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?

But Cailleach66 if you have a list of recommendations then that would also be great. Change my mind :-)

Murpher- I have three sports-mad boys aged 13, 10 and 6 hence the bike rides and walking! We also make sure wherever we go (this year Bruges, last year Connemara and Mayo, year before Trouville) there is always somewhere to kick a ball. I can't imagine them in hotel rooms!

Different scenes.different four walls.y is cooking a chore.IRS should be seen as lovely thing to Di,our food beliefs are so scewed.

Ffs irs?! It*

We don't find cooking a chore and usually go for a villa or apartment where you aren't contracted to clean on departure.
Sometimes we opt for housekeeping during our stay.
I think it also depends on your destination, cooking outside or with views of mountains and lakes is pure bliss for some.
Walking to the vineyard to buy wine, local markets for fresh meat and veg can be quite a good feeling too.
Or finding a lovely restaurant that serves the food you love rather than the usual mass produced canteen style food found at a resort.

But It's self catering murpher. Nasty, ghastly and chore driven. In exactly the sort of place where lots of people enjoy self catering. In fact prefer it.

My boys would be bored out of their tits cycling and walking. We're not in the hotel room much, mostly sleeping and showering, otherwise there's water ski-ing, windsurfing, kayaking, volleyball, tennis and sailing. Oh and some sort of Astro for 'kicking a ball around'.

Yes I have a 9 year old daughter... we went to Majorca in June just the 2 of us (sc) and I did not want to cook so we ate out each night...for me, browsing a menu is part of our holiday

For those who've had a COMPLETE humour bypass - AI food is obviously not lips and arses or these establishments would be shut down, pronto. And there is freshly cooked food to order, a range of wines and local goodies. Just a little poetic license used on AI. Lighten up folks.

We all hate being herded after the tyranny of of work and so usually self cater now. Everyone understands that I am bored of deciding every meal and then cooking and clearing so the main meal is either out or BBQ carried out by DHh. I don't mind a bit of salad preparation but like a break from all the thinking.
Breakfasts are usually croissants/ bread bought fresh if in France or fruit/ eggs/ toast in other euro countries. Lunch might be a quick lunch out in a cafe/ sandwiches or picnic round the pool depending on our plans that day.
When we were young and the children tiny , I loved hotels for the extra time I had in. A day without cooking / housework etc but as I have got older I have appreciated the holiday happening on our schedule rather than that of the hotel management.

yikes

I totally agree with you, it's a lovely break when kids are little to go AI and perfect for families.
I do enjoy cooking though, it's lovely when you don't have to do it as a chore and share prep with family.
I think the quality can vary quite a bit and hotels and complexes are both quite different.
My family like quite a bit of everything and we go away with dc and their partners now.
So we do Arts, Culture, Sports, relaxing and nature.
We all share prep, cooking, and washing up as a family activity.

We do both SC and AI, actually don't have a firm preference for either. If we SC then it's cereal for breakfast (bonus being that kids can help themselves and we can sleep longer), fresh bread cheese ham crisps from the local shop for lunch, and eat out in a restaurant every night. Creates hardly any washing up at all.

We always have a 2 bed apartment though - they're not overly expensive in a lot of AI places if you book well in advance. There's loads of them too - I wouldn't want to sleep in the same hotel room as the kids and also like a lounge.

I think if your children are 10+ then SC starts to become more enjoyable because it becomes more leisurely. Your days aren't full of constantly trying to entertain young, often grumpy toddlers. Your evenings are relaxed and full of wine and calm conversation rather than paracetamol from the meltdown and a 2h bedtime routine because they're hot and bothered and in a strange bed.
My youngest is 5 now but at one time I had 4 under 10yrs inc 2 under 2. DH works away a lot, often out the country and we have zero support so my emotional and physical health almost swung from one holiday to the next in that as soon as we returned I needed to book the next one.
In those days it was AI all the way. We did first choice holiday villages for 5yrs in a row. Not imaginative nor exciting to us but the kids loved them. So much for them to do and really great activity based kids clubs rather than daycare type kids clubs. 2hour slots where they built rafts or made cupcakes or did highropes etc. 2h slots each morning and some afternoons too and I would just lie by the pool and veg out; sleep or read a book. And no, we barely left the hotel (apart from odd trip to beach and 1 day excursion) and it wasn't sad as suggested above. It was bliss; sheer bliss and relaxation. And I bloody needed it to recharge and face the next 6mths. With 4 young children I spent so much of my time at home thinking about things such as pick ups, drop offs, meal planning, days out, extra curricular activities. 2wks of not having to think about any of those things was exactly what I needed.
Now, they're a bit older and I have a little more head space and we actually enjoy the experience rather than need the break. Holidays are beginning to be more pleasurable and less restorative.

