Children go on vacation for free: travel agencies such as Tui and Jet2 offer offers for Greece, Turkey and Portugal

Each week, our holiday hero Neil Simpson takes an in-depth look at a brilliant holiday topic, doing all the groundwork so you don’t have to. This week: Free children’s places for the summer holidays.

Free seats for children are the big draw for vacation companies desperate to get families traveling again. Take advantage of it and the kids won’t just have a sofa bed in your room. They also get free seats on the plane, full baggage allowance and transfers to the resort. And at the hotel, children benefit from the same catering formulas as their parents, whether in B&B, half-board or all-inclusive formula.

To be eligible, children must normally be under 11 (but can be up to 15) on the day of your return, not the day of booking, but ages may vary from hotel to hotel another, even with the same company.

At the start of the year, companies such as Jet2, Tui and easyJet released more than a million free seats for children. Tens of thousands are still on offer, with departures from UK airports.

Offers include a family getaway to the Greek island of Kefalonia. Book the Apostolata Island Resort and Spa with Jet2 and kids can go free at a beachfront hotel with three pools, a children’s playground, an adult spa and a mix of rooftop and waterfront restaurants. the swimming pool. Seven-night half-board in May costs from £1,069 pp from Stansted.

Or head to Turkey, which is set to be the star of 2022’s summer holidays due to low prices and wide availability. Miracle Resort on Lara Beach has four pools, waterslides, a kids’ club, and a dozen restaurants. From £6,799 pp for all-inclusive weeks from Leeds Bradford in June.

There is also availability for free Jet2 child seats on holidays to the Canary Islands from Birmingham, Spain’s Costa del Sol from East Midlands, Crete from Belfast, as well as stays in the family-favorite Wave Resort in Burgas, Bulgaria from Manchester. Find holidays in the Kids Free Seats section on jet2holidays.com.

Tui’s best child-free deals can take families to the Algarve in Portugal for seven-night, all-inclusive stays at Salgados Palm Village.

The hotel has six swimming pools and a free shuttle to the beach. Get a week from East Midlands Airport in May from £827 pp.

Jet2 has a deal on a family getaway to the Greek island of Kefalonia (pictured)

In summer, there is still availability at Tui BLUE’s low-rise Tropical Hotel by the sea in southwestern Turkey. Enjoy waterslides, wading pools, a kids’ club and entertainment for the whole family.

The hotel’s wellness focus also offers healthy eating challenges to encourage youngsters to try new foods. All-inclusive deals depart from Luton Airport in August from £1,137 pp. Other great deals include holidays from Birmingham Airport to the Black Sea resorts of Bulgaria, as well as holidays to Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Croatia and Spain.

Find a great deal with the Free Kids Place Finder tool at tui.co.uk but if you can’t find availability try firstchoice.co.uk – it’s Tui’s sister company and uses the same aircraft and resort staff, but has its own allocation of vacation deals.

Package holidays with easyJet may also qualify for free child seats. There are offers ranging from three-night mini-stays to fortnights in the sun.

Find a bargain with the Free Kids Place Finder tool at tui.co.uk

Its best prices are currently on holidays in the Canary Islands, Corfu, Crete and Morocco, with many offers set at less than £500 a week and deposits of just £60 per person.

Want face-to-face help finding an offer? The growing staff of Hays Travel, with branches in some 400 main streets, also have access to free places for children.

Its top picks for the summer include resorts in Turkey, Menorca, Mallorca, Ibiza and its sister island of Formentera.