To not want to go on holiday as a family again?

[whatty]

We (DS 4.5, DD 2 & husband) are currently on holiday in Australia. It goes without saying, that we've spent a lot getting here, and are spending a lot during the 3 weeks we are here too. But- I'm really not enjoying it. We are constantly telling the children off (not listening, running by the pool, shouting in restaurants, moaning etc etc). I just feel like I'd prefer to be at work and for them to be at nursery. Are we doing something wrong? I feel like am being a misery when we should be having the time of our lives. Any words of wisdom would be much appreciated...

Experience speaks on many replies. DC that young are hard work wherever you are. We took DM and DF a couple of times... 4 adults:2 kids and self catered til DSx2 were significantly older. We then chose short active things to do. Worked a treat. I even managed starting off the odd holiday alone on that basis after the kids got a bit older say 7&4. Hope they settle down. And stop beating yourself up. All will be fine

My DM is probably harder work than my DC...

Many moons ago, my boss (who was very comfortably off) told me he took his 3 young children to Butlins etc for their annual holiday. He said it met everyone's needs but mostly the children's. His quote 'happy children happy parents'..makes sense doesn't it?!

Reading this with sympathy and wry smiles. My kids are grown up now...29, 19 and 17. When they were little we seemed to be in circles where everyone went on holidays with kids clubs and all said they had an amaaaaazing time. We kind of got sucked in but came a cropper when ours cried in the clubs, were difficult on longer journeys, got sun allergy , were clingy when everyone else's kids seems to run off and play, etc etc.
I used to get back completely wrung out swearing I'd never go further than my back garden ever again. We learnt the hard way there's no one size fits all, and the holiday market for families is huge and varied....we just had to find a better fit for us.
We just started doing our own thing, uk and Scotland trips, often self catering, short haul Europe with accommodation where in the evening we were happy to sit on a balcony or watch a movie whilst the Dc slept (they coped badly with late nights) . We have been to many places some more far flung with teens....never easy, they're just overgrown toddlers anyway but with them I learned that they would want to spend time in their rooms watching TV and lying in, as if they were at home, missing the expensive hotel breakfasts, however exotic the location. We did come together at other times for sight seeing, museums, sitting round a pool, etc but no one always cooperated or conformed to a holiday ideal (whatever that is) all of the time.
My happiest memories...discovering we all liked trains and ditching the stress of driving further than we had to..., keeping the DC with us wherever we were when they were small, and redefining the idea of a "break" to fit our own needs and above all, messing around on the coast line here in the U.K., having taken a flat for a good whack of time over the summer when abroad just wasn't on.

Without reading ANY responses I would say
Chill out!!!!
Blimey, just relax and enjoy your family. They may not be perfect but they are yours so make the most of it.
Why shouting, kids are kids, they need to have fun too. Have some leeway

We're taking our 2 (almost 10 and 7) on their first 'long haul' holiday this year, as I think they are old enough. Every time we go away they are a nightmare when they have to share a room, but looking at the lovely photos and talking about the good memories, you forget how much of a Nightmare they can be...until the next time! Just relax and try to have fun.

We've taken our DCs to the other side of the world 3 times (NZ-UK) to see their GPs. First time, the DTs were 3.5 and DD2 was 17 months. Bloody hard work, flights, jetlag and just all the logistics made it quite stressful. But we didn't try and do too much (mainly because we were all permanently knackered!) mainly caught up with family.

Next time they were 8 and 6 - soooo much easier. I'd add to other PPs, don't try and do too much and let them chill out too.

Sorry, forgot to come back to this. We are currently having a long weekend in Melbourne with DS2 and DD - can I just say that holidays are so much more civilised with "big kids" 😊 Manly is a great base with young kids, get the ferry to Circular Quay and it feels like an outing ($2.50 cap on travel on Sundays so always worth planning the most travel then). It's too cold to swim now but Shelley beach near Manly is beautiful and just right for a paddle/play on the beach. There is a nice cafe to pick up some takeaway coffee. The sea life centre in Manly is small but perfect for little kids, if you want something a bit bigger go to Darling Harbour where you can get combined tickets for Wildlife World (koalas, wallabies etc.) and the bigger aquarium. There is a great new playground at Darling Harbour too - don't eat there though, it's very much aimed at tourists.

We've just got back from holiday in Australia, including 10 days in self catering near North Curl Curl beach (not far from Manly) visiting family & friends. Schools went back today so if you avoid peak hour it shouldn't be too busy.

Mine are older (8 & 9) but things they enjoyed which yours might are any ferry rides, Taronga Zoo (especially riding the Sky Safari) and the playground at Darling Harbour. They also liked walking around the Sydney Opera House as such a funny building to them. George St in Sydney is undergoing tram works so a bit of a nightmare trying to work out buses but if you do get to the city then the Australian Museum often has some great stuff for toddlers going on, just google their website.

Re beaches, as pp mentioned Shelley Beach is lovely as is North Curl Curl and Dee Why if you can easily get there. You should be able to buy cheap buckets & spades in Manly. We swam fine but my wussy Australian relatives/friends were out of the water far quicker than us 😀.

It is hard work though and there were many many times mine were fighting, being silly or downright awkward when they got told I'd never bring them again!! They also got far more screen time than they do at home when I needed them to calm down (two hyper boys). Hope you enjoy the rest of the holidays, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary on the Gold Coast is also really good if you haven't already been.

G;ad to see I am not the only one who, didnt want to go on holiday with small, kids didnt think it was a break etc.