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?

Oh and we did a few day trips too. This was a 7 day holiday to greece

Self catering all the way for us , cannot imagine having to eat in hotel dining rooms with children every night not to mention having to eat breakfast and lunch at certain times.We like to be a bit off grid on holiday I just don't think I would be able to relax surrounded by other people and other families.Our lives are very hectic at home , Dh rarely used to see the dc when small during the week so holidays were sacrosanct .

Since youngest was about 4 we have always hired a villa with pool , must have good shade for Dh and ds2 as they are v fair skinned , plenty of seating, sofas etc outside , and usually we try to get either a table tennis table or pool table ( villaplus very good for this) , dishwasher, washing machine and A/C and at least 3 beds .

We all muck in and generally barbecue and eat out alternate days , croissants, fruit, yoghurt for breakfast , local bread , meat, cheese, olives for lunch,sometimes when the dc were small I would heat up pizza or do simple pasta .

Boys always happy to read , swim , play cards, lexicon , banagrams etc and occasional trips to beach for water sports in latter years and mostly swim and mess around in pool.All regarded kids clubs etc with horror and too like holiday club at home or school , the idea of being corralled from activity to activity would be anathema to them.We also try to do a little local sightseeing etc so I couldn't cope with being locked Ina compound and Dh would pack his bags and leave !!

I think people are too keen to see self catering as being home from home.

Our self catering apartment has maid service 3 days a week so other than keep things tidy I didn't do anything except wash a breakfast bowl.

We always explore the local area in the evenings and go shopping/eat out, use the pool attached to the apartment (and there is a pool bar with it) and visit the beach etc.

Actually that's true we usually get a mid week clean and towel change as well and frankly I cannot imagine spending some of the sums of money quoted on here and we don't skimp on the villa either ( I am very fussy ) and we hire a car and as I say eat out , although we tend to go for local type restaurants and definitely not sushi , more likely fried fish or paella depending on country.

Intrigued by the idea of things being confiscated from luggage , what happens if you refuse to hand thing a over , do they have a contractual right to search you ?

We also try to do a little local sightseeing etc so I couldn't cope with being locked Ina compound and Dh would pack his bags and leave !!

yellowprimula It's really not so bad being locked in an all inclusive resort.
Ultimately it's for our own safety.
We are generally quite a low brow bunch, so if we were allowed free access we would probably get lost, get into fights, urinate in inappropriate places etc.
At least when we are in a compound we have everything we need- sun, lager, queues, chips, screaming kids.

We have been to Corfu though and it's gorgeous , in fact we are all agreed on going back next year , fab snorkelling , really friendly locals , the boys love getting the water taxi up the coast to restaurants .Why on earth would it be dangerous ? Genuinely puzzled .

yellowprimula- I don't think it is to do with danger.
More the type of people that enjoy all inclusive holidays.
It's best that we are corralled.
Generally working class, so not really able to cope in sophisticated environments, cheap booze etc.
It's for our own good really.

We like self catering, but we have our own little cottage so It is a home from home.
In the village where it is are numerous cafés, pubs, restaurants and a deli which serves breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea so we never really eat in even for breakfast which means no effort cooking and washing up.

We have been on lots of AI and
cruises (24hour dining) too.
There are lots of brilliant ways to holiday, we like a mixture.

YY to looking at the cost of food and activities as part of the cost of the holiday. We do Oct half term at center parcs every year. But the cost of the break is the accommodation + food + activities; not just the accommodation.

I see, Cailleach, you're joking. Got it now. A bit slow on the uptake, must be worn out from my SC 'holiday'.

Am I the only one who laughed after Caille's first comment? Maybe it's not a class divide but rather crap SOH.

Tumblethumps

I get the joke ! Although deep in sorting out teens bedroom so SOH a bit weak but also think that it's a bit sad if people genuinely don't leave these places and it's not awfully good for the local economy either .Also staggered by how expensive they are .

Cailleach666 😂😂

Llkj

The brill thing is that full room service available. So the odd night, when we've been down at the beach late or on the boat trip, I will order room service and we chill out on the balcony. Then someone will come and tidy it all away. Bliss.

Agree that with small kids hotels are very stressful. Your husband needs to do his share. We went self catering until the kids were late primary school. Even now most of our holidays are self catering because you get so much more room than in a hotel. Cooking isn't stressful if you both muck in and do easy meals.

