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AIBU?

To not want to spend £5000 on a holiday?

265 replies

roland83 · 17/02/2015 14:46

There's only me and my partner, we both earn 30k a year each.

When we look at holidays I hate the idea of going Turkey / Spain etc for £500-£1000, but everywhere I want to go such as Las Vegas, Canada etc are just ridiculous money! £5000 for around 10 days, not including food and drinks.

We are savings for our first house, so it's not really a big issue as the choice between house deposit and holiday is obvious.

I've been Turkey, Egypt, Spain and similar and I find it a bit crap. I don't want to sit by the pool/beach all day getting a tan, I want culture.. but all the day trips are rubbish and crowded. I want to go to Las Vegas and visit the Hoover Dam, Area 51, Grand Canyon but when you work out a realistic price it's astronomical!

So, is it me? AIBU to think all the decent holidays are overpriced and now I'm in my 30's £5k on a holiday seems crazy when I could get a lot more for my money on other things?

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BackforGood · 17/02/2015 15:32

What about making America 'the big trip' the after afterwards, maybe, and budget for being away for 3 or even 4 weeks - it makes the flights much better value, and you can travel about / stay in motels / visit where you want to.
Presumably you can look at prices for cheaper times of year, as you don't have dc and aren't a teacher (unless dh is?), then you can not go snowboarding, or or your week in Cornwall that year if it makes a big difference to your income, knowing you have this fantastic holiday to look forward to next May.

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adsy · 17/02/2015 15:32

dreaming just called you bonkers. I think thsat's worthy of reporting.

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BackforGood · 17/02/2015 15:32

...er...."the year afterwards"...

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BackforGood · 17/02/2015 15:32

Give it a rest Adsy - it's only yourself you are amusing.

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NotGoingOut17 · 17/02/2015 15:33

posted too soon...but the list is endless. of course a package holiday is unlikely to give you culture. and yes 5k is a lot but you need to do.more research, i have lots of holidsys and have never spent that much...currently on 3 weeks in south America, it wont be anywhere near that amount.

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adsy · 17/02/2015 15:33

it's only yourself you are amusing yep! And that's the most important thing Grin

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roland83 · 17/02/2015 15:34

dreaming - yes, I think you are right.

I guess I thought a big destination would mean that it would be the most fun, but realistically that's probably not the case at all.

I'd like a driving holiday, I love driving, but never driven on the other side of the road, or a left hand drive car and I'm strangely quite bothered by that despite being a confident driver.

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rookiemere · 17/02/2015 15:34

Well it's always a balance isn't it.

We debated long and hard about Canada, but in the end it was looking at my parents that did it (not drove us out of the country ). They are now late 70s & early 80s and unable to travel any more, although financially they would be well able to afford it. They still fondly talk about their various trips to NZ, the US and other places - although they tended to do them on the cheap and stayed in b&bs or with relatives.

We put the big things first like making sure the mortgage is paid and the cars are servicable, but after that to me I want to see as much of the world as I can. Our movements are now somewhat hindered by having DS - so you need to consider if DCs are in your future. I know some people manage to backpack round the Himalayas with their DCs in a sling but that's not me. Plus he's now a 9 year old who likes some outdoor adventure, but not too much travelling.

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Nationaltrusthandbook · 17/02/2015 15:34

Big holidays cost money that's reality.

Try an RV (recreational vehicle) around America, cheaper than staying in hotels.

You sound as though you resent paying out money for holidays, well put it towards a car or your house then instead that's perfectly reasonable.

I'm another one whose house is slowly crumbling as I spend every penny in my possession on holidays.

Also don't think that adsy was being unkind, you do sound as though you are stamping your foot a bit.

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dreamingbohemian · 17/02/2015 15:35

If you really want to do the US, do the east coast, Boston-NYC-DC. Will be cheaper and lots more different things going on. Okay I'm biased as I'm from there originally :) But really, most of us don't consider Las Vegas as representative of American culture, it's a whole separate horrible thing of its own (shudder).

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EveBoswell · 17/02/2015 15:36

May I suggest Malta. Some lovely places there including Valletta with its fortifications, nice hotels .....

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Only1scoop · 17/02/2015 15:36

As a QS end the trip in San Fran at the Golden Gate and count all the windows in the Sky Scrapers on the way Wink

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MrTumblesBavarianFanbase · 17/02/2015 15:37

We don't spend anything like £5000 even on a 10 day holiday for a family of 5 in school holidays - and we don't go on package holidays to it on the beach. We don't go to Las Vegas either ...

YABU to say "all the decent holidays"cost over 5k. You need to shop smarter, open your mind, and not restrict yourself to looking at a very narrow range of package holidays.

