Help - Finding the cheapest 2013 holiday ANYWHERE/ANYTIME?

mmummy21

Hi guys

I have had some fab advice on this site before and thought you could all help me out again :-D

The OH and I would like to go abroad on a holiday somewhere next year in the summer season (I don't care what month it is as long as it's nice and hot at least mid 20s)

We have a DD born Nov 2010 so she's going to be around 2.5 and we also have a boy due July so he's going to be up to a year old. I do understand that taking such young children abroad may end up being more hard work than holiday (aha!)

How do you go about finding the cheapest holiday for 2 weeks in 2013 ANYWHERE at all? On any date?

Our only specifics are shorter than 4hour flight, short transfer (ideally around 1hour or less), sunny weather (but nowhere ridiculously hot like Egypt because of the kids), all inclusive and a reasonably child friendly hotel (no 18-30s or the like ;-) please). Within 30 mins walking distance of the resort centre would be a bonus. And not too fussed about the beach being close since the kids will likely just be too hot and bothered on the beach anyway.

I would also like it to be with a main/reliable travel agent like Thomas Cook etc. just to make things simple for the sake of travelling with very young children.

I want to book now, pay a deposit and pay a little each month as we are ridiculously rubbish at keeping money in a savings account.

Is it just a case of spending a few hours trawling the internet for deals and then comparing them with other websites. Most of the sites I have checked you can't search a range of dates places :-S So do I have to search all different places and dates individually? And then compare the cheapest on other websites? Isn't there a website that lists the best deals?

budgetflyer

You will be able to do the Algarve or Costa de Sol for around £100 pp next May/early June with a budget airline, going on this years prices
Probably start looking around Nov/Dec

If you want to book with a tour opp + all inc, then it will probably be a lot more

daveyjp

Check out First Choice and Porto Santo. 1 week AI in June £564.

duchy

Not really because there are too many variables.

You've yourself started by saying "Anywhere, anytime" then added a load of qualifications. I used to get this a lot when I worked in travel agencies..... you'd then suggest say ...Mainland Spain....and get told told Oh no not there.......or find a holiday-and then discover that the flight needed to be a day flight or had to be on a weekend etc etc.

As you really need a good overall price have you thought if you want self catering (cheaper basic price but more spending money needed) or some/all meals included. All inclusive might work well for you as there will be more facilities on site which with two small people is a consideration for some. Do you want a big hotel or would you be happier in a more personalized taverna style place ?

Timewise June would be a good time to go-late enough weather is guaranteed but schools aren't out so prices will be lower.

Northern Spain would be a possibility -short flight -cheap but beaches are coarse sand not fine sand-is that an issue for you ?

Greece and Turkey would be well priced too

You should be able to get a package with a free child place so essentially you'd be paying just for two adults provided you book early enough.but I'd think about the self catering v all inclusive thing first -a cheap holiday but a bigger holiday money budget may ultimately work out more expensive.

Most travelagents are fine with you popping in and paying a bit off each month so the money is out of your reach and will price match any better deal on the internet when you're booking.

When looking at flights remember that although night flights are cheaper most hotels will require you to give up your room in the morning but you may not be leaving the hotel til late evening which with a toddler and a baby can be tough and hard to manage so may be false economy.

Check insurance on-line it's usually cheaper than the travel agent's policy and you can often get the child cover free as well as the infant -and remember to take it out as soon as you've booked-leaving it til later is false economy.

mcfisco

Rather than asking for the cheapest, you're much better setting a budget and seeing what the best deal available within that budget is.

There'll always be places that are silly cheap, but there's usually a reason.

These sort of questions often remind me of when I was working in Siberia a few years ago and needed to hop around various sites.
The admin at the Russian consultants I was working for were very proud to let me know that they'd found me the cheapest helicopter in Russia :undecided
I'm sure it was just a translation thing though

richardw

Look at Menorca for June with Cosmos, Thomson, Thomas Cook, First Choice.

mmummy21

duchy wrote: »

Not really because there are too many variables.

