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?

You're doing it wrong. The rule for self catering for us is easy breakfast, picnic lunches or quick snacks and eat out every night.

I love self catering! Can't stand the idea of enforced eating out every night. But our kids are still little 1 and 4, so it's easier to deal with meals ourselves. Restaurants and little ones is never relaxing. We did pay for them to do pur washing up at butlins, that was lovely. Going out to play all day, coming home and the dishes are done.

I want to go back to butlins now. Even if it is just to avoid endless washing up.

All inclusive for us means easy breakfast ( vast range and cooked if wanted) picnic lunches ( supplied by hotel for days out at no extra cost) Snacks, drinks and ice creams around the clock.
The money we save by going all inclusive means we can eat out every other night.

SC in a warm country means lots of juice and water have to be carried back, even with easy meals there are still plates and cups to be washed, BBQ grills to be scrubbed, floors to be swept.

No thanks. I don't go on holiday to do any housework.

I wouldn't consider anything other than sc with ds who wakes noisily for hours every night, gets upset by other people and needs constant watching. We need our own space and plenty of it.

I love self catering and whilst it was cheaper when the DC were small, I prefer the freedom. A hotel room for a week is my idea of horror.

I insist there is a dishwasher and washing machine, we eat breakfast at home, take bread and cheese out and have most dinners out but wheth we had less money we had BBQs at the apartment.

The rest of the time we lounge around, sit by the pool, go out for days. I don't find it hard work at all.

I do however agree that there is a world of difference between sc in a caravan in the wet UK and one in an apartment in a sunny country. It's easier in the latter.

We generally self- cater, combining it with eating out a few times. I find it much more telaxing thanhunting for suitable restaurants (allergies). We have a very simple repertoire of easy to cook dishes and dh and I (and any grandparents present) split the cooking/shopping between us.

A neach was essential when mine were little tjough so you have my sympathy there.

Can't stand the idea of enforced eating out every night

It is indeed a hardship..

For those who were interested in the French all inclusive camping type holiday mentioned upthread, Villages Cap'vacances are another chain of similar sites. We got a small v basic gîte (2 bedrooms, tiny kitchen, terrace, bathroom) three meals a day (buffet style) inc wine, plus the onsite swimming pool, kids clubs, activities etc for €1400 total for a family of three for one week. But as PP said, the whole place was entirely Francophone, I don't even know if the staff spoke English. The good price is also partly because we went inland, they're much more expensive closer to the coast.

SC for us means beautiful villa with beautiful pool, mountains on one side and the sea to the other. Table and chairs on a shaded terrace for relaxed meals that eke into darkness sometimes shared with friends or friends of the children nowadays who happen by. 10 minute walk to the village, 15 minute drive from Intermarche so no carrying anything heavy.

I like cooking. I like having the time to pfaff and potter. I like eating out in the village. I like that we can do what we like when we like. I don't think of self catering as housework and what little bit of clearing away there is isn't sandwiched between dashing in from work and unloading the dishwasher and washing machine and tidying round in the 45 minutes it takes to get dinner on and ready

A lot of people live sc. We're usually fully booked from May to late September!

All inclusive gives us adults so much more time to spend with kids.

To us that's the whole point of a family holiday.
I take acrylic paints, henna paste, nail kits, hair stuff.
We spend lazy days collecting shells , sitting under a shady tree on hot days painting stones, plating cards, walking on the beach.
Then before dinner have a relaxing shower, take time to use my nice products, help the kids get ready, then saunter down to dinner.
Eat , then leave all the dishes to someone else while we have a sunset walk.
Kids to bed, then OH can sit within earshot on the veranda sharing a bottle of wine and talking.

Perfect.

YANBU at all, I totally agree with you.
I don't appreciate self catering holidays either, for exactly the same reason.
But I do have it slightly better than you in that DH shares the cooking, but he does that at home as well. I still have to do the planning and buying though, and of course, if we're doing SC then the place we're in won't have all the implements we're used to or need.

So no - SC sucks. And yes, I too now understand why my mum didn't want to do them either, but my Dad hated holiday camp style holidays so we mostly went SC. Poor mum.

Before kids I liked it as I don't want to be around loads of other people.. Now I have kids I just can't be bothered! We've been to Cornwall a few times and Spain once and it really is the same shit but harder. I'm hoping this changes when they both get above 5! So not bothering for a good few years which is a relief.

It is simple. Your holiday too so each alternate day make DH chief cook and bottle washer. He gets up early to see to the children and you spend the entire day doing what you want to enjoy.

I love self catering, it's my favourite way to holiday. I have a toddler so we tend do easy breakfasts, lunches out & dinner in. One of the main parts of holiday for me though is shopping at the local markets & cooking in the evenings while enjoying the local wine. My DH & I both enjoy cooking though. We always rent somewhere with a decent kitchen and a dishwasher. We've stayed in villas with pools in the middle of nowhere and city centre apartments; this type of holiday works best for us.

Always go self catering but eat out every night which is obviously fine in a beach location that's geared towards that . Have tread full thread as in a rush (haha she says still on mumsnet ) but if your dh isn't doing his share get him
Bloody told its your holiday aswell !!

I agree. I've done self catering caