How to Find Cheap Flights in School Holidays: Top Hacks for Families
Booking cheap flights in school holidays might sound impossible, but with a little flexibility and the right tools, it absolutely can be done.
Let’s be honest: it feels really unfair, doesn’t it? As soon as the kids break up from school, flight prices soar.
Airlines and hotels crank up their prices, and families are left facing sky-high costs just to get a break. And with tighter rules and fines for taking kids out of school, many of us feel like we can’t go abroad anymore because it’s too expensive.
But I’m here to tell you there is a way – hacks for cheap flights do exist.
As a family of five determined to continue with our holidays abroad during peak seasons, I’ve learned exactly how to find great family flight deals.
This post is packed with proven hacks for cheap flights, step-by-step Skyscanner tips, and real examples of how we’ve made it work.
Real Examples of Cheap Flights We’ve Booked During School Holidays
These examples show that cheap flights in school holidays aren’t miracles — just clever strategy!
✔️ Gatwick (UK) to Helsinki (for Lapland)
New Year (2024)
£117.15 per person return
£855.75 total for a family of 5
✔️ East Midlands (UK) to Palma de Mallorca (Spain)
August – Summer (2024)
£126.98 per person return
£634.90 total for a family of 5
✔️ Manchester (UK) to Brussels (Belgium)
New Year (2025)
£79.58 per person return
£397.90 total for a family of 5
✔️ Luton (UK) to Kraków (Poland)
Feb Half Term (2025)
£44.62 per person return
£223.10 total for a family of 5
✔️ Heathrow (UK) to Kuala Lumpar (Malaysia)
August – Summer (2025)
£795.60 per person return
£3978 total for a family of 5
Remember, these flight prices were all booked during school holidays. If you have children outside of school age, you will find flights even cheaper (I’ve seen flights for under £20 per person to some destinations).
The No.1 Hack for Cheap Flights: Be Flexible With Dates & Destinations
If you want to find cheap flights during school holidays, this is the golden rule:
Let the flight price decide where and when you go — not the other way around.
The first thing I do when planning a holiday abroad is hop onto Skyscanner.
Even if I know the kind of destination I want to go to, and window frame for when we can travel, instead of searching specific destinations and dates, I use Skyscanner to find the cheapest options and plan our trip based on the results.
Step-by-Step Guide: Skyscanner Hack for Cheap Family Flights
My favourite tool for finding cheap flights with kids is Skyscanner – it’s flexible, free, and really easy to use (I love playing around to discover the bargain flights).
I have used other tools too, but always revert back to Skyscanner for best price and its clever tools that help uncover the golden nuggets flights.
Here’s how to make the most of it:
Step 1: Go to Skyscanner
- Make sure you’re on the Flights tab
Step 2: Enter Departure and Destination
- In the From box: enter your preferred airport (e.g. Manchester)
- In the To box: type “Everywhere”
- Tick “Add nearby airports” if you can be flexible
- Tick “Direct flights only” for easier travel with kids
Step 3: Select Dates
- Click on the Depart box
- Select “Whole Month” or “Cheapest Month”
- Pick your holiday window (e.g. August) – you can refine the dates later
- Do the same for the Return box
Step 4: Select Travellers
- Click the Travellers and cabin class box
- Select the required number of Adults and Children
- Select the age for each child
- For the “Everywhere” option, only Economy prices can be searched, but given that this post is all about finding the cheapest flights, I assume this will be your preferred option anyway
- Hit Search Flights
Step 5: Select a Destination
- Here’s where the magic happens – Skyscanner will list all the available destinations from your chosen airport in order of cheapest fare
- Click on a country and Skyscanner will break it down even further by cities and airports, showing you the cheapest options within that country too
Step 6: Use the Calendar View to Spot the Cheapest Days to Fly
- Skyscanner will open up a calendar view showing flight prices for each day
- Green means the cheapest days to fly
- Experiment with different Depart and Return dates (the Return prices often change based on the departure date you select, so play around to find the cheapest combination. A bit of clicking can save you a lot!)
- Look for the lowest total price at the bottom
- You can also switch from ‘Calendar’ to ‘Chart’ view, but I prefer the ‘Calendar’ view
This is where you can really save. Play around by clicking different departure and return dates to see how the prices shift – sometimes flying out just one day earlier or later can save you £££s.
This step is honestly one of my favourite money-saving tricks. It takes just a few minutes to experiment and the savings are often massive.
Step 6: Review and Compare the Flight Options
- Once you’ve found your ideal depart and return dates, hit the “Find flights” button
- You can apply filters by departure times, airlines, number of stops, or price, as well as sort
- There are also other suggested flights and prices across the top
- Click Select to book directly with the provider and you’ll be redirected to complete your booking
Extra Skyscanner Hacks For Cheap Flights
Be Flexible with Airports
If you can travel from more than one airport, try different options to see where the deals are. For example, East Midlands is closest to us, but we often find cheaper flights from Manchester or Birmingham.
