Not wanting to socialise on holiday..

[Ditsyprint40]

Being on holiday and wanting to rest and recharge, not make friends with every other holiday maker staying at our resort/hotel etc!

DH and I happily travelled on holiday together for 20 years without speaking to anyone other than a waiter.
Then DC came along and started making friends on holiday and we had to speak to the parents.

Fortunately they have grown out of it and now we can go away the four of us and be anti social together.

I feel the same and yet we met some great interesting people this year, one family we are meeting at Bestival in September.

Agreed! DH and I are the most miserable bastards on holiday!

I pretend I'm French and don't understand. Can't bear socialising at the best of times, least of all on holiday!

Looking very much like a consensus (I'm in there too) but there has been a yapping, gurning group of new forever friends in every hotel I've ever stayed in.

The time is clearly ripe for a MN only hotel where we can all sit in splendid isolation and exchange death stares until the cows come home

The best thing about the resort I stayed at last year, was that there were no other British holiday makers, so I didn't have to do anything more than say hello!

The time is clearly ripe for a MN only hotel where we can all sit in splendid isolation and exchange death stares until the cows come home.

Ah but think of the fights here afterwards about whether others WBU

YANBU at all! DH and I holiday in our small motorhome, and like to have our own space, do our own thing, and enjoy the scenery and the wildlife. Having to talk to other people is something I don't like doing at home, let alone on holiday. Two weeks wild camping in the Hebrides was idyllic.

Oh dear, bit shamefaced here. I was joining in with all you cool kids, saying i like to keep myself to myself and avoid Brits Abroad, til someone mentioned another nationality. I grew up abroad and speak that language but have very few opportunities to use it. I speak it with an accent which does not betray my origins as English.

These people tend to speak brilliant English exactly because they use any opportunity to use English.

Whenever I hear anyone speaking that language, i put a lot of thought into how to open a conversation without the fact that I am speaking their language being in any way the focus if the conversation. I find that, except with the very determined, people tend not to change the language they first use with you, so if i can get started, they will 'let' me practice and not expect a free English lesson from me.

This is less popular than you might image it to be. Or not.

I'd rather put a campfire out with my face, than make holiday friends.

We have had "interesting" experiences with holiday friends. Including the couple that constantly rowed in front of us, and the husband was unapologetically racist. We couldn't shake them off - but they then disappeared completely 5 days into the holiday. We saw them at the airport, and found out they'd been moved from the resort because he'd locked her out, and she'd thrown a patio chair through the glass. "Never again" she whispered to me at the airport.

Damn right - never again. YANBU OP. We'll have a chat with people, our children like to make friends - but frankly, it's private villas all the way now.

I think the problem is differing interpretations of body language, spoken language and culture. It's British (or just English?) culture to be indirect ( eg. this!), although it seems for some reason some abandon this and go the opposite way when on holiday! So everyone's misunderstanding each other, being unintentionally rude to each other, not understanding why the other person is being cold or overfriendly...

YANBU though. Second above poster who reckons Germans are good holiday companions (presumably apart from the fabled sun-lounger stealing) - polite but direct.

I haven't been on normal "holidays" as an adult (currently childless), it's always been solo backpacking style trips where I do actually like meeting other tourists! But they key is to know who else is up for it and who isn't - I'm always careful if couples invite me anywhere not to overstay my welcome. Actually US citizens are good tourists in this respect - you talk about everthing under the sun and get on like a house on fire for two days then never see them again when one of you moves on.

Oh god I've found others like me! I can't stand it. I'm currently hiding on my balcony as I'm stuck in an all incllusive in Majorca I swear I can't cope for another second! If anyone else tries to talk to me or convince me to sing, build a raft or dance with a fucking widget I'm going to hit them with a bottle of suntan lotion. Fly home in the morning cannot.fucking.wait.

We are the same. We don't mind talking to people now and then but we don't really make friends. Although this year we met up with a guy early every morning so he could have a sneaky fag before his wife got up. We did enjoy talking to him for an hour in the morning but he was the only one we spoke to.

All inclusive doesn't have to be hell. You can still go out to eat you know. It isn't compulsory to eat at the hotel every night.

There must be something wrong with my face. I am perfectly happy about it, but no-one ever tries to speak to me on holiday, all inclusive package included. (Apart from the odd "could you take a photo of us please!, which is acceptable). Not sure if I should worry or celebrate...

No I agree you don't have to stay in at an all inclusive and we have been out as much as we can but it cost us a lot to come here (family of six) so we didn't really want to spend loads more on meals out.
It more how bloody loud and chatty it is! I think I'm just an antisocial bugger!

I don't mind the odd small talk and always acknowledge/smile at others, I just don't want to be forced to converse with them ha ha

I can barely tolerate the people I do know, I can't be doing with getting to know more

this

Ooh me too.

There always seems to be one that feels obliged to round everyone up.

We made holiday friends 5 years ago and now go away with them every year!

In my home life I'm extremely antisocial but it's nice to do something different on holiday.

Cruises sound a nightmare with all that enforced chit chat at your table night after night.

Before we had children and we used to do hotel type holidays - I was always the person that pointedly avoided being friendly with other couples.

Now we rent private houses with their own pool so we don't have to even look at other holiday makers.

I find making small talk stressful enough in everyday life without trying to do it on holiday. DH is very friendly and can't seem to shake people who latch on, though he'd prefer not to make friends on holiday either. On honeymoon, our tour guide sought us out at our cabin after the tour had finished (I suppose she found him that friendly), but I was just willing her to GO AWAY.