How the hoo do you afford a family holiday abroad?

Tabbytabitha

consumers_revenge wrote: »

no I would be the first on the bandwagon :-) but its artificially generated.


again missing the point, if school holidays were staggered there would be no 'premium point' and hence there would be no super months where we would get held to ransom.


last year I think it was there was a school in wales that decided to put all of there 'inset' days together as they also believed in fair holidays and family time together. now do you think that would cost the same as a week in august, hell no! probably about a third.


what I'm trying to get at is I fully agree with the OP and its a massive struggle.

I bet that really helped all those parents who had other children at different schools.

consumers_revenge

like the planes to holiday destinations.....this point goes over your head.

Spendless

Tabbytabitha wrote: »

So, everybody's fault then?

If you owned a holiday cottage, can you honestly say that you'd charge the same rent in August as you would in March?

Not the same thing. Less people want to go in March as the first few weeks are usually bloody freezing and it can snow! My kids birthdays are at both ends of this month, so I know what the weather is usually like. A better question would be would you charge the same in June as in August, or even the same for the first 2 weeks of July compared to the last 2 weeks?

motorguy

dogcat wrote: »

I never went abroad with my parents as a child....I don’t think I was under privileged because of it. They could never afford it. I never took my kids abroad either. This is a luxury that the children can do as they get older ( teens/adults).

Likewise, neither did we. We did stuff like the lake district and the highlands of scotland by car. My dad is afraid of flying so it was always local stuff. I have many fond memories though - family holidays are what you make of them, not where you are.

maman

consumers_revenge wrote: »

like the planes to holiday destinations.....this point goes over your head.

I'm sure tabby understands only too well, but she doesn't have to agree.

Schools with academy status can choose to have different holidays but it won't help families unless all their children happen to be in the same school at the same time.

My own view is that families just have to accept that it's going to be more expensive in school holidays and it might mean fewer or different holidays for a few years or maybe none at all depending on income. Sadly, there are many people who can barely afford the 'needs' of food, warmth and shelter.

What I'd say to OP is that you need to think what you want your children to gain from going abroad. However pleasant, I don't think there's a huge benefit from an AI holiday in the sun. If you're prepared to forego guaranteed sunshine then you could go abroad more cheaply. As examples I'd say try Brittany Ferries holidays but the weather could be much like UK. Alternatively go for a 'cultural' holiday which could be more about sightseeing than swimming. I've recently come back from a holiday in Poland and learned so much from a visit to Auschwitz. Flights to places that aren't known holiday destinations can be much cheaper.

As a general point I don't think holidays at home are necessarily cheaper. Hotels in this country can be very expensive and admission fees and food bump up the price.

motorguy

Surely for a family group the way forward is to book a villa or large apartment via ownersdirect.co.uk or airbnb? Then just booking the flights?

You can easily rent a 3 bed apartment / villa from around £60 a night in the Canary Islands in August. 14 nights @ £60 = £840, car hire for £120 a week tops = £240. Flights @ £200 each = £1000.

£2,000 all in?

Lots of local supermarkets and most apartments will have an outdoor barbeque to cook on and a pool

consumers_revenge

maman, agree with you....its what you make of them. my kids have had loads of different experiences.


youre talking to the man who pretty much has done the Sun £15 holidays to death and a caravan for Aug ( hence why we wanted to try spain this year but it will be back to the UK holidays then)

Tabbytabitha

Spendless wrote: »

Not the same thing. Less people want to go in March as the first few weeks are usually bloody freezing and it can snow! My kids birthdays are at both ends of this month, so I know what the weather is usually like. A better question would be would you charge the same in June as in August, or even the same for the first 2 weeks of July compared to the last 2 weeks?

Aren't you rather assuming that the imaginary holiday cottage is in the UK rather than somewhere hot?

gardner1

Tabbytabitha wrote: »

So, everybody's fault then?

If you owned a holiday cottage, can you honestly say that you'd charge the same rent in August as you would in March?

To be honest you could create a list of items/things that increase in price at certain times of year

New cars
Petrol
Car hire
Hotels
Private rentals
Flights
Restaurants
Flowers
Food shopping

Plus lots more

But just like booking a holiday you buy or reserve earlier

Tabbytabitha

consumers_revenge wrote: »

like the planes to holiday destinations.....this point goes over your head.

I rather think that would be you.

It may not have occurred to you that many families will have children in different schools, different towns or even different counties. Staggering holiday periods to keep costs low opens up enormous problems for many families, which is why we tend not to do it.