One of the questions we hear most often at the agency is a simple one: how much does my child pay? The honest answer is that there is no single number. A child's price depends on age, on which bed the child sleeps in, and on the rules of the specific hotel and airline. Once you understand the logic behind it, price lists stop looking confusing and the family budget becomes much easier to plan. In this guide we walk through the rules step by step, using concrete examples from our summer programs for Hurghada and Crete.
Three age groups decide everything
In practice there are three categories. Infants up to 2 years of age travel almost free in the hotel but pay a portion of the flight. Children from 2 up to a hotel defined limit, most often 12 years, get a discount when they sleep on an extra bed in the parents' room. From that limit upwards, the child is an adult as far as the price list is concerned. The upper limit is set by each hotel individually, so in one property the child price applies up to 12, in another up to 14, and in some family oriented hotels even higher. That is why two hotels on the same beach can quote very different totals for the same family.
Infants up to 2 years
The clearest example comes from our Hurghada program on Air Cairo flights. A child under 2 pays 60 euros as its share of the air ticket. For that amount the infant does not get a seat on the plane or in the transfer, and no bed in the hotel, the baby shares the bed with the parents. What the infant does get is 10 kilograms of checked baggage, which covers a small suitcase and a stroller. One important detail: the age that counts is the age on the return date. If your child turns 2 during the trip, airlines treat it as a 2 year old, so tell us the date of birth when booking and we will calculate it correctly.
Cots and third beds
A baby cot is not automatically included. In most hotels it is available on request and paid locally, so ask us to request it when we confirm the reservation. Older children usually sleep on an extra bed, and here expectations matter: extra beds are smaller than standard ones, often folding or sofa type, and they reduce the free space in the room. The discount for a child on a third bed is the hotel's decision and it ranges widely, which is why we always compare a triple room against two connected rooms for families with two children, sometimes the second option costs little more and is far more comfortable.
Costs that apply regardless of age
Some items are charged per passport or per room, not per age. In Egypt the visa is 30 dollars per passport and children need it just like adults. In Greece the overnight stay tax is charged per room per night, from 2 euros in simpler properties to 15 euros in five star hotels on Crete, so a child in the parents' room does not increase it. Airport taxes are part of the package price and apply to every seat occupied.
Documents for children
Children's passports are issued with shorter validity, and every passport must be valid at least 6 months after the return date, so check this first. A minor traveling with one parent needs the notarized consent of the other parent, and a child traveling without parents needs an adult escort and consent from both parents. This paperwork takes a few days, do not leave it for the last week.
How to check the price for your family
Every offer on our site shows the price for two adults, so for families the fastest route is to send us the children's dates of birth and we will return the exact total for your combination. Browse the current summer packages, shortlist two or three hotels, and we will price them all. If you are still choosing between the sandy beaches of Crete and the guaranteed sun of the Red Sea, our package listing lets you filter by destination and month, which is the easiest way to see where your family budget goes furthest.
