Have you ever left a holiday early?

[LudoBear]

We were booked into a caravan in Cornwall for 7 nights but came home after 3 nights as the caravan was dreadful at the site owners (independent place, not a company like Parkdean) wouldn't move us as they disagreed anything was wrong. The mattresses were about 1 inch thick and you could feel the frame underneath, the window in the lounge didn't shut properly and let the cold air in (it was October), the shower didn't get hot and at best was tepid, toilet didn't flush properly, the carpets were absolutely filthy.

Came home on day 5 of a 2 week holiday in Orlando due to my uncle being in a serious car accident and we didn't think he'd survive (he did).

@mermaidsariel

But you are wasting a night you’ve paid for if you leave the night before..

What bizarre logic

The entire holiday had been a waste of money if it’s shit

@saltychoc

Those who leave the night before - geniuses! That never would have occurred to me, and I hate getting up and out early, I'm much more a night owl and prefer to drive at night when the traffic is thinner, I can't believe I've never thought to do that!

Yes it’s great. No rushing about to get out at 10am. Just leave after dark at our leisure while it’s quiet.

@mermaidsariel

But you are wasting a night you’ve paid for if you leave the night before..

I don’t see it like that. We aren’t going to be doing anything the next day other than getting up really early to pack up and go.

Yes. Day 3 of a week ski trip. Arrived late afternoon (day 1) Fell badly on first run (day 2), rescued from mountain and ambulance to hospital for X-rays. Insurance organised flight to return to Uk day 3 with medical assistance. Surgery before what would have been day 7.

Never felt more grateful for good travel insurance.

@Anne1958

Me too, I hated it. Came home early from Kiln Park (2006 this was) it was horrible, I will never go on a caravan holiday again either

Tenby and Kiln Park were a fabulous holiday way way back. My mum used to take all of my children for a week and my kids still talk about the holiday 30 years later.

It really was horrible. Started with queuing to get your bed linen. Our caravan (supposed Gold standard but I think not) was situated right next to the shower block for touring caravans so lots of people trudging past wrapped in towels. Sort of set the tone. I also thought Tenby was a bit ‘meh’.

I do remember with fondness childhood holidays at Lydstep Haven though in the 80s.

A day early camping. 60mph winds and a stomach bug.

Was tempted to leave on day 2 in Paphos as DD1 (them 19mo) cried almost 24/7 as she hated the heat / the pool /the food / sleeping.

Those who leave the night before - geniuses!
That never would have occurred to me, and I hate getting up and out early, I'm much more a night owl and prefer to drive at night when the traffic is thinner, I can't believe I've never thought to do that!

One year, on the day we were due to leave, England were doing well in the football World Cup and were due to play in an important match in the middle of the afternoon. Neither I nor DH are interested in football. We packed up, drove to the beach, had lunch and then set off fifteen minutes before the match was due to kick off.

The roads were empty and we got home about two hours more quickly than we ever have before!

When going abroad I always want a morning flight back.
I know some people love packing their room up and storing their cases etc and going off to the beach one last time before an afternoon/evening flight. Once my case is packed I just want to go home!

@Sparklingbrook

When going abroad I always want a morning flight back. I know some people love packing their room up and storing their cases etc and going off to the beach one last time before an afternoon/evening flight. Once my case is packed I just want to go home!

I'm exactly the same!

We get the sunrise flight out. Have a hold case and hand luggage is stuff for day 1.

We arrive (11am ish) get changed, go for lunch and have a walk. Chuck stuff in room and enjoy a swim. Shower dinner and early night as up at 2/3am that day!

Then we pack the last evening and just leave our travel home clothes and toiletries out. Evening clothes for that day, nightwear and toiletries go home in hand luggage case.

We get up, get dressed and back to airport. Ds has a subway for breakfast! Arrive in UK after lunch and drive home.

We can then dump cases and do a supermarket shop.
Plenty of time to slowly unpack that afternoon ready to do the washing the following day.

@itsgettingwierd that’s the way to do it. Just get me home and ASAP. Not at 11pm.

Yes twice when staying at PIL’s caravan. There was nothing wrong with the caravan or site but the first time loads of seagulls insisted on walking on the roof at 5am every single morning and the second time it rained every day and there was nothing to do. I guess it’s easier to go gone early when you haven’t had to pay for it though!

A camping holiday in the Lake District. It rained all day every day and all night every night, except for 1 glorious hour in Buttermere. When it started again we looked at each other and said enough was enough. Packed up and went home.
On the other hand we also abandoned a campsite in Colorado because it was just too hot. The ground was roasting, none of us could sleep. We were also near a man and his sons who alternated between little long prayer meetings by phone at high volume and discussing their food poisoning symptoms at the top of their voices. I have never been so happy to walk into an air conditioned motel room in my life.

