How to find budget friendly family holidays

When searching for budget friendly family holidays, always, ALWAYS find flights first! It’s  often flight prices that pack the real punch, especially when going away with tiny travellers over the age of 2 who need their own ticket. Where we go on holiday is usually governed by where I can find the cheapest flights to, as opposed to getting my heart set on a certain destination, and the same is true when it comes to dates. If possible, a little flexibility goes a long way – even looking one week apart can make a big difference, especially near the beginning or end of the ‘peak season’. Which leads me on nicely to…

For short haul holidays, my first port of call is Ryanair fare finder (annoyingly only available in browser and not their app). The tool lets you search for flights to ‘anywhere’ under a certain budget (e.g £80 each – my personal maximum) within broad timeframes (e.g during July & Aug). To nab the best deals, I usually look about 2 months in advance and myth has it, prices are slightly lower if you search on a Tuesday or Wednesday vs at the weekend. You can also do something similar on EasyJet by heading to their ‘Inspire me’ page. WizzAir can sometimes slip my mind, but is a great budget airline alternative flying all over Europe if nothing on Ryanair or EasyJet is tickling your fancy. Here, it’s the ‘trip planner’ you’ll want to start your search with. For long haul flights, 3 words – ‘Jacks Flight Club’. You can thank me later

If you’re thinking of budget family holidays a little further ahead, definitely take a look at getting a British Airways Amex (especially if you know you’ve got a few big purchases looming – renovating a house, planning a wedding, having another baby or to be honest, just doing the weekly food shop). If you meet certain spending thresholds you can earn a Companion voucher (entitling you to a 2-for-1 flight) as well as amassing a steady stream of Avios points which can be redeemed against either plane tickets or certain accommodation options. Earlier this year, we cashed in the Companion voucher we earned in 2022, which when topped up with Avios points from the same period, got us return flights for 3 to Dubai for £300 during peak

Before you get carried away and eagerly click the ‘book’ button, a cautionary tale… Learn from my silly mistakes and quickly google ‘is xxx expensive to visit?” before buying your tickets (spoiler: while I was delighted with my £16.98 return flights to Basel in Switzerland; I was less delighted that the cheapest dinner we could find in the city was £40 per main). I also have a natural instinct to always book the cheapest flights humanly possible, but pause for thought and remember, it’s probably not worth saving £10 to land at 10pm on Tuesday as opposed to 11am on Wednesday morning, which will save you forking out for an extra night of accommodation

Lesser explored locations are often cheaper in terms of flights, accommodation and general ‘living’ costs whilst you’re away (for example, Montenegro & Bulgaria, both of which I can personally confirm are beautiful in the summer – see the pics on this page!). There’s also the advantage that tourist crowds are sparse, plus I just think it’s quite cool to go somewhere a little bit different! And remember, you don’t need to fly & flop where you land – hire cars are often pretty affordable and can help you reach nearby holiday hotspots for a fraction of the cost. For example, bag a cheap flight to Biarritz and drive to nearby San Sebastián, or head to Barcelona for tonnes of stunning beach resorts in easy driving reach

Naturally, the best place to kick things off for finding budget friendly family holidays is our Budget Boutique collection of course! We are continually unearthing amazing new hotels and homestays, so even if there’s nothing suitable right now, do keep your eyes peeled and check back at a later date. If, on this occasion, your search leads you elsewhere, I would say that whilst Airbnbs have historically been more purse pleasing, prices lately seem to have skyrocketed so it is worth looking at hotels on booking.com as well as at homestays. For both websites, the following strategy usually serves me well…

First off, I use the filters to their full capacity to input my complete holiday wishlist – from my dream facilities, to my maximum price per night and exact location. After having a look at what’s available, I work out what I am willing to compromise on (if needed) and start adapting my filters, in order of importance – for me, this usually means slightly broadening my search radius as a first step, and then maybe forgoing a gym or a kids club etc. The key here is to know exactly what your non-negotiables are. For example, ask yourself, are you actually going to end up going to the gym or will that slight holiday boost to your step count suffice? And do you need a Kids Club, or will one nearby do the job? You can generally find ‘day kids clubs’ in lots of holiday hotspots, run by local beach bars, childcare companies or hotels welcoming external guests

Where I can, I always book direct for budget friendly family holidays. Even if the price appears more expensive on a hotel’s own site than you’ve seen on a booking platform, whizz across a quick email – they will usually honour the lowest rate you can find and may throw in a few added extras, too. And before booking, make sure you’ve assessed your board options. Take a quick look at the price for the room only, as well as with breakfast & on a half or full board basis (where available), to work out if you’re better off eating out or picking a dining plan. As a general rule,  the most expensive room in a cheaper hotel always trumps the cheapest room in an expensive hotel (for the extra space & special touches). And if you’ve decided a homestay is the way to go, but can’t find your perfect pad, don’t despair – you’ll find lots more options start appearing on Airbnb around a month to six weeks before check in, while hosts of homestays that haven’t yet been booked start slashing their prices, too. Not familiar with Airbnb Plus? Give it a google – it’s your scroll-saving shortcut to the most gorgeous getaways the platform has to offer

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Themes: The Family Friendly European Edit, Holiday Cheat Sheets

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