Self catering isn't a holiday. It's the same rubbish in a different location.

[wintersdawn]

We are currently 3 days into a 10 day self catering holiday and I'm sick of it already. My DH loves self catering holidays as they are a break from work and a different location and he can spend the whole time winding down from work and enjoying the break from the commuting routine.

But for me it's just the same shit in a different place, DD6 and DS4 still wake up early no matter how late we let them stay up. We either head off somewhere for the day which seems to always cost a fortune or involve lots of driving or stay in the house but without all their normal toys and entertainment options. We aren't near a beach this time which would normally give the children hours of entertainment, as we are staying in a relations house whilst they are away to save money. We don't have the budget to eat out each night and so the same cleaning, cooking, washing crap happens as it would at home.

I know we needed a cheap holiday this year as we've just had to replace the car and we did the kitchen at the start of the year but this is the 4th year in a row of self catering and I'm over them.

I can't be the only one who gets dragged down by self catering? Can I?

We choose a large self catering property with plenty of space. I love mooching round a foreign supermarket and the kids look forward to doing that on the first day and getting to choose things. We eat really simple stuff like baked potatoes, pizzas made from ciabatta, kebabs etc.

My kids like to stay in the pool or at the beach until late and we then could not be bothered to get ready to go for dinner every night.

I would never ever pay thousands to squeeze into a hotel room with my children just to avoid cooking a quick dinner.

It's luck we are all different.

Oh and next time choose somewhere with a dishwasher. I love the apartment we go to so much that I would move in next week if I could.

Sorry, but no matter what, women always do the bulk of the work on a SC trip. Tell me differently please.

I really don't do the bulk of the work on holiday (or at home).

I don't do any work on a SC holiday.

The DC and DH do it all.

The class thing or more the available income I can see the relevance, many of the examples of are properties that would cost the same as a cheap AI in Spain. So it really is a choice of how you board rather than cost restrictions and the decision being made for you. Cottages and Villas abroad are slightly different to a cold rainy campsite or caravan park in the UK. I use to do South of France every other year and whilst I consider myself working class it did feel a very middle class holiday.

I love mooching round a foreign supermarket and the kids look forward to doing that on the first day and getting to choose things. We eat really simple stuff like baked potatoes, pizzas made from ciabatta, kebabs etc.

By the sounds of it you are not actually buying any of the exotic stuff though- your menu sounds basic.
I too love looking around foreign supermarkets, wet fish markets in Singapore for instance. I can get the pleasure without having to buy 3Kg of sea urchins.

primal- what do your kids choose to buy on these supermarket trips?

is it a class thing do you think? Or maybe self-catering preferred by families where both parents work as well as a team?

I don't think it's either to be honest. Take the lady who loves going to foreign supermarkets. I get no joy from that at all, you're still filling a trolley with juice, water, food whatever, lugging it to the till, paying, loading car, unpacking, whatever . The fact the produce may have a different language on the label makes the experience no more fun for us than supermaket shopping here. It's certainly not something that maintains its novelty or we would see as fun holiday stuff to do.

I also don't want to cook, neither does my husband, or clean up after, or make the beds, wash the towels, change the beds or clean the property. I like someone else doing that.

There is no class element, plenty of folks own a second property abroad, there is no team element, because plenty of couples like my husband and i don't want to be cooking, cleaning and supermarket shopping on holiday at all.

For us there is better things to do on holiday, and cooking, cleaning, supermarket shopping is never going to hit the agenda as "things we love to do" on vacation so lets self cater.

It's funny, the supermarket seems to be my kids favourite place on holiday! They ask to go there, whereas at home a trip to Tesco is met with endless whinging. They like looking at the crabs and lobsters in their tanks although they wouldn't eat anything more exotic than a fish finger.

Growing up with ft working dad and sah mum - the rule was that on holiday daddy cooks, so my mum got a break from that, and everyone pitched in with clearing and chores from as young as 5.

Now with both me and dh in full time work we do self catering but our pre-ordered supermarket delivery is full of ultra-easy 10-mins-prep type meals (not microwave meals but nice preprepared oven-ready stuff) and after one mistake where I forgot to check and took it for granted, make extra specially sure that there is a dishwasher.

corilia that does sound like the way to do it, and a lot cheaper than eating out every night.

As to the comments about how you could never all squeeze into a tiny hotel room - me neither! That's why we go for aparthotels or interconnecting rooms.

