How to travel on a budget with kids in the school holidays

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Wondering how to travel in the UK and Europe on a budget with the kids in the school holidays? It can certainly be a bit challenging, but hopefully my tips will help you to save money where you can. So here are some ways you can lower your accommodation costs, find cheap flights, save on meals and days out, get the best discounts, hunt out alternative budget destinations and more – to help you to travel on a budget with the kids in the school holidays.

1. Lower your accommodation costs

Travelling in the school holidays in an affordable way can be near impossible, and your accommodation choices can take up a huge chunk of your budget, so here are a few ways to lower your costs:

Book ‘per party’ accommodation:

Switch luxury hotels for campsites and holiday parks with ‘per party’ prices instead of ‘per person’. For travel in Europe, Eurocamp is a brilliant option – they have great swimming pools, waterslides and facilities for the kids to entertain them on a budget while you’re there too. We’ve used them to visit cities like Rome , Venice and Amsterdam, Swiss mountains , waterfalls, beautiful beaches, lakes and theme parks. They also have great sales and do some brilliant May half-term deals with plenty of holidays under £250 per family. I also found 50 family holidays under £1k for July/August 2025 – with prices starting from around £200! (Check out my Eurocamp guide here: The Ultimate Eurocamp Holiday Guide – and money saving tips! and have a read of my Eurocamp Holiday Reviews to see where we’ve stayed.)

You might also want to check out Landal Greenparks – they typically offer more nature based breaks and have lots of holiday parks in Europe, as well as the UK. If you’re booking a staycation, you’ve actually got lots of holiday parks to choose from dotted all over the country from providers like: Haven, Parkdean Resorts, Away Resorts and Park Holidays. I find that Parkdean Resorts and Park Holidays are often less pricey during peak times than some of the other companies. You might also be able to save some money by booking your holiday park through the The Sun Newspaper – they have better availability for off-peak dates, but it’s worth a look as they can be really cheap and cheerful. For more info on how it works, check out my post on the Sun Newspaper Holidays.

Housesit for free accommodation:

Reduce your accommodation costs to just £99 per year by using a housesitting service like Trusted Housesitters. In exchange for looking after someone’s pet, you can stay in their home for free anywhere in the world (some may have a £9 booking fee). A bonus of using Trusted Housesitters is that lots of people want school holiday dates, to fit around their own trips away, so it can be an affordable way to travel during peak times. You can book as many stays as you like – find out more in my Trusted Housesitters family travel guide.

Go camping:

Camping can also be a really cost effective way to travel in the school holidays without huge accommodation costs – if you and your family love nature then it can make a getaway with the kids really budget-friendly. Some sites will allow you to hire what you need, at a cheaper rate than a caravan, and you can arrive to find it all set up. If you have your own kit, or can borrow from a friend, then you’ll likely pay very little. Loads of campsites have great glamping options which are cheaper than a hotel or holiday home but still offer a few home comforts. Or, you could even go wild camping for free in Scotland!

Travel with others:

Another great way to cut accommodation costs is to travel with friends or family. Villas and house rentals can be a really affordable option for larger groups when the cost is shared. Not only that, but you can split the cost of transport, food and other extras while you’re away too. Websites like VRBO and Air Bnb can give good savings by helping you to connect directly with the owners, and for UK stays the Holiday Cottages website can be a good place to start. TUI also have a section for villa holidays (offering 1-6 beds) and this might work out more affordable than a hotel for those with a large family, or for families wanting to travel together. If you do have to travel abroad during peak times, sharing accommodation costs might be the best way to make the trip more affordable.

2. Be careful with your dates

I’ve noticed when I’m deal hunting that travel during the last week of August is typically cheaper than the rest of the school summer holidays – so if you’re booking over the main 6 week break then you might be able to have a more budget-friendly getaway just before the kids go back to school. (The other school holidays like Easter, October and May half-term are generally significantly cheaper than July/August too.) Use the comparison calendars available on the holiday providers’ websites to find the best prices. If you can dip into term-time slightly with the odd day or two, that’ll often be a great way to save a bit of money, particularly when it comes to booking affordable flights as they’ll often account for a huge proportion of your travel costs. Here are some of the calendars from popular holiday providers:

When you see a holiday you like on the TUI website, and click through for more info, you can scroll down to compare prices. The green £ shows the cheapest date for travel for each month – you can flick between the months or just compare dates around when you were looking to travel.

On the Jet2Holidays website, when you’re scrolling through holidays, they have a ‘Switch dates and save’ button which also brings up a calendar for that particular trip, to help you to easily compare the cost on different dates.

Eurocamp also have a comparison calendar (simply scroll down when you find the holiday you like) which is so helpful when booking a trip. It’s not always possible, with school holiday restrictions, but if you can travel in a flexible way it’s a fantastic way to cut costs.

