I don't know how to go on holiday

Find a local travel agent and let them guide you.

I totally understand that booking holidays is a minefield….its like searching for the Holy Grail. Maybe, just decide your main priority- is it a week off just relaxing, or is it to visit somewhere new and experiencing culture? You don’t need to tick every box and it doesn’t need to be perfect. After this trip, you’ll build.confidence that will help you narrow down next time. Maybe use a package operator eg Jet2,if you live regionally or BA holidays if you’re nearer London and book the whole thing with flight, accommodation & transfers for ease. Just book something where the climate and budget fit, then you can see how it goes for next time. If you book B&B in a city, you’ll have loads of options for food/activities without committing upfront. Otherwise, if you go all inclusive because you don’t want to have to think about where to eat, you’ll can just listen to music, read, swim, chill out! Also, if you take a shorter trip like 4/5 nights instead of a week, if it doesn’t float your boat, you’ve not lost anything. If you love it, you’ll maybe have extra days free for something else another time. Good luck and happy holidays..

How about the Dolomites or Alps area in summer, e.g. Merano? There are some amazing hotels with quasi full board options of amazing food, great service, lovely spas and scenery, good for walking if you like that sort of thing. If you hire a car then you can do day trips to Verona, Milan, Innsbruck.

Write it down, and then work on it in small steps ...take your time
Hope you find somewhere nice and have an awesome summer 🌞 🏝️

The Austrian Tyrol is lovely in the summer if you don't want extreme heat and it tends to be cheaper as it's out of season for its main ski attractions. I went there with my kids when they were teenagers. You can go on lovely walks and everything is well signposted. There were also interesting excursions available from the hotel.

I would recommend places like Aviemore, stunning, quieter, a lot to do outdoors on a more low key scale. A beautiful lodge by the river, with duck food left as they and their ducklings will swarm along the river path, cost less than a grand last year.

The lakes are of course also beautiful but a lot more touristy, loved our holidays there too.

Abroad, a gite in France, a villa in Spain, further afield, but as you said you're not into hot climates maybe not.

I booked our holiday for last year late because the choice online is so overwhelming.

Then a friend told me to go to a travel agent. I literally never even considered that!

So do that. Have your list of requirements and non-negotiables and they can suggest good places to go.

Try a no fly cruise. All done for you.

If you don’t enjoy holidays, you don’t have to go on them. You can spend your free time however you want.

Have you thought of a cruise from and return to a uk port. The luxury of not having to faff about at an airport and not worry about the weight of your luggage is a big plus.

I’m exactly the same. I think it’s because I’ve only been abroad once (on a cruise) so worry about booking a holiday and not loving it, then it being a waste of money! Get so overwhelmed with all the choices.

If you don’t like the beach and aren’t in to the heat, I’d look at a couple of city breaks in Northern European cities eg Berlin or Amsterdam or a week self catering in the Lake District or Yorkshire Dales.

If you don’t want to self cater you could do 3/4 nights in a mid range hotel or a nice pub with rooms.

I can very strongly recommend Intrepid Travel - tours all over the world with local guides but freedom to do your own thing. I’ve had so many incredible experiences and they sort everything out for you. Brilliant

So clearly you are in a very different position from the OP, with all your experience of travel.

Saying something "isn't hard" because you don't find it hard shows a complete empathy by-pass.
I'm fairly confident all of us can do some things other people would find challenging, and all of us have things we would be really worried about doing that other people might find easy.

just choose a place you want to visit, book a flight and somewhere to stay and once there just take time to discover the place and the people. It's not hard. Just done this on my own with my 14 year old son in Japan and have done the same on my own in European Countries and the US.

Strange response. Why is it a snorefest to be unsure about a holiday with a 17 and 21yr that will suit everyone and OP being out the holiday habit for a while?

Or if a huge cruise ship feels overwhelming, a River Cruise might be a good option. Wake up in a new interesting place every day in what is essentially a floating hotel, interesting activities and places to see, good food and a comfy bed.

Have you tried cruising?

Sounds like menopause anxiety. Get your husband to organise.

Op you gotta start by thinking about what you do want

what do you want to spend the days doing ?

if you don’t want heat and find the travel a hasssle why not stay in the uk ?

Or if cruises aren’t your thing there are loads of guided tour groups where, again, you just show up. They tell you what to bring. They’ll take you around a number of sites and book all your accommodation and food.

I was going to say book a cruise! All you have to do is pick one in your budget and show up. You’ll see a number of different places and have lots of on board activities to choose from. Just pick what you fancy doing on the day!

This is why I love cruises so much! Everything is done for you! You wake up in a new city.... if you book an excursion they tell you where to go, you don't need to find transport or parking or worry about opening times etc. They sort out everything on board and you can just go to the help desk if you need anything.

There are SO many different types of holiday.

You need to establish some criteria on what it is YOU would like from a holiday...

Relaxing?
Active?
Scenery?
History?
Food?
Culture?
Sun?
Activities?

Don't restrict yourself to thinking you need to go on a package deal to a resort and sit by a pool. There are a million and one other things you can do There are lots of operators out there who will organise everything for you, regardless of what your interests are.

There's a whole world out there but first you need to narrow it down a bit!

Go to Florence. Not in high summer. Book the best hotel you can afford.