Save Money on Your 2013 Summer Holiday by Self-Catering and Not in the UK

When you belong to a large family holidays abroad can seem far out of sight and unlikely vacation options. But when you see the price of food in your local UK supermarkets fluctuating (especially near UK holiday resorts) are you really saving yourself money by staying in the UK?

For years we have been led to believe that if cash is tight then we should stay local and holiday in our country. Especially as since the Olympics there were many campaigns and adverts running encouraging people to remain in the UK for holidays but it isn’t always cheaper.

When looking at self-catering holidays in the UK we often forget about the cost of food and the cost of travel when looking at the overall cost of accommodation and so we are at times, misguided into thinking that we have found ourselves a bargain holiday. If you choose a UK location that is approximately 4 hours away from your home because you fancy a change of scenery or because that was the cheapest accommodation you found, depending on your engine size you could be looking at approximately £120 in petrol and that’s without using your car to venture out once you have actually reached your holiday location. (So it doesn’t include your trip to the supermarket to actually buy your food).

Often, it is difficult to find a UK resort that will 1, allow you to stay longer than 7 nights and 2, entertain you for more than 7 nights. If your scenery does not appear to be that different then you can find yourself and your children becoming quite bored during your holiday which spoils it a little. Not to mention how unreliable the UK weather is. If you are looking for grey skies, temperamental temperatures and aren’t opposed to rain then you will be just fine. If this doesn’t sound too appealing to you though I suggest you start looking abroad for a warmer climate; you’ll be surprised but even a family of 6 can afford to fly away.

A weekly shop on average for a family of 6 is approximately £150 per week accounting for an infant as well, so includes nappies, wipes and possibly formula. But this is a normal weekly shop and doesn’t account for the treats that you allow yourself on holiday such as that crate of beer, a couple of bottles of wine, those luxury branded biscuits and deli cheese and meats.

So with travel and a normal weekly shop we have already added an additional £270 on to the price of your holiday and that’s without any activities as not all UK resorts provide entertainment and activities for free. The entertainment that the likes of Butlins and Haven provide in the evening may be free but their bar certainly isn’t! You can find yourself spending a lot of money on overpriced soft drinks let alone alcoholic beverages whilst trying to enjoy yourself and unwind. More than likely your credit card then makes an appearance as you find you haven’t budgeted enough spending money which then means you’ll be short next month because you’ll be paying back your credit card company.

To vacate abroad does not mean an ‘All Inclusive’ holiday package as these are not always cheaper. The problem with these as well is that they are not the best for fussy eaters and I don’t just mean your children. My sister’s partner practically lives on toast, chips, steak and dry chicken not forgetting crisps which are not usually inclusive and have to be purchased from a shop. For them ‘All Inclusive’ is not an option as there will be many nights that not all of them can eat together at the resort because of her partner’s taste which defeats the object of purchasing an ‘All Inclusive’ holiday package.

With a few simple steps you can find that having a holiday abroad is an easy option for even a large family so don't rule out lying in the sunshine, it can still happen.

Follow the next 5 tips and see if you can be flying away next year.

The first and most important tip before booking any holiday is to do your research as this is where you can find yourself either saving money or getting great value for money.

Think about who is going on holiday with you. How many members are in your party? What age are your children, will you need a cot? When including this factor in your research you should be able to identify in your search results which accommodation suits you the best as not all Self-Catering holidays mean renting a secluded villa or apartment. Some can be located on a resort which allows a little more entertainment and socialisation than private rented accommodation.

If you aren’t convinced that you can get more value for your money abroad than in the UK then compare a few different destinations to one another. For this you need to know approximately when you would like to go on holiday as prices differentiate from season to season across the year. One thing I will mention is that prices are much cheaper if you choose to travel in off peak seasons eg: Outside of the school holiday periods.

I did a few comparisons to see what the difference in cost and value there would be for a 7 night holiday. The basic criteria was a self-catering holiday in Europe for 2 adults, 3 children (aged between 2 & 12) and 1 infant (aged below 2) towards the end of July. (School summer holiday season).

Popular UK Family Resort – Bognor Regis

£1023.44 total – Standard apartment accommodation, sleeps 6, self-catering, 7 nights, end of July 2013.