We now do a mixture of SC breaks and smaller 5* AI 2 or 3 bed apartment holidays. These apartments have more space, less people around the pool and nicer food. We've also hired a villa for the first time this year which we won't do again. Great for 2days but then kids all very bored. I'm about to book a Neilson holiday for next year. They specialise in activity holidays but the beauty is that it's a beach holiday with all the activities to hand meaning you can pick and choose and opt for what you want when you want or do nothing but laze in the sun!
So I really think it all depends on the age and needs of your children.

For those who've had a COMPLETE humour bypass - AI food is obviously not lips and arses or these establishments would be shut down, pronto. And there is freshly cooked food to order, a range of wines and local goodies
AIBU to be a little disappointed?

caileach666 - are you 'allowed' to give the names of the family run AI places? They sound really good.

Thank you! I have been saying for years that it's not a holiday, it's same shit different location. Mother in law doesn't get it as she retired at 50, has a cleaner and only had 1 child. ( Who was at childminders in week and at gran mothers at weekends) So has no idea what it's like to be a working mum of multiple kids. She also sits and watches me clean and cook while relaxing as she's on holiday. ( one of her 8 holidays per year). And doesn't understand why I don't see self catering holidays as a lovely break like she does.
We've had 1 all inclusive sit by the pool holiday in 11 years. It was the first time I felt like I'd really had a holiday.
Self catering is not a holiday in the true sense of holiday.

We generally rent an apartment or villa because of the extra facilities and more room including fridge freezer etc
Doesn't mean I cook at all
We eat out every night but buy in bread cheese cold meats etc for lunches or picnics
Nobody bothers with breakfast
Easier to gave access to drinks, ice, snacks, ice creams etc

Couldn't see the point of that. I have a brilliant house, why would I go and live in someone else's for a week. All inclusive always for me, thanks!

Can we also lose the recurrent "have you got kids?" question?

riceuten

No, because it makes a crucial difference to a holiday.
I was late to motherhood, and travel was a passion. From late summer breaks to extended tours in remote parts of the world.

For example- travelling as a couple we would sleep until 10 or 11, shower, take a walk down the road, grab a coffee jump on a bus to a beach, have a fruit lunch and a beer. Meet some other travellers -decide to visit an ancient monument, eat some street food at 3pm, quick freshen up back at the room by 5 and relax, out to dinner at 8pm.

This would not work with young kids in tow.

My children need substantial food at regular intervals.
So that means breakfast, lunch and dinner. Bread and cheese, ready meals don't really work for us,

Having children means a greater focus on the catering aspect of a holiday. Adults can eat lightly through the day, coffee, fruit, croissant and wait for a main meal.
Little tummies empty quickly. They get tired when they are hungry and it affects their mood. They need substantial food to sustain them, not just snacks.

So that's why having children on holiday changes things significantly.
As much as I love all inclusive I wouldn't dream of that type of holiday as a couple.

I like self catering because generally DH takes over the cooking as he finds it relaxing! When kids were little we would usually go to France so easy lunches of wine, cheese, pate, bread then DH would cook something delicious for dinner or we would eat out (nothing fancy). If your DH doesn't feel the same sod that, it's not a holiday.

toes wine, cheese, pate, bread

Were your kids full after such a lunch?

Mine were full after baguette, cheese, ham, probably some tomatoes and cucumber thrown in. Then some fruit.

We did a three star A1 in lanzarote.
The food was poor. Plenty of it but not good quality.
It was ok.
I certainly won't rush back.
I've only ever tried it the once.
I prefer 4 or 5 star half board or a sc and eat out for every meal apart from breakfast.

Cailleach666 - could not agree more! My boys would think that's just for nibbles BEFORE lunch or dinner! Who are these kids? Nibbling on salad and lovely locally bought bread? Do they grow? As teens, mine ate constantly. That's why SC was such a nightmare, NEVER away from a bloody supermarket and feeding them in a restaurant needed a very flexible friend.

Actually, we were in Catalonia earlier this year and took an apartment, which was lovely but I still cooked 3 times on that holiday as eating out was eating into my budget BIG TIME! I don't like ping food, it's revolting, hotel food is far preferable and a croissant wouldn't fit in the corner of their eyes! Young, fit, healthy men are similar to young, fit, healthy horses when it comes to food. And they've always been like that.

Food and the feeding of children is a deal breaker on hols.

I too wouldn't dream of AI if travelling without children.

Now Cailleach666 - where's that list????

I don't cook three times a day at home! And yes I've had teenagers.

Breakfasts: cereal, toast, croissant, brioche, ham e, cheese, eggs, bacon, fruit yoghurt, usually available.
For lunches add soup, tuna, salad, other meats, quiche.
For dinner a family meal or a meal out.

I just don't get how hard it is to set a table, fill a dishwasher,etc and I'd much rather do that than have a meal in a room with perhaps a hundred other people ever I'm not even served at the table. That is my idea of he'll.