Does anyone else get to the point where they think going on holiday is more trouble than it’s worth?

[Rainallnight]

Happens to be every single time.

The laundry, the lists, the ordering of stuff, the packing and planning, the trying to get all the work done.

We’re lucky to be going on holiday and I know we’ll have a nice time but there does come a point when I feel like the holiday prep is longer than the actual holiday.

I feel the same, plus I hate all the leaving of the pets shenanigans too.

No, I love going on holidays & short breaks !

But isn’t it like Christmas in a lot of ways?! Juggling everything, finding those bargains, getting the plans in place and things sorted and the house all tidy ahead of the big day, all those little rituals like remembering to cancel the milk and move all the potted plants into the shade and eat the contents of the fridge so there’s nothing going off when you’re away.

I LOVE the stress in many ways! And at the same time I hate it.

i am awake now doing work as I have a mad deadline to meet before we go on vacay on Monday. Lol!

I feel a bit like this but because we had a holiday recently that went pear shaped and cost so much I have decided next year we will just do a couple of uk hols to places we love. Maybe some long weekends we are lucky to live 1-1.5 hrs away from some really nice places and realised we should make the most of these

Perhaps I should just travel by myself.
The 18year old oscillates wildly between nostalgia to sulking with FOMO. Incredibly judgy about old, fat wrinkly bodies being perfectly happy enjoying the beach.
The 16year old is silent, uncommunicative. I have no idea what's going on in her world but she'd clearly decided she hadn't had her fair share of sulking yesterday so had to quickly make up time.
DH can't handle keeping anything simple if there's a longer, save a tenner solution. We will have driven for 18 hours then flown at stupid o'clock in the morning in total despite their being a perfect airport just 90minutes away. This meant the kids could see something no one was actually interested in seeing and DH didn't want to fork out the entrance fee!

My own fat wrinkly body has enjoyed the swimming and endured the mosquitos without complaint. Watched the sun rise this morning over the calm sea.

I've now got to deep clean the holiday house DH borrowed which has been lovely but hard work.

Lovely but hardwork sums it up and it's taken a lot of soothing HRT to get through this- I'm using up the bottle before the flight, gonna need all that calming, loving miracle gel.

I have to laugh at the donate suggestion 🤣 do you honestly think people will donate their hard earned money just because they find holidays not as relaxing as they sound.

More recently DH and I have had a travel company plan our ‘big’ holiday.

pre covid I used to love it and would happily research long weekends away in Europe, 2 weeks in the states, Ethiopa, India.

now….I just haven’t got the mojo back especially for a short break, flights are unreliable, even basic places are charging 5 star places.

That's the point really. Of course they won't! Because they do want their hols really, they're just having a moan.

I think it's a mix of overthinking things and maybe a general attitude to changes?

I mean why lots of you do clean extra? I have my cleaner scheduled as normal and if she comes on a Monday and we leave on a Friday I won't clean again. Same with beds. After two weeks there will be a small layer of dust, I just make sure the cleaner comes.

Laundry - how much extra do you do? The only thing I do extra is maybe a last batch of ironing.

Also, if you have a partner and slighlty older children - do they do their share? DD is responsible for her stuff, even with suspected ADHD and ASD she manages, it took time and patience but it works.

Unless you book last-minute, when do yo plan things? We booked our Summer trip in February and have all itemes already on a spreadsheet and will just book tickets for attractions now. It's a sort of road trip so it's more planning involved than a AI stay but if you start early and get everyone on it, it's a matter of timining.

Things like toileteries etc are added in the last month to the shopping list and put away.

I can't wait for the holiday.

Absolutely. It feels like hard work.

Yes, I agree. I then get massively overwhelmed when we arrive as I hate not knowing where things are and the children are (understandably) very excited, hyped up & impatient, but this just makes me more overwhelmed.

I miss home constantly, don’t sleep well and just long for my house and my cats 😂

When it comes to the point - all the packing and prep - I’d nearly always rather stay at home. I do like it once away, but would never break my heart if we had to cancel or come home early.

