Holiday 2006

Hi'all

Just returned form two weeks in the Med which was great. But now have a yearning for Florida again. (Been 6 times in last 10 years)

Trouble is money and timing of travel. We can no longer go in May/June as our eldest is at senior school and taking him out of school for two weeks would be too disruptive .

So advice please.

Is it really that bad (hot, humid, thundery) in August?

Can I achieve good savings by booking now. I have already enquired as to flights only and find them going at £700 each which is way way too high. Any tips to find a reasonable price this far ahead?

Thanks

We are just back from Florida, nearly every afternoon we had a thunder storm between 2pm and 4 pm lasting from 20mins to a couple of hours and then it cleared. We only had one day of rain all afternoon![msnsmile]We flew Dublin to MCO direct with Aerlingus and it cost €495 return which I feel was a good price. If you fly midweek to midweek you will pick it up cheaper, have you tried the link above for flights?

I have just got back from a 3 weeks stay and found the weather very nice. We always woke up to nice bright sunny weather, very uplifting and as Paul said it rained in the afternoons but only for a short period.

If there are still any flights available, they were coming in pretty reasonable for 1st 2 weeks April (especially if you can fly on 31st March which for most seems to be the last day of term).

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by steph_goodrum
If there are still any flights available, they were coming in pretty reasonable for 1st 2 weeks April (especially if you can fly on 31st March which for most seems to be the last day of term).

[/quote]

Steph.

Need to go July August. We want 3 weeeks out there and cannot tale Rob out of school.

Trouble is money and timing of travel. We can no longer go in May/June as our eldest is at senior school and taking him out of school for two weeks would be too disruptive .

I know where your coming from but very little school work is done during the last week before a school holidays so taking him out 2 weeks early will have little if any effect, you can always ask for extra home work.

Put me right if this is wrong but can you not be fined now for taking children out of school outside of the normal holidays.?
It does suprise me that when we go to Florida which is always when the children are at shool there are so many on the flight.

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by sunny guy
Put me right if this is wrong but can you not be fined now for taking children out of school outside of the normal holidays.?
[/quote]

I think it depends on the school. Most schools around us (Staffordshire Moorlands) allow you to take your child out for 10 days but only with the schools permission. I know of one school though in Stoke on Trent which does not allow any days at all. Best to ask your particular school. [msnsmile]

And now back to my question?

:)

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Mick-H
Trouble is money and timing of travel. We can no longer go in May/June as our eldest is at senior school and taking him out of school for two weeks would be too disruptive .

I know where your coming from but very little school work is done during the last week before a school holidays so taking him out 2 weeks early will have little if any effect, you can always ask for extra home work.

[/quote]

I agree but this only applies to the last week before the main summer holiday. I reason that is still disruptive around Easter and half term.

Normally, the best prices for flights are when they're first available on the internet, which is around 11 months prior to departure, ie in September or October, depending on the date you want to travel. You may be lucky and find a last minute bargain but don't count on it as prices do tend to go up the nearer to the date you get.

You'll probably be looking at scheduled airlines as few charter airlines have 21 nights available.

As has already been suggested, try the link for flights at the top of the forum as they usually have very competitive prices.

Then you can come back here and rent your ideal villa for your holiday! :)

Unfortunately Nigel the only thing is grit your teeth and grin and bear it. Either saving for an extra year to be able to afford the summer flights or find the money somehow. We've just finished with being held to ransom by flight operators for peak summer as our daughter has just finished her first year at uni, so can now be a bit more flexible in our trips but I do know some people managed to get bargain flights so you could be lucky.

We flew out to Orlando last Sunday, stuck with the school hols too at the moment. The weather is lovely, its hot but not over powering and with all the air-conditioning we hardly notice it unless we are out by the pool. We stick with August as we want three weeks if possible. Our flights were with Virgin I think they started at GBP699 for an economy seat.[msnsmile2]

I sympathise with the predicament. I've got exactly the same myself. I've tried everywhere over the past couple of months to book next year's flights in the vain hope that I could get something cheaper. Waiting for a last minute bargain is a possibility, but I think unlikely - while surfing for prices in July I had a look to see what it would cost for a last minute booking this August and was quoted some ridiculous figures - £1800 per seat economy was not unusual.

