Do "most" people really have an annual foreign holiday?

[PreservativeFree]

Reading on here how many people feel their annual getaway is essential, I'm surprised.

In my imeadiate circle, I'd say less than half go abroad every year. My parents haven't been abroad in years, although they do travel a lot in UK and could certainly afford it if they wanted to.

My closest friends occasionally visit family in France but generally don't like to be away from home.

My sister goes camping in France about once every 3 years, when they can afford it.

We're at a fairly comfortable stage in life and have had foreign holidays but quite often choose the Lakes instead.

My boss, on a six figure salary, has a camper van and usually stays in UK.

My young adult children are more likely to do an activity holiday with friends in UK than a lads beach and booze holiday.

I also know quite a few people who won't fly for environmental reasons.

Obviously, I do know people who go abroad too, but in my circle I don't think "most" people go abroad every year, even those who comfortably could if they wanted to.

I've tried to find some stats, but failed. Does anyone know?

In non covid times we've taken kids abroad every other year on average. Otherwise holidayed in uk which I love. Agree uk can cost just as much if not more!
Looking fwd to going abroad again but only when it feels safe.

Before we had kids we'd go to other countries 2 - 3 times per year where we could get cheap flights to interesting places.

Usually twice a year here - once to the UK to see family and once to a beach resort. We sometimes have short trips to nearby cities too.

When I go on holiday I want something better than at home.

A small caravan or a tent or 4 of us sharing a hotel room in a country where you can’t guarantee the weather and everything looks the same as at home to me isn’t a holiday,

When we go away we like our own pool and a house with WiFi and Netflix. A washing machine, dishwasher and tumble dryer as standard. The last one we went to was a villa in Spain which had a pool table, sauna and steam room as well
It was the same money as renting a caravan on a holiday park in this country for a week. By the time you have added in the flights and cost of food and eating out and other incidentals as opposed to travel to and from the holiday park and the cost of food (meals out) and other expenses in this country I don’t think it is that much of a difference.

If we sit by our pool for a few hours with drinks in Spain it is pennies. Sitting by a pool and even if you could bring your own beers etc in this country you are looking at pounds.

@Bythemillpond

thats fair enough, thats what you want from a holiday

Its not what I want. A sauna and a stean room wouldnt get any use from me on holiday in a hot country. Sitting by a pool drinking anywhere is not my type of holiday.

I was responding to your suggestion that you have to be very wealthy to holiday in the UK.
I’m a single parent, far from poor, but also far from wealthy. I have to save all year for all our holidays, abroad or the UK. We also happen to like the UK and still have a long list of places we want to visit for holidays.

A washing machine, dishwasher and tumble dryer as standard

And yet to me having to wash clothes or dishes isn't a holiday!

I definitely don’t want to be using a washing machine or dishwasher when I’m on holiday.

Parker231 I definitely don’t want to be using a washing machine or dishwasher when I’m on holiday

I couldn’t work out what you meant then - you’d rather not wash any clothes/wash up by hand on a 2-week holiday
Then I realised you must be talking about staying in a hotel . Shows how long it is since I’ve been away!

Pre-Covid we would go skiing every winter, so yes, at least one overseas holiday a year. My sister lives in Germany so I'd usually also visit her at least once in the year.

But we don't necessarily go abroad in the summer, and never do beach holidays as it's just not our thing. As DS1 starts school this September and we'll be limited to school holiday trips things will get much more pricey so we might not do so many.

we usually do twice a year (once in May usually, and once in Aug/September) + 3-4 mini breaks in the country where we live.

My parents usually once a year.

We have friends who never go abroad, friends who go 1-2/year, and friends who go 5+/year

Yes I would normally have 1- 2 holidays abroad. Covid is the longest I’ve not left the UK since I was about 14. I’m not complaining though and it’s certainly not the worst thing to happen to me

My last time abroad was over 13 years ago. I miss it, but our UK holidays have honestly been fantastic.

name7852

I like to return with all clothes clean and dry and ready to be put back in cupboards. In holiday rentals this would involve a couple of loads of laundry.
If I bring dirty washing home because of the size of my machine it could take all day to do the 7 or 8 loads. For me it’s a time thing

I haven't been on holiday for maybe 15 years!

On the back this thread I got the travel bug/itch and just booked a weekend in London for later this month. I would’ve normally been to France several times already in a normal year but that’s not happening this year, especially as we’re about to buy a house. I’ll make do with a London trip, a trip back home to the States in a couple months and possibly a trip to Iceland in winter to visit a friend. I didn’t go anywhere in 2020 and I was bored out of my skull.

