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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To ask how you actually afford to go abroad

598 replies

lavenderpekins · 11/07/2017 23:48

Aibu to feel fed up? Not going away again.. nearly everyone I know is going on a family holiday to the med this summer holiday.

Sort of lighthearted I know we're very lucky to live in this country, able to buy good/nhs/school.. I'll get over it too..

OP posts:
Cailleach666 · 15/07/2017 15:39

I live in Scotland ( currently having the wettest summer on record).
OH and I work very hard all year and rarely see the sun.
No way am I going to spend a fortnight in a damp muddy caravan site.

Cornwall is an 11 hour drive from my home- so would involve two days and overnight accommodation to get there. Flying to the med is much cheaper- it's a no brainer

toosexyforyahshirt · 15/07/2017 15:45

I think some people need to rediscover their own country and put some money back into our economy and lesson our carbon footprint as we go about it

I think you need to keep your judgements about what other people "need" to do to yourself. We need to do no such thing if we choose not to.

NameChanger22 · 15/07/2017 15:47

I just booked a 7 night holiday (August) with Thompson in store. Nice hotel in Spain, good reviews, half board, 5 mins from the beach, kids club, plenty to do. £460 each including insurance. I think that's a reasonable deal. It took me 20 minutes to book, no stress at all and just the kind of holiday that kids love.

seasonschooner · 15/07/2017 15:48

Grin lighthearted!

Christinayangstwistedsista · 15/07/2017 15:49

We have paid a fortune into this country in tax. When it comes to holidays I want luxury, sun and a cocktail

Co1onelblimp · 15/07/2017 15:49

Great find name'especially booking so late.

Brittbugs80 · 15/07/2017 15:56

Ironically, considering we live abroad, we love spending time in the UK on holiday

Then if you live in Denmark, coming to the UK would be a holiday abroad wouldn't it?

TorchesTorches · 15/07/2017 15:58

I live abroad. Job done!

Friendzone · 15/07/2017 16:00

Holidays are priorities for us. My husband earns 26k and I earn 13k, so we are not high earners but we manage to go away twice a year - just.
Ideally I like a UK holiday and an abroad one. I like the kids to see things and have new experiences. I want them to know this country but I really love the feeling of sun on my face. I think about travel all the time. It's like a hobby, the pleasure is in the planning. What's that phrase -something about travel is 90% anticipation and 10% recollection? It's a bit like that for me. I want to go everywhere and I know roughly where we want to go up until 2020. Our most expensive holiday was a week all inclusive in Turkey which was £1600. This year we are flying to Spain - flights booked last year when they came out £277 for all four of us and a villa with its own pool for 750 euros. We'll have car hire and food on top so it won't be mega cheap but still v bargainous.
My sister and her husband bring in over £70k , they've have a big lovely house but they never go anywhere. My sister is a home body. It's choice and circumstances isn't it?
My 13k includes a second evening job I do, escpecially for holiday money. When the kids leave home. I want to really see the world!

LowGravity · 15/07/2017 16:01

Question for those who book in advance as I'd like to book something for next year. Do your employers allow you to book time off a year in advance? Everywhere I've worked doesn't open up the holiday calendar until the start of that year. Thinking I should maybe speak to my manager but just wondered how everybody can guarantee they'll get the time off?
Oh and I can only afford it because I cashed in a 20 year old insurance policy, holidays abroad are normally not in my reach despite living frugally all year round.

DumbledoresArmy · 15/07/2017 16:02

We book a year in advance & pay it off over time.

NameChanger22 · 15/07/2017 16:07

I book my time off work about 2 month or 3 months before, then I find a holiday that fits into those dates. I sometimes have to change the dates with work slightly but they don't seem to mind.

persianpeach · 15/07/2017 16:18

So true!! Grin

Changednamejustincase · 15/07/2017 16:20

I think a lot of the UK is beautiful. People come from all over the world to see the lakes, the Welsh mountains, the Scottish Highlands, the North coast of Ireland to name but a few attractions.

Some people go to other countries and explore and experience other cultures but mostly people go sit by a pool or on a crowded beach and eat cheap food and drink cheap beer. On this type of holiday people are not experiencing culture or travelling. It doesn't make sense to act as though a UK holiday is beneath you because you like travelling and other cultures if you are having this type of holiday. If you are exploring somewhere like Paris or Hong Kong or Cambodia then you are experiencing something different but a lot of British people are just going to sit in a resort or on a beach. That's a perfectly valid choice but it isn't an automatically better one than a holiday in the UK. There are a lot of posters saying they wouldn't pay that 'for a holiday in the UK'. Maybe they haven't seen enough of the UK if they think the whole place inferior to everywhere 'abroad'.

