It seems harder than ever to bag a bargain summer holiday. High demand and rising flight prices mean that costs have become increasingly prohibitive. But, by using ferries, opting for less traditional summer holiday destinations and thinking laterally, there are bargains to be had in both the UK and Europe – and we’ve unearthed 25 brilliant holidays to prove it.
Savvy bookers can still bag a break during the school holidays for around £2,000 for a family of four, whether they fancy a lakeside sojourn in a cosy inn, a chic cabin getaway on a fashionable French island or a Scandinavian city escape with restless teens in tow. At these prices, you’ll 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’s also likely to lead to more chance encounters and, perhaps, an unforgettable family adventure.
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Europe
The Costa Brava
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 £1,462, B&B. Ryanair flies from Glasgow to Barcelona (around an hour and a half’s drive away), from £74pp.
The 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 Maison Chaban in Sanary, a chambre d’höte with chic cabanas and a swimming pool hidden among the olive trees. From £1,593, room only. Ryanair flies from Stansted to Marseille, from £99pp.
Île de Ré
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’s 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’re chic enough to appeal to all those Parisiens. There are indoor and outdoor pools and kids clubs too. From £1,316, room only. Brittany Ferries has crossings from Portsmouth to St Malo from £661 return, for a family of four with car.
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 beautifully renovated 300-year-old pile and with a pool bordered by cheerily striped sun loungers, they’re a lovely place to spend a week, while the beach and tavernas of Zygi are a 10-minute drive away. From £591, room only. Flight prices are rising fast, but Wizzair has tickets from Gatwick to Larnaca, from £286pp.
Mallorca
Mallorca is becoming more and more fashionably expensive. Luckily, S’Hort Can Capità, just outside the untouristy inland town of Ariany, remains a well-kept 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’s a little playground and the rooms come with portable sun umbrellas for trips to the beach. From £1,221. Wizzair has flights from Luton to Palma from £184 per adult in August.
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’s a kid-friendly menu with nachos and burgers too. From £2,245, room only (£374.33pp for six). Ryanair flies from Edinburgh to Faro, from £113pp.
Tuscany
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 £1,190, room only. Ryanair flies from Stansted to Pisa from £110pp.
The Languedoc
Parents will score major Brownie points with the Pointed Roof Mill, a squat, 13th-century tower near the medieval city of Carcassonne. It’s 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 solar-heated pool shared with the two other houses that make up La Couscouillette (one of which is another minute mill, also available for rent). From £883, room only. Ryanair flies from Nottingham to Carcassonne from £90pp.
Corfu
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 £1,744, room only, including easyJet flights from Luton.
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 four apartments have an agreeable air of faded grandeur while a pool in its terraced garden comes with incredible views out to the Mediterranean. From £885, room only. Ryanair flies from Stansted to Turin (two hours’ drive away), from £52pp.
Switzerland
Switzerland may sound like an unlikely place to hit the beach, but swimming and sunbathing are an integral part of the country’s summer. The shore is best at Lake Maggiore, where the food and service comes with an Italian feel and palm trees line sleepy marinas. In pastel-painted Ascona, Hotel Garni Golf’s two-bedroom apartments may be basic, but it’s hard to fault their location – in the Old Town, a few steps from the lake. From £1,570. easyJet flies from Gatwick to Milan, two-and-a-half hours’ drive away, from £58pp.
Lanzarote
A world away from Lanzarote’s brasher resorts, the whitewashed town of Arrieta is a serene place where cerulean shutters mirror the waves and fishing boats line the path to the beach. It’s home to Finca de Arrieta Eco Village, a collection of yurts, cottages and luxury houses that share a solar-heated pool. A stay here is a chance to immerse yourself in the local way of life: join Arrieta’s communal paella evenings on Monday nights and take surf lessons with the beachside school. Its eco casita costs from £1,013. Ryanair flies from Edinburgh to Lanzarote, from £142pp.
Ireland
You don’t think of Ireland as the place for an island getaway, but Cork has a picturesque dollop ringed by jade waters and peppered with hidden coves. At the entrance to Bantry Bay, Bere Island also makes a great place to holiday with older kids, who can embark on hikes, kayaking expeditions and sunrise swims. Stay at Wild Atlantic Glamping, where pristine bell tents trail towards the shoreline. From £1,223. Ryanair flies from Stansted to Cork from £55pp.
Portugal
Wild horses, roe deer and even Iberian wolves wander the forests of the Peneda-Geres National Park in northern Portugal. Though it’s well off the tourist trail, its streams and lagoons are perfect for paddling and there’s biking and horse riding on offer too. Lost in the landscape, Quinta Lamosa is a timber treehouse with shared use of a saltwater pool. Bookable through Responsible Travel, each costs from £1,142. Both Porto and Vigo airports are around an hour and a half away, with Ryanair flights from Liverpool to the former from £93pp.
Flanders
Reliably brilliant for little ones, Featherdown Farm’s glamping sites across Europe are also good for grown-ups, with proper beds, hot showers, private toilets and wood stoves. At its Hoeve Brugge outpost in Flanders, tents come with views of cows and horses and there’s a corn maze and play barn, while the chocolate capital of Bruges is a short drive away – as is the huge outdoor pool of Lago Brugge Olympia. The farm is less than a two hours’ drive from the Eurotunnel Le Shuttle terminal at Calais, with crossings costing from £206 for a car and family of four. From £928, room only.