The only place I could book this far ahead was with Virgin. I have 4 kids, the quoted price for economy flights for 6 of us came to over £5,000. I'm hoping that come September when more become available online I may find something more reasonable. It's hard to take when you see all those who can go at different (and more pleasant) times of the year going for half the cost.

On your other point about the weather - I'm just back and it was OK. Yes, it's hot, but not unbearably and air con everywhere does help. Yes, there are lots of thunderstorms (basically every day), but honestly, we hardly noticed. They start and stop quickly and sometimes provide a welcome cooling.

If you find some cheap flights, I would love to know about it.

Tonish

Why not look at half term in October. Generally it is not as expensive as July/August but still lovely weather?

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by NigelM
Hi'all

Just returned form two weeks in the Med which was great. But now have a yearning for Florida again. (Been 6 times in last 10 years)

Trouble is money and timing of travel. We can no longer go in May/June as our eldest is at senior school and taking him out of school for two weeks would be too disruptive .

So advice please.

Is it really that bad (hot, humid, thundery) in August?

Can I achieve good savings by booking now. I have already enquired as to flights only and find them going at £700 each which is way way too high. Any tips to find a reasonable price this far ahead?

Thanks
[/quote]

It is hot and humid.....but I find it OK....better than were I live anyway...I even did the parks last Aug.....I did find myself leaving the parks a bit earlier than I would in Dec......but that could of been because I've been to them way too many time over the last 3 years......

Its most unfortunate because the vast majority of families who travel to Frorida have school going kids and are penalised by having to pay the high season fares. This year we travelled june 22nd, a week before school broke up for Summer , but that was the latest day I could get a cheap Aer lingus rate and I had to take it. I wrote a letter to the childs headmistress and she was most understanding. The last week was mainly fun and games, as the school course had already been covered.

I think Nigel wants to go for 3 weeks and at my daughters school she only gets one week in October[msnsad] Some schools do get 2 weeks in October but I dont know of any that get 3 weeks.

Karen

<blockquote id="quote" class="ffs">quote:Originally posted by Steve and Dawn
Why not look at half term in October. Generally it is not as expensive as July/August but still lovely weather?
[/quote]

I coped with the weather in August in Florida twice, lots of air conditioning, ride queues in shade etc - the humidity in Cheltenham where we live has been unbearable this week especailly after 10 days in south west france where it was hot - but fresh.

As to flight prices - we all see in the papers £299 for fly drives etc. but they will never be in schools hols and are probably only for a few flights per ad.

Debbie

I have only been able to book this early with Virgin, you will probably get a better deal for such a busy time by booking it all independently perhaps through the links on this site. Unfortunately, for those of us stuck with the school holidays the cheap deals seem to be impossible to get hold of, as they have know they will have plenty of business for that period.[msnsad]

Just got back - it was gorgeous!! Glorious sunshine - yes in the afternoon there was some rain & brilliant thunder storms but when the rain or heat got to us we just retreated to the air conditioned luxury of the villa! Speaking to someone who has just returned from Spain, I think we had a far more comfortable time! We go every year in August because of summer hols for kids & teachers, I would highly recommend August!!

Looking around for next year the best value for us would appear to be B.A, because Aer Lingus plan to s[bad language filtered out] the Orlando route after January , I am looking at around 600 euros for next Summer which is the only time we can travel with a school child .Perhaps I should look at flying in to Sanford airport , that may give us more choice bu it means a longer drive for my husband. I have no problem with the weather in July or August , just the fact that we hit high season for both flights and accomodation. If we were not bound by the school calender we would travel May or October.

