There's still time to grab a summer bargain

If you think you can't afford a family holiday abroad this summer, think again.  Those who have no plans can bag an absolute bargain, if prepared to book a trip independently.  Why pay the travel agent an extortionate commission rate, when you can book a bespoke holiday for your family from the comfort of your living room?  The easiest (and quickest) way to seek out your perfect flight is to use www.skyscanner.com. Search for flights from 'UK' to 'Everywhere' and set the date to 'whole month' and 'August 2018'.  Honestly, you won't believe your eyes.

This August, there are flights aplenty and lots of decent accommodation still available across Europe.  For a family with young children, or even teenagers, it's possible to holiday for under £500, in some pretty amazing places.

So, the world's your oyster...

How about Legoland in Denmark?  Flights to Billund (from Stansted) are £18 return at the end of August.  A fantastic plastic trip to the home of Lego is even better at this time of year, as the Danish children are back at school and the queues for the theme park rides are titchy tiny.  Couple the park with a city break to Copenhagen and you've got yourself a Danish delight!  See the links below for more ways with which to save some Krone:

https://juliesquire.blogspot.com/2016/03/plastic-fantastic-legoland-billund-for.html

https://juliesquire.blogspot.com/2015/11/a-may-half-term-danish-delight-for-25.html

Majorca is a family favourite of ours.  Azure coves, vibrant Palma and the beautiful Pollenca are all possible with flights, next month, at only £60 return from Birmingham Airport.  Airbnb accommodation is plentiful on the island and, from only £50 a night for a two-bedroomed apartment, you can bring a week on this Balearic island in at £650 for a family of four.

Some surefire ways to ensure your Airbnb accommodation is tiptop: https://juliesquire.blogspot.com/2016/08/

Savouring gelato in Italy is another option.  With flights at only £65 return from Leeds this August, a few days in Venice would be a truly memorable trip.  My advice, to help cut costs, is to find a place to stay in Treviso, a wonderful cobbled city (complete with its own canals) with sights to rival its more famous neighbour.  The train into Venice from Treviso is, in itself, a treat; the children will marvel as San Marco Campanile comes into view.

Here are some ideas -  https://juliesquire.blogspot.com/2015/11/family-friendly-venice-on-budget.html

Malta, a firm favourite of mine, is a great destination.  Flights from Nottingham are under £70 return for mid-August to this jewel in the Mediterranean crown.  The most family-friendly feature of this island, and its sister Gozo, is the bus service.  The buses are efficient, making it so so easy for you and the littluns to navigate the islands' beaches and towns.

More information about this part of the world can be found at https://juliesquire.blogspot.com/2015/11/go-to-gozo.html

If it's searing heat you crave, Greece is remarkably cheap this summer.  There are lots of flights for under £100 return to Zante, Corfu and Thessaloniki.  Self-catering places are still in abundance and will set you back, in mainland Thessaloniki, for example, a mere £35 a night.  Feta cheese and olives will never have tasted so good as they do in your local beach taverna! 

Learn how to make savvy choices when navigating self-catering search engines: https://juliesquire.blogspot.com/2016/01/savvy-self-catering.html 

The bargain I wish I'd spotted, before I booked my holiday to Portugal for this summer, are the flights to Naples, from Nottingham, for £60 return.  Naples, birthplace of the pizza, is the perfect place to see some sights to help with September schoolwork.  Vesuvius is an easy daytrip from Naples, as is the evocative Pompeii with its macabre sights.  Further along the coast, a public bus ride along the higgledy-piggledy road to Positano and Amalfi is a hair-raising experience for all.

With a sense of adventure, a passport and a suitcase full of flip flops and sun cream, it really is possible to make the most sensational European memories at half the price you'd expect.  In the sun, there is no finer place than the UK for a staycation, but to expose the children to varied cultures, languages and traditions is more than a holiday: it's an education with a sunhat on!

Stockholm for under £20!

If, like me, you're bored of this never-ending winter, you'll be looking to book your next flight out of this grey and dismal climate.  When planning trips away, some people complain that the restraints of school holidays mean that a family break is financially prohibitive but, being tied to school dates isn't as restrictive as you may think, if you're willing to let the flight deals dictate your destination.

May half-term this year seems to be awash with bargains to some of my best-loved capital cities.  For less than £100, a family of four can fly to some of the most amazing places.  Get the children learning smatterings of Swedish, reading "Pippi Longstocking" and savouring the lax for breakfast in Sweden's jewel of a capital city.



