.

Our days are spent at the beach or walking or NT (we already have a membership so that’s no added cost). We will do one or two paid entry type activities in a week, so quite affordable. This is very similar to what our week would look like if we are home during the school holidays. Definitely never spent £1000 for a weekend away even when Dh and I went on a posh spa break with posh restaurant dining and breakfast included!

We always have a UK holiday. Never pay more than about £800 (but often less) for 4-5 nights. Airbnb and just being a bit creative about timing and locations. You can get excellent deals. The house next to us used to be a holiday let til last year. 3 bedroom detached house on 30 acres with a woodland for kids to play in and a stream for splashing in. Never more than £500 for a full week.

My DH would agree 🤣

We do self catering and similar low cost days out, mainly NT, we may splash out on the occasional budget meal out costing £50 or so for all of us. Just trying to get it all in including travel for £500 for a long weekend can be a challenge with the high accommodation costs during the school holiday is difficult. We managed a whole week away in Devon for that in the summer outside of the school holidays

Just fly, the prices here are insane

We found an overnight ferry to France and a lovely mobile home site a short drive away was the best possible holiday with small DC. Did it for years from 6 months old to young teens. Not too expensive if you are savvy, and don’t mind cooking simple meals and filling the freezer with ice cream.

Or dare I say it, the newspaper deals for mobile homes are good if you do your research on which brands and sites to target. The Isle of Wight is good.