How the hoo do you afford a family holiday abroad?

svain

FBaby wrote: »

Holidays abroad are very important to us. Kids love going abroad, the excitement of it, the new discoveries, and I like both learning about new places/cultures and the mental relaxation that comes with being miles away from all the 'most does'. So saving for these take priority over things that similar families seem to spend money on.

I don't buy clothes very often and when I do, it's always on sale. No make up, creams, and all those things that supposedly will make you younger but never does! I don't smoke or drink, only do take away on birthdays/special occasions. No Costa coffees, no latest mobile phones, Now TV, no ipad, no fancy new furniture, decorations etc...

It's amazing how quickly you can save giving up 'little' things. It's take a year to save, so start as soon as we are back, and have never booked on a credit card.

Although i agree with the reason to holiday I cant agree with this kind of daily/weekly sacrifice for an annual holiday. Life is short and tomorrow may never come.

bylromarha

We've had some amazing holidays with our kids.

Unfortunately Tesco clubcard no longer choose to finance them!

I'm currently looking around for cheap flights to Thailand. SE Asia is really cheap to DIY holiday in. 4 of us touring vietnam/Cambodia in 2014 for a month was just over £3k, including internal vietnamese flights.

Kim_kim

svain wrote: »

Although i agree with the reason to holiday I cant agree with this kind of daily/weekly sacrifice. Life is short and tomorrow may never come.

But those are just things. When you are on your death bed you will remember your experiences, the places you visited, the things you did.
Not the consumer goods you bought.

Gavin83

consumers_revenge wrote: »

Lets face it, its a huge ripoff with the government and holiday companies in cahoots.


We are going abroad this year and its in the summer holidays, 7 nights in 2 bed ( lucky TBH ) in spain. That's £1830 plus food/spending. We could decorate the front/back rooms, plastered and recarpeted for what were paying for a week. This will be a 1 off I'm afraid. The family has plenty of UK holidays but will be nice to not be driving and somewhere unvisited.


Time Disney right and use the correct sites and last year for 4 of us 5 days was £1180 inc Eurostar and breakfasts in the resort. You have to play with dates to hit the sweet spot.


The spain hol we booked just after august this year. I have kept an eye on the price and its gone up by an eye watering £500 since


Its madness to be honest.

It’s a simple case of supply and demand. More people want to go on holiday during the school holidays and therefore the prices increase. There’s no conspiracy about it.

fred246

We use our touring caravan for summer holidays & whit week. France, Germany, Holland, Devon, Cornwall, Dorset, Norfolk, lake District etc etc. Always have a great time. Paying £40 a night roughly for top sites. We tend to fly away for Easter. I love leaving UK about 5 degrees and it's 20 in Spain. Normally rent a villa. 2 full weeks. Only problem is it's a bit too cold to use outdoor pool. Much cheaper than July & August. October & Feb half term are for city breaks. Cheap flights & hotel or Airbnb. Normally away 7 weeks a year.

svain

Kim_kim wrote: »

But those are just things. When you are on your death bed you will remember your experiences, the places you visited, the things you did.
Not the consumer goods you bought.

Spending quality time chatting over a coffee is also an experience (even in Costa). Eating out as family, sharing a takeaway .... all experiences that can be fondly remembered. Makes more sense to me to reduce annual holiday cost so can loosen the reigns on the modest stuff.

fred246

One year we had 2 weeks in Brittany planned for August. Fab campsite with waterslides etc Loads of activities. Beach. About £700 with ferry, site fees, diesel etc. Wife came home. Some friends invited her to go to California to visit. Flights RV hire etc £10K. I remember saying I would love either holiday. Seeing that one cost a fraction of the other and I would love either we went for cheaper option. Maybe people go for exotic holidays when you'd enjoy a cheaper one as much.

Tabbytabitha

Take the car over to France or Belgium and self cater.

Robisere

I led the kind of life when I was young, that gave me experiences all over the world. I was at sea from 16 to 18, had been around the world twice before I was 17½. Joined the Army at 19 for 12 years and served all over the Middle and Far East. Whilst in the Army I started a family in Germany and holidayed all over Europe. That broke up and I cam eout of the Army, hooked up with an old mate and holidayed in Canada, Austria and Germany. Met and married my wife, inherited the smashing family I have now and we carried on going abroad: Mallorca, Malta, Bavaria, Austria.

Now we are both in our 70's, having done our last holiday abroad (Danube River cruise) it is just too much hassle for us to fly. Due to the amount of medical stuff we have to carry and the harsh treatment of certain airport staffs, we have packed it in. However, we live very near to the Lincolnshire coast, there are miles and miles of good, quiet beaches, nature spots available. So if we have a holiday, it will be a few days inland at some place we haven't been before. And the kids keep taking the grandkids abroad.

Nothing can take away our memories, but I urge parents to take their children somewhere different now and again. The more they meet of people from foreign lands, the more open their minds will be.

This is a good site: people from all over Europe come here -
https://www.suncamp.co.uk/netherlands/limburg/venlo/

Belgium has some great sites:
https://www.suncamp.co.uk/belgium/ardennes/

LilElvis

consumers_revenge wrote: »

Lets face it, its a huge ripoff with the government and holiday companies in cahoots.

Care to explain this? It makes no sense, unless you're a fully paid up member of Conspiracy Theories International.

How does the UK government, or holiday companies, have influence over what a Spanish hotel chooses to charge?

It's supply and demand - simple economics.