Holidays: Stay at home or go abroad?

Holidays: Stay at home or go abroad? Determined to
find a value-for-money summer break? We do the
sums and compare staycations with trips abroad By
Cathy Adams Picture the perfect summer family
holiday – are you camping on the windy Norfolk
coast or island hopping around the Greek islands? If
it's the second option, we've got news for you:

 it might not be as pricey as you might think.
When family budgets are tight, holidays are typically
the first luxury to go. But that doesn't mean families
are choosing to stay at home: a recent survey by car
insurer Admiral found more than 50% of families
would sacrifice other household expenses to ensure
they could still take a holiday, although more than
40% of families said they would choose to stay in the
UK.
But does a staycation really offer the best value? We
compare three UK trips and three trips abroad for a
family of four for less than £500, £1,000 and £3,000*.
UK: £500 Believe it or not, you can still enjoy an
exciting holiday with your family for under £500 – but
it'll be in a luxury yurt, rather than a five-star hotel.
Luxury Devon Yurts is a collection of safari tents and
yurts just four miles from the beautiful Devon
coastline in West Hill, with plenty to keep adults and
children amused – from feeding lambs to visiting
Cornwall's Eden Project for a day.
A four-night stay in a yurt during July costs from £295
to £325 (luxurydevonyurts.co.uk).
ABROAD: £500 A foreign holiday for under £500 for a
family during the peak months requires some
flexibility. The first is on accommodation: try renting
a holiday apartment through Airbnb (airbnb.com)
rather than staying in a hotel or swapping your home
through websites such as Home Base holidays
(homebase-holidays.com) or Swap My City Pad
(swapmycitypad.com). If you fancy something more
active, try a volunteering holiday. You'll have to pay
for flights but accommodation and most meals are
free. World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms
(wwoof.net) lists details of farms in a variety of
countries all over the world – although Western
Europe is the best covered - that offer working
holidays for adults and families.
Wwoof.net lists an olive grove in Pistoia, Tuscany,
that welcomes children. easyJet flies to nearby
Bologna for around £300 return for a family of four
in July.
UK: £1,000 Take to the water and hire a narrowboat
for a week to cruise around the dense waterways that
criss-cross the UK. Not only can it provide hours of
sunbathing on the deck but it's a fun way to explore
the length of the country, stopping off at country
pubs along the way. If you're yet to gain your sea
legs, there are plenty of mooring stops along the
canals to pitch up for a few days.
Hiring a narrowboat that sleeps four for a week in
July starts from around £600 to under £1,000, which
includes insurance, fuel and bed linen
(waterwaysholidays.com).
ABROAD: £1,000 The Alps isn't just for winter skiing –
it makes a great summer destination too, with
activities such as hiking, paragliding, mountain biking
and potholing to keep older children amused. Peak
Retreats offers some competitive packages during
the summer season, including a package to a chalet
in Montgenèvre, on the French/Italian border, for
less than £1,000. There are even touches of luxury
thrown in, including an on-site spa and access to
several swimming pools and jacuzzis.
A seven-night self-catering holiday in Montgenèvre,
staying at four-star Chalet des Dolines, starts from
£749 including return ferry crossings for the week
commencing 26 July (peakretreats.co.uk).
UK: £3,000 Why check into a room in a hotel when
you can hire out an entire castle? Make your
children's dreams of living like Harry Potter come
true with a Celtic-style fort. Brackenhill Tower in
Cumbria dates back to the 16th century and has acres
of landscaped gardens for kids to play in. The tower
can sleep up to 10 people (so plenty of space for
extra sleepovers) with grand four-poster beds,
fireplaces and even a suit of armour. It's in the
activity-packed Lake District too, which offers plenty
of watersports and outdoor pursuits if playing hide
and seek around the castle gets too tiring.
Exclusive hire of Brackenhill Tower for seven days in
July for two adults and two children costs £2,700
(celticcastles.com/castles/brackenhill-tower).
ABROAD: £3,000 Thanks to the group-buying discount
you'll benefit from when you book a holiday through
large-scale travel agents such as Thomson, it can pay
to check out their deals. Croatia is an ideal
destination for a family holiday, being only two hours
away by plane and boasting stunning scenery and
cheap accommodation. The traffic-free island of St
Andrew, a 15-minute ferry from the coastal town of
Rovinj, offers a huge range of activities for kids. In
addition, it's close enough for a day trip to Venice, or
even to the eerie Postojna Caves in nearby Slovenia.
A Thomson package to four-star Hotel Istra on St
Andrew costs £2,826. Flying from Gatwick on 5 July
2014, based on four people sharing a family room
with sea view on a half board basis, travelling with
Thomson Airways (travelsupermarket.co.uk/
holidays).
While the UK offers a wider range of inexpensive
holidays thanks to the cheaper travel costs, when it
comes to value for money, a foreign holiday typically
comes out triumphant as the pound goes much
further abroad. Additionally, you won't have to shell
out for indoor family activities on an overseas
holiday, as there is more likely to be guaranteed
sunshine. The key is to pick destinations that your
hard-earned cash will go the furthest and set a strict
budget to ensure you don't blow your money on the
first day.
*All holidays based on two adults and two children,
during July. Prices checked during 15-20 May.
How to get a cheap deal on your holiday, wherever
you go * Bob Atkinson, travel expert at comparison
site TravelSupermarket, says setting an initial budget
with a set of criteria for what you want from a holiday
is the first step. "Research and compare the costs of
both package and DIY trips online, travel mid-week to
get lower prices and consider both the cost of the
holiday and how much you will need to spend in
resort, too," he adds.
* When booking, pay on your debit card or by bank
transfer. Many holiday companies pass on credit
card charges to customers, so always pay directly if
you can.
* If you don't have school-age kids, consider the
timing of your trip to avoid school holidays, if
possible. "Start your trip in the first few days in July if
you can," says Dee Edwards, director of Telltale
Travel. "On a trip to Thailand, it would save a
minimum of £800 on a family of four to start a trip in
early July rather than late July." * Check voucher
discount sites and sign up for travel company
newsletters such as Travelzoo. They often email
special discounts and details of flash sales that offer
huge reductions on package deals.
* Look for destinations around the world in which the
currency is weak, to make the most of sterling
against local currencies. For example, Bali and
Bulgaria are currently two of the best value-for-
money destinations, according to the Post Office.
* Be flexible and open to new ideas. If you haven't
rented an apartment abroad before, try it. As well as
being much cheaper than a hotel, the owners will
often give great tips to hidden places in the
neighbourhood, meaning you can avoid the tourist
traps.