The question's really about the hotels. I don't expect my children to travel free and understand that they need a seat on the plane just like an adult. I certainly don't want Sma to subsidise my holiday. Some people eat like horses some have tiny appetites, this is true of both adults and kids so is pretty irrelevant.

Adults have an income, children do not they are in full time education till 16. 12 seems a bit arbitary. All the 'deals' only refer to 'family rooms' anyway. Often you have paid nearly as much as 4 adults but are cramed in one so called 'family' room. A twin with 2 camp beds crammed in. Oh and only one room for the maids to service, only one bathroom to be cleaned. Bargain.

HI ND
i was on the same thinking.. if youre under 2 you sit on parents lap above that you have a seat but when you are over 12 you are an adult.. i think it`s a disgrace.. i just got a PRICE TO EGYPT FOR A WEEK 8 april.....£2000 just for flights for the 4 of us.....no way.. so me hubby and kids will just have to be miserable in this country...and they wonder why the country is so unhappy

Snap. That is what I have more or less paid for a week in Egypt in April for 2 adults, a child and a youngish teen, just under 2K. Just for one weeks Bed and breakfast. I am fortunate enough to be able to afford it. It's a shame you cant.

Pity some people don't think before they make an insensitive post.

So much for this country promoting family life and family values.

hey d
i can afford it but refuse to pay it... we went in june last year for a week and it cost £1000 for 4 of us.5* AI, transfers, insurance and an extra £25 for a bigger room which gave us 2 rooms, bathroom and a dressing room........heaven... i lioke to spend as little as poss cos they are all ripping us FAMILY peop[le off

sharon

Pity some people don't think before they make an insensitive post.

I heartily agree with you. My brother is a single parent trying to provide for his 2 teenage daughters on a single salary and as a school teacher he has no option but to go on holiday at the most expensive time. My parents are both nearly 80 and living on their state pensions supplemented by my Dad's small occupational pension. They manage because they live a fairly frugal lifestyle at home in order to be able to continue to afford holidays abroad. AIs in the peak season are too expensive for all three of them to even consider. Since being on his own, going away as a family group with myself and my parents is the only way he has been able to afford to take his daughters abroad on the basis of us usually splitting all the costs 4 ways between the adults. I doubt that he'll even be able to afford this next time because his eldest starts University in the Autumn and my parents and I have long accepted that we'll need to help out with the cost of this. Making the sacrifices now is an investment in her future that we are prepared to make and because of this we haven't yet made any plans for another 3 generation holiday until we are all a bit clearer about how her University education is going to be paid for - something for which she herself has been saving for from her weekend job.

We manage family holidays because we always go self-catering in small locally owned apartments in quieter, less popular resorts and because I know my way around getting us good deals on flights via a friend in the travel industry and so manage to usually manage to put a good DIY package together that greatly undercuts what any of the TOs are offering. Last October half-term I wasn't able to get as good a deal as I hoped or had previously managed so in the end I paid 50% of the air fares and my parents paid the other 50% because the cost of them was clearly beyond my brother's budget. Family values are so important to us that we did this in order to ensure that we were still able to have the family holiday that means so much to all of us as we are scattered the length and breadth of the UK and apart from holiday times don't always manage to see that much of each other.

My nieces have long learnt that a 'No' means no and don't pester their father or the rest of us for things that they know are outside of the budget. We operate a kitty system between us adults but the girls bring their own pocket money too and know that it isn't limitless and accept that this is what can make the difference between having a holiday and not having one at all. They make it clear that the best thing about these holidays is that we are taking them together and able to spend time in each other's company. They are now old enough to have started to realise that at the age their grandparents now are, each holiday with them is increasingly precious.

You expressed concern about killing threads shazz06 and what will kill this thread is not my honestly expressed personal opinion about and attitude towards child places and prices but personalised comments directed towards specific individuals based on assumptions such as those you make and which I found offensive even if you didn't intend them to be. I do not have, nor does anyone else in my family, 'too much money to care about prices'. It is because collectively we have to make difficult decisions based on trying to make fixed budgets stretch as far as possible without going into debt that we make the holiday choices we do. AI is an option we are unlikely to ever choose, however much I keep checking what's on offer and costing it up, because it always seems to exceed the sort of budget we have to play with.

I accept that you did not mean to cause offence, despite the use of exclamation marks which usually implies that the statements are meant ironically, but do please pay me the respect of accepting that I too was just expressing an opinion which I feel as fully entitled to offer as you do yours. My original message was posted in response to your question:

does anyone know WHY kids are classed as adults once they reach 13???

and I offered an explanation of why this was and why I thought that it was reasonable for hotels and TOs to do this. You clearly don't think this is reasonable but just because we don't agree on this doesn't mean that you need to make the sort of personal comments that you and some others did about not just the points in my message but about me and my family.

