How the hoo do you afford a family holiday abroad?

Minnie_Mad

My partner and I save £300 pm from our salary for an annual week in the sun during the summer hols. We have 2 16 yr old teens who are not related so we need a 3 bed villa. This covers everything including spending. Holidays are important to us. We go in the last week of August which is cheaper but have to go on 12th August this year to be back in time for GCSE results so we are going to Turkey because it's cheap.

Tabbytabitha

Gloomendoom wrote: »

We have rented places in Devon/Cornwall and abroad. All things considered, I reckon the UK can compete.

This place sounds expensive at around £2k for week but it slept 14 so the price compares well with similar offerings abroad.

That looks lovely but, although it may sleep 14, it looks as if you can only seat 8 round either of the tables shown, so it does make me wonder how comfortable it would be with that number.

scd3scd4

copperclock wrote: »

Brilliant answers and advice, everyone. Thank you.

I kind of agree on the all inclusive hotels being not worth it as you don't see the country. Three of us are ginger, too, so we don't do well with too much sun!

You can and do if you book trips or hire a car. We took our boy all over Crete. Not everyone tries to get every drink form the AI bar.

scd3scd4

This will be the last time we will be limited to the expensive school holidays as my boy leaves next year.

Gloomendoom

Tabbytabitha wrote: »

That looks lovely but, although it may sleep 14, it looks as if you can only seat 8 round either of the tables shown, so it does make me wonder how comfortable it would be with that number.

We had 14 people staying there. The table in the kitchen seated 10 and there was a smaller table out of shot that could be added to the end to seat 14. In theory, it could also have been added to the table outside but it would have been a faff. (Mrs G has reminded me that we did actually drag the table outside)

There was also a large table in the dining room that seated 14.

DigForVictory

We've gone for a tent around the UK.
My back is killing me, but we get affordable family holidays & some glorious memories. The roof bars of lamentation & the topbag are doing brilliantly, five years on.

These overseas photos look *wonderful* but updating all the passports stops travelling where they'd be needed before we start. Copious mental notes being taken should any son fancy/get talked into an overseas wedding though!

DevilsAdvocate1

sulphate wrote: »

We don’t holiday abroad, simple. last couple of years we’ve gone to Cornwall for a week in the summer and rented a self catering holiday cottage. Husband and I actually find holidaying in this country simpler and more enjoyable than going abroad, although obviously it’s not for everyone. I think it cost us just under £1k last summer excluding spending money, but we didn’t spend much. Our son is 2 but we are limited to school holidays as husband is a teacher but if you can go outside these it would cost less. No way we could afford £4K for a summer holiday. We are the exception in our circle, I don’t know many families with young kids that can afford holidays at all.

When my eldest two were 3 and 1, we went to Denmark for 2 weeks. We hired an apartment on a farm and it was around £550 for the 2 weeks. We went on the ferry, which cost around £200 including the car.

As the boys were small, we didn't eat out at all though we got take away pizza a couple of times. I was always too tired on a night to go out and just wanted to get back to the apartment to sleep.

There were all sorts of animals on the farm which the boys could look at and interact with. The most expensive bit was visiting Legoland which we did twice. My son who was 1 at the time even remembers a small amout about Legoland, so it made an impression on him - he is 17 now and started to talk about it recently. Shocked me.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

I only went on a foreign holiday once as a child. That didn't stop me studying a language at A Level and living abroad and travelling a lot in my 20s. I wouldn't want any parent to think that if they can't afford an overseas holiday their children will grow up ignorant and unadventurous.

Roy.2

Go on holiday in school term time,if you have to pay a fine,you will find it a lot cheaper than holidaying in the school holiday time

scd3scd4

Roy.2 wrote: »

Go on holiday in school term time,if you have to pay a fine,you will find it a lot cheaper than holidaying in the school holiday time

That's what I would do, however in the final years of my boys schooling I wont.