My husband always leaves the holiday booking to me and every year we go to a run of the mill hotel in Spain, Cyprus or one of the Canary Islands.  Maybe bog standard is a little heavy.  They are lovely places; lots of sun, plenty of pools and beaches, reasonable grub, and you always know there will be childrens groups and if you are lucky a kids disco in the evening.  The problem is the vacation just does not have the wow factor so this year I figured we should go somewhere else .  We have been travelling to these mediterranean places for so many years now I didn’t really understand where to start. 

So I went over to the travel agents and said we wanted somewhere a bit wow , which is kid friendly.  I realised we would probably have to pay a bit more than our usual however our budget wasn’t massive.  Well our holiday rep suggested a package holiday to Barbados, I figured she was having a joke .  “We can’t afford that!” I said, “and what about the kids, what will they do?”.  But sheeased my mind and we’re so glad she suggested it.  She booked us on a flight from Standsted Airport direct to Barbados, she got us on the late evening flight so the children just slept the whole journey, woofed up their breakfast in the morning and bright as a button . 

Barbados all inclusives are perfect if you want a stress free, enjoyable family holiday.   All the food and drink is included and the kids can have all the ice-cream they want.  It also means there are no hidden costs and you do not have to think about how much fun money to bring making the whole trip more affordable.  The total cost wasn’t as bad as I figured, I mean it was a bit more expensive than our usual but it was really worth the money!  There was loads more on family holidays in Barbados so our children had loads of friends to hang out with and my husband and I got a unforgettable luxury holiday to Barbados!

Cheap family holidays can be thrown together in a matter of hours. First of all you’ll have to sit down and make a decision about where you and everyone else in your family would like to go. Next, work out your total number of expenses such as food and travel. Calculate the cost of your accommodation, and don’t forget to think about how much money you plan to spend on items while shopping. Finally, add everything together and compare to a couple of package holidays.

Frequently, travel agents will call and discuss package holidays and the different prices available. This will give you a great chance to save a lot of money. You will only need to talk the agent down until you’ve both agreed on the price somewhere in the middle. The biggest benefit of package holiday deals is that they are often much cheaper than DIY holidays.

Many families choose to build their own holiday from scratch because there are obviously a lot more options. For some, the cost of the holiday won’t be the only element affecting their choice. If your perfect family holiday just can’t be found in the package holiday brochure, you might be much better off doing it yourself.

If you go for a DIY holiday, you choose where you eat, the exact location and accommodation, the length of time you want to stay, as well as choose how you reach your final destination. Your family also has more of a say-so when you decide to do it yourself.

In the end, the most important is that you and your family spend a great time away together. It’s not everyday that the average person gets to take off to another destination to get away from it all. When provided with the opportunity, it’s always best to go for it – package or DIY – as there is no reason to hold back from getting out and enjoying yourself.