I don't want to do "days out" because everything is so expensive and I feel like I'm being ripped off

[doesthismakemeodd]

We are on holiday in the UK in a place well known for tourism staying in a house that belongs to relations so is free us (we are lucky, we know that) we have been here before and know it well but even then haven't done a huge
There is a beach nearby. House owners are joining us later in the week and want to know what we will be doing beforehand and when they join us.
I feel they think we are odd when I say we will just chill, and go to the beach.
They have suggested a place with amusements or a NT place that is outdoors and costs £20 pp to get in (there are 6 of us)

I have looked at the "what's on magazine" . I don't want to do any of it.
I just find "days out" in this country such a let down
Am i the only one?

Yes agree is expensive, we mainly just stick to the free things like good parks, museums etc, do the occasional day out but take packed lunches etc. I would just tell friends that just wanting to stick to low cost things, they might actually be quite relieved. When we have family over often feel a lot of pressure to ‘be doing the expensive things’ with them as they’ve come a long way

Yes things are very expensive but maybe next time set a budget for things to do and use it with abandon!

Free accommodation for six people near a beach is a wonderful gift from your relatives - I hope the weather is reasonable so you can make the most of the beach.

These type of days out are expensive. It’s gone up recently and now easily £50 for a family of 4 ticket.

Despite living in a tourist area we normally only do one day out in the Summer holiday like this. Other things are woods, beach, walks and parks. Always take food and drink even though I hate packing it up.

That sounds fab - I'd like to do something similar, just need a DH and a campervan!

I understand completely. I would rather spend a couple of days at Legoland every other year (my dc are older but still love it) than go on expensive days out. I don’t know why everything is so expensive - if they lowered their prices a bit, more people would go and then probably spend more whilst in there, so they’d make their money anyway.
We rarely do big days out. NT are just so expensive, we have some nice greenery and lakes here so tend to go there and then buy a drink so it feels like a treat.
Sometimes, just chilling on the beach and not having to go in the car are the best holidays.

I don't do expensive days out either.

Whenever we have done it always turns out to be really stressful, jam packed places and no one really enjoys it.

I don't think it's necessarily being miserable or tight. I think you have to do what works for your family.

We realised a long time ago that the big ticket days out don't work for us, it's not so much the expense but the queues, food tends to be rubbish. This came about after many days of doing what we thought we should be doing and realising our expectations were too high.

Now we know that a long walk, trip to the beach, a new playground and stopping off somewhere lovely to eat is what works for us.

I think holidays tend to be split in 2 camps, those that see it as an opportunity to go and do everything the area has to offer and those that want to enjoy the change of scenery and chill. Neither are wrong.

The hosts are probably assuming that as you have saved so much on accommodation costs that you will be able to afford a few days out that you wouldn't otherwise do. They're probably just being helpful.

This thread is like an advert for National Trust. I think there are some free passes going around - you just need to sign up for that & you can have a day out for nothing & meet up with them too.

We like a day out but can't afford big theme parks.

We always did 1 big ticket day out per holiday and utilise supermarket meal deals for lunch.

We get NT membership as a birthday gift to DH each year from PIL. Use that. Otherwise, if we are in Cornwall it's a lot of beaches, exploring villages and pasties!

Days out are expensive in the UK when you’re paying entry for lots of people. But you’re offsetting it against the cost of otherwise free accommodation.

NT family membership is a great deal, as there are usually properties close to wherever we visit.

Days out are so expensive now.

I used to go to a local cafe every week for a bacon sandwich and coffee. It was £5.80. Now the exact same order is £9.60!!!

Our little (fairly unimpressive, goats/guinea pigs/chickens/sandpit) farm park used to be £1 each for entry and £1 for a bag of animal food, so it would be £5 for me and my 2 DC and 2 bags of food to feed their animals. Last time we went they’ve put the entry price up to £4 each!!! And food bags are £2. No improvements or extra amusements. So the same outing that cost us £5 is now £16 😮

I stopped going to either place altogether. There is a tipping point where if something is cheaper, more people would do it.