You've yourself started by saying "Anywhere, anytime" then added a load of qualifications. I used to get this a lot when I worked in travel agencies..... you'd then suggest say ...Mainland Spain....and get told told Oh no not there.......or find a holiday-and then discover that the flight needed to be a day flight or had to be on a weekend etc etc.

As you really need a good overall price have you thought if you want self catering (cheaper basic price but more spending money needed) or some/all meals included. All inclusive might work well for you as there will be more facilities on site which with two small people is a consideration for some. Do you want a big hotel or would you be happier in a more personalized taverna style place ?

Timewise June would be a good time to go-late enough weather is guaranteed but schools aren't out so prices will be lower.

Northern Spain would be a possibility -short flight -cheap but beaches are coarse sand not fine sand-is that an issue for you ?

Greece and Turkey would be well priced too

You should be able to get a package with a free child place so essentially you'd be paying just for two adults provided you book early enough.but I'd think about the self catering v all inclusive thing first -a cheap holiday but a bigger holiday money budget may ultimately work out more expensive.

Most travelagents are fine with you popping in and paying a bit off each month so the money is out of your reach and will price match any better deal on the internet when you're booking.

When looking at flights remember that although night flights are cheaper most hotels will require you to give up your room in the morning but you may not be leaving the hotel til late evening which with a toddler and a baby can be tough and hard to manage so may be false economy.

Check insurance on-line it's usually cheaper than the travel agent's policy and you can often get the child cover free as well as the infant -and remember to take it out as soon as you've booked-leaving it til later is false economy.

Ahhh you have given me so much to think about.

You are right. I don't really want to go "anywhere" or "anytime". I was looking at search results etc. and a lot of the cheapest were for Turkey. But I don't know if I'm comfortable taking the kids there and think I may actually feel more relaxed taking them to mainland Spain or any of the Spanish islands.

I'm not quite sure what the difference is between coarse and fine sand is - can you tell I'm new at this? I was thinking we probably wouldn't spend too much time at the beach as our youngest is likely to be around 10-11 months and is probably going to get too hot/sticky/sandy etc. although I really have no idea!

Our kids are really young so it's hard to know what to book. I also need to think of the practical stuff which we forgot - pushchairs, milk, nappies etc. Oh dear!

I had thought of all inclusive as I like the security of it if we were to be mugged or lose our luggage etc. at least we can still eat. But realisitically in this day and age 2 adults and 2 children aren't going to be left to starve in a foreign country even in a major disaster are we?!?

I would be happy with a big hotel or a little personal place. Now I think of it I would happily give up the all inclusive for a nice little apartment or villa within walking distance of little bars/restaurants/shopping etc. But of course I want access to a pool!

I never even thought of the time of the flights, it's easy to see I have never been on holiday with children before. We've literally just booked the cheapest deal we've seen and gone for it. I can't imagine it being very much fun flying with a baby and toddler at 11pm at night and then having to collect luggage, get them into a car.

In fact I really need to work this out before even looking at holiday as now I've realised I may be better booking our own little private apartment or villa so that the kids can be put to bed in a seperate room if they are tired/grumpy and the OH and I can eat/have a drink/sit on the terrace etc rather than being tied into one hotel room!

Incapuppy

mmummy21 wrote: »

I'm not quite sure what the difference is between coarse and fine sand is - can you tell I'm new at this?

A few microns I should think!

Bob_the_Saver

[QUOTE I'm not quite sure what the difference is between coarse and fine sand is - can you tell I'm new at this? [/QUOTE]

The coarse sand tells blue jokes and says that you look like a chav,
the finer sand doesn't.

Incapuppy

Bob_the_Saver wrote: »

The coarse sand tells blue jokes and says that you look like a chav,
the finer sand doesn't.

Haha, my first thoughts were along similar lines but I decided not to be so facetious (for once!)

Bob_the_Saver

Incapuppy wrote: »

Haha, my first thoughts were along similar lines but I decided not to be so facetious (for once!)

It's OK leave it to me.