Get the best half term and Easter holiday deals
School holidays are nearly upon us again and this is often a time when Directline Holidays coaxes me out of my cupboard, stands me on a soapbox and coerces me into having a little rant about one of my hobby horses – how to get a good package deal when school is out.
Before our two beautiful bundles of joy (affectionately known as Cost Centre 1 and Cost Centre 2) reached school age, we failed to appreciate our good fortune in being able to holiday during term time. As soon as one is taken slave by the school calendar, belt tightening becomes inevitable and the budget that once paid for relaxing fortnights away in both June and September and perhaps a cheeky week in February now barely covers the cost of two hectic weeks in August.
So how do parents afford any extra time away without breaking the bank? Here are some tips on how and where to find the best deals for the February half-term and Easter holidays that are rapidly approaching.
You can’t be flexible with dates – so be flexible with departure points
It’s always worth checking dates for school holidays around the country as these vary from region to region. With packages priced at a premium according to when schools local to the departure airport are on holiday, flying from a regional airport that has different half-term dates can offer exceptional value for money.
As an example (based on yesterday’s prices which may have changed already), families based in the West Midlands, Shropshire and Worcestershire may find far better value travelling from Welsh airports during their half-term (Saturday 16 – Sunday 24 February) as Cardiff and Swansea schools break up for a week starting Saturday 9 February.
Flying from Cardiff on February 16th, rather than from Birmingham, will save £115 per person on a three-star self-catering holiday in the Canary Islands: stay at Oro Blanco in Playa de las Americas, Tenerife from £377 per person including 15kg checked baggage.
Similarly families in Lancashire, Merseyside, Derbyshire and West Yorkshire may be better advised to check out flights departing from the East Midlands, where local schools are on half-term holidays the preceding week.
Check when your school has INSET days
INSET (In Service Training) days usually number around 5 per year for every school and are generally tacked onto either the beginning or end of holiday periods, meaning an extra day (or 2) of holiday as the school takes additional time off for staff training. INSET days vary by school, but can make a big difference to your holiday plans. As an example, my daughter’s school is adding an INSET day to the end of February half-term, meaning it will be closed on Monday 25th. This means I can now look for 7 day breaks across 3 different departure dates. With most parents needing to have children back in their schools on 25th there will be more demand for departures on the Saturday and Sunday meaning the Monday departures should be available more cheaply.
A quick search on the Directline Holidays website throws up some fascinating comparisons – the best deal found combining both techniques above to utilise an INSET day and a different departure airport. The three-star Viva Sharm Hotel in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt is available on 7 nights B&B for a family of 2 adults and 2 children for £1010 per person departing from Gatwick on Saturday 16th February. The same package is available departing Monday 18th February from Birmingham Airport for just £466 per person – a staggering £2176 total saving.
Know what you want
Be clear on what type of holiday you’re looking for to ensure you get the best value for money and don’t end up disappointed by your choice. If you want proper guaranteed winter sun in February it’s likely to be a long-haul trip so budget accordingly – the most sought-after destinations at this time of year include the Caribbean, Florida, Goa, Kenya and the Maldives.
You’re unlikely to find any real bargains in what is high season for a lot of these destinations, but if your heart is set on a long-haul winter sun trip, the prices in March are generally a little lower than in February (notwithstanding the mandatory school holiday period mark-up) so you may find a trip around the Easter period a better value proposition than February half-term.
The mid-haul selection of destinations offers a desirable mix of warmer weather, ease of access and availability of reasonably-priced packages. The Canary Islands, Egypt and Morocco are the most in demand destinations in this bracket and remain enduringly popular amongst British visitors at this time of year. Availability remains good for both February half-term and for Easter with some excellent late deals available, especially for the Canaries.
Much closer to home, you can pick up some real bargains on packages to Tunisia, Spain, Malta and the Algarve both for February and for the Easter break. While in February all these destinations will be significantly warmer than the UK, you won’t be sunbathing here but you won’t be shivering either.
Tunisia is particularly cheap at the moment, the tourist market having been dented slightly by recent political tensions. However, the resorts along the Mediterranean coast are largely isolated from the real Tunisia and it’s possible to spend an entire holiday here relaxing within your resort without ever feeling the urge to venture afar. You can also opt to embark on some excursions into the Sahara Desert.
The Algarve can be a lovely place to visit in the spring, quiet and relaxed it makes a fantastic venue for a few days hiking with many areas covered in stunning wild flowers – the prices at this time of year also make for a very attractive proposition.
A trip to the Spanish Costas can afford you the benefit of combining some coastal relaxation with a spot of cultural indulgence, especially if you base yourself in a resort close to one of Spain’s major cities. The Costa del Sol is well-placed for excursions into beautiful Seville, Costa de Almeria is really close to historic Granada, Valencia sits at the heart of the Costa Blanca and Barcelona is the major city on the sparkling shores of the Costa Brava.
Mallorca is also exceptionally pretty and wonderfully quiet in the spring. There are some unusually good late deals to be found on a wide range of accommodation in all areas of Spain at the moment. This may be connected with the country’s currently dire financial predicament, however do not expect prices to remain so competitive after the Easter period once the countdown to the high season begins in earnest.