When did holidays cease being value for money?

When did holidays cease being value for money?

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worsy

Original Poster:

5,776 posts

174 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
Or when did they become so expensive?

I travel for work a lot so the thought of going away for a summer holiday has never really been my favourite choice but it is nice to get some guaranteed sun and relax a bit away from it all. Year before last we had a nice 10 days in Mexico which cost around £8k (school holidays rolleyes) on an AI basis. When I say nice it was just that, nice. Not sure it was 8k nice and certainly wasn't rushing to book it again.

Last year we went to southern spain, AI again as that was good. This time a week at nearly 5k!! and hated it. The crap food quality and sunbed wars have put me off hotels for good.

So looking at this year, we started talking about holidays over the last few years and neither the wife or I have really thought any were that good. The last ones we did enjoy were villa holidays through James Villas, but having looked at the same villa this year the charge for a week's self catering is 5.5k. I seem to recall it being around the 3300 mark only 4/5 years ago.

I know inflation happens, and the currency rates are crap, and those people who used to go to Tunisia/Egypt/Turkey (maybe) are now also going to be competing for space, but in contrast I could book 4 nights in NY staying close to Times Square in summer school holidays for under 3500 flying with Virgin. When did a week in the Med get so hopelessly crappy in terms of value for money?

Any suggestions very welcome, but at this time we are considering a few days in London seeing the sites and blowing 2k down Oxford Street. Far more fun.

Edited to say should be in Holidays.

R8Steve

4,150 posts

174 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
How many are in your family?

I'd suggest getting a better travel agent if it's not at least 5 as i went to Mexico last year, all inclusive, 5 star resort for about £900pp

pherlopolus

2,087 posts

157 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
Have you tried owners direct and booking travel separately?

worsy

Original Poster:

5,776 posts

174 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
4 R8Steve. Standard Thomas Cook/Thomson fare.

Pherlopulus. I'll take a look, good suggestion thanks.

Saleen836

11,061 posts

208 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
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I guess has a lot to do with supply and demand, with more and more people avoiding certain destinations (Egypt/Turkey/Tunisia for example) they are looking elsewhere.

kiethton

13,883 posts

179 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
Sent my family off to here in a (cheaper version) of this:

https://www.booking.com/hotel/hr/villa-jadranka-bo...

That link is your own villa with a pool close to the main town and beach for £1,400 for the week. There are cheaper and it is self catering but you can get all meals in the town/from the supermarket pretty cheaply - we have breakfsat BBQ's with the occasional BBQ dinner.

They drove so diesel and ferry etc cost them about £300 for the lot of them, however we've also flown and grabbed a hire car at the airport for ~£60 for the week (ours was off season for the car though). Flights, even over the summer should be <£300pp (ours were £120 return but that was September....).

I love the place, but also like to explore the island and things like the lakes on the mainland too!

Should work out <£3k for all + food.

worsy

Original Poster:

5,776 posts

174 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
That Croatia villa looks fantastic.

Just been looking around Owners Direct and something in mid France looks very nice with a drive/hotel on route works out quite reasonable. I could even work from there for a day or two and thus make it even cheaper laugh

Sheepshanks

32,530 posts

118 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
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We've mostly gone to Florida for many years and I'm often asked how we can afford it, but as you've found, if you get decent accommodation in a place you've heard of and flights within Europe at reasonable times then there's not a lot in it.

One year we went to Tenerife instead and felt we'd wasted our money. The icing on the cake was the flight home being delayed by 12 hours.

The dollar rate is a bit of killer for US holidays at the moment though.

worsy

Original Poster:

5,776 posts

174 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
Yup, done the Florida thing, stayed at Disney twice (Animal Kingdom) and had a villa. We'll go again and stay at Universal another year but now the kids are mid teens we are eyeing cars, university etc so have to be sensible.

Amateurish

7,697 posts

221 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
The place we rent over New Year is also available on James Villas. They charge twice the price that the owner does directly. Worth bearing in mind.

Don

28,377 posts

283 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
I go to Yorkshire Dales for a fortnight most years. Self catering cottage for two for two weeks: £600. Next door is a cottage for a family...

Holidays can be awesome value for money.

Knock the flights out and it's a couple of grand cheaper for a start.
Go self catering and the food's better and cheaper: you can go out as much as you want then.
The outdoors is largely free (at the point of use hehe). Wear and tear on the boots costs about £30 a year at the moment. So entertainment can come in cheap.
Beer in Yorkshire costs less money than in the S.E.

