You find a holiday that looks perfect, picture the kids splashing about and the whole family finally relaxing, then you check the dates against the school calendar and watch the price climb before your eyes. Suddenly the same trip costs hundreds more, simply because it falls during the summer break. If that feeling is familiar, you are far from alone. According to the Office for National Statistics, UK household spending on international flights recently jumped by 37%, with package holidays abroad rising by 14%. Holidays still matter, though, and giving them up is not the answer. With a few sensible changes, you can keep the family memories and lose some of the cost.
Why Holidays Feel Pricier Than They Used To
It is not your imagination. Flights, accommodation and eating out have all crept up, and the squeeze is sharpest during school holidays when prices peak and everyone is booking at once. On top of the headline cost come the extras that quietly add up, like baggage fees, airport meals and spending money once you arrive. For families tied to term dates, there is little wiggle room on timing, which is exactly why so many parents are now rethinking how they holiday rather than whether they holiday at all. The good news is that small changes make a real difference.
5 Ways Families Can Cut Costs on Holidays
Here are 5 ways families can cut costs while taking a family holiday:
1. Travel When Everyone Else Is at Home
Peak season pricing is the single biggest reason holidays cost so much, so dodging it where you can save the most. If you have younger children not yet in school, the early summer and early autumn weeks are far cheaper and far quieter. Even with school-age kids, travelling midweek rather than at the weekend often shaves money off flights and ferries, and the first or last week of a break tends to cost less than the middle. It is worth being realistic about term-time trips, though, as schools in England can issue fines for unauthorised absence, so it pays to check the current rules on absence and attendance before you book. You will not always be able to avoid peak dates, but shifting even a day or two can help.
2. Look Closer to Home
A UK staycation skips the priciest parts of going abroad altogether. No flights, no airport parking, no baggage fees, and far simpler logistics when you are travelling with little ones and all their bits and pieces. The honest catch is that accommodation, fuel and eating out have risen too, so a domestic break is not automatically cheap. The trick is to keep it shorter. A long weekend in Cornwall or the Lake District can deliver just as many happy memories as a fortnight abroad, for a fraction of the spend.
3. Swap Hotels for the Open Road
Multiple hotel rooms are one of the costliest things about a family trip, especially when you need two rooms to fit everyone. More parents are sidestepping that by travelling on the road instead, where your bed and your transport are the same thing. It gives you the freedom to follow the good weather, stop where the kids want to and cook your own meals along the way. For families curious about this kind of trip, tools that help you find campervans with practical family layouts make the planning much easier, so you can compare what actually suits your budget and your brood before committing.
4. Pick Somewhere With a Kitchen
Eating out three times a day is where holiday budgets quietly disappear, particularly with hungry children who never want the same thing. Choosing self-catering accommodation with a kitchen, whether that is an apartment, a cottage or a holiday rental, lets you handle breakfasts and a few dinners yourself. You do not have to cook every meal and miss the fun of eating out entirely. Even just sorting your own breakfasts and packing lunches for day trips can cut a noticeable chunk off the final bill.
5. Plan Meals and Free Days Before You Go
A little planning before you leave saves money once you are there. Jot down a rough idea of which days you will eat in and which you will treat yourselves, and do a small food shop when you arrive rather than grabbing pricey bits as you go. Then build your days around things that cost nothing. Beaches, parks, woodland walks and plenty of local museums are all free, and they are often the moments the kids remember most anyway.
A Holiday That’s Still Within Reach
Rising costs do not have to mean fewer adventures, just a slightly different way of going about them. Travelling outside peak weeks, staying closer to home, rethinking how you get around and being a bit more deliberate with food all add up to real savings without sucking the joy out of your break. The trips your children will remember are rarely the most expensive ones. They are the ones where everyone is together, relaxed and having fun, and that is still very much within reach.