Stunning Stockholm is a wonderful city.  A stroll through Gamla Stan or island-hopping in the archipelago, with its 30,000 islands stretching out into the Baltic Sea, will a delightful way to spend a few days in late May.  And, oh so cheap!

Ryanair has return flights in the last week of May for only £16 return from Stansted.  A Swedish steal, if you ask me.  The fresh air and the light nights will capture your imagination, and your wallet will thank you for booking such amazingly-priced flights.  

I wouldn't hang around though.  In my experience, prices to cool cities such as Stockholm don't linger for long...

January Jaunts

If, like me, you hate the post-Christmas lethargy and grey weather of a UK winter, then you will want to know how cheap new year flights are.  Most schools in the country are breaking up late for Christmas and, therefore, are heading back well into January, meaning that the week after New Year's Day is chock full of bargain flights and cheap self-catering accommodation. Most people, having spent up at Christmas, don't think about a mini-break immediately after the festive period, but, with such bargains available, it's worth considering.



From Manchester, flights to Seville are under £50 return.  From Liverpool, you can jet off for £54 to Porto.  Naples, the land of Pompeii is £61, also from Liverpool.  Another Italian favourite, Venice, is £46 return from Bristol.  And, if Germany is your destination of choice, a whopping six cities can be accessed for under £50 return.  Indeed, Hamburg is a mere £25 return?  Coupled with self-catering accommodation, a family of four can enjoy a January jaunt for under £500.



And, if like me, your other half needs persuading to spend money on frivolities, why not book the break in secret and wrap up a guidebook in snowman-littered paper? A European mini-break under the tree is surely better than a pair of socks or a selection box?

Fly the whole family to Europe for under £100

If you've not booked a summer holiday yet, now is the time to secure (very) cheap flights.  This August, a family of four can fly to top tourist destinations for under £100 return.  And, I'm not talking obscure destinations deep in the hinterland of Europe.  We're talking Ibiza, Palma and Venice to name a few top tourist hot spots!

Search on www.skyscanner.com to find your perfect location.  Search UK to Everywhere for the whole month of August and see where you can spend your Euro this summer.

The Italian Lakes are £30 return with Ryanair whilst Palma Mallorca flights start at £36 from a few airports dotted up and down the UK, with a variety of airlines.  Grenoble (on the French/Swiss border) is a mere £26 each, and Luxembourg, a great base for exploring central Europe, is only £16 return!



At this late stage, a lot of the best accommodation will have been snapped up but a quick search on www.booking.com shows that there are still decent rooms vacant for your family break.  In Mallorca, for example, booking.com offers a hotel (which previous guests have scored 9.6 out of 10) advertising a week's stay in a two-bedroomed house (with pool) for only £683.  So, flights and self-catering accommodation for the whole family comes in at less than £900.

See, a week's adventure for your family needn't break the bank.

Pack your bags and head for the sun, without being fined by the school...

Following this week's Supreme Court ruling that it's unlawful to take your children out of school for holidays, it begs the question of how we can show our children the world and keep on the right side of the law.

Arcachon

I'm a teacher and I know, first-hand, how frustrating it is to pay inflated prices for a week of family fun in the sun.  I have never been able to benefit from cheap flights mid-September or enjoy a long weekend away in June.  I have to adhere to the dates set my local authorities and, as a result, I've acquired some tips along the way of how to holiday on a budget when school's out for summer, or spring, or Christmas.

Montenegro

If you're canny, there are ways around the prohibitive dates set in stone by educationalists and government bureaucrats. 

Fly solo
The first rule is NEVER to book through a travel agent.  Yes, go and flick through the brochures for ideas but never sit down to discuss deals!  With the internet at your fingertips, the independent traveller has access to all manner of bargains and, in booking aspects of the holiday separately, the holiday suddenly becomes bespoke and unique.  Over the years, as a family, we've had adventures which just wouldn't have happened had we booked a bog-standard package tour through a travel agent.  Booking discrete components of the holiday is definitely the way forward, yet so many families leaf idly through brochures and get stung financially.

Mississippi River, Louisiana

Destination Unknown
When booking our holiday, I will always let the flight prices dictate our destination.  We never choose where to holiday; we let the cheapest flight prices guide us.  This method has resulted in amazing holidays in countries such as post-communist Latvia, fresh-as-a-daisy Slovenia and ice-cold Finland.  I love the fact that places off the beaten track are not only cheaper, but are also more authentic and culturally-rewarding.  Use www.skyscanner.com to find the bargains.  You can search for flights by month, by country or by region.  It's exciting to see where a search for random flights might lead your family...