Croatia
On the forested island of Krk, the seaside town of Malinska comes with a 10km promenade that links it with little marinas, off-the-map beaches. Elsewhere, there are bars and cafes beneath the pines, hikes through olive groves, boat trips to hidden bays and spectacular sunsets over the sea. Thomas Cook has a week at the bright and breezy Malinska Green Apartments, a two-minute stroll from the beach, from £418pp room only, including flights from Stansted.
Denmark
Scandinavia may be expensive, but getting there isn’t: Ryanair flights from Stansted to Aarhus start from £56 per adult in August. That’s great because Denmark’s second city is perfect for tweens and teens with urban beaches, a coffee-shop-heavy Latin Quarter, the sprawling Nicolinehus food market and a plethora of museums. Stay at Hotel Oasia, an appropriately Scandi-chic three-star in the centre. From £1,584, B&B.
Rotterdam
A week at Center Parcs in the UK will set families back more than £2,300 in summer, so alternatives across the Channel can be cost-effective. Landaal GreenParks’s De Reeuwijkse Plassen, in farm-scattered countryside near Rotterdam, has lodges set on canals where guests can paddleboard, fish or cruise along by electric boat. Indoor and outdoor play areas, a pool and lakeside beach add to the fun. From £817. The overnight ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland costs from £509 for a family of four and car, including a cabin.
Lake Constance
Life is wonderfully wholesome at Hofgut Hügle, an adventure farm set among fields around 20 minutes’ drive from Germany’s Lake Constance. Stay at one of its bright apartments with sunny private terraces and pick your own cherries, run through the corn maze, take to the spa for a parents and kids relaxation session or hire e-bikes and make for the lakeside beaches. There’s a restaurant and bakery too. From £1,255, room only (00 49 0751 1895000). British Airways has flights from Manchester to Zurich (around an hour and a half’s drive away) from £99pp with Stena Line.
Madeira
Hiking trails through a mountainous interior, dolphin watching trips along the coast and the teeny but buzzy capital of Funchal make Madeira fun for the five pluses. A 10-minute drive from the action near the protected beach at Garajau, the apartment Atlantic Mist has an idyllic private garden with sublime sea views, as well as three bedrooms (great for kids who don’t want to share). From £886 through Plum Guide. Ryanair flies from Manchester to Madeira from £159pp.
Great Britain
Norfolk
A ten-minute drive from the arcades and amusements of Great Yarmouth, Fritton Lake in Norfolk is an unexpectedly serene stretch of water surrounded by woodland. Hidden amongst the trees, you’ll find sleek cabins and the Clubhouse, a restaurant and hotel which is great value for money. There’s plenty to do here, from tennis and stand-up paddleboarding to Jeep safaris through the woodland and there’s an onsite swimming pool too (though good swimmers can make straight for the lake). A week in one of the Clubhouse’s family rooms costs from £2,000, room only.
The Ceredigion coast
Fforest is famous for its original farm campsite, to which a slice of London decamps during the school holidays to heat up in the sauna and drink by the campfire. Its second camp by the sea is more basic and affordable – though you still get the same geodesic tents and log cabins as well as a sauna and firepit. It’s a 15-minute walk to the white sand beach at Penbryn, on the Ceredigion coast, and the cafe alongside it. A week costs from £1,300 in a dome tent or £1,400 in a cabin, room only.
Shropshire and North Wales
Nostalgia is all the rage, so re-live family holidays of yore with a trip on a canal boat. Black Prince has one that’s especially good for families – a week-long meander along the Llangollen Canal as it wends its way between Shropshire and North Wales, including a nail-biting crossing of the world’s tallest aqueduct and a crawl through Wales’s longest canal tunnel on route. On shore, there’s the atmospheric medieval ruin of Castell Dinas Bran to explore. A seven-night break costs from £1,784 (diesel is around £18 extra per day).
Newquay
For an old-fashioned beach break with a kid-centric slant, Newquay’s Esplanade Hotel is a safe bet. Overlooking the great sandy sweep of Fistral Beach (where you can ride the waves with the attached Quicksilver Surf School), its modern take on the seaside theme should please adults, with rope lights and moody photos of waves. Kids, meanwhile, will think they’ve struck gold: they get goodie bags on arrival, a soft play area in the restaurant and hot chocolate stations in the rooms. From £1,647, B&B.
The Scottish Borders
Facades don’t come much grander than the great white hulk of Peebles Hydro, a four-star hotel lost in the countryside of the Scottish Borders. Inside, however, it couldn’t be less unstuffy: this is a place where you can bring your dog as well as your kids (and all get muddy without anyone caring). Bedrooms cater for families of up to six but it’s the activities that make this a firm family favourite – from air-rifle practice and archery to racing around the mini Land Rover track (for kids aged three to 12). From £1,815 B&B.
All accommodation prices are for a family of four during the state school summer holidays, unless otherwise stated. The £500pp 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.
This article was first published in January 2024, and has been revised and updated.