Cant get awat on sun holiday in summer, so want to book a week for 2 adults 2 kids during mid-term in october. CAn anyone recommend a good place, bearing in mind end of October and kids about 13. Also, what are the best web site for picking up deals like this?
Collieb, are quite good for deals on sun holidays although they generally only show offers for the month ahead so they might not have anything for October just yet.
I suggest looking in travel agents about 2 weeks before time and booking thru them rather than worrying about getting tickets on time etc. Lanzerotte/Canary Islands is OK but its quite a long journey (4+ hours). The Algarve is nice (2.75 hours) but don't know what its like people wise in October but the weather will be OK.
With the introduction of the standardised school year I would imagine that you will find it hard enough to get one of the better hols. at this stage never mind a cheapie. A look here might provide something of interest
Have thought of problem with mid-terms all at the same time, but unfortunately, a holiday was promised and no other time suits since refuse to take kids out of school for holidays. A victim of my own beliefs!
Collieb: dont know where you live but Norn Iron may not have same school holidays as here. When my 'childer' were younger we always went out of Belfast in late June as their summer hols started about a week after ours. For whats it worth, teachers used to do F**K all teaching during the last 2 weeks in June anyway. Maybe changed now but I doubt it. Old habits die hard.
Part of the problem with taking the kids away the last 2 weeks of June is that they miss the break up of last day and especially in 6th class this can be quite upsetting for them to miss out on.
My young lad was out sick for ten days last April (following an incident in the "supervised" playground in which his recently-healed appendix scar was re-opened by a number of older lads standing on him in the course of a game of "British Bulldogs"...!). A week later, I got a sniffy form letter from the school reminding me about their obligation to report cumulative absences of over twenty days. I wrote back in equally sniffy mode, explaining the circumstances in colourful detail and enquiring as to whether the same requirement applied to teachers, since two of my own kids' teachers have been absent far more frequently than that. I ain't heard nothing since.
But I digress.
For my money, you couldn't do better — for a week's sunshine break in October — than to book Ryanair flights to Malaga or Faro, rent a car, and visit Seville "on the fly". No disrespect to the Canaries...