I’ve just been looking for things near our U.K. Break and the costs are just bonkers for stuff I know the children will probably be meh about. So I’ll stick to nature trails and beaches. Maybe throw in a maze and some shooting. About the only decently priced stuff they may enjoy

FB pages we find helpful, local pages put up stuff for local kids year round. Say you're going to Newquay check out their info. Join their page and ask. Visit personally a local tourism info center. Follow local papers.

I know this is stable door advice, but it's worked for us.

I found having NT membership fab when my kids were young. Pre covid they seemed to do a lot more activities and fun stuff for kids. Now it does seem a bit limited.

days out are expensive, but often manageable if you look for deals, use club card vouchers etc. just takes a bit of planning. On U.K. breaks we would often do say 2 paid for days out and then free/NT stuff the rest of the time.

My kids are grown up but NT membership saved our sanity when they were young. They had space to run around, great playgrounds, quizzes and activities sometimes. It gave us a break and a change of scene. We would take it in turns to look round the stately homes . They would get loads of exercise, fresh air and the cages are great . You can also take a picnic.

We live in a resort with loads of holiday camps around us so everything feels expensive. Have 6 weeks to fill and no idea how to do it without breaking the bank! Luckily I'm a TA so don't need to sort childcare for the summer but the otherside of that is I have to entertain my children every day! We are getting to see the benefit of our garden and walks to the park. Might have one big ticket day out the whole holidays but that will be it. Our local theme park is height based so my 3 year old is the same price as adults and it's £78 just for the 4 of us to get in!

Firstly, can I put in a vote for EH membership. Depending where you live there may be more EH than NT sites locally.

Secondly, if your DC send off a picture to Blue Peter you can get a BP badge which gives you free entry to loads of different places.

Agree with all the comments about picnics saving money, although in 2020 my kids complained about all the picnics we ate because we had so many that year!

You've saved loads staying in this house and while I appreciate your DC are probably quite happy chilling at the beach taking your hosts for a day out to an expensive attraction doesn't seem an unreasonable price for a week's holiday. Are you paying them for gas and electricity?

I also agree about picnics although I feel like one of the main benefits of school summer holidays is the temporary escape from lunchboxes. Picnics (unless very posh and fancy) are essentially just another day of lunchboxes. My kids won’t eat stuff like soup in a flask and so taking a picnic on a day out is yet another day of making ham or cheese sandwiches 🫠

If you have time to plan ahead then NTScotland membership is cheaper than NT and gets you into all the UK properties (and free car parking - you can’t scan your card at the machine but I’ve always been advised to leave membership card on the dashboard).

Many English Heritage properties are free, so look for those ones.

Sign up to Hungry Horse emails and get a 3 month kids pass that gives you money off some attractions, activities and cinemas.

https://www.hungryhorse.co.uk/kids-pass

We very rarely do 'days out'. Have the money to, but I don't see the point as not good value to spend £50 for a few hours when the kids will mostly bicker. We do beach, walks, wild swimming, picnics, bike rides, dog walks, kids play outside in the garden - in all weathers. We have a NT membership - I think it's £12 a month for the 4 of us. I can justify £12 for a day out for 4 people and we aim to do something once a month.

I think it just depends on what you enjoy. PP obviously enjoys this type of holiday but it sounds like hell on earth to me. I can read and sit about at home. To me a holiday is doing something different and I like to out and about every day.

I can see why your hosts expect to go for a day out - you have saved on accommodation costs and I am sure they see their holiday home a lot so want to go out and about.

If you can afford it, i think your kids would like a day out - surely it is boring to sit about for them. A day out once in a while helps to break up the weeks.

I think you just have to budget it as part of the holiday expense. As a family of 6 it's always going to be more expensive on a day out. When we do theme parks I get supermarket meal deals before we go as I don't want to spend loads on food the kids won't even enjoy. I'm into planning days out when we go away but I opted for my dh's more relaxed approach when we went away last month and the kids were happy. They just wanted to be at the beach everyday.

Yanbu if you have a really busy time of it day to day then there's nothing wrong with going at your own pace and doing excursions as and when you want or not.