And I absolutely loathe bloody airports nowadays. Don’t mind nearly so much if we’re driving within U.K. or to France.

Mind you I’d never have said this when younger - I loved our warm-sea beach hols when dds were younger.

Yes it is quite a stressful enterprise, especially as everything is no unreliable now with strikes and cancellations etc. Worrying about length of security queues, how to squeeze everything into carry on bags so you don't lose your bag if you put it on the hold etc.

Already had a flight cancelled in September and had to phone to change it - amazingly I got through right away though. But still an extra job I had to do.

And before you say "well you eco-unfriendly person, get the train instead" - it's even worse from a reliability perspective unless you are in Switzerland or Japan but you still have to get there!

I also find it quite stressful being in countries where I can't speak the local language, so tend to travel to the ones where I can or I know they speak perfect English, like Denmark.

I sometimes read these threads and wonder if I’m doing holidays wrong. Trying to get stuff off your desk before you go I do get. It’s never occurred to me to do any extra cleaning before we go away, though, and surely laundry is a general curse, not a holiday-specific one? And planning consists of booking flights/ferry and accommodation, possibly carhire? And is generally done months before leaving —apart from the time we booked an Airbnb and a flight on Sunday night and left at 6am on Monday—.

Books used to be my packing problem, but a Kindle has largely solved that. What is it people are ordering for holidays?

Maybe we’re just talking about different types of holidays. I can see that camping requires a lot of equipment and organisation, unless you camp somewhere with a tent already set up for you. Or far flung destinations with such a different climate or specific you need specific clothes?

Nope. I love all of it, the packing is the start of the build up and I really like travel days.

Like @PrayerFactory says I must be doing it wrong!

I'm absolutely the same! So glad it isn't just me. We were due to go on a multi leg trip to the south if France and I ended up terminating it just outside Paris due to sheer overwhelm.

No, not at all!

I'm not really a meticulous planner though, I just shove things into the suitcase the day before. I have annual travel insurance so that's sorted, as long as my passport is in date I'm good to go.

We are lucky enough to afford to go for two weeks (bank of mum and dad )which is the only way I get a holiday . Otherwise it's packing and unpacking, shopping and cleaning somewhere more difficult.

I hate airports too. So we take the ferry and drive, or go Interrailing. (Although I have to admit that Eurostar check in has all the drawbacks of an airport since Brexit ☹).

I don't so much do extra cleaning, more making sure the loos are clean, bins are out, empty the fridge of anything likely to be rancid when we get back. That's not the stress factor.

It's trying to make sure kids have what they need, enough clothes etc.
I read on another thread about parents who buy kids a whole new wardrobe for going away - I can just about see the logic.

I used to love going on holiday, but now I find lots of things stressful- organising dog care, tidying and cleaning house of dog sitter staying at our house, car hire will they rip us off, feeling nervous with DH driving abroad.

I also find that for a week's break it takes me a few days to settle into the holiday and then by the time I do, it's time to go home again.

I certainly don't want to stop going on holiday, but I'm not getting as much enjoyment from them as I used to.

Yes. We only go on UK holidays and I try to pick places that aren't too far to drive. It feels especially pointless as my ASD child doesn't want to do anything active/out of the cottage/caravan for more than an hour or so everyday, so it's either sitting around with him and without all my usual stuff, or epic amounts of persuasion from me and loud complaints from him to do anything.

Definitely OP. I have a full-on, full time job, with loads of family stuff, friends stuff and hobby to juggle the rest of the year - then we have to add in planning for a holiday which costs ££££s and is over in 14 days or less, with two of those 14 days spent travelling long distances. I’m sure I’ll enjoy them more when I’ve retired or cut my hours.

No I love it. I don't find it stressful. Their clothes in a suitcase and pack sun cream and airport parking. Easier than a uk trip where I end up loading the car with food, drink, bbq, beach equipment. Much more hassle

Definitely not - just pack some clothes and go. There’s no where I’ve been in the world where you can’t buy whatever you need at your destination, you don’t have to take everything