I actually love to go in July / August
Just love all those thunder storms, although this year we went mid July for two weeks and saw rain once, amazing really and i was a little disapointed.
Next year we have booked for Easter so looking forward to that but i will long to go over in summer
Still you never know [msnwink][msnwink]

Dawn

I helped my sister book flights a couple of weeks ago for the end of August 2005. We found that there seems to be a "cut-off date" of 23rd August after which time even the August flights go cheaper but you may end up keeping the kids off school for the first couple of days of the new term. The saving was quite good though.... just try searching before the 23rd August and after it to compare the difference in air fares. It may well save you a few shillings.

We have just booked for next Easter not going to Florida we are going to fly into L.A and driving around California Got a great price with Aer Lingus less than 2000 euro for 4 of us

Compare prices flying into Tampa International Airport. It adds about 20 minutes to the drive time to our villa but nice airport and direct flight prices can sometimes be cheaper than into Orlando.

Thanks for that useful tip Julie , I did try Tampa because where we will be staying is very close to your villa so it would be the same time but Tampa worked out the same as Orlando but that may change in the coming months. We will keep a tight eye on the flights , also I still reckon Aer lingus may reconsider their decision to keep the Dublin / Orlando route open.

I have heard that Aerlingus may go for a permanent route Dublin /Orlando instead of charter. It depends on open sky policy (changes next year) and staff stop overs being agreed. Fingers crossed xx

Hi Nigel,

We are also tied to school holidays, most schools allow upto 10 school days a year off if pre-arranged, but obviously this depends on the age of the child and what stage of their education they are at.
Hewever, we have just returned from 4 weeks in Florida. Yes, it was very hot but not unbearable and as others have mentioned we had late-afternoon / early evening thunderstorms which clears the humidity a bit. We travelled around for some of the time staying in a couple of hotels which reminds you of the benefits and the freedom of staying in a villa or condo. In a villa you tend to be in and out of the air-con to get drinks, snacks or just pottering about which all gives a break from the heat. The pool screens do also take a little bit of strength out of the sun's rays. During the afternoons our kids often disappeared into our games room to play table tennis or darts as the temperature was comfortable in there. The parks are very hot but there are always water-rides to cool you down or air-con in the shops and restaurants.
TIP! The park are quieter from the beginning of August when alot ot the American kids go back to school.
On the subject of flights we usually book 10 or 11 months in advance but this year we didn't book until April for July/ August and by taking an indirect flight with 1 change (Zurich)we only paid £505 each with Swiss Air into Miami. An excellent flight and a pleasant drive to Orlando with a few stop-overs along the way to see other parts of Florida.

Our Management company tell me they are desperate for rain as the grass needs a good soak. So seems to be Ok from a guest point of view.

I have been Aug twice and was ok both times.

nigel

you may find them cheaperif you can fly from Glasgow middle to the end of August. That is because school holidays are different in Scotland.
I managed to save a family about £1000.00 last year by changing from end of July to last two weeks in August

Alan

We have just come back and found it to be hotter than normal with very little rain. The heat& humidity got to all of us and has put us of going again (didn't think I would ever say that)until we can go earlier in the year.

We always go the last two weeks in May. Weather is excellent and the flights a lot cheaper, plus only have to take the children out of school for a week (before half term) and as Olive says they do not do a lot in the last week of term anyway.

Flights for next year were £350 with Britannia (thomsons). Already booked and counting the days !

We are in our villa in Orlando at the moment, arrived on the 12th August for 18 nights. We always have at least 2 weeks in August as we are also tied to school hols (I work in a school). Must admit it has been much hotter this year touching 100F most days, but hardly any rain, just a few thunderstorms late pm. Even now as hurricane Katrina passes over southern Florida it is sunny and hot here in Kissimmee.

Our flights cost about £590 incl taxes, flying indirect with United Airlines via Chicago. Excellent flights with seat back tv and games consoles. This was booked about 11 months in advance through Charter Travel via the link at the top of the page.

Hope this helps

Jane