Cheap Getaways for 2008

One way to beat the January blues...

• Escape overseas, or just for the day.

What better way to relax than to jet off somewhere sunny (or snowy!) for next to nothing? Here are a few great ideas for some short breaks... and a few longer ones too. 

A weekend in Paris for the family

We’ve worked out the cost for a family of five (two adults and three children 12 and under) to visit Paris (including a day in the Disneyland theme park) all expenses paid. Including a ferry to Calais, the drive to Paris, Disneyland tickets, food costs and accommodation you can do it for only £650. It might sound a little expensive but a package holiday could easily run into thousands if you don’t keep a tab on your spending. Here’s how it breaks down:

Ferry: from £64 return with P&O Ferrys. This includes travel for one car and up to nine people (but bear in mind you can only fit five people into one car!) and also includes a free Disneyland Paris theme park ticket when you buy another full price. Click here to visit the P&O ferries website.

Petrol: Unfortunately, we can’t work out your travel costs to Calais, but according to the AA, it should roughly cost you £70 in fuel (based on an average diesel car) to drive from Calais to Paris and back.

Disneyland Paris tickets: These cost £34 for an adult and £29 for a child. You can get these online from the Disneyland website, but if you’re using your free ticket you’ll need to buy the other one when you get there.

Hotel: The prices for Disneyland hotels are a little steep, but we’ve found a lovely hotel on Expedia.co.uk that has prices from £58 for the whole family for the night. Click here to take a look at the hotel and use their tool to find out the cheapest dates to book.

Dinner: Of course, whilst you’re in Paris the choice is endless and there’s plenty a Bistro where you can feed you and your little monsters on the cheap. However, if you fancy planning ahead then pay TopTable.com a visit where you can find lots fancy restaurants with full two-course meals for under £20. We’ve set aside £200 for two nights of dining out but of course you can cut that cost by treating yourselves to a homemade moonlight picnic in Paris. Click here to visit the TopTable website and browse through their selection.

Packed lunch and drinks: To save yourself some cash whilst you’re there, opt for picnics instead of dining out for breakfast and lunch. How much this will cost should completely depend on your supermarket spending habits. We recommend you do your shopping beforehand through MySupermarket.com and read our article about how to cut down your shopping bills. We’ve allowed a £60 budget on picnic food to keep you going.

So, for £650 that’s just about everything included. Just remember to bring a few extra pennies for souvenirs and you’ll be laughing all the way to the top of the Eiffel Tower.

Get out of town for the day

This is as easy as picking a place and going! It doesn’t require much planning, and you can save money by taking a packed lunch. Use MySupermarket.com to find the best deals on all your favourite picnic foods.

Sail across the Channel

From only £37 you can board the P&O Ferry to Calais. This price includes the travel for one car and up to nine people and a buy-one-get-one-free Disneyland Paris ticket. However, Paris is a three hour drive from Calais so for a day trip it probably wouldn't be worth the drive.

You can bring the kids and the car, and explore the town and the beach. Calais has golf courses, many museums and old buildings so there's always plenty to do.

Book a P&O Ferry here. 

Take the train to Europe

With the latest high-speed Eurostar service running from the new St Pancras International rail station in London, you can be in Paris or Brussels in as little as two hours from £59 return. Swap Paris for Lilles and you could be there in an hour and a half with prices from £55 return. If you get there early you might even be able to get a croissant whilst they’re still hot!  

Please remember that to get the best prices you need to book as early as possible. Booking a month or two in advance should be fine.

Rail Europe has some of the cheapest rail tickets and some great ideas for quick getaways. Click here to see what they have on offer.

Go nowhere at all

Virgin Experience days provide all sorts of weird and wonderful options for exciting days out. Maybe one of the most exciting if you don’t fancy getting your hands dirty is to take a helicopter ride above the centre that’s closest to you. The helicopter ascends to 1000 feet and happily travels at speeds of 120mph while you can sit back and enjoy the view. This costs £39 for one person and £75 for two. There are plenty of other wacky ideas for something to do starting from around £20. Click here to see what else Virgin Experience days have to offer.

Great deals for getting out of Europe

Virgin Holidays have some amazing package deals including flights and accommodation which are only available for a short period of time. You can get to Orlando, Florida (where Disneyworld is) for seven nights, with prices starting from £569pp. Alternatively, you could jet off to Barbados for seven nights and kick back on the beach for only £525pp. Click here for more great deals from Virgin Holidays.

British Airways are offering a free extra night's stay with certain packages. Have a look to see their offers in Europe, North America, Asia and Oceana. Click here to go directly to the free extra night page.

Get away economically

With the big economic crisis, all the big companies are fighting for your business so take advantage while you can. Here are a few good sites to consider if you’re looking for the best deals:

• Go to Thomas Cook and click on Cheap Seats for their all their latest and greatest deals. They've currently got flights (one-way) for just under £50.
• Hostels are a cheaper alternative to hotels and can be a good way of meeting fellow travellers. Some are more family-friendly, others are geared towards the individual traveller. Find a huge selection at Hostelbookers, which has no online booking fees.
• However, if hotels are more your thing, Hotels.com has a good selection with up to five-star ratings. They even have hotels from £14 per night! You can also get discounts of up to 30% in their summer sale if you book soon.
• If you can brave the cold, the outdoors could still beckon. Pack up the kids and the tent in the family car, (or even better, caravan or camper van) and go camping for the weekend. Remember to check the weather forecast and wrap up very, very warm - or just head for warmer climes!

Get away and help others

STA is a fantastic company that specialises in great, original holiday experiences. If you're looking to take a year out to work abroad or simply go somewhere new then take a look at their website to see what they have to offer.

STA send out over 5000 volunteers every year, all over the world. The work these volunteers do is extremely varied and can be anything from helping to build schools in Africa to saving baby turtles in South America. For a reasonable fee (this varies according to the volunteer work) you can go on one of these trips. You'll need to speak to STA directly to get more specific details. Click here to visit the site, then click 'tours' and then 'meaningful trips' to get the contact details.

...and a few extras

• Before you begin your trip, grab a Lonely Planet guidebook for all the basic facts about the destination and what to do there. You can even buy single or multiple chapters straight from the website.
• Get the best deal on your holiday money

Useful links

• P&O Ferrys
• Orient Express
• Lastminute.com
• British Airways Holidays
• Expedia
• STA Travel
• Lonely Planet