@SavannahLands, God bless you. Life is so bloody cruel and unfair sometimes.

@Egghead81

The entire holiday had been a waste of money if it’s shit

I know but I’m talking about a holiday which has gone well generally. Leaving on the last night for convenience

An early morning flight home is the best! ( when we could actually go abroad on holiday )
At least if it's a bad holiday in the uk you can pack up whenever you want to !

Oh no I like to have the earliest flight out and then the last evening flight home. I’d feel like I’d lost a day of my holiday if we left early on the last day.

However this did backfire on me one year when I got severe food poisoning in Turkey on our last morning. They wouldn’t let me stay in our room and made me check out at 11 despite the doctor asking for me. I spent the whole day trying to sleep in the hotel lobby and running to the toilet every 5 minutes until our flight at 2am. It was horrendous.

My friend had the same @FizzyPink she had to get off the coach and go into the Reception loo of every hotel they picked up at on the way to the airport. Spent the flight in the loo too.

I just like to get going once I’ve relinquished the room. Once the key is handed in I want to be back in my house.

We took our tourer caravan to a site in Cornwall and we were booked in for two weeks. There wasn't a lot to do (anything, actually) on the site, and the weather was poor. We came home after 10 days, but I'd been asking to go home for a few days before that (I was 16 at the time).

Three times that I can recall.

As a child:

A week in a caravan in Galway. It rained and rained and rained so we came home a couple of days early.

A week in a holiday home in Wexford belonging to a relative of my mum. It was grand, only my workaholic father kept all his illnesses saved up until he was on holidays so came down with a stomach bug on the second day so we all returned home. As my mother didn't drive, my father had to keep pulling over to throw up in the ditch before carrying on.

As an adult, a long weekend in a seaside cottage owned by a friend's family. A group of us were supposed to spend the weekend there but, after we had barely unpacked, our friend's father turned up. He had a falling out with his wife and had been to the local pub and got pissed drunk. He then got all arsey with us and tried to start a fight before declaring that he wanted us gone from "My house".

It had been agreed that we would be staying there but he was the sort whose mood changed like the weather so we decided to stay that night and go home in the morning.

Friend's father went back to the pub and we went to a different one to avoid him. We got back to the cottage at closing time to find the police outside. Friend's father had phoned his wife from the pub (Before mobile phones then) saying he was going to throw himself off the cliff next to the cottage.

The next hour or so was spent in a half-arsed search party shitting it for fear of what we might find. We couldn't find any trace of him so returned to the cottage to find him slumped on the doorstep drinking from a bottle of spirits.There then followed a long and tearful reunion with his son and wife (who had driven down and just arrived) while the rest of us stood there awkwardly staring at our shoes.

The father and mother went home leaving the son and the rest of us behind but nobody wanted to stay. We cleared out first thing the following morning. We never asked to stay there ever again.

We gave up on a camping holiday 2 days early because it was just too hot! It was in the middle of a heatwave, none of us could sleep because of the heat, and my hayfever was so awful that my eyes were almost swollen shut, despite prescription strength antihistamines.

We enjoyed the beautiful weather from home for the rest of the week, where we could retreat indoors and had a fridge.

Thank you @mermaidsariel - I was young (20s) and going through an acutely lonely phase of my life for various reasons, and was very isolated. I can’t think why I did it now, I had parents I could have gone to stay with during my holiday from work, and that’s what I’d have done normally.

Life did improve a lot in future years, thank goodness, and I’ve had some very nice holidays, I’m glad to say !

I once booked one of those Sun Newspaper holidays, to Pontins in Southport. Arrived, and left within an hour. Baffles me that people pay to go there!

“ But you are wasting a night you’ve paid for if you leave the night before..”

Sunk cost fallacy. I admit that if I was watching every penny or trips were a rare luxury I might be more reluctant to routinely skip the last night, but that’s not my situation. If I end up paying for the odd night I don’t use (and sometimes for an impromptu hotel night instead on the way home as well) I really don’t care - I’d prefer to enjoy my trip the way I want to. I’d rather book for exactly what I want to use, but reasonably enough no cottage owner is going to go for a booking that ends at 8pm on Friday night! To me it’s no different than going shopping and paying for 2 hours pay and display parking because 1 hour isn’t enough. If I’m done shopping after 1 hour 15 minutes I don’t sit in the car for three quarters of an hour just to “get my money’s worth”.

I’m talking about a moderately priced self catering cottage in the U.K., I’m not skipping nights at a 5 star resort in the Maldives.

But you are wasting a night you’ve paid for if you leave the night before

It’s not a waste if you’re avoiding a night spent in sleepless misery in cold, damp accommodation with a lumpy mattress