Have you ever bumped into someone you know while on holiday?

[BeckyRac]

Not me but while we were in Devon my mum bumped into someone she knew from the north west.

When I was 18 I met one of my school friends in the sea in an obscure part of Indonesia. It was very weird as I'd swum out to a raft where I'd seen a girl relaxing and it was her. It was an absolute joy to see her as I'd been feeling a bit lonely and we ended up traveling together for a couple of months. That one felt like fate tbh.

More recently we've bumped into one of DD2s school friends in a wood in Cornwall and one of DD1s friends on a beach in Greece. DH has been on a work trip back from NY and bumped into a uni friend on the flight back who's been there for a weekend out.

We stopped at traffic lights and saw the school secretary drinking coffee in a little street cafe in Rhodes

I was standing outside a small shop in Vietnam with my dc, whilst dh was buying drinks. I was listening, with some amusement, to a frightfully public school backpacker trying to chat up another backpacker. Dh walked out of the shop, and backpacker looked up, saw him, and muttered in a distinctly embarrassed voice, “Er, hello, Dr Dreadful-Lies.” Yes, it was one of dh’s students.

My parents went on a dream holiday to the States to celebrate my dad's retirement.

Arriving at JFK airport and waiting to go through customs, they bumped into an old colleague of his who'd retired five years previously.

My parents used to do this constantly- as a lot of people have said, it seems to happen in Orlando a lot, especially a few years ago when the exchange rate was brilliant and Florida was a more affordable holiday for Brits. It’s never happened to me that I can remember, which I’m glad of because I can’t think of a single person I wouldn’t be pissed off to bump into on holiday. Even people I like!

Saw a friend from school at Tenerife airport after we’d been on the same flight.

Standing in a queue in Cornwall and the person behind me was the mother of a girl in my son’s class.
The following day we saw my mother in law’s neighbour in the same town.

The weirdest was bumping into my friend and her mother, neighbours of ours, while on a family day out with my parents in the Lake District when I was 10. They were with the man that her mother was having an affair with so it was a somewhat uncomfortable meeting

On a mountain bike trail in North Wales I bumped into my step niece ( sisters step daughter who was 10 at the time). She was on holiday with her mum and Grandparents. My bil and sister were mightily surprised to get a photo of all the children!

I checked into a hotel abroad and gave my unusual surname and was asked for my initial as there were two of us booked in, the other was my cousin who I hadn't seen for several years. Neither of us lived in the country and were there for different reasons.

Twice..first time was a colleague at work laid on her sun bed topless!

The second time was an extremely remote place in ....a couple from work walking down a street together...had been having a secret affair and married to other people. Not one I would wish to repeat!

I bumped into a friend from school when we were visiting Wookey Hole caves a few years ago - a very random place to see someone you knew!

Yes, a few times. Before I moved to England from USA, during one of my many trips here to visit my now DH, I bumped into a work friend at Heathrow.

Conversely, I upped into my friend’s DH in JFK as he flew in earlier than my friend (we were ping to different states) and he told me he flew in earlier to plan a surprise birthday party for her, so invited me. As it wasn’t going to take up too much of my holiday as was only a few hours each way, I went and she was even more surprised.

We have booked same islands/ foreign cities for holiday as friends have booked but no discussion or preplanning but found out before going. I think some places are just popular some years. This happened to us when we went to St Lucia and to Mexico. Friends trying at nearby resort same time we were going

Went to Florida, wandering through a mall and saw someone from my son's class at school. Having breakfast at a hotel in Beverly Hills, bumped into an old work colleague.

This makes my life sound more glamorous than it is. In reality, I'm more likely to be found in Tesco or Poundland.

When I was in primary school we ended up not only in the same town, but same campsite, tents directly opposite each other...with our neighbours who lived directly opposite! We actually left for holiday at the same time, knew each other was going away but didn't ask where to. It was very surreal. Ended up at the same attractions a couple of times at the same time. To make it even weirder, my brother and their son were born exact same day and year and had the same first name.

Yep in Portugal, Greece and in Ireland.

When we got married we hired a magician/ comedy act to come and interact with our guests at our wedding, we met on our first holiday together ( he pulled us both up on stage 😂) well fast forward 5 months later on our honeymoon in Barbados and we bump into him whilst walking round some shops. We were on different cruise ships which were in the same port that day.

We went on a cruise when DS was about ten, he made friends with a kid the same age and spent the fortnight playing with him...two years later the same one was at our hotel in Majorca, they were delighted.

Another coincidence....when our dc were tiny we had a couple of weeks in Spain and made friends with a lovely couple. We spent a lot of time with them as the little ones got on well, and the kids happened to have the same names. About 15 years later my in laws went abroad somewhere and met a couple who they got on well with, and spent their holiday going out for meals with them etc. They told us all about them when they got back, and about the fact their grandchildren had the same names. Turned out to be the parents of the family we had met all those years earlier!

Walking round Disneyworld Florida I heard someone calling DH’s name but we just ignored it . It was our neighbour from across the road . We didn’t even know they were going to America! While on holiday in Spain our local football team were playing an important game . We went in search of a bar to watch the game and met someone else doing the same . The mum of the family had been in the same class as DS at school but had moved away. When we went to the next away game we were sat right behind the same family.

Yes, a woman stopped me in my town about two years later to ask if I was in x place at x time. I'm nothing special just an ordinary woman so how she noticed and remembered ill never know I was a bit freaked out when she stopped me 😅

As a late teen in Faliraki, walking down the strip and heard my name being called. It was someone we knew from the local pub.

On the South Coast and bumped into a friend of my DD whose mother is a piece of work.

In an airport in Spain and an old friend was also in the same terminal.

As a teacher of nearly 20 years, I’ve never bumped into any ex pupils. Unless of course they spot me first and scarper.

Yes we were staying at a farm in rural Spain - it was the kind of place that 4 families (booked separately) stay in self contained suites but eat (catered) together with the hosts and share the pool. One of the other families turned out to be friends from uni we hadn't seen for years. It was a great week of catching up whilst drinking (too much) Spanish wine.

My sister got married abroad - DH and were sat quietly having a drink at the bar when the parents of one of my brownies walked in. The hotel only had one room not sold to one of the family!

On holiday in Australia a few years after graduation, I met two girls from the year below me.

When I worked in a pub I bumped into a customer on a ski trip and was behind another customer in an ice cream queue at Castle Howard (we lived in the SE).

DH and I used to run a village shop and were on a rare holiday on safari. Ended up on an excursion with two of our least favourite customers although they were absolutely lovely and great company that day. It was just when they haggled over the price of Weetabix...

Old family friends up a mountain when skiing, still makes me smile to remember it. A family from our village on the same campsite in France. Lots of people in Cornwall!