Urrrrgh I am so with you OP and I am actually going to save this thread for then this discussion (argument) next arises with DH.

DH prefers self catering as he doesn't like having to share a room with DC (fair enough) prefers having own space / own pool as well as cheaper.

I really don't like them as I am not only responsible for cooking (apart from 1-2 bbqs dh will do) but also responsible for meal planning, having to communicate in a language I don't know to buy meat from butchers, greengrocers etc (I'm painfully shy so I hate doing this), and then cooking when you don't have all the equipment you'd have in your own home (frustrating when there's no Grater / blunt peelers and knives etc).

You could say get dh to do half but he can't cook and if he tries I don't find it edible and I can't send him out to buy stuff as he can't improvise if you can't find the exact thing.

We can afford to eat out and do but with small dc it often feels more hassle than worth esp if you're not walking distance from anywhere (and all the most convenient villas get booked massively in advance).

He does share the childcare and does all the driving so there is division of labour. But for me a holiday is all about having all the boring mundane stuff I usually have to do taken off my hands and all the best holidays I have been half board or all Inc.

By the sounds of it you are not actually buying any of the exotic stuff though- your menu sounds basic.

Strange comment. Is this a foreign supermarket pissing contest?

By some of the responses it looks like people are taking this really personally. Surely if we all liked the same holidays then the cost would go through the roof. I don't care how other people holiday and I'm glad there is the choice out there.

www.google.co.uk/amp/www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/family-holidays/all-inclusive-vs-self-catering-which-is-best-for-families/amp/

www.loveholidays.com/blog/travel-tips-and-inspiration/all-inclusive-versus-self-catering/

It's funny, the supermarket seems to be my kids favourite place on holiday

Ah mine liked beaches, water parks, zip lining, lakes, ice cream parlours etc. I've never met a kid whose favourite place on holiday is the supermarket. Where else do you take them that the supermarket works out to be the best of the lot? I'm genuinely curious.

My children liked foreign supermarkets, still do as teenagers. This is all just personal taste, people are different and they like different holidays. We once spent three days in a beach resort hotel and all of us were bored after a day, so we haven't repeated it. I'm sure other people would hate our holidays, that doesn't mean one type is better than the other, just that they're different.

that doesn't mean one type is better than the other, just that they're different.

This.

Foreign supermarkets were much more fun back in the day when you had to guess what flavour something was. Globalisation has largely put an end to that as products are the same the world over, or very similar.

I remember trying to hazzard a guess if the wine would be medium or not.
Guessing which packet of crisps might be salt and vinegar, or if indeed salt and vinegar were a thing on a remote Greek island!

Then trying to ask for a white wine in a local restaurant and accepting whatever came your way.

Years ago I did get a dust covered bottle of baby cham when I asked if they sold cider in Ibiza. The barman went deep into the cellar for it!

Not necessarily supermarkets, but food markets. When we holiday in Italy we always prefer to cook ourselves with ingredients from local food markets. I don't even mind doing the washing up when I am on holiday. I find it relaxing.

Hate hotel rooms, too confined. When we can afford more I'd rather get a more expensive apartment than a hotel room.

We self cater breakfasts only (croissants/cereal/fruit etc) and occasionally sandwiches for a packed lunch depending on what we're doing. Always eat out in the eves but have facilities to make snacks for fussy DC4 before bed if he didn't eat what he ordered. Also can make own coffee as needed.

I don't wash clothes except for swimming costumes which are hung over airer on balcony or in garden. I pay to get anything else done if I didn't take enough to last currently 3rd day back and down to last 5 loads still to wash!

When DH and I finally get to go on a couples holiday again about 11 years to go, we would probably go for a catered hotel but with DC I couldn't cope without an apartment.

I do wash clothes on holiday. We only take wheelie trollies so rotate the same outfits. It takes minutes and I don't mind standing in the sun on the balcony pegging things out in peace. Means we come home with no washing to do.

I don't like hotel rooms or queuing up for a seat in restaurants that serve fries with everything.
Self catering for us and buying fresh produce from local markets.
Dh does all the cooking or we take turns, there's nothing else to do really and then you can come and go as you please, sometimes find a more expensive restaurant for a one off.
Saying that though, I'm not sure it would be such a change of scene if it was a campsite or somewhere in this country.

I don't like hotel rooms or queuing up for a seat in restaurants that serve fries with everything.

Me neither - that's why we go for family run all inclusive hotels serving good traditional local food. Never had to queue for a seat.