Yes we would - normally a fortnight in Greece to a place where we have been going for years. Total relax by a pool and the most taxing question of the day is where we are going to eat in the evening. That's what we want from a holiday, although I readily admit it's not what everyone wants. We sometimes try and squeeze in a short (4/5 day) cruise as well.

We like a weekend break in the UK and often stay overnight in London if we are going to the theatre, but our main holiday where you can't guarantee the weather and is more expensive than going abroad? No, not for us.

It's great having a washing machine and a dishwasher on a holiday. You don't have to use it but I find it convenient.

I prefer to have my own leisurely breakfast on the terrace of a self catering villa or apartment than having to endure the bun fight that is a breakfast room in a large hotel.

We can bung al the plates and cups in the dishwasher before heading out for the day.

We still usually eat out for lunch and dinner but it's nice to have the option to just have some nice cold meats and tapas style food on the terrace on the odd occasion we don't feel like going out.

I also like getting all the dirty washing washed and dried in the sun before packing to go home. I always do that if there is a washing machine in the accommodation. Takes no time at all and saves me the bother when we get home. When we've stayed at a big hotel in Thailand we've paid the hotel to wash and iron everything so that when we get home we can just put everything away. It seems to be the thing to do there as it's so cheap to do and it made so much sense that I will now happily do it myself if we have a machine available ( I won't iron though - that would be a step too far)

I used to live overseas and came 'home' to the UK several times a year (didn't class this as a holiday as it was never relaxing for me, having to squeeze in visits to different family members up and down the country and live out of a suitcase, but these visits did use up my annual leave 🤷‍♀️).

Since returning to live in the UK a few years ago, I've not taken a single overseas trip...the very thought of the travel involved now just stresses me out, after years of the back and forth that I endured 🤣

I'm perfectly content to take my annual leave here for the foreseeable future.

Most of the people I know go away at least once a year abroad. I also agree with many of the PP that it is often cheaper to holiday abroad!

Since we for our DDog 5 years ago we have done a weeks holiday in Devon with the dogs and adult DSC. We then go abroad 2-4 times usually for long weekends.

Last year we still managed to get to Ibiza, Italy, and Dubai and feel incredibly lucky that we still managed our holidays.

This year we have been for a long weekend in Devon (we usually would have gone abroad by now so this was our replacement) we have our annual week in Devon booked for august. We have a long weekend in Ibiza booked for September and have just been pricing up flights for Spain in the hope we can book something last minute should the guidelines change!

I love exploring new places, walking and equally enjoy lying in the sun drinking multiple cocktails so the long weekends suit us best.

I'm not sure I could holiday abroad cheaper than I could in the UK (for the type of holiday I'd like at least) but I certainly think you get better value abroad that makes it more worth while to spend a bit more. Better weather, experiencing a different culture, more variety in dining options to name a few. Would much rather spend £4000 abroad and get the above than I would £2000 in a cottage in England doing the same things I can do on a weekend with potentially shite weather.

I'd rather save up and go abroad every 2 years than holiday every year in the UK, if that was all I could afford.

In my circle of family/ friends everyone has at least 1 foreign holiday a year.

I don’t consider it a holiday going away in the U.K. much rather go abroad even it meant I could only do it every few years.

I only holiday in the U.K. I've only been abroad once when I was 13 and I've never been interested in doing it again. Each to their own.

@Parker231

I definitely don’t want to be using a washing machine or dishwasher when I’m on holiday.

Me neither. Nor do we cook. I like seeing new places now the DC are old enough to remember the travel but we will do a few jobs around the house and purchase a few bits instead for the garden etc until it’s safe to travel again.

It's great having a washing machine and a dishwasher on a holiday. You don't have to use it but I find it convenient.

Me too. I actually enjoy cooking a couple of nights with nice fresh local ingredients and if there is a washing machine we can take less luggage and just pop a few loads on, it's hardly hard work. I also like footering about sweeping the floors in a villa where you don't have all the shite you have at home getting in the way.

I'm one of 7 kids and we really only went one holiday which was to a caravan park not that far from our house. It had a free laundry room and my mum took full advantage and we went home with everything bar what we were wearing washed and dried. Normally at home she'd have a single tub and a mangle and we'd have to go to the launderette as well which was expensive. In retrospect I wonder how much of a holiday it was for her.

We always go self catering abroad and stay in a small apartment complex. Though by self catering, I actually mean eat out. The nearest I get to cooking a meal is coffee, cheese and biscuits.
Lunch is normally in the pool bar and going out to dinner and trying different restaurants is one of the best bits of the holiday.

And nearest I do to washing is rinsing out the swimwear and hanging it on the balcony