There's still time to grab a summer bargain

If you think you can't afford a family holiday abroad this summer, think again.  Those who have no plans can bag an absolute bargain, if prepared to book a trip independently.  Why pay the travel agent an extortionate commission rate, when you can book a bespoke holiday for your family from the comfort of your living room?  The easiest (and quickest) way to seek out your perfect flight is to use www.skyscanner.com. Search for flights from 'UK' to 'Everywhere' and set the date to 'whole month' and 'August 2018'.  Honestly, you won't believe your eyes.

This August, there are flights aplenty and lots of decent accommodation still available across Europe.  For a family with young children, or even teenagers, it's possible to holiday for under £500, in some pretty amazing places.

So, the world's your oyster...

How about Legoland in Denmark?  Flights to Billund (from Stansted) are £18 return at the end of August.  A fantastic plastic trip to the home of Lego is even better at this time of year, as the Danish children are back at school and the queues for the theme park rides are titchy tiny.  Couple the park with a city break to Copenhagen and you've got yourself a Danish delight!  See the links below for more ways with which to save some Krone:

https://juliesquire.blogspot.com/2016/03/plastic-fantastic-legoland-billund-for.html

https://juliesquire.blogspot.com/2015/11/a-may-half-term-danish-delight-for-25.html

Majorca is a family favourite of ours.  Azure coves, vibrant Palma and the beautiful Pollenca are all possible with flights, next month, at only £60 return from Birmingham Airport.  Airbnb accommodation is plentiful on the island and, from only £50 a night for a two-bedroomed apartment, you can bring a week on this Balearic island in at £650 for a family of four.

Some surefire ways to ensure your Airbnb accommodation is tiptop: https://juliesquire.blogspot.com/2016/08/

Savouring gelato in Italy is another option.  With flights at only £65 return from Leeds this August, a few days in Venice would be a truly memorable trip.  My advice, to help cut costs, is to find a place to stay in Treviso, a wonderful cobbled city (complete with its own canals) with sights to rival its more famous neighbour.  The train into Venice from Treviso is, in itself, a treat; the children will marvel as San Marco Campanile comes into view.

Here are some ideas -  https://juliesquire.blogspot.com/2015/11/family-friendly-venice-on-budget.html

Malta, a firm favourite of mine, is a great destination.  Flights from Nottingham are under £70 return for mid-August to this jewel in the Mediterranean crown.  The most family-friendly feature of this island, and its sister Gozo, is the bus service.  The buses are efficient, making it so so easy for you and the littluns to navigate the islands' beaches and towns.

More information about this part of the world can be found at https://juliesquire.blogspot.com/2015/11/go-to-gozo.html

If it's searing heat you crave, Greece is remarkably cheap this summer.  There are lots of flights for under £100 return to Zante, Corfu and Thessaloniki.  Self-catering places are still in abundance and will set you back, in mainland Thessaloniki, for example, a mere £35 a night.  Feta cheese and olives will never have tasted so good as they do in your local beach taverna! 

Learn how to make savvy choices when navigating self-catering search engines: https://juliesquire.blogspot.com/2016/01/savvy-self-catering.html 

The bargain I wish I'd spotted, before I booked my holiday to Portugal for this summer, are the flights to Naples, from Nottingham, for £60 return.  Naples, birthplace of the pizza, is the perfect place to see some sights to help with September schoolwork.  Vesuvius is an easy daytrip from Naples, as is the evocative Pompeii with its macabre sights.  Further along the coast, a public bus ride along the higgledy-piggledy road to Positano and Amalfi is a hair-raising experience for all.

With a sense of adventure, a passport and a suitcase full of flip flops and sun cream, it really is possible to make the most sensational European memories at half the price you'd expect.  In the sun, there is no finer place than the UK for a staycation, but to expose the children to varied cultures, languages and traditions is more than a holiday: it's an education with a sunhat on!

Stockholm for under £20!

If, like me, you're bored of this never-ending winter, you'll be looking to book your next flight out of this grey and dismal climate.  When planning trips away, some people complain that the restraints of school holidays mean that a family break is financially prohibitive but, being tied to school dates isn't as restrictive as you may think, if you're willing to let the flight deals dictate your destination.

May half-term this year seems to be awash with bargains to some of my best-loved capital cities.  For less than £100, a family of four can fly to some of the most amazing places.  Get the children learning smatterings of Swedish, reading "Pippi Longstocking" and savouring the lax for breakfast in Sweden's jewel of a capital city.



Stunning Stockholm is a wonderful city.  A stroll through Gamla Stan or island-hopping in the archipelago, with its 30,000 islands stretching out into the Baltic Sea, will a delightful way to spend a few days in late May.  And, oh so cheap!

Ryanair has return flights in the last week of May for only £16 return from Stansted.  A Swedish steal, if you ask me.  The fresh air and the light nights will capture your imagination, and your wallet will thank you for booking such amazingly-priced flights.  

I wouldn't hang around though.  In my experience, prices to cool cities such as Stockholm don't linger for long...