To wonder why people go on holiday to exotic places

[Cockwomble]

When they are the types who go all inclusive and never leave the resort.

Why not just go to whatever cheap place is sunny to eat pizza by the pool for ten days?

You haven't really been to cuba/mexico/egypt if you stayed inside a hotel complex and ate english food by the pool from the buffet have you?

Coconutty "I know someone who went to Jamaica but didn't like it because they couldn't get gravy anywhere, not a drop to be had, apparently. That was a bizarre conversation."

A bit like the one I had with a friend who went to China 20 years ago, so for once I was really interested to hear her holiday stories. There were only 5 prawns in her in flight meal.

TheSpokenNerd it is often cheaper to go AI to somewhere like egypt than to go anywhere in the eurozone.
There is no local people in sharm. It was desert about 30 years ago, not farming land. Egptians only go there for the work.
Hurghada was a small fishing market. The fishing industry is still there and so it does have a smalll local population.

TBH, the thing I don't get is why people travel to places and then visit all these attractions, sights, museums....like ticking off a to-do list.

Now THAT sounds boring to me!

I always go to the local supermarket. That's the best museum of a country.

What an a funny first post and what sweeping generalisations.

I have been to all those places you've mentioned, plus more and I can assure you, that we did not just sit inside the complex and eat pizza.

Why on earth do you think this is the case for everybody that goes afar on their holiday.

It will certainly be the case for some, but not all!

Can't really answer the question of 'why do they never leave the resort?' as this is not something we've ever done (apart from in the Maldives, but then the entire point of that is a secluded island-apart from the diving which is what we went for ) however perhaps it's just the time of year they choose to go-Egypt for example is hot all year round so if you were looking for a beach holiday in say November I'd think this was the way to go.
As for the impact on locals, a lot of them wouldn't have jobs were it not for the tourist industry.

we're staying at Dreams AI (!!) for 3 weeks so will have lots of time to see the area. We have to have some compromise - I am a backpacker at heart while DH prefers sun, sand and sea holidays so we have to do something where there is a middle ground. The middle ground we have found is goign places where there are lots of water sports and diving. We will have a 3 year old in tow as well, we went to Turkey last year and she loved travelling around and meeting the locals (and they loved her !) being fussed. We usually have a few meals out as well so I'm really looking forward to trying some proper mexican food. I started studying spanish at university and I've got a basic spanish course aimed at secondary kids so thought I'd try and learn a bit more before we go. they also do spanish lessons at the resort.

We plan on going to Akumal, tulum, tulum beach + ruins, the national park in tulum, Chichen Itza if it's not too far, cenote swimming and maybe some diving on the chinchorro atoll if we can take nipper on the dive boat. We will definitely have a few days just lazing around the resort, sailing, windsurfing and taking out a hobie. I would like to go to Cancun for the day.

I LOVE local supermarkets!

I even get a thrill from visiting Lidl in the UK, due to all the odd and interesting European foods!

Belgo - I LOVE foreign supermarkets :D actually, the best thing is Japanese department stores -amazing

The tourist industry has screwed up egypt in terms of wages.
Why would you train to be a doctor when a waiter in a tourist resort is making money money in tips than the doctor is paid?

Yes it is a fact that in some of these countries people are living in true poverty.

Maybe some people just don't want to be faced with that whilst on a dream holiday? Culure is very different and sometimes can feel threatening. For every story of good experiences I've had eating in local restaurants and wandering around non tourist areas I can tell you many others about dreadful things I've seen, like children with disabilities being beaten with a stick for not producing enough money from begging, a leper, with no legs, on a skateboard peeing into a gutter and 10 yards down the road a coffee seller rinsing his cups in same gutter.

I've played football on a beach in Brazil with street children and then bought them sweets, which delighted them and visited an orphanage in Luxor and emptied my purse because those children had been deserted on the street as babies and would be dead otherwise.

Sometimes you just don't want to be challenged like that.

also we'll be there for Mardi Gras and I'm imagining that Mexico probably celebrates it in a big way ? I think we're there for President's Day as well

In answer to the original post, I used to wonder this. Why say you've been to Egypt/Cyprus/Tunisia if you don't leave the hotel?

However, these days I am wanting a 'do nothing' holiday A LOT. My holidays with DH have always been a relentless itinerary of sightseeing and walking. It is knackering. I come home more tired than when I went.

damnbamboo might help you quite a lot if you actually read the thread. At no point have I said that all folks who go AI never leave the resort...do you know what, if you can't be bothered reading and understanding I can't be bothered explaining it to you.

Why on earth do you think this is the case for everybody that goes afar on their holiday.

I mean, what the fuck?

Anyhow, everyone else has been very interesting! I do LOVE the supermarkets abroad.

cockwomble - your op should have said:

When they are the types who go all inclusive and never leave the resort.

Why not just go to whatever cheap place is sunny to eat pizza by the pool for ten days?

You haven't really been to cuba/mexico/egypt if you stayed inside a hotel complex and ate english food by the pool from the buffet have you?

OBVIOUSLY THIS DOES NOT APPLY TO PEOPLE WHO GO AI AND DO LEAVE THE RESORT THANK YOU SO MUCH

Haha indeed hully

Japanese department stores are now on my list of 'things to see before I die'. If I ever visit Japan!

Sorry, you're right.
I misread.
Why the swearing FFS

belgo - my top recommendation is Takashimaya, Hiroshima. I'm hoping to go to Hiroshima for a Rotary peace conference later in the year by myself and stay with a japanese family, v. excited at the prospect of a return trip without DH whinging on about "not another temple/museum/cultural place"

hopefully....at some point...in the distant future!

In the meantime it's Eurocamp and Centre Parks all the way.

I have been lucky enough to have been on a range of holidays including camping, backpacking, self-drive, villas, apartments and AI hotels. Each sort of holiday is different and may be what you feel like doing at the time.

In the AI hotels I have experienced in Cuba, Dominican Republic, Egypt etc, I haven't seen much evidence of people never leaving the hotel. I would think the vast majority do at least a couple of organised excursions. We were in Cuba last year, and hired a local horse and cart guide who showed us round local villages and explained their way of life and communism under Castro etc - it was fascinating. Fortunately I speak some Spanish though, so was able to chat to the guide. Other people didn't necessarily do this, but did go on trips organised by the travel reps.

I think there may be more "just sitting by the pool eating pizza" going on in the Eurozone AIs as people tend to choose those for cost reasons and therefore don't want to leave the hotel as it will cost them extra money.

I think there may be more "just sitting by the pool eating pizza" going on in the Eurozone AIs as people tend to choose those for cost reasons and therefore don't want to leave the hotel as it will cost them extra money.

There's a fella at work who fits into this perfectly! More coz he's tight than broke though.

Please try and refrain from giving street children sweets. They cannot afford to go to a dentist if they develop dental caries. The best thing you can do is buy them some decent food and sit with them while they eat it. This stops the older kids (and undesirables) from stealing it from them. Same thing with giving them money it will often get taken off them.

Maybe they want to help the economies of these "exotic" places, and think holidaying there when it costs much the same as somewhere else is a sensible solution.

Ironically we are going to Sharm in 2 weeks. Had plans to visit Cairo but I suspect with all the political unrest (and three children) this will not be too sensible. So we shall just hang around Sharm, maybe a trip to the National Park and eat lots of pizza by the pool ;)