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?

Just come back from one and I see what the OP means. I took a bloody carful of stuff, we were pretty remote. What with the dog and all the food/booze, it was a PITA. I much prefer hotels for longer stays, but sc means fabulous house/location. The house was stunning. I'm glad to say that there were enough of us to pitch in and keep everyone fed/watered and the place tidy.

There's also other people......

We used to do lots of caravan and camping but as this was no holiday for me, hubs and I came up with an agreement. I did all the cooking (unless we ate out) and he did all the washing up and made all the cups of tea.

Have you thought about a compromise rather than just not doing it?

I like self catering. We do a holiday cottage so I can feed the children breakfast and tea as and when the need and we eat out at lunch. I don't mind cooking. It suits us not being bound by times to eat etc

I LOVE self catering!

I feel your pain...but we enjoy SC hols...that's what a microwave was invented for so it's either microwave, eat out or starve lol. Cereal for breakfast and share washing up.

YANBU sounds like you could do with a holiday with some friends and let hubby "self cater" at home. He might appreciate the hard slog you are putting in all year long. Now my kids are older I prefer self catering but can remember the days of cleaning and cooking while dh enjoyed kicking back and relaxing.

Cailleach666 your post made me lolololol!!! 😊
Dietcokeandwine that's my take on it. Last year and the year before we did AI hols with the kids and they were fab, they were very nice AI's and we were going for relaxation mainly so suited us to a tea.
This year we went to a villa and visited more of the local area. TBH both holidays were equally enjoyable and maybe it's to do with the age of my children at the time. When we did AI they were pre skool and year 1/2. This year they were age 6 and 9 so more flexible with meals and travelling.
As long as I don't have to cook and organise meals or clean,.. it's a holiday for me!!

Just jumping in and don't know if anyone has mentioned this but - Real Family Holidays through the Field Study Council?? I hate going s/c as never feels like a holiday if I have to cook, also I am a single parent so no help from another adult, but these holidays are fully catered but also cheap. We've been doing it the last 4 years and will continue to do so for the foreseeable!

www.real-family-holidays.org

We did a camping holiday this year to make it affordable. After the first day I very quickly decided that it wasn't a holiday for me if I was basically still doing everything for everyone. Therefore I told my husband that cooking breakfast and cleaning up afterwards was now his job and that considering lunch AND dinner plus various other bits were still my job he shouldn't dare think about complaining about it. This at least meant the mornings felt a bit more relaxed for me. Maybe next time you could try to find a similar agreement?

Did AI for the first time this year. It was so nice to not have the cook or clean up.

Completely disagree about the choices. My boys had so much more variety than normal; eggs, fruit for breakfast. Then fresh fish, pasta, vegetables.

Kids club: sailing, swimming, games. All supervised.

You cannot achieve that in SC..

I do remember being strip searched once in an AI in Turkey. He did wear marigolds though and I actually quite enjoyed it in the end.

Okay, we get it.

We do SC or camping (tent) with DS7 and love it. Usually near a beach.

We do everything 50/50 and tent to eat a lot of BBQ food or sandwiches, fruit, raw veg, snack foods etc. Easy. Hardly anything to wash up. Cleaning as we go, but mostly in the end.

DP wasn't interested in cooking at all before he met me, but in a year's space he has learned to do perfect pizza, curries, salads and more from scratch by looking at recipes online and watching some YouTube videos. It really isn't rocket science or even anywhere close to it. It's all about motivation. If you DH loves you why would he not be motivated to do his share?

There are places out there where you can get an apartment or even a small villa with sc facilities, BUT your apartment or villa is also part of a complex with hotel-like services like restaurant, kids club etc. Best of both worlds IMO especially with small DC. Cost a bomb mind you...

SC only works if you make it different to being at home otherwise no, it's not a holiday.

When we've done it in the U.K. we just do cereal/toast for breakfast so quick and easy. Picnic lunch - two minutes to make a sandwich. Bulk out with crisps/fruit/other no prep items and maybe buy ice creams or whatever while out. Dinner either chippy or something simple. Whoever doesn't cook clears up after.

Abroad we have only ever stayed in places that provide a BBQ so breakfast croissants or whatever, lunch bread and salad stuff that involves barely any prep. Dinner - shove something on the barbie plus salad and bread. Love foreign supermarkets and make sure we keepprep minimal and share any chores. Works for us. But can see thatdoing the same as you would do at home and getting no help to do it is no break for you at all

We went AI in June for a week and I was fed up of the same canteen type restaurant by the end of the week so we went out last night with the euros we had left. I felt trapped and stifled by having to stay around the same hotel for a week so this time we have booked for just B&B. The holiday was cheaper than the AI one so the money we have saved can go on meals. We will still be running round after the kids but at least I'll be able to go to a different restaurant/ takeout each night, I won't be cooking!

Many on this thread talk about choice and prefer. If you have many options in front of you then whatever you pick is right for you and your family and you can swap and change. But for many it's a tent or small caravan, it's eating out or a day trip, or more basic it's cheap SC or staying at home. Size of villas, dishwashers, 4* AI are not options.

My big revelation was taking Hello Fresh meal boxes to self-catering cottages. You hand a fanily member a recipe card and they have to get stuck in and cook the thing. No excuses. Sorted.

We've had our first self catering holiday this year. It was glorious, all the space and peace and pool to ourselves. cooking not too bad but our kids are older , 10 and 13 and I think that makes a big difference. We finished our hols with a couple
Of nights Ai in a big hotel. Couldn't get the near the coffee machine, pool a bit cloudy, sun loungers hard to find. I know we will want to do our own thing again next year....

We did Mark Warner 20 years ago. It was like an upmarket, glorified holiday camp. We hated it. I've just costed a similar holiday for 4 (two older children so two rooms). It's £12,000 for two weeks in peak season. Half Board!

The price and experience doesn't cut it for us. When the DC were small we took a lovely cottage in Cornwall for three weeks every August for four years. Beautiful little beach for crabbing and rockpooling, sweet little town/village with mini aquarium, little ferries and boat trips and oodles of days out for rainy days. It suited us. When they got bigger we started driving to Brittany then ventured South.

There is no way the Mark Warner type holiday justifies that sort of price IMO.

Exactly right boulshire

My delf catering bears no resemblance to the Ops

And some of the hotels described on here bear no resemblance to the one on the inbetweeners film and we have all breathed a sigh of relief when that hotel wasnt ours

Agree self catering not much of a holiday when children young, or older for that matter. Our worse ever holiday was tip of Cornwall at Christmas. DH plus 3 teenage children. All but me went down with horrendous sore throat/hacking cough virus on arrival. Too ill to eat out or go anywhere for entire week, which I spent mainly at Tesco in Penzance, who didn't deliver to this particular village in those days. One tiny trip out to Lands End in freezing gale on penultimate day where children sulked and immediately wanted to get back in car. Then awful journey home in nose to tail traffic.

I agree , SC is great if two conditions apply

1. There is not a lot of work ( cooking, shopping, cleaning, organising activities , childcare )

1. Any work there is ( see above ) is shared pretty much equally by all adults / older teens.