SM

i live a frugal lifestyle, we only have one income.. and we don`t have a generous family that can help pay for our hols or anything else for that matter.hey! i can`t even get them to babysit...so we do and pay for ourselves!!BUT if a 9 year old is sitting in a seat they are taking a whole seat to themselves, so why does a 12 yr old have to pay adult price?? they are taking up a whole seat just the same as a 9 yr old......Last year we paid for meals on the plane 13 yr old was an adult so adult meal..he didn`t like it so we had to pay for a childs meal for him which he devoured..think i`ve spelt that right?? as for the hotels, i think as kids get older they know what they like so pick what they like, younger kids would more than likely just get whatever and leave it if they don`t like it..
i think this post will go on and on as everyone has diff views...but it will be good to know what peoples diff views are. i think when you have to pay for everything yourself it is all a rip off..SM ask your brother on his views if he had to pay himself..he`s lucky he has family to help out!!

sharon

You may be lucky them being classed as adults!

My grandson has now reached the grand old age of 2 and has become a "child". For the last couple of holidays he has cost me a minimal amount as he sat on our knees and didn't eat or drink much apart from his milk and baby food we took. Now a couple of months later, he still only eats and drinks his own food and milk, but I have priced up on a couple of holidays (Eclipse) and it was cheaper to put a third adult in the room than it is to take him as a 2 year old. One hotel was £1100 pp for the fortnight and with him as a 2 year old it added an extra £1130 ( a jump of about £1040 for the 3 months!), as a third adult only £1087? I queried it and the only response I got was must be the underoccupancy!
I also look for the inlaws with their kids and have often found this anomoly; I don't think this is an isolated incident.

So strangely it may be worth pricing up the options to see if it really is costing you much more for the kids as adults.

The other trick we used was to look for hotels that did free childs places up to 16 years. Few and far between and was never sure if we overpaid for the adults. The Hotels we personally stayed at that did go to 16 at the time were Turkey - the Tusan Beach Resort (JMC) in Kusidasi, (nice waterparks in the area for the kids) and the Fiesta Tanit (Thomson) in San Antonio Ibiza (nice attached public beach). Both Good hotels but I am not sure if they still go up to 16 for children.

Like the holiday village in the Dom Rep, the holiday village in the Costa Del Sol also does child prices for up to 14 years. I wonder why the other First Choice holiday village child prices stop at 12?

i recently booked my holidays with thomsons and i have got 2 free child places all inclusive aswell and 1 of my children is 12 i was amazed last year we had to pay top price for him with firstchoice

Hi

I booked this years holiday twelve months ago. We are 2 adults and 4 children but have always been priced at 4 adults and 2 children when travelling abroad. This seemed harsh when the older two were only 8 and 9 but seems fine now they are 13 and 14. Plus as we pay adult price for them we fill the room so are allocated a free child in each room. Super!! So we're off all inclusive to Rhodes at the Esperides end of May for two weeks and it cost us £2900, thats everything, seating together and meals on plane. So really if you worked that out between 6 of us thats less than £500 each, which is great for a two week break in the sun!

thats a good price marie but i bet it would go thro the roof in august when we go

Hi, well yes I did price it up in the school hols, and it came up with no free child places so that would have added nearly another thousand on the holiday price! Plus the adult price was much more expensive too. We're in the same boat as lots of you next year though, will have to take our holidays in the school hol's due to kids doing GCSE coursework and don't want them missing anything.

the new holiday village in cyprus says kids prices or free children up too the age of 13.

have you found anywhere yet?

well, we`ve managed to get a canny price, 2665, 22 july 2 weeks, sunrise island view, sharm el shiekh... me, hubby, 14 yr old son and 12 year old son.. so not a bad price and it`s a 5 star hotel...

sharon

We have always holidayed the first two weeks in August and looked for free child places by booking early. It has saved us a fortune.

There are many hotels that do AI for children up to 14 and even one or two up to 15 & 16.

We've been to San Miguel (Ibiza) twice - child price 16 (Thompson Super Family Hotel) and all had a FAB time.

There's quite a few in Turkey with Thomas Cook too.

We've also been with First Choice - Holiday Village, Costa del Sol ( age 14). Good luck.

We are on our own for the first time this year after 28 years of holidays- child worries will now relate to what they are doing at home while we are away

The San Miguel hotel & beach club in Ibiza gives kids prices up to 16 years of age. Book with thomsons.

Some hotels do provide free stays for children sharing a room with 2 adults, but not for the meals or on all inclusive plans. And those resorts that say the children do stay and eat free on All Inc will then charge the adults more - somewhere along the way. Marketing free child - teen places usually means someone is paying for it. Who could that be?

And the argument that your child doesn't eat or drink that much - well maybe you'd be better off not booking All Inc in the first place. I have children and one of mine eats more than me and spends longer in bed and is not a teenager yet.

Can there be real FREE places at all? I want one please, if it really is FREE.

Would a 16 year old eat off a child menu in the UK - would it be enough? I don't think so.

well i think i`ve sorted things for this year.

used med hotels.. my kids are 15 and 13..hotel goes up to 14, so i`ve gotten the youngest free and the oldest i got a 3rd adult reduction... so we got the room for £940.

sharon