AIBU, or am I being pathetic?

I didn't look down on my parents by the way! I respected their holiday choice and have fond memories of my dad as he is no longer with us but I was child that used to have anxiety attacks if I wasn't comfortable in a situation. How can a child with anxiety be accused of looking down on their parents? So you hate the OPs ND son and think he looks down her too then.

I think Op is worried she will be out of her depth going outside her comfort zone, and in fairness if you've never done it, the idea can be scary.
I started with a tent driving around Europe, but it's not for everyone!

Don't say you travel through world too loudly on here as I've just been torn apart on here for no reason because I travel! I think my abuser forgets that my partner and I work to pay for all our travels! Nobody gives them to us on a plate!

Absolutely this.

I've travelled all over the world, and whilst small islands may have issues around medical care (Cape Verde is a case in point) the majority have good medical facilities and many are far superior in waiting times and actual care in comparison to the UK.

I'm currently travelling Asia and had no problem getting drugs for dealing with an ongoing medical issue I've had for some time.

Good insurance is a must though as is the GHIC when in Europe.

I can see your point re it not being particularly relaxing. As others have suggested why not try a city break/train holiday?

From personal experience what about fly to Lisbon, 3 nights there exploring (it’s a very walkable city) then train to Cascais/Estoril for a day or 2 on the beach, then train up to Sintra to see the palaces. Uber is excellent and cheap in that area if you want to do small trips, healthcare is great in Portugal and most people speak good English.

I never replied to anyone saying the OP should jump in at the deep end and if you read the new post I've just posted, you'll see that I explicitly state that she doesn't need to worry about driving anywhere.

What I replied to was someone stating that travelling by train and visiting different lovely places isn't a holiday! I correctly stated that for many people exploring Europe by train is a wonderful holiday.

I'm on holiday in Sri Lanka and my mum said "I can't believe you travel to all these places because you were such a nervous kid and didn't like coming on holiday with us" - my parents holidays were the quintessential holiday resort in the Balearics with endless sunbathing and 10 days of them doing that was just not for me, I've always had a mind that needs a lot of stimulation and I was lucky to meet a man that also had wanderlust. We are now currently in our 63rd country we've visited for a winter break to Sri Lanka, we've had 4 days each in two different beach towns and today we head to our final one for 4 days. We use Airbnb and save an absolute fortune, you get to stay on pretty little resorts with pools here for about £34 a night! We've used taxis to get to each beach town and tuk tuks to get about locally. We actually have hired our own tuk tuk for three days starting tomorrow which will be novel but the point is that you don't need to jump in the deep end and drive anywhere.

YouTube is a gold mine for travel vlogs to research where you want to go. Also for restaurant recommendations. Always research restaurants in Google and have a list of highly rated ones.

People need to get away from seeing AI's as safe places to eat because they simply aren't! Look at the 100 dead people in the news because they got food poisoning from TUI resorts in Cape Verde! There are horror stories every year about food poisoning in all inclusive resorts! I remember a story last year about a guy that lost his wife and son to food poisoning and when I read reviews for the resort, there was complaints about food poisoning going back years! Why does nobody read any reviews for AI resorts! If that man had, his wife and child would be still alive.

Nah. People understand fine that some people enjoy different holidays and to some the kids' plan and/or rushing around with no fixed plan, winging it in a camper van rather than a planned destination sounds like hell.

And that is every single bit as valid as your opinion.

And I've travelled plenty, but despite that can understand perfectly that the OP is entitled to a holiday she enjoys too.

So, back to the point.

OP, see if you can find a suitable compromise, and definitely do not do anything that sounds hellish and awful to you. Your holiday, which you are paying for should very definitely not be a chore.

You can just leave them home and go on holiday alone somewhere you that you will enjoy if they won't compromise.

I'm in Sri Lanka now, heading to our third beach town of three we booked to stay in today, it's been great uo to now, fantastic people and food and if you need doctors surgeries they are around.

Yes it is to those that like to explore! That's what some of you need to understand that package holidays by the pool are hell for many people!

"Maybe you can figure out something that you will all enjoy".

Already covered.

Or she could just not take them on holiday at all.

The OP needs to understand that may she may need to start travelling on her own because they can't mentally switch off from the travel bug that dad has given them! They simply don't want to sit around on a tourist filled holiday park and waterslides won't make up for it. No pint forcing kids to go on a holiday that makes them unhappy.

I don't know where this belief is coming from that everywhere outside the UK or a holiday park in France is primitive? I'm on holiday in Sri Lanka and the beach towns in staying in are lovely bohemian places with pharmacies and dr's clinics. They speak English here in Sri Lanka too.

The trouble is that the kids are fairly well travelled because of dad, there's isn't an off switch for that desire to explore somewhere new! I couldn't do a sit around a holiday park holiday either, UK sat in Sri Lanka which is my 63rd country, you can't mentally force yourself to go on holidays you just don't enjoy. They aren't bad or ungrateful kids, they simply don't enjoy that sort of trip and aren't of an age to be shoved into kids clubs with little kids!

We did Dubrovnik and twinned it with Kotor in Montenegro as they have good coach networks. Also did Split and Mostar in Bosnia once - Bosnia is a fabulous country!

I think the kids would be happy to not go, they were never going to keep enjoying dull holiday park trips when dad takes them exploring the world. They aren't tiny kids that can be shoved into kids clubs anymore, dad has taught them to be well travelled which is a really good thing!

But likewise it's fair if the kids say they no longer wish to travel with mum because they are bored of those holiday park trips.

It doesn't have to be luxury hotels, my partner abs have been to Cape Town and stayed in Airbnbs which is our usual choice of holiday accommodation.

Just jump on a plane to Spain ,Majorca / Italy etc and stay somewhere that has entertainment ie local restaurants/ music / water parks/ beach etc .
If you can afford MW and Neilson holidays then the above destinations will be doable.

Has anyone said ‘Tokyo’ yet? So much to do in the city, and you can take the amazing trains to all sorts of great places. They will like the culture, and the little drop-in food places

Holidays are not a competition neither are they mandatory. No one is going to die because they didn’t go on holiday.
You can have conversations about holidays and see if there’s enough overlap for it to be enjoyable for all three of you.

When I have my granddaughters to visit, primary aged, we potter about charity shops, bake cakes, play board games, plant veggies in the garden and chat all day. it’s all very companionable but very tame.
Other Granny is much more gung-ho ; she takes them kayaking and long freezing walks on winter beaches with her motley collection of dogs. They build bonfires and cook their suppers on them, all fun stuff that I can’t compete with and neither do I want to. They still love coming over though.
Own what you can do and stand by it.

I've not heard of him before @MaddestGranny looks like he has great info..Thank you!! I tended to trawl the internet and book direct as the train sites now have UK translations. But looks like his site has everything in one place and would be easier.

Also my DC were using tik tok all the time for travel tips.
I still get some good ones from The Rough Guide (online and you can put it on your tablets too) as I like a bit more background.

I want to go on holiday now.

Good idea. OP could just drive to Le Touquet which isn’t far from Calais. They could potter up and down the coast without any major driving. Boulogne is pretty, Montreuil is sweet with a beautiful charterhouse.

For anyone who doesn’t know it - Le Touquet is fab - art deco glamour, good food, great beach, family activities etc.