Half Term Holidays Cost Parents Double
By Alison Steed
HALF-TERM holidays are more than double the price of holidays that could be taken the week afterwards, leaving families out of pocket.
Some families face a whopping 249 per cent increase in their costs, and flying from Manchester rather than London automatically raises the price of a family break by nearly a quarter, according to Santander Cards.
The popular destinations of Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Florida, Sharm el Sheikh and Crete were more than double the cost for a family of four in half-term week.
A family of four travelling from Gatwick to Lanzarote would pay a staggering £5,486 for a package holiday between October 24 and October 31, compared to £1,572 a week later. This makes it three and a half times more expensive than it would be in term time.
Families flying from Manchester to the guaranteed sunshine of Sharma el Sheikh will find a similar story, with a holiday package costing them £6,544.58 during half term, compared to a more palatable £2,433.08 the following week.
The biggest half term ‘bargain' can be found in Crete, where a family flying from London to Chania during half term faces a premium of just 18 per cent, significantly lower than the other destinations.
Interestingly, half term package holiday prices appear to rise slightly more if you're flying from London rather than Manchester, at an average of 108 per cent and 101 per cent respectively.
Emma Roberts, director at Santander Cards, said: "Our research shows that parents with children of school age face a massive premium if they want to take their children away during the half term break. It's not surprising therefore that some families would rather take their children out of school during term time and risk censure from their children's school than be hit by such staggering premiums.
"For those parents who are worried about the ever mounting costs of going abroad during the school holidays, the Santander Zero card is a great way to avoid paying additional and sometimes unexpected fees. With no foreign exchange fee on spending abroad, it's the ideal credit card for families looking for the best deal on their holiday spending."
