Holidays are just not worth the money

Could you start saving a few hundred a month now towards a holiday next summer?

If it's not worth it to you, don't book it. The location doesn't matter, the price doesn't matter, its that dedicated family time and new experiences together that they remember.

What kind of trips do you enjoy?

For me, there’s so much value in travelling overseas that can’t be replicated with staycations. To me, it’s priceless. £500 a day for day trips etc. would mean same old scene, same places, the hassle, the time and expense of travelling to and from visitor attractions, unpredictable weather. As much as I like UK days out, these can pretty much be done any time of year. I’m biased because I am longing for a sun-drenched holiday abroad and really value that escape from the same old same old. If my parents had suggested a staycation when they could afford a holiday abroad, I might have put a brave face on it and agreed but I would have been very disappointed.

I agree that holidays abroad tend to cost at least 100 pounds per person per day.

For those advocating driving to France and doing Eurocamp, that's OK if you live near the south coast and have at least 2 drivers If you live in the North it's a long drive before you even get to the ports unless you take a boat from Hull, but that's an overnight ferry and you need to book cabins - it isn't cheap.

Personally, as a single parent there is no way I'm driving solo all the way to France and doing all the driving and everything else once there - that's not a holiday for me, that's hard work. Even in families with only one driver, if there are 2 parents, the driver can have a bit of a break once you've arrived. I'm the taxi service at home, I refuse to drive at all on my holidays.

So I either fly somewhere or if I can't afford that, I don't go. I live in the countryside, so a cottage in the country in the UK is pointless for me.

@Anarchy99

I don’t have the arse about it…but I guess I am fascinated! I mean…imagine a safari for example…how can anyone think that experience wouldn’t be worthy of packing and sitting on an airplane?! Genuinely curious!

And that’s fine as it works for you.

I spend plenty of time with family and the great thing about choosing not to spend the time, money and stress on travelling is that it won’t be a regret when my time comes.

Do people really regret not travelling more? I grew up in a time when hardly any of my peers went abroad on holiday so it’s not like it was something I was used to,

What I don’t get is why people get the arse about it. Why does it matter to you?

The stress and cost of going to those places (including being stuck in an aeroplane with a load of people without being able to get off) is not worth any potential benefit.

@Anarchy99

yeah and why bother when you can just see these places on the telly anyway. Same thing

It’s not really a matter of whether it’s ‘worth’ the money. If you pick the right place you can give your family a whole new experience, new place, culture, nature, different climate, different food, places of interest, education etc.
The issue is it’s just too expensive! If we had the money it would be worth it, we just can’t afford it.

My children are both autistic and we’ve been unable to holiday for 7 years. I’d pay £10k for a day trip or sell a kidney for my my boys asking to go on holiday.

I agree. Holidays in the UK often cost more than abroad, there is no guarantee of good weather and swimming in the sea is COLD.

I used to think holidays were a waste of time and then I had a terrible breakdown and realised holidays away were critical to my creative regeneration- building positive memories and new inspiration. I hope you find joy whether home or abroad as these memories will last a lifetime!

Neither is mine. For a hundred reasons, I’ve not regretted spending a penny of the five figure sum in total of the travel I’ve spent as an adult, over three decades. I already have certain regrets and I want to minimise further ones so travelling more is on my agenda. When the time comes, people generally regret the same things - I wish I’d spent more time with family and friends, I wish I’d travelled more.

Each to their own!

You can find Airbnbs in complexes that have pools, as a good example, in 2020 we stayed in a 2 bedroomed apartment with balcony overlooking copacabana beach in Rio, the complex had a pool and it was £40 a night! Renting from a local in the place you want to visit is always a bargain and we've been 63 countries and mainly used Airbnbs. Something like that gets you a bit of both worlds because you get some good exploration and the kids get pool time.

I kind of get it.

There are places I would love to see but weighing up the cost, hassle etc against any benefit means it’s not really worth it.

It's very expensive to holiday in the UK, it costs a lot more than booking an Airbnb in a beautiful city in Europe. Not everybody gets the experience they are looking for in the UK and it's a lot of money if the weather is crap the whole time because you tend to rely on being outside a lot on UK holidays.
I'm currently in Gdansk though where it's raining unfortunately but should hopefully improve tomorrow. It's so beautiful and unique in this city.

Cottages are usually pretty expensive compared to other UK options. The biggest source of cheap domestic breaks are caravan parks. Lots of places you can get a week's caravan accommodation on a park with some activities for less than 1k in summer. I don't know about camping.

If you need car rental that will push it up, albeit there's some places where it'd be doable on public transport.

Eurocamp...we've paid £200 for a week before (mobile home only) and used tesco points for the euro tunnel over. Amazing experience and memories

And for me that would be not a treat or something I enjoy. Technology is something functional for me, useful but I don’t enjoy spending money on it.

everyone has different priorities and how to spend the money they have left over.

I don’t see a holiday as a waste, I just budget £15K for a holiday next year and I think we plan around £25k in 4-5 years if all goes well.

I lost my dad after 15 years of various cancer illnesses at just 68, I don’t want to life my life not seeing the world.

I just really don’t find this. I don’t camp so maybe that’s the difference?

Last summer holiday I had in UK (Norfolk) was about 3k for 3 adults, 2 kids - car rental for a week over £500, basic cottage self catering for a week was closer to 2k than 1k (school hols, needed 3 bed). Adding in activities, a few meals out, nothing excessive imo probably means all in it was about 3k. I thought it would have been cheaper to get Ryanair flights and go abroad. I looked at Cornwall and that was not affordable at all.

That’s amazing, so glad you had a nice time and fingers crossed for many more visits for us both.

Holidays don’t have have to be abroad. You can holiday in this country for much less than £3,000. It’s still a holiday, it’s still a place to make great memories with those you love.

Something technology related. Which could be sold if needed. If I had £6k I could have the absolute best there is

Oh I’m with you @Phonicshaskilledmeoff ! If we didn’t have kids dh and I would barely go away for more than a weekend a year! As it is we take our kids on 1 week uk based summer hol and previously 1 week uk based autumn hol (but we’ve stopped that one now). I've always said that we put all our spare cash living somewhere we love everyday rather than having to go away to enjoy our surroundings. I always feel sad for people who feel they need to leave home to be truly happy🤷🏼‍♀️. But I also know lots of people will feel differently to me: each to their own!!

I was also just at Ikos Andalusia. 4th visit. I love it - it's like going home.