Travel question: We haven’t booked our August family holiday, help!

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Beach on a budget: you can still get full-board deals for Salou in Spain (iStock)

Q The summer has caught up with us. I can’t believe it’s almost July and we still haven’t got a holiday. We are looking for a cheap August family holiday abroad, ideally 10 days all-inclusive, from an airport somewhere in the London area. We’re looking at Bulgaria or anywhere else that’s super-cheap. We’re not looking for classy or culture, sadly.

Daisy P

A Even though the travel industry keeps complaining that demand is “soft” because consumers dislike all the Brexit uncertainty, as usual prices for August are anything but bargains. The big holiday companies lose money for much of the year and only make up for it during the school holidays.

As budget is all-important, I must say that one week will be very significantly cheaper than 10 days – at least if you go midweek to midweek. Any flights at the weekend tend to command a premium, because they help working people minimise the time off: a Saturday to Saturday uses up five days’ leave, while Wednesday to Wednesday uses six.

The best full-board deal I can see at the moment is £440 per person with TUI, departing Luton 6 August, destination Salou in Spain, staying in the California Garden hotel. Note that this is not all-inclusive, because alcohol is excluded. But it will save around £100 per person compared with “proper” all-inclusives. Note that this price includes flights with luggage to Reus (very close to Salou), as well as transfers and accommodation.

Another possibility you could consider is a cruise with Tui’s Marella brand, which are all-inclusive. I have met people on August cruises who held their nerve until a few days before departure and got outstanding deals, for as little as £550 per person for a week. As always, it’s a gamble. But if you have a car, then the perennial budget backstop is a trip across the Channel to a French campsite on the coast.

Every day our travel correspondent Simon Calder tackles a reader’s question. Just email yours to s@hols.tv or tweet @simoncalder