Amenities – Swimming pool, Fun Fair, Arts & Crafts, Sports Coaching & Live Entertainment (not all activities within these amenities are free)

No food or travel included.

Popular Travel Agent – Turkey

£1,871 total – Large 1 bedroom apartment which sleeps 2 with an additional cabin that sleeps up to 6 people, self-catering, 7 nights, end of July 2013. (If you wanted to stay a fortnight you could book this from £1,815 if you travel earlier in the month).

Amenities - Outdoor swimming pool, close to main town and beach (approx 20 mins walk), free sun loungers, pool table & snack or lounge bar if you wanted to pay for food at resort.

No food included but included airport transfers to and from resort once in Turkey.

Popular Travel Agent – Turkey All Inclusive

£3.793 total – 1 hotel bedroom sleeping 6, 7 nights, end of July 2013.

Amenities – 2 Outdoor swimming pool, 1 with flumes, 1 indoor pool and a large buffet restaurant. Close to the beach with evening entertainment and free sun loungers.

Food and airport transfers included.

As you can see there is a great difference in price between all inclusive and self catering holidays. Whilst the UK holiday offers a cheaper face value the remaining expense can soon add up on top of the basic cost which then doesn’t leave much difference between a UK holiday vs a holiday in the sunshine!

Your food shop does not need to be massively expensive for a week’s holiday but for this you do not need to sacrifice your holiday treats either. The tip here is to learn to shop outside of your local amenities and also try some of the local produce. The mini-mart close to the resort or on site is not going to be the cheapest.

In the UK it is difficult to avoid being overcharged for food at the large chain supermarkets because if they are the only one’s within a close proximity to your accommodation, they think nothing of increasing their prices because they know you’re only really prepared to travel 20 mins from your location. You certainly won’t want to drive for an hour trying to find somewhere cheaper because it just eats into your vacation time and you are by this point tired from travelling.

Local food abroad tends to be cheaper than in the UK in supermarkets and if you keep to staying within Europe your tummies should be fine with their fresh food.

Plan your meals for the week at the start of your shop and consider bulk meals you can make for everyone. Buy a large pack of pasta as this can be used for either salads or hot meals in various recipes. Buy two types of cereal that everyone can enjoy (you don’t need 5) so you don’t end up with a lot of waste food to take home. Buying fresh produce such as potatoes means that you can vary the types you have as opposed to buying a frozen option which only lends itself to one meal.

Just because you are self-catering does not mean that you always have to eat at home or cook. If you want to choose to eat out at a restaurant or pick up a take away for the night then again I recommend going into town rather than staying too close to the resort. There is usually a bus or boat service run by many resorts which are cheaper methods of transportation than you renting a car and driving everywhere.

Holidaying abroad means that you don’t have to sit wishing for the sun to make an appearance as generally, Turkey, Greece, Spain and the South of France all have warm sunshine in the summer periods. This means you can opt to visit the local beach for the day as opposed to staying at the pool of your resort. Children can make hours of fun with the sand, stones, shells and sea for no extra cost and if you want to invest in the odd bucket and spade, it isn’t going to break into too much of your holiday spending money to do so. You can even treat yourself to an ice-cream!

A nice walk around the local shops and town can also fill your day and allow your children to explore different cultures. You can even choose to hire bikes if you wish and take a packed lunch with you.

For evening entertainment many self-catering accommodations provide TV’s, DVD’s, some kind of Freeview or Sky option and Stereo’s. If you’re a family that doesn’t often get to enjoy a film together then you can pack some DVD’s in your luggage to take with you and have a movie night.

The great thing about having your own kitchen is that you could bake with the kids or make pasts shape pictures etc…. The difference is you can enjoy it with them because you aren’t in a rush to put the washing on or go to work.

From what I have learnt from my children in their earlier years is that on holiday, generally they are just quite happy to be playing in the pool and basking in the sunshine. An inflatable ball might add to the fun but really they just want to splash around, try various gymnastic tumbles or handstands under water and that’s about it. The downside is you may have prune fingered children for the whole holiday or may have to remind them to put sun cream on but that’s about it.

Abroad, you don’t have to travel from the resort if you don’t want to, your food shop can be cheaper and even your method of travelling to your holiday is more relaxing. No worries about fuel, trying to set off at a certain time or traffic. You can start enjoying your vacation as a family from the moment you reach the airport.