To think there's no need to eat out every night of a holiday?

[JQuinnS]

We're going away soon and are staying in a resort/hotel that has a small kitchen in the room. We have decided to not do all inclusive/eat out at the town. There's no reason to not cook something at least a couple of needs. Is there really a need to eat out every night? Not being arsey, genuinely wondering. AIBU?

I do all the cooking at home so part of my holiday is a break from that.

I don't think we'd be likely to be on a holiday long enough that we wouldn't have budgeted for eating out (or going all inclusive).

notso that villa set up sounds amazing. please tell me where it was.

When we go away we never cook, we're on holiday so no cooking involved!

Owlina, no they're not prisons but I just don't enjoy all that sheeple stuff of queuing for mediocre restaurant buffet food and being surrounded only by other holiday makers. Makes me feel much more claustrophobic than a quick trip to a non-touristy part of town to do some food shopping or laundry.

It depends how much you enjoy eating out. DH and I wouldn't go on a holiday where we couldn't have a meal in a restaurant every night. It's half the fun for us. If we couldn't afford a meal out every night, we wouldn't book a holiday but we'd save until we could. We're proper foodies though, we'd rather go to a nice restaurant than a concert or a weekend away or any other activity!

And buffet every day would be my worst nightmare. I love exploring the local area and stumbling on a new place to eat. I'd hate to be confined to a hotel for meals, but I understand why people like buffets especially with children, you don't have to wander far!

skerry I only meant you're ringfenced in that you've already paid for food on site so you stay there rather than going out and exploring markets and local shopping areas. It's just more touristy and less connected to the local area. We've done both. I prefer self-catering.

When we are on holiday we always eat out, I like trying the different restaurants and food I don't want to be cooking it.

No we don't need to eat out but we want to and we can afford it so why the hell not

I prefer to eat out on holiday. It is a break from washing up etc.

So weird.

The OP has started 4 threads and not come back to any of them

I do feel there's quite a bit of snobbery on this thread to be honest.

I just don't enjoy all that sheeple stuff

Enjoying different things is fine but I do wonder why people feel the need to use insults to describe something that is not to their personal taste.

Some very snobby comments about AI on this thread

I missed the insults???

If you are looking at all inclusive, if I may recommend the Mitsis chain of hotels that operates across Greece. We've been to a few and the last one fiancé and I went to, had a creperie, 5 restaurants, cocktail bar and CHAMPAGNE BAR all included. We paid £450 each for a week and had a whale of a time. Oh it was fab. 😊

The OP has started 4 threads and not come back to any of them
I hadn't realised. That's so rude. Wasting everyone's time just because they're bored.

If its a few days, then no, im going nowhere near a cooker. Its a nice break.
two week holidays? No i refuse to spend the kind of money on food that eating out at restaurants means spending. I just couldnt, not for every single night.
Im going to USA in 10 weeks, I am excited for the food. We will possibly eat out every other day

I prefer not to cook on my holiday. In the past, when the dcs were young the only way we could have a holiday was to go self catering (in UK, not abroad), so that's what we did. We'd maybe eat out or get takeaway - fish and chips or pizza - a couple of times, but otherwise, simple cooked meals in our accommodation. TBH, I hated it - inefficient ovens, a lack of equipment and having to shop more often due to lack of fridge space, meant that I preferred being at home just going out for odd days. And don't even get me started on the days when do said he'd cook - I spent so much time explaining what to do and when, that I might as well have done it myself. DCs are grown up now, so do and I never cook on holiday. I don't mind putting a quick meal together - salad, bread and a hot roast chicken from the nearest supermarket, or something on toast after a day out, but a proper cooked meal? Never.

Also - we LOVE going out and exploring and always rent a car. One day out somewhere, one day lazing tends to be our pattern.

My preference would either be a high standard AI resort pool-beach type thing OR do what we're doing for our honeymoon and stay in self catering cheapie Airbnb accommodation and eat out for every meal.

It's just my preference though - I want a holiday from real life while I'm away, and that includes cooking and cleaning as much as possible. I did quite enjoy camping in a tent which we did this year but hated the trips to the supermarket, the cooking, the washing up and the struggle to keep the wine cool.

It is your holiday, do whatever pleases you.

Personally, whilst I love cooking, I do it every day at home & really like to eat out every day on holiday. I do like a little kitchen though so we can make a cuppa or have a glass wine & bowl of crisps on the balcony/terrace.

My kids would think I'd gone mad if I dragged them down to a laundrette on holiday they to busy having fun

I don't know about a laundrette but I like having a washing machine on holiday. I get miserable enough coming home without the thought of washing two weeks worth of dirty clothes for six as well!

Clearly it depends what you want from a holiday!!

We've run a gite in Brittany for ten years and have seen extremes from both ends - we've just waved off a lovely family who came with a six week old DS and ate out 6 nights out of 7!

We also regularly have people who eat in every single lunchtime and evening.

Most guests mix it up and enjoy buying local stuff at markets etc. We also have a wood fired pizza oven here which most people enjoy for a relaxed evening.

Everyone's different, do what you enjoy!

I don't like buffets apart from breakfast, but any time I've looked at AI with a la carte, it's been very expensive.

I prefer to self cater and mostly eat out or Hotel B&B but always get a kitchenette so we can buy drinks and snacks from the supermarket. We tend to eat one proper meal out each day and then get ice cream/tapas/slice of pizza for the other meal. May cost about the same as mid range AI but the experience is much nicer.

But I don't understand the laundrette/luggage thing. There's another thread where people are going to all sorts of ridiculous lengths to avoid paying for a checked in suitcase. I don't want to be shopping for basics that I already have at home, wearing and discarding old clothes or finding and sitting around in laundrettes on holiday, so we always take one medium sized hold case as it's much easier.

You get rid of most of your luggage when you get to the airport, you only have a small carry on bag on the plane so don't have to queue up to get on so you can put the big carry on case in the locker before it fills up and you can take what clothes and liquids you like so you don't have to go shopping when you get there, compromise what you wear on holiday or spend time dealing with washing instead of relaxing.

But each to their own. If you want to eat out eat out, if you want to do AI, do AI, if you want to cook in an apartment do that. If you want to rinse your clothes out each night and buy a load of toiletries to leave behind to save a few quid on hold luggage, do that.

Someone upthread said it can be more expensive to eat in than eat out and I have had that experience abroad.

Any time we go to the local market and buy some of the interesting looking tapenade and olives, it usually ends up at least 10-20 euros, same for the nice looking cheese and home made bread. So a little snacky dinner in your apartment costs almost as much as a full dinner served by waiters in a restaurant.

Likewise in USA we found the supermarkets to be expensive, but generic chain restaurants super cheap. Ok yes we should have been eating organic kale, but you know what DS very happy to go to Cicis pizza buffet, and I'm happy not to have to think about what we'd like to eat, buy it, cook it and then clear up afterwards.

However in UK where I know what the supermarkets stock and can converse happily with the local butchers and shops, then am much more likely to do some self catering. Also it's not so hot, which really puts me off spending time in the kitchen.

I like having access to a washing machine, but I'd rather have to hand wash clothes than spend time in a laundrette on holiday. When we were skiing I just washed the thermals and socks at the end of the day and put them on the towel rail.