It does sound as though you only really want to go to the USA, when you'd get much more for your money staying in Europe - we loved Dubrovnik pre kids.

Use one of the many sites like Expedia to put together different flight/ hotel/ hire car packages perhaps.

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OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat · 17/02/2015 15:37

How can you not be impressed by the Alhambra in Granada, Cordoba, Seville, Ronda, lovely squares, tapas bars, museums and art galleries, the evening paseo.

The volcano national park in Lanzarote. All the Cesar Manrique arty stuff. Lovely fishing villages and beaches. Boat trips, flamenco shows, train journeys through the mountains. Amazing beaches, snorkelling in little coves with thousands of fish, menu del dia, sand dunes at Tarifa or Fuerteventura.

But then again, I'm quite happy with other Brits dismissing Spain as 'a bit crap' because then when I go there, there are fewer other Brits shouting about how they are not having a good time, like the annoying man at the airport last week, while DP and I were having our last beer on a sunny terrace.

You don't have to go far outside the relatively small 'eggs chips and beans' districts to have a really lovely holiday.

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limegoldfinewine · 17/02/2015 15:38

Why not San Francisco? Or LA? Or Colorado? Or Utah. Sounds crazy but they are all gorgeous. Weather is beautiful and lots of interesting places to visit. Look on tripadvisor for a hotel and book a flight separately.

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roland83 · 17/02/2015 15:40

adsy is being antagonistic for his/her own pleasure, they aren't bringing anything to the thread.

Some good comments, thank you.

I think it's a mixture of resentment at spending the money, stress about wanting to put money into a future house, possible children and also having a life too.

Chazs - There is a huge bridge in france I've been eyeing up for years, I would love to drive over it.

I think the package holiday is definitely the problem! Maybe I need to grab a big map of America and take pleasure in just planning exactly what we want to do/see. Even if we decide to spend the £5k on a new bathroom, I guess half the fun is the planning.

An RV would be great.

Maybe I'm lacking in confidence to book something away from the hand held holidays?

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roland83 · 17/02/2015 15:41

As a QS end the trip in San Fran at the Golden Gate and count all the windows in the Sky Scrapers on the way wink

^ Now that's my type of holiday Grin

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OnIlkleyMoorBahTwat · 17/02/2015 15:41

If you are worried about driving on the wrong side of the car (the hard bit) on the wrong side of the road (the easy bit especially if your passenger is also keeping an eye on things), what about hiring an automatic so you don't have to worry about gears?

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dreamingbohemian · 17/02/2015 15:42

What about something like Iceland? or Scandinavia?

maybe take some of the places you're thinking about in the US/Canada and see if anything closer is similar?

For ex, apparently the biggest dam in Europe is in Portugal -- lovely place! Lots to do and pretty cheap.

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adsy · 17/02/2015 15:42

I'm being annoying now because you reported me for bugger all, so yes, you have got on my tits

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DisappointedOne · 17/02/2015 15:43

Most cars in the US are automatic. You literally only need one hand and one foot to drive them.

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Only1scoop · 17/02/2015 15:44

'Maybe I just need to get a big map of the states and enjoy planning'

Yes yes to this....it's all part of the fun and you can pick up some great deals if you steer away from package 'deals'

I'd plan and go for it.

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dreamingbohemian · 17/02/2015 15:47

x-post... if you can deal with the driving then absolutely, just get a map of the US and start planning where you want to go. Driving across country is usually not that expensive if you do your research (and loads of people do it so there is lots of info out there).

The US is pretty accessible and people are generally pretty friendly so yes, try to get the confidence to do it on your own.

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roland83 · 17/02/2015 15:47

Me and my partner are very introvert, and the thought of going to a small spanish tapas bar fills us with horror in some ways. Blush Although, I would love to see different parts of Spain, Italy etc. I feel that unless you know someone that knows all of these lovely places then we won't find them easily. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places?

We snowboard in France/Switzerland, so I guess we fancied going a bit further.

I've been Mexico and Hawaii years ago.. I saw the Volcano on the Big Island and it was amazing. That is what I want, something amazing.. something worth £5,000.

I'm anything but childish in real life, I just don't express myself very clearly. I'm frustrated is all, I want to do a lot of things but I don't have enough money for everything and I don't want to regret spending money if it's not going to be great.

I thought Vegas would be great, but from a few comments people have mentioned.. it actually sounds like I might hate it. How do I know what it is I want from a holiday?

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LittleMiss77 · 17/02/2015 15:48

OP if you like culture and architecture and want value for money please visit Budapest if you haven't already. An amazingly beautiful city with lots of history.

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