What's not to like?

Well next year I'm going to Idaho to see the Eclipse and it's going to cost a fortune. £12K minimum (for two). I don't do that every year, though...

hollydog

1,108 posts

191 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
Me and the wife went to Ibiza last year. Stay in a nice hotel. We were impressed so decided to return. Same hotel same time of year. But one big difference . A massive 30% increase. And it seams its the same in most of the main resorts in Europe . Europe's is just out pricing its self I am finding. Going further a field it cheaper.

joshcowin

6,775 posts

175 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
If you are spending upwards of 5K I think there are loads of great options!

Friends of mine who spend a lot on holidays go through a private travel agent. Basically a tailored holiday but getting the best rates available.
If you want the information just say and I will PM you.

Fastchas

2,640 posts

120 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
Don said:
I go to Yorkshire Dales for a fortnight most years. Self catering cottage for two for two weeks: £600. Next door is a cottage for a family...

Holidays can be awesome value for money.

Knock the flights out and it's a couple of grand cheaper for a start.
Go self catering and the food's better and cheaper: you can go out as much as you want then.
The outdoors is largely free (at the point of use hehe). Wear and tear on the boots costs about £30 a year at the moment. So entertainment can come in cheap.
Beer in Yorkshire costs less money than in the S.E.

What's not to like?

Well next year I'm going to Idaho to see the Eclipse and it's going to cost a fortune. £12K minimum (for two). I don't do that every year, though...
That may be OK for you. But my 7yo thinks the most important things to go in the suitcase are his swimming trunks and snorkel.
For a single dad and two boys, 12 & 7 yo's, I'm looking at £2500 for 7 nights and that's not even a decent 4/5 star!

Don

28,377 posts

283 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
Fastchas said:
That may be OK for you. But my 7yo thinks the most important things to go in the suitcase are his swimming trunks and snorkel.
For a single dad and two boys, 12 & 7 yo's, I'm looking at £2500 for 7 nights and that's not even a decent 4/5 star!
Ferry to France? Far enough South to be a bit warmer than Blighty?

Perhaps look at a top whack camp site vs a lower tier hotel?

Gareth1974

3,408 posts

138 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
I think you can still get a good and cheap holiday, but you sometimes have to look harder to get it.
I find for instance that while flights to places like Spain and Greece shoot up in school holidays, flights to similarly hot places like Italy tend to stay cheap - a quick look on Skyscanner shows an abundance of flights to Milan for around £65 each way all through August. A week in the Italian Lakes can be very nice. In the past, I've flown into Milan, spent time in the Lakes, then taken a train through the Alps to Munich, and flown back (cheaply) from there, stopping off for a couple of days in Austria on the way.

I've also been looking at Croatia for a trip myself, and there doesn't seem to be a shortage of cheap flights in the school holidays to Split.

Also look out for privately owned apartments. For the last couple of years we've rented a nice apartment from a family friend in a decent part of Spain for £500 for a fortnight, even though flights are about £250 return in the school holidays, this still feels reasonable for two weeks away at peak time.

Amateurish

7,697 posts

221 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
hollydog said:
Me and the wife went to Ibiza last year. Stay in a nice hotel. We were impressed so decided to return. Same hotel same time of year. But one big difference . A massive 30% increase. And it seams its the same in most of the main resorts in Europe . Europe's is just out pricing its self I am finding. Going further a field it cheaper.
Europe pricing itself out = the pound being devalued. We kept our holiday rental prices the same in Euros, but the cost to the UK customers is up around 30% compared to last year.

worsy

Original Poster:

5,776 posts

174 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
joshcowin said:
If you are spending upwards of 5K I think there are loads of great options!

Friends of mine who spend a lot on holidays go through a private travel agent. Basically a tailored holiday but getting the best rates available.
If you want the information just say and I will PM you.
Thanks for the kind offer and I'll maybe ping you about that. My problem is spending 5k on a holiday that I don't enjoy. I've started looking at French gite's which can be had reasonably easily for 2k including ferry. As we had decided on staycation this year I don't think we could go wrong with that.

As we don't speak a word of French except for usual please and thankyous it may be a challenge biggrin

Lozw86

871 posts

131 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
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Get some cheap flights to somewhere in Asia, Thailand or Bali, tends to be very reasonable for 5 star accommodation and dining.

kiethton

13,883 posts

179 months

Tuesday 10th January 2017
quotequote all
Got to be a bit picky on where you go I Asia over our summer to avoid rain, at least that wasn't experience...