I find that the best prices generally come from booking well in advance, or fairly last minute when you can benefit from last minute deals and reductions, so timing is important too. Another option, to save money but also avoid too many school absences, is to book a weekend Friday – Monday term-time break to miss just a few days if you’re travelling in the UK, or drive back on the Sunday evening in time for school on the Monday.

3. Make the most of reward schemes

For UK travel, make the most of reward schemes like Tesco Clubcard to save on meals and days out when you’re away. As well as food shopping, points can be collected through Tesco services too (such as Tesco Mobile or through a Tesco Credit Card) so you can collect them even if you do your weekly shop elsewhere. They also work with lots of holiday companies like Hotels.com, Intrepid Travel, P&O Cruises and Eurocamp, as well as those that provide the holiday extras like ferry travel, airport parking and the Channel Tunnel (Le Shuttle) – so you can save money there too. Sainsbury’s shoppers can also get free hotel stays through the Nectar reward programme as well – a great tip from follower Laura.

4. Keep your expenses low

It’s actually really easy to overlook the cost of the other expenses that you’ll incur whilst travelling – so consider things like travel insurance, airport parking, transfers, car hire, food and days out when you’re budgeting for your trip. To keep your travel expenses as low as possible, and make your school holiday getaway as budget-friendly as possible, follow these tips to save money on days out, food and luggage costs.

Save on days out:

Pre-planning your adventures when you’re away is a great way to save money so make a rough itinerary with a blend of free activities alongside paid days out. Pre-booking tickets for attractions online is cheaper the majority of the time too, so it pays to be organised. Here are a few ways to save on days out with the kids during your trip away:

Blue Peter Badges: If you’re travelling in the UK, make sure your kids get some Blue Peter Badges – children can gain free entry to over 200 Blue Peter Badge attractions around the UK (such as theme parks, zoos and castles) making family days out during your holiday a lot more budget friendly. For more info, check out my article: How can my child get a Blue Peter Badge? Enjoy over 200 UK free days out to UK attractions!
Tesco Clubcard Rewards: As I mentioned above Tesco Clubcard is brilliant for free days out, as well as meals too during your trip. Save them up all year and use them for free adventures on your travels.
Free Days Out: There are so many gorgeous beaches, hills to hike, country parks, lakes and mountains dotted all over the UK and Europe – each offering a new (free!) adventure during your holiday. See what’s on offer in the area you’re visiting – some of the best sights (like Giessbach Falls below) are often free!

Discounted Tickets: Use websites like Days Out and Tiqets to save money on popular attractions. The Days Out website tends to best the option for UK holidays, where as Tiqets is perfect for travelling abroad. On the Tiqets website you’ll also find combination tickets for lots of city attractions and theme parks, which can be a great way to cut costs if you want to do a few activities, and they have lots of ‘skip the line’ tickets too which is perfect for travelling at peak times with the kids – as the queues in the school holidays can be crazy!
City Days: It’s amazing how many free things there are to see and do in cities – so planning a day of exploring and sightseeing needn’t be expensive. You might even discover things like free walking tours or museums with free admission days, and most religious buildings across Italy offer free entry too. We’ve visited some amazing cities in Europe like Florence, Paris, Barcelona, Luxembourg City and Trier – so make sure you check out my travel guides for budget-friendly city itineraries.

Memberships: For UK travel, English Heritage memberships can be a great investment; once you’ve signed up you can use them time and time again for free days out all over the UK. (For more info, check out my article: The 10 best English Heritage sites to visit with kids.) You can also trial Kids’ Pass for 30 days for just a quid – using their app, you can get discounted days out and restaurant meals for your trip away. It’s definitely worth a quid to save money over the summer holidays.

Self-cater to save on food costs:

Food can be a huge expense when you’re travelling with kids, so book a getaway with decent self-catering facilities so that you can stock up at cheap supermarkets, pack up picnics and cook at your accommodation when you can. We never go anywhere without refillable water bottles, a flask of coffee and our cool bag rucksack. When the scenery is so beautiful nothing beats a picnic anyway – a picnic at the water’s edge in Venice? Yes please! 😍 If you need to eat out when you’re exploring then fast-food or eating like a local (think street food, bakeries and markets) will be your best bet. We usually limit proper restaurant meals to one per holiday and it makes it more of a treat then too.

Pack wisely:

Decant toiletries into small pots instead of paying over the odds for ‘mini’ versions of your favourite products, and it’ll help to keep your luggage costs lower too if you’re flying. (Don’t forget washing up liquid and clothes detergent if you’re self-catering!) And, rather than buying lots of holiday clothes, shop from your wardrobe. You can also hire your baby’s travel equipment – Baboodle is great for hiring strollers, travel cots, shoulder carriers and backpacks – don’t buy something if you won’t get much use from it. When you book campsites with mobile home accommodation, like Eurocamp, just little things like taking your own bedding and towels will save you a bit of money too.