Self-catering in Gozo

Fancy a date?
A personal favourite tip of mine is to not only look at your children’s school holiday dates but also those of neighbouring education authorities.  February half-term this year was abound with bargains due to the fact that schools can now set their own dates for the term’s break.  My school’s half-term fell on the third week of the month yet I know of friends who were off Valentine's week; the story is similar in 2018.  Also, look at your school's PD days.  Flying home on a Monday often slashes the price of flights.  Sometimes, holiday companies don’t pick up on these anomalies and, therefore, forget to adjust prices accordingly.  It’s worth a search…

Slovenia

Schools publish their holiday and PD (Personal Development) days over a year in advance and, with careful planning, you can bag some bargain flights.  Booking a year in advance allows you the pick of the crop in terms of cheap flights and accommodation.

Amsterdam

Your place or mine?

Instead of fleecing the pockets of hoteliers across the world, why not find a self-catering property which suits your family's needs?  A washing machine to avoid unnecessary baggage fees?  A pool to yourselves?  A barbecue and private garden where the children can run amok after dinner?  Not only are apartments and villas cheaper, they also offer versatility and a much more authentic experience of the region.

Bosnian monastery

In terms of location, be flexible; be willing to hire a place away from the hustle and bustle of the hubbub.  Sometimes, travelling a little down the road from the nearest town can reap rewards, offering a place with more garden space and perhaps a pool for less cost.  Also, don't rule out apartments instead of villas or cottages.  A funky penthouse apartment might offer stunning panoramas from the rooftop garden or a townhouse might put you directly in the action of the city.  Obviously, the exact location of your home-from-home will depend on whether you wish to hire a car or not. 

Parc Asterix, France

Excess Baggage
It is now common practice for airlines to charge for baggage.  Even British Airways add an additional fee for the luxury of having your bags in the hold.  Why pay these unnecessary fees when, for the same price, you could buy a suitcase which can hold a whole week's summer wardrobe?  We all know the score - you pack a bag to its capacity and then wear the same pair of shorts the entire week!  Forward planning and a realistic approach to packing can save a family well over one hundred pounds in baggage fees.

Verona

Beep Beep, yeah!

Car hire can be another prohibitive cost on a family holiday and you can easily slash costs here too.  Always secure car hire as soon as you know where you're going, making sure that the car hire price is fully refundable, allowing you to keep checking back on prices throughout the year.  Also, take your own SATNAV and child car seats to save add-on fees.

Tennesse roadtrip

In addition, to avoid having to take out extortionate excess insurance, purchase an annual policy with www.icarhireinsurance.co.uk which pays out should you have an accident abroad.  This costs £30 a year yet avoids a family having to pay up to £10 a day for top-up insurance at the car rental desk.

Lake Ontario

So, in essence, the world is there to be explored and with just a little time, determination and knowledge, we can all be travellers on a shoestring.  It’s just about knowing where (and when) to start the search.  Happy exploring.

Austria

Have you booked your summer holiday yet?

I daresay lots of you haven't planned your summer jaunt yet.  Perhaps you think you can't afford a break this year?  However, there are lots of cheap holidays out there waiting to be bagged and, with a combination of savvy booking and an adventurous spirit, a family of four could holiday abroad for less than £1000, including flights, accommodation and spending money!

Why pay through the nose to a travel agent when you can tailor-make a holiday, staying in family-friendly accommodation in a residential area teeming with locals?  Not only will you save a fortune but you'll also have a much more authentic experience of the country.
 

The flights I've found are seriously cheap and would act as the perfect springboard for a holiday in some of the world's most beautiful and fascinating countries.

• Southend to Cologne on 16th August is only £30 return, landing you within striking distance of some of Europe's finest cities.  Maastricht is a mere hour's drive away and the splendour of Brussels' La Grand-Place is only two hours from the majestic cathedral of Cologne.
• Luton to Copenhagen is £34 for a return trip leaving on 22nd August.  Legoland Billund is an easy daytrip from here, as is a commute across the Oresund Bridge to Sweden.
• London to Milan is a bargain at £40 for two weeks from the 15th August.  A wonderful city in its own right, Milan is also the gateway to the Italian Lakes and the operatic capital of Verona.

There are many many bargains to be found.  Why gamble with the British weather when you can be guaranteed sun, sea and smiles across the English Channel?

Danish delight

Following on from yesterday's blog, flights to Copenhagen have decreased in price even more. A return fare from London Luton to the Danish capital is now only £20! Flights leave early Tuesday morning and return late Thursday evening. Self-catering accommodation averages at £100 a night for a two-bedroomed apartment, meaning that three full days in Copenhagen can be enjoyed for under £300 for a family of four.