I find them useful in seaside places as otherwise you're having to fork out for expensive food the kids won't eat every night and many places close early. You do need a couple of takeaways and no cook meals though to make it a holiday for you. I only clean up after cooking, no other cleaning! And my dh cooks as well. The main issue at this age is that having to amuse the kids means you don't actually get much holiday. Time to take it in turns on the early starts and maybe dh can take them somewhere whilst you have some me time.

Entertaining the kids is entertaining the kids no matter whether sc or hotel - and imo easier when sc as there's more room and most sc places have some different toys/books.
Also easier on the eating front as can choose when and what to eat - especially useful for picky eaters.
We do eat out a bit but also cook. I always cook but dp does the bed/bath routine. I menu plan in advance, get an online delivery on the first day (in UK) and choose very quick/easy to prepare things. Also pre-make a few things and bring them along.

Robinia, I completely disagree that entertaining the kids is easier in SC. There is simply no way that in SC I could have provided: swim club, raft building, high ropes, kayaking, climbing wall, chocolate party, cupcake making, pirate adventure, quoits, football 5 a side, disco and lots more. And I certainly couldn't lie back and relax whilst they did all that if I was SC.

As for food, usually about 12 cereals and 5 different pastries at breakfast plus tons of fruit. Snacky type lunches such as burgers, or salads for lunch and 3 different fish meals, 4 different meat meals, at least 2 veggie options plus fresh omelettes each evening. None of which I had to cook, serve or clean up after and best of all, nothing I had to give head space to.

Tumblethumps I feel exhausted just reading that list ! I suppose it just depends what you like to do on holiday, my dc might be prepared to do a couple of things like that but largely they just want to do their own thing and would have been complaining at being forced to rush around being timetabled, so our money would have been wasted .We did once try to coax ds1 into kids club aged about 8 but he complained that he couldn't read his book! They are quite sporty at home but just like to chill with us on holiday , just proves it's horses for courses.

I completely agree with Tumble. Entertaining kids would have been a nightmare in SC and we'd have hated being holed up together with no other people in sight. I appreciate all families are different but there is no way I want to cook/shop/clean/drive and amuse two children of different ages (12 and 3) who are the type to need lots of stimulation and exercise).
We've just come back from an all inclusive in majorca and it was fab. Food available in several different restaurants on the complex from 8am until midnight (our adolescent often went somewhere different if he fancied or was in a grump with us).
Stuff on all day long for kids of all ages. Plenty of family wide stuff (quizzes, games, evening entertainment) but also "quiet pools" with less going on. Eldest did stuff like kayaking, high ropes, street dance, mini jet skis. Youngest did stuff like cookery, trampolining, arts/crafts, mini disco etc.
The kids clubs ran 6 sessions a day, including evening ones, and they could do as many (or not) as they fancied. They both made friends there which was lovely!
Meanwhile we got to use indoor and outdoor spa areas. (Facilities included). Also the gym or just relaxed with our books or the free WiFi.
Went for a few trips out to see some culture/ countryside/ other beaches/ a waterpark/petting zoo/ caves.
Also brought a portable dvd player and cable to rig it up to telly and a few films / box sets if we wanted to get out of the sun or if little one was struggling to stay up for the evening entertainment.
We had an apartment (within hotel) rather than a single room so we didn't have to share. It was fab. We've already been discussing booking for next year.

We're just bacj from a club med all inclusive in the Italian alps. Very good in case anyone is looking for AI places in europe

We do a UK self catering and an overseas AI each year, we really enjoy both tbh, pros and cons to each.

The self catering is great in that you do your own thing at a time that suits you, but it is a bit same shit different location.

I must admit I do love the easiness of the AI holiday. I loathe cooking. I find it boring and stressful and monotonous. DH is a good cook, but when he cooks he makes too much mess in the kitchen, which is a pain. I just love the range of food on offer at a hotel and the fact that there isn't any washing up. Just to know that for 7-10 days of the year I'm not going to have to cook or wash up is bliss.

We never actually do any of the group activities in the hotels we go to, my DC refuse to do kids clubs as they want to play with each other and us in the pool, we don't stay on site all the time either and like to explore the local area.

But an AI is worth it, just for the not having to cook or prepare one single meal!

Honeylilu
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