Holiday abroad with 3 children - can we afford it?

TRAVELMAN_2

Hi-register with RYANAIR-the split second their Summer 2005 flts go on sale THATS your time to package up.

You can DIY yourself or get an Agent to do it for you who has an ATOL licence (as we do)-this way the whole package is covered & with the direct Hotel rates it'll cost you no more money.

Feel free to PM me once the flights are released-will see what I can do.

Chris

amanda40

We took our two boys 3 and 5 last year to the El Paso hotel in Salou. Our friends have 3 kids and it worked out pricey for them. But the Theme Park itself - Port Adventura ( Universal) is fantastic. Our two kids loved it - so did we, Even camping nearby or in apartments - you could have a few days in the park, ad it is reasonaly priced.

Riog

Having our third child about 8 years ago put us in the same boat re enormous increase in our holiday prices and was the main reason we invested in a property abroad. Its saved us hundreds every year and gave our parents and family much needed long breaks in the sun. As previously mentioned be on the look out for Ryanair & Easyjets summer flight
releases in the next few weeks.

Felix

Properties rented directly from owners can significantly reduce costs since you are cutting out the middle man.

Try https://www.ownersdirect.co.uk or https://www.holiday-rentals.com

Huge selection for almost anywhere.

For example https://www.madeirahouse.co.uk - 3 bedroom villa in a 5 star resort in the Algarve, close to beach, restaurants and bars. Out of season there are good deals to be had plus good weather. Cheap flights via Easyjet, flybe, etc.

niallmitch

Agree about hiring properties direct - try https://www.homelidays.com - we got a brilliant 8 berth house in Italy for two weeks in August for 500 euros

Tom_Saunders

last year we flew from Bristol to Malage for 15 nights. 2 adults and 2 children end June early July. Flight for 4 people were £404.(Total).

We then booked out apartment which was 2 beds, all mod cons, sky tv etc for £600 for the whole 15 days.....

Total cost £1,004 for 15 nights......

It's easily done for £1,500 keep checking easy jet in the new year.

Cheers.

budgetflyer

TRAVELMAN wrote:

Hi-register with RYANAIR-the split second their Summer 2005 flts go on sale THATS your time to package up.

You can DIY yourself or get an Agent to do it for you who has an ATOL licence (as we do)-this way the whole package is covered & with the direct Hotel rates it'll cost you no more money.

Feel free to PM me once the flights are released-will see what I can do.

Chris

Hi again TRAVELMAN . Do you add on a surcharge for the "no frills flights"
Ryanair had a thing going about some travel agents adding a £20 surcharge onto their flights just to wrap it up in a ABTA bonding

TRAVELMAN_2

Hi! Very much depends on accommodation supplier. In 85% of cases we don't-as the accom. rates we get are so much lower than is available to the public( & also pay good commision) so no need to mark-up at all.

If it's a fairly low-value booking then yes-we may mark-up slightly but in these cases we find 95% of customers are happy as the time/skill that DIY needs is taken away from them.

Chris

hpiper

Have you tried looking at Center Parcs abroad. Compared to the British ones, thye are cheaper. We've been to Holland twice and have loved it. They also do them in other countries.

We've also been to the Isle of Wight - okay I know its not abroad but kids think it is 'cause they have to go on a ferry. Its a great place to go to on holiday, with a wide choice of activities to do, and accomodation types.

Geordie_Tom

We have three children and although these holiday companies 'say' they have family rooms, the choice is very limited, possibly only one hotel in the whole resort (or island if travelling to Greece). First Choice did that to us, we booked the ONLY place that would take five of us in the room, and the day before we travelled, they rang us up and said that place wasn't ready yet and would have to offer us alternative accommodation.....Where? We were supposed to be travelling to the Greek Island of Rhodes and they wanted to transfer us to Kos as that was the only other hotel offering accommodation which would take three children in a room. That meant flying out on completely different dates,from an completely different airport! In the end they offered us an upgrade, from SC to half board and told us we would have inter-connecting rooms! They lied!! We had to sleep in two rooms throughout the whole holiday! Since then we have always done the DIY option and found it much cheaper and in fact better! Two years ago we purchased our own place in Tenerife (all round sunshine) and offer it out to others - we consider it a child friendly complex and our apartment sleeps 5 no bother! If you're interested our website is https://www.royalpalm-tenerife.co.uk. We flew to Tenerife this year (In the school holidays) for a little over £100 return each - that's great value (Globespan) when you consider how far you are travelling, and only yesterday I had an email from Thomsons offering flights to Tenerife for December starting at £1.49 (that's without airport taxes etc) but still excellent value. And they weren't just for publicity, a member of our family managed to get those flights out of Luton - and they are paying just over £16 return, approx £80 return with the taxes etc. So it is possible to have a reasonable family holiday in great accommodation, for a decent price.......you just have to search a little harder for it