Re: You can go a lot, lot, lot cheaper off season.......
That principle applies with flights, too (and is one downside of the standardisation of school holidays). I was looking for 7 cheap flights to Spain, in or around the Easter break. To get back in time for the first Monday back to school, no matter what combinations of routes or airlines I tried, I couldn't get it for less than €2,100. In the end I decided feck it, the kids can miss two days of school! I got 7 return trips Shannon/Stansted/Jerez and back for €678, flying out on the Wednesday and getting back on the Tuesday afternoon.
For a €1,422 saving I'm not too pushed about the kids missing two days of primary school (one of them will probably be a half-day for the teachers to have a vital staff meeting, anyway...:rolleyes )
I'd love to take my car to France in the summer, but the Car(tel) ferries just make it unviable. I can invariably get flights and a month's rental (of a 7-seater) for less than the Rosslare-Cherbourg fares alone. :\