The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Travel
25 brilliant family holidays for less
Prices may be rising, but there are still summer deals out there for £500 per person. Amanda Hyde selects the best
It is harder than ever to bag a bargain summer holiday. High inflation and rising flight prices – with airlines increasingly targeted by environmental taxes – mean that costs have been creeping up steadily since the pandemic. Conversely, holidaymakers are planning to spend less on going away, with more than a fifth of those surveyed in a recent Go Compare poll saying they would be cutting the cost of their break this year amid ongoing worries about the cost of living.
The good news is that a summer holiday for around £2,000 for a family of four is definitely doable. By using ferries or low-cost flights and thinking laterally, there are bargains to be had in both the UK and Europe – and we have unearthed 25 brilliant holidays to prove it.
Generally speaking, you will get more for your money if you save your break for the final week of the summer holidays, when airfares and villas tend to be cheaper and even hotel prices dip. You will also save on flight costs if you head for places more traditionally viewed as winter destinations such as Scandinavia or the Alps. With the Mediterranean hit by stiflingly hot weather during the last few summers, it offers a further reason to consider northern Europe, rather than the south.
From lakeside sojourns in cosy inns to chic cabin getaways on fashionable French islands and Scandinavian city escapes for restless teenagers, the holidays on the following pages offer something for everyone. At these prices, you will trade chain hotels and all-inclusives for off-the-radar villas, farm stays and enticing chambre d’hôtes.
And while that generally means less of the fancy add-ons such as gyms and kids clubs, it is also likely to lead to more chance encounters and, perhaps, an unforgettable family adventure.
All accommodation prices for our selection of 25 holidays are based on stays for a family of four during the state school summer holidays, unless otherwise stated. The £500 per person budget includes accommodation and international transport but excludes on-the-ground costs such as car hire. Flight prices are for one adult on the cheapest route from the UK, with children often benefiting from slight discounts.
Spanish sands
You don’t need a pool on the slice of Costa Brava near the town of Begur. There are so many little coves on the stretch between Palamos and Platja de Pals that you can bask on a new beach every day. In a whitewashed terrace one row from the sea at Sa Riera, Hostal Ses Negres has breezy family rooms and apartments, as well as an excellent beachside restaurant serving up local specialities such as Girona steak with padron peppers. From £1,717, B&B (00 34 649 715171; hostalsesnegres.com). Vueling flies from Gatwick to Barcelona (around an hour and a half ’s drive away), from £104pp.
The other French Riviera
St Tropez and its surrounds might be out of budget, but the slice of French Riviera that stretches from Marseille to Toulon isn’t just cheaper – it’s more fun too. Kids will love cowboy-inspired theme park OK Corral and the flamingos and talking parrots of Zoa Parc, while parents should enjoy the boho beach clubs lining the coast. Stay at the charming Maison Chaban in Sanary, a chambre d’höte with chic cabanas and a swimming pool hidden among the olive trees (00 33 6 09 422 888; maisonchaban.com). From £1,625, room only. Ryanair flies from Stansted to Marseille, from £82pp.
A steal in Cyprus
The astonishingly good value of the four apartments at Archondia House in the sleepy village of Kalavasos make Cyprus just about affordable in the summer holidays, despite high travel costs. Set in a renovated 300-year-old pile and with a pool bordered by cheerily striped sun loungers, they are a lovely place to spend a week. The beach and tavernas of Zygi are just a 10-minute drive away. From £782, room only (cyprusvillages. com.cy). Flight prices are rising fast but Wizzair has tickets from Luton to Larnaca, from £315pp.
La isla bonita
Mallorca is becoming more and more fashionably expensive. Luckily, S’Hort Can Capità, just outside the untouristy inland town of Ariany, remains a wellkept secret. Set among fields and farms, its 10 apartments hide behind pretty, shuttered frontages overlooking the pool, burgeoning gardens and town beyond. For small children, this is paradise: cots and high chairs are available on request, there is a little playground gExplore the sandy sweep of Fistral Beach in Cornwall on a traditional seaside holiday jBargain: Praia de Vale do Lobo in Portugal
and the rooms come with portable sun umbrellas for trips to the beach. From £1,232 (00 34 606 000 436; cancapita.es). Easyjet has flights from Gatwick to Palma from £130 per adult in August.
Big family break on the Algarve
The Algarve is the best value destination in the Eurozone according to the Post Office – and the four-star Magnolia Hotel might be the most notable bargain of all for larger families thanks to its affordable bungalows sleeping up to six. A 10-minute drive from the beach at Vale do Lobo, it comes with pastel exteriors, palm-frond wallpaper and a pool surrounded by striped sun umbrellas. There is a kid-friendly menu with nachos and burgers too. From £1,875, room only (£312.50pp for six; 00 351 289 005 301; themagnoliahotelqdl.com). Ryanair flies from Cardiff to Faro, from £104pp.
A chic cabin
The laid-back French island of Île de Ré is around a three-and-a-half-hour drive from St Malo ferry port, which keeps travel costs low. Sometimes known as Paris-on-Sea, it is a popular spot for city dwellers on their summer holidays so accommodation can be pricey. But the beachside cabins at relaxed, four-star “open-air hotel” Le Phare are a bargain, even though they are chic enough to appeal to all those Parisiens. There are indoor and outdoor pools and kids clubs too. From £1,225, room only (00 33 5 46 29 56 82; lephare-iledere.com). Brittany Ferries has crossings from Portsmouth to St Malo from £305 return for a family of four with car.
A free-range Tuscan getaway
Italian company Posarelli Villas has a brilliant selection of affordable self-catering properties in Tuscany, including the apartments at Podere Romano, a revamped farmhouse near Lake Trasimeno. Here, decor strikes the right balance between ancient and modern, there’s a swimming pool with plenty of shade and kids can run around in the garden while you admire the views of seemingly endless Tuscan hills. The estate also makes its own wine and olive oil, available for guests to buy. The Bandita apartment costs from £1,161, room only (01223 919620; posarellivillas.com). Easyjet flies from Gatwick to Pisa from £155pp.
A Languedoc fairytale
Parents will score major Brownie points with the Pointed Roof Mill, a squat, 13th-century tower near the medieval city of Carcassonne. It is straight from Rapunzel (though any lucky prince need only climb one level to reach his true love). Dollshouse size rooms add to the appeal and there’s a solarheated pool shared with the two other houses that make up La Couscouillette (one of which is another minute mill, also available for rent). From £818, room only (01580 819303; frenchconnections.co.uk). Ryanair flies from Stansted to Carcassonne from £92pp.
A cheap-n-cheerful Greek package
Olympic Holidays is hard to beat on price if you’re planning a summer trip to Greece. In Corfu, its best bargain is the three-star Paleo Studios, hidden on a hill a stone’s throw from the resort town of Paleokastritsa. Rooms are basic but views – past squiggles of olive trees towards the sea – are the stuff of holiday photo dreams. Supermarkets and restaurants are a stroll away, while it’s 25 minutes to the sea. From £1,866, room only, including Easyjet flights from Gatwick (020 8492 6868; olympicholidays.com).
The Italian Riviera
Even the middling three-stars of the Italian Riviera inflate their prices like overblown lilos in the summer holidays, when the jet set flock to Portofino. The agriturismos slightly away from the action offer better value, including Le Pale in the hills above Bogliasco, a seaside town along the coast towards Genoa. Its two rooms have an agreeable air of faded grandeur while a pool in its terraced garden with incredible views out to the Mediterranean. From £1,616, room only (00 39 010 3470388; agriturismolepale.it). Ryanair flies from Stansted to Turin (two hours’ drive away), from £51pp.