Make sure that you pack things like anti-histamine tablets, antiseptic cream, bite cream, bug spray, paracetamol and plasters as well – these items can be really expensive from pharmacies in Europe so it pays to be well prepared! Check out my Ultimate Family Holiday Packing Guide – with free printable checklist to get organised. And, pack your own sarnies and snacks to keep costs down and the kids quiet – the prices at airports and service stations are severely over-inflated. If you’re road tripping, you could also load the car boot with food for your trip – especially if you’re visiting somewhere with a higher cost of living or expensive resort prices.

5. Reduce your travel costs

Plan your stay around cheap flights:

Use Skyscanner to find the cheapest days, times and airlines for your flights. Travelling just one day earlier, or during the night, could save you hundreds of pounds! The budget airlines are often the best bet for cheap short-haul flights. If you’re not fixed to certain dates, it’s definitely worth planning your trip around the cheapest dates to travel. Or use Skyscanner’s ‘any destination’ option and have an adventure wherever the cheapest flights take you. Make sure you read my Skyscanner guide to find out how to hunt out the best prices.

Save on transport:

If transfers aren’t included, consider opting for a resort close to an airport to keep costs down. Equally, finding a resort where you can get around on foot, or via public transport, will save on car hire costs too. For holiday park stays in Europe, check out my article: Eurocamp without a car: The 20 best car free Eurocamp holidays near an airport – I’ve included Eurocamp resorts in France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Luxembourg and The Netherlands with transfer times as little as 10 minutes and they’re all resorts that can be enjoyed without a car. If you need to book private transfers, pre-book your taxi before you travel to reduce costs and stress when you land. But, public transport in Europe is usually considerably cheaper than it is in the UK (it’s free in Luxembourg!) so use buses and trains where possible to save money.

Take a road trip:

One of the best ways to enjoy holidays with the kids on a budget is to take a family road trip – whether you want to travel in the UK or Europe – driving yourself is a great way to save money and avoid expensive school holiday flight prices. When you add in waiting times, and travelling to and from the airport, you might actually find it doesn’t take that much longer to get there by road. Plus, you might get to see some new places on your travels too, and you’ll avoid car hire costs and airport parking charges. For travel in Europe, opt for ferry travel over the Channel Tunnel – it does add an hour to your travel time but it’s typically significantly cheaper, and use the Direct Ferries website to compare prices. This guide is a great place to start: How to road trip on a budget around Europe – the ultimate family guide!

Include your travel plans:

Lots of holiday providers offer significant savings if you book your travel through them when organising your accommodation. For instance, booking the Channel Tunnel Crossing or ferry through Eurocamp is usually significantly cheaper than booking directly – so make sure that you book it as a package if you’re driving. The Sun Newspaper Holidays also offer this, as do other campsite providers, so check when you book to save on your travel. If you’re looking for a cheap holiday with flights, you might find that a package holiday deal is best – TUI include baggage and transfers with lots of their packages, and with Jet2Holidays it’s included as standard.

6. Make the most of discount codes

Keep an eye out for discount codes – companies like TUI and Eurocamp usually advertise these directly on their own websites: things like £100 off when you book before a certain date, free ferry crossing, or deals on specific locations or types of stay. You can see all of the current TUI reductions on the TUI ‘Discount Codes’ page, or check out Eurocamp’s ‘Special Offers’ tab. Make sure that you combine deals and discounts too! For our last TUI, we took advantage of a free child place, AND a TUI offer of £100 off – free child places can be a great way to save money on package holidays. TUI also have a whole section of their website (https://nhs.tui.co.uk/) dedicated to offering discounted travel to those who work in the NHS.

7. Consider alternative destinations

Think about exploring lesser-known or emerging destinations that may offer lower prices compared to more popular tourist spots. This might be a slightly cheaper resort, or another destination entirely – places like Montenegro, Albania and Bulgaria can be pretty affordable sunshine holiday options. If you’re open to exploring some different options, then do an ‘any destination’ search to find a holiday based on your dates and budget rather than a particular place. When you’re on a budget, being flexible is one of the best ways to save money on travel with the kids in the school holidays. For winter breaks, Bulgaria and Poland have some cheaper ski resorts if you’d like to travel over Christmas or February half-term without spending a fortune!

A final word

I hope that my tips and tricks will be useful in helping you to find ways to travel on a budget with the kids if you’re tied to peak dates within the school holidays. It’s such a shame that prices become so inflated during those times, but if you do a bit of digging and plan your trip carefully, there are definitely ways to enjoy a break with the kids in a more affordable way. Make sure you have a good hunt around the blog for deals, budget itineraries, holiday reviews and even more money saving tips, and sign up to my newsletter to have holiday deals sent straight to your inbox. Happy travels! 😊