Want2bSupermum · 15/07/2017 16:33

Britt We live in the US and when I visit the U.K. I arrive Friday morning and leave Sunday morning. It's not a holiday as such, I'm here to manage my fathers health. I bring the DC with me sometimes and on Saturday afternoon will take them to somewhere with free entry (means it's cultural in my book!). So many people who live in the U.K., myself included before I moved away, don't appreciate what they have on their doorstep.

When we go to Denmark it's our holiday. This year while the family are in Denmark I'm going to England with the baby for a few days as my father will be having an operation.

My first post was confusing because I wasn't clear that we live abroad and that DH is Danish. Our holidays are in Denmark with the DC. As DH and his whole family are Danish it's the equivalent of going on holiday in the Uk, rain et al! I have a schedule for rain and good weather and pick accordingly. There is a lot to do and the DC love the simpler stuff like crab racing.

toosexyforyahshirt · 15/07/2017 16:41

It doesn't make sense to act as though a UK holiday is beneath you because you like travelling and other cultures if you are having this type of holiday

Nobody has once said that a UK hioliday is beneath them, or any such thing.
Can you stop being so rude about other people and their holiday choices?

Want2bSupermum · 15/07/2017 16:43

For those who think staying in the UK is dull I do disagree. We have had so much fun in the NW. The museums in the UK have excellent funding and you can tell. The topography is amazing too. I've taken the DC to Snowdonia to go hiking. Walking out to Hilbre Island in west Kirby is a firm fav. The guide spent half an hour talking to the DC about the rock pools. I now have a DD who is totally in love with starfish. You just don't get that sort of thing where we live. I took the kids to the shore and their hand was in my pocket the whole time. DH and I were talking on the way home that I was the walking talking ATM.

Other favs include blackpool lights, Liverpool cathedrals (both are excellent), Chester cathedral, Conway castle, beaumaris castle in angelsey and the submarine in Birkenhead.

Cailleach666 · 15/07/2017 16:57

I guess it depends on where you live and your lifestyle.

I live 10 minutes from the beach in the UK, the thought of swapping one set of rock pools for another in the UK doesn't fill me with excitement.

We don't like very active holidays- we have a very active family, everyone works or studies, , dances, runs, visits the gym, we work hard, even summer break is filled with activities.
For us winding down in a hot country by the beach doing very little is bliss.

Co1onelblimp · 15/07/2017 16:57

I love Ireland,, particularly the west coast, but that's not the UK.

supermum The places you've listed are really dull to me sorry,. You couldn't pay me to visit Conway or Blackpool again!

No doubt you would find some of my holiday choices dull. That's perfectly ok thoughSmile

BarbarianMum · 15/07/2017 18:19

I don't think the UK is dull but the weather is always a gamble. As we usually camp that's a big deal. A couple of years ago in Wales we spent so much on attractions (trying to get out of the tent and the rain for a few hours each day) that we may as well have gone abroad for the weather/beach.

SherbrookeFosterer · 15/07/2017 18:40

Bear with me: try an "all inclusive" holiday. That way you have paid up front for everything.

The other holidaymakers are not as bad as some of the characters in the ITV show Benidorm! Mostly you will meet thrifty people who just do not want to blow their year's savings in two weeks.

If you have children these holidays are great because these packages mostly attract families, so your kids will make lots of new friends, as hopefully you will.

I hope this helps.

Maireadplastic · 15/07/2017 18:42

Co1: Sssshhhhhhhh! Don't tell them about the West of Ireland! It's secret! Don't tell them about the white sandy beaches with clear water, palm trees and dolphins. People'll only start going there!

Co1onelblimp · 15/07/2017 19:06

Sorry Mairead I'll shushGrin

Want2bSupermum · 15/07/2017 19:31

col1 we have 3 DC ages 6 and under. The 4 year old is autistic. Our holidays are geared around the kids. When we go away for work DH and I try to take a small break while away. I had a conference in vegas and had a great time going to the Grand Canyon three mornings in a row doing different things.

Oblomov17 · 15/07/2017 19:41

Go every 2-3 years. 2 weeks all inclusive. Because I crave the sun. Going to Tenerife in a few weeks. Other than that, every year have 3 holidays in our caravan in Dorset. We have 2 cars, spend a lot on food, but not much on going out or clothes. We bought ds's merlin passes for Thorpe park. Dh also saves through his work savings scheme. That means every 3 years we will have ££4-5k available.