budget family holiday - help!

dmm82

Hi all,

I am trying to organise a family holiday for this August for myself, my partner and two kids aged 9 and 13. It's not looking like we can afford to go on a sun holiday as budgets are very tight so I'm at a loss of what to do. Was thinking maybe Thorpe Park or a Butlins resort in the UK but know very little about them. Or maybe it would be as cheap to get a late deal to Spain or somewhere? Would stay in Ireland but the weather is so bad. Anyone got any advice on a good budget family holiday that the adults and the kids will enjoy?

Thanks

Daisy M

London olympics are on in August so flight and hotel prices could be expensive. What budget are you looking at?

hawkwind23

have you considered poland?
krakow is a great city and you could spend 2/3 days seeing all the sights then take 3/4 days in the TATRA mountains.
so much for the kids to do , one of the best waterparks ive ever seen in zaopane and slovakia just a short distance away.

flights are cheap
food and drink is both good and cheap
and accommodation is good and cheap too

hawkwind23

i have two kids the same age and i find its essential to get out of the eurozone.
the kids always are wanting drinks etc etc and its so expensive.
ive been to london and we had a great time and cheap too although we did have the use of a free flat for the week. problem as said is the Olympics so i would rule that out.
we did the cheapy to majorca a few years back , was £250 or something for the week but the money we spent when there was ridiculous and i wouldnt go again.
stupid prices for crap food and even simple things like a beach lounger and umbrella was €25!

the main thing is some nice stress free time with the family and my advice is to go somewhere that you can all enjoy eating out and things and not be getting annoyed at the price of everything esp when the kids are always wanting.

phog

When our kids were younger we used to head to the the UK with Stena Lines, the Lake District and Poole were my 2 favourite, I'd guess the Olympics could drive up the prices in Poole, maybe right across England as Londoners may move out to avoid some of the hassle.

You could also look at flying to France/Germany/Italy for similar type holdays, flying may work out cheaper than driving as booking a ferry now could be expensive, you could also consider the land bridge via UK and the tunnel/ferry to the continent.

dmm82

Thanks for the replies everyone, im hoping to get the holiday including flights/transport for 1500 then I will hopefully have a few hundred spending money, really am stumped as of what to do though!

Daisy M

When Ryanair introduce new flight routes they are usually cheaper for the first year. this is true of Knock airport anyway. So anyway to fly from Knock to Paris Beauvais, which is about an hour outside Paris, would cost including charges and one case would cost approx 400e for the end of July. You can get it cheaper if you change dates. Maybe you might get a deal with a camp site and have change out of your 1500e?

robbie1876

Butlins / Thorpe Park are definitely not places to spend a week if you are on a tight budget. You will spend so much money there, particularly with kids that age! A colleague and his family drove to Butlins in Wales last year for a holiday that started out at less than €1000 including ferry and he ended up spending €3000 in total for the week. Might be an extreme case, but be careful!

This year we (2 adults, 1 child, 1 baby) spent about 2 months scouring the internet for flight / hotel deals. We had a similar budget to you, €1500 including spending money and really wanted to go somewhere sunny. Eventually, through persistance and a bit of luck, we booked Ryanair to Tenerife and spent 9 nights here on a half board deal. Flights and hotel in total cost €1150 including taxes etc and we spent around €450 on hire car and spending money, so just €100 over budget.

You really should be looking for a half board deal, you'll be able to budget your spending better if you know food is boxed off in advance. Eventually we found our hotel deal on travelrepublic.ie but be patient, visit every travel site from every country and you'll uncover a cracking deal eventually.

Good luck!

mp22

Try this http://www.lowcostholidays.ie/bookingsummarynew.aspx
Remove the luggage and bring a bag each on the plane.

man98

What you should do is get SailRail tickets form Rosslare or Dublin for €40 to Britain, find a Travelodge and find good activities nearby. Another option is foot passenger to Cherbourg or Roscoff which only costs €60 or so. Although, from personal expierience, North France is getting a terrible summer!