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The Great 'Holiday Inspiration' Hunt

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  • I have found Freedom Direct a good holiday company, you get to choose the flights to suit your choice of times and budget from easyjet and the rooms are cheap cos they are bought in a block booking by the company..cheaper though to book online than by phone.
  • We've opted for Wales this summer due to my Wife recently giving birth.

    We looked on the Brit Trips website & was quoted £224 Mon - Fri for a 8 berth Caravan (Superior Plus). I thought I'd check EBay & managed to book a caravan for a week Fri - Fri on the same site for £200.
    Very Happy with that.

    :beer:
  • Folks,

    The best source for finding the cheapest Holiday and services is to look on a tourism board website. Just type in on a webengine tourism board : for example Florence Tourism Board and you'll likely to find the best source to make a cheap DIY holiday.

    One of the best and cheapest places to go on Holiday is Sicily, Italy.
    In particular these small islands off the west coast of Sicily , Egadi Islands.
    A paradise like Maldives.

    http://www.regione.sicilia.it/turismo/web_turismo/sicilia/uk/mare_index.html
  • It's always worth checking out Youth Hostel accommodation wherever you go! You don't need to be a teenager to stay and most of them now offer private double or twin rooms with excellent facilities (not just the dorms of old!). I spent 3 weeks in Australia on a budget and stayed in some great youth hostels with pools, en suite bathrooms, AC - everything you'd expect from a hotel. They also have facilities for you to cook so you don't need to eat out every night...

    Australia YHAs: http://www.yha.com.au
  • lea2012
    lea2012 Posts: 735 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 500 Posts
    My advice is to avoid anywhere with the euro this summer in particular Spain!!

    Having just returned fro a fortnight on the costa dorada we have found the area a complete rip off!! We did get a great deal on our holiday which we booked independently and got a self catering private apartment,flights,car hire, theeme park tickets, and a 2 day/1night trip to barelona where we also watched a match for 400 quid each. However when we got there we spent an absolute fortune!!

    We were eating in our apartment every morning and every other night, we only went out for lunch 3 times in 2 weeks! We dont drink alcohol and didn't go mad spending on souveneirs or trips etc but we still managed to spend 800 pounds in a fortnight per couple! a fresh baguette and a croissant each for breakfast was costing more than a fiver!! When we did eat out we found it to be disgusting food for astronomical prices, we paid on average 30 - 40 pound per couple for dinner in an evening and that was often only one course with a coffee afterwards and a soft drink during the meal. We dont eat at fancy restaurants and try as we might we could not find any special offers or reasonable priced food anywhere! With the exchange rate being so bad what we thought was a cheap getaway ended up being very costly.

    I have lived and worked and holidayed in Turkey previously and would reccomend this to anyone!! The exchange rate there is very good at the minute, there is a resort for everyone (my favourite being icmeler as it has something for everyone), the food is fantastic, the people are very welcoming and the weather is almost always good during the summer months.
    Although it is coming up costly for flights at the moment there are bargains to be found if you look around and I have seen some excellent deals for AI in Turkey for less than 150 a week, last minute on teletext and on the net. (although the food is reasonably cheap to eat out and in my opinion as an ex-rep AI in turkey isn't always the best unless you get go 4* and above)

    And lastly I would thoroughly reccomend the following websites as I have used them many times before and got great deals for all over the world:

    www.medhotels.com (rooms from just 2 a night in various places)
    www.somewhere2stay.com
    www.laterooms.com (great for city breaks and last minute bargains)
    www.aegeanflights.com (for cheap flights to turkey)
    www.icmeleronline.com (if you fancy trying my fav resort!)
    www.resorthoppa.com (for transfers to your hotel)

    Hope these help some of you.

    L x x
    Lea :confused:
  • My fiancee is a teacher, so we can only holiday on peak, but for the past 3 years we've just gone down to Thomson on the high street the week before, and asked for last minute deals.

    So far we've had:
    10 days 5* El Greco Thomson Platinum in Crete fullboard ~£500/person
    7 days Thomson mediteranian cruise (Rome, Romans and Rivieras) fullboard ~£500/person
    8 days Greek Isles cruise fullboard ~£500/person

    3 absolutely fantastic holidays, for a reasonable price.
    Cruises are good value for the fact you get so much in, my fiancee usually has 14 day holidays, but with the amount you cram in on a cruise, she doesn't feel the difference too much (though a 14 days cruise is on the cards in the future...)

    unfortunately we're in the process of buying a house, so our budget will likely be more limited, unless we extend a credit card or two...
  • nymph_2
    nymph_2 Posts: 26 Forumite
    Try camping in the UK

    Great modern tents are available at good prices; got ours from eBay for £200 total, should have been £800+, cheap because it was an "out of fashion" colour???!!!!

    I love the Isle of Wight, great for families. http://www.iwight.com/
    Loved Landguard campsite near Shanklin. Cheap, awardwinning conservation efforts, excellent service, good deals that included ferry crossings.

    The Star Campsite near Alton Towers, try them too. Only about a mile from the amusement park; don't forget if you work for a big company you may be able to get a corporate discount of about 20% off of ticket prices.

    http://www.ukcampsite.co.uk/ to check out reviews, contact details and facilities info on those two and thousands of other sites.
    Lightbulb Moment April 2005
    Total Owed - £68986 :eek: (excluding mortgage)
    Payplan DMP began Sept 2005
    Amount paid to Date - £15330, £53656 to go
    Debt Free Date - April 2021
  • I look at both packages and independant holidays - I am off to Crete with my daughter on 17 Jun to a 1 bed apt in Gerani, total cost for 2 £350, last minute, booked through Kosmar, I would have preferred Turkey due to the cost when you are there, but we could only travel on the 17th and she has to be back at work on the 25th so no nightflights home. So Crete it was.

    I am also off to Malta for 2 weeks in August with the grandson (6), booked independantly in January, flights £96 each British Airways - they had a sale on and a 1 bed apt for 2 weeks £300 booked through Malt Direct. So a 2 week break in the school holidays for £500.

    There are cheap holidays around - you have to look for them and book them at the right time.

    The only thing that puts me off holidaying in the UK is the weather and the cost - we took grandson to Norfolk in the May half term for 5 days - cost £270 + petrol + spending and it certainly isn't cheap to eat out or go out here. The weather wasn't marvellous either, so it wasn't days on the beach with a picnic.
  • The_Guv
    The_Guv Posts: 24 Forumite
    If anyone has the caribbean in mind and it does NOT have to be expensive if you DIY, you can get even more for your money buy doing not going the most obvious route.

    LON - Newark £320 in October
    Newark - Grand Cayman £123
    so £443 incl all taxes.

    Cheapest flights through Expedia flying out on a Friday is £576 with next day arrival in Cayman or with BA a massive £852 to arrive the same day.

    Better still if you fly into Newark there are a number of hotels serviced by a free shuttle that are right by the Jersey Gardens Mall shopping outlet. The Carlton Leisure Suites works out about £69.

    So for a total outlay of £512 we have return flights to Grand Cayman with a stopover in Newark a near full half day shopping excursion, a nights hotel and free transfers before flying on to Grand Cayman where a weeks apartment rental including car hire works out about £520.

    If you want an all inclusive deal anywhere in the caribbean, again look to book the hotel separately and fly via New York or any major US hub such as Boston Minneapoplis or Detroit that serves your destination and you can save quite a bit. To see what I mean check prices to say the Bahamas or US Virgin, St. Thomas or St Croix from London and then check the price of a return from any of the New York Airports. (Usually Newak and La Guardia are cheaper than JFK) Then add your USA flight and see how much you can save. Sometimes takes a bit of time and flexibility of dates but worth it in the end.

    Happy travelling!
  • jojo2004
    jojo2004 Posts: 572 Forumite
    alph250 wrote: »
    If you can stand the heat try Egypt

    I booked through UK travelshop flying from Gatwick staying at Falcon hills hotel for 2 weeks all inclusive end of June for £850!!!!:D for 2 people inc taxes etc

    Its really cheap over there, go quadbiking for the afternoon for £15 per person! and eat out inc a bottle of wine for less than £5 a head, yeah okay the wine was suspect but perfectly drinkable. And the snorkelling is amazing!

    I hate to make you feel bad about your bargain, but last time I went to Egypt (I'm an Egyptologist in training) it cost me £560 for six weeks. That's flights, accommodation, food, spending money, travel once there, insurance etc. That's by staying in local, Egyptian run hotels, NOT I repeat NOT rip-off European chain hotels. The one we stayed in in Luxor was £1.50 per person per night for an en-suite, air-con, twin room, incl breakfast. Egypt is CHEAP!!!!!
    xx
    :grin:If at first you don't succeed, then sky-diving isn't for you
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