📍 Top tip: For London , select ‘London (Any)’ to include all the city’s airports and widen your search.
Know When to Book
While there’s no magic number, I’d recommend at least 1-3 months for domestic flights and 2-6 months for international flights.
But the real hack for cheap flights is when you spot a bargain, don’t wait – BOOK IT!
Prices can increase quickly. Some believe that flight search engine algorithms track your interest and hike up fares the more you search. If this happens, try searching from another device.
📍 Top tip: Clear your cookies if you’re seeing prices creep up or better still, use Incognito or Private Browsing Mode to stop sites from tracking your searches.
Play around with Multi-City Options
Direct flights are usually easier for families, but sometimes one-stop can knock a chunk off the price.
For long-haul flights, consider selecting ‘Multi-city’ and spending a day or two in another destination along the way.
This often costs less than a direct flight or standard one-stop flight and lets you turn a layover into a mini-break!
You can enter up to 6 legs on Skyscanner.
We’ve also find that long-haul flights are usually cheaper when departing from major city airports. In our experience, London airports often offer the best fares.
Set Up Price Alerts
A classic hack for cheap flights is to set up a Skyscanner price alert. You’ll get an email notification when the price for your chosen route drops (or climbs), helping you time your booking just right.
I’ll be honest, I’ve never had much luck with price alerts, but if you’re planning well in advance and not quite ready to book, it’s a great way to get a feel for typical prices. Sometimes, a bargain will pop up when you least expect it!
📍 Top tip: Use alerts to track multiple destinations or departure airports — you never know where a deal might appear.
Other Flight Search Engines Worth Checking
While Skyscanner is my go-to, I always explore other platforms to make sure we’re not missing any hidden family flight deals.
Google Flights
I like this tool for its price graph and trend tracking features. Once I know my destination and dates, I use it to check whether the fare I’m seeing is a good deal or not.
Momondo
Momondo also offers a beautiful flight price calendar, which can be useful for flexible travel dates. That said, I still find Skyscanner easier to navigate.
Other Options
Tools like Hopper, Kiwi.com, and Kayak also provide price comparisons and fare alerts. However, when I’ve searched for the same flight across all platforms, Skyscanner has consistently shown the lowest price, making it my go-to choice.
Other Top Tips for Booking Cheap Flights in School Holidays
In addition to the Skyscanner hack for cheap flights, these tips have helped us save even more on cheap flights in school holidays.
Don’t Pay Extra to Reserve Seats – Children Must Sit with Parents by Law
Many airlines try to upsell seat reservations during the booking process, but you don’t need to pay extra to sit with your children.
In the UK, EU, and similar regions like the US, airlines are required to seat children under 12 next to at least one adult where possible and at no additional cost.
When we fly, our three kids are always next to one of us (it’s normally me who draws that short straw!) but you can always swap throughout the flight.
✅ Top Tip: Check in online as early as possible and ask the cabin crew if they can get you all closer together (although my husband is quite happy to sit on his own!).
Check the Total Price – Kids Can Reduce the Per-Person Cost
It’s not always obvious, but child fares can sometimes bring down the total cost per person. Always go through to the final price breakdown before comparing deals — you might get a nice surprise!
Hang On – Will I Get a Better Price with a Package Deal?
Package holidays can seem easier and safer, and many assume they’re cheaper (especially with kids), but that’s often not the case.
In my experience as a family of five, I’ve always beaten travel agent prices by booking flights and accommodation separately.
It often saves us hundreds, even thousands of pounds, and gives much more flexibility and choice.
Always Book Flights First, Then Accommodation
If you find cheap flights in school holidays? Book straight away! Then look for accommodation.
Booking accommodation first can backfire. Imagine booking the perfect location then finding out the flights have suddenly risen in price.
You either have to pay more than what you’d originally budgeted for or cancel your stay (and possibly lose money). Flight prices fluctuate more rapidly, so secure them first.
Travel with Hand Luggage Only (If You Can!)
Most budget airlines charge extra for hold luggage and or medium-sized cabin luggage.
For short trips, we’ve really mastered the art of packing light (even with kids) to avoid extra fees and breeze through the airport.
Packing cubes, layers for outfits and taking washing powder can make a big difference.
Ready to Book?
Don’t just take my word for it – with the right tools and these tried-and-tested hacks for cheap flights, your dream family trip doesn’t need to break the bank.
Start your search now and see how much you can save. Happy travels!
Families Can Travel provides free family travel inspiration, tips and advice. If you enjoyed reading this post, you can show your support by buying me a coffee. Thank you so much!
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for supporting our family travel blog!
