Holiday costs soar in just a few days

HOLIDAY prices either side of the last bell of term are in different worlds.

Booking a break during school holidays can cost parents hundreds of pounds more than if they left a few days earlier.

A package holiday for a family of four, flying from Glasgow and staying seven nights at the Noelia Playa Hotel in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, for example, would cost £1108 if you left on October 1, before the school holidays start. Leaving on October 15, during the break, will set you back £1864.

The same break at the popular First Choice Holiday Village on the Spanish island comes in at £3191 if you fly from Edinburgh on October 2 but rises to £4154 just a fortnight later.

Meanwhile, heading from Glasgow to the Real Palace Hotel in Crete shoots up from £1008 departing October 1 to £1796 if you leave on October 15.

The same issues await in Gran Canaria. A week at the Marina Elite Resort when you leave Edinburgh on October 2 is £1932. Thomas Cook’s website says that flies up to £3172 if you’re determined to keep the children in class.

Think you’re safe closer to home? Centre Parcs in Whinfell Forest in Cumbria costs £1138 if you arrive when schools are in session, according to its website. It is £1898 two weeks later.

Jonny McGinty, a leisure travel consultant for DP&L, said: “Prices are decided by how many seats are left on the plane and how many rooms are left in the hotel.

“Most holiday companies will email us with a special rate if they are not as full as they would like to be.”

He said that cheaper deals can be found with travel agents if people are willing to go to places they might not have thought of for package deals, such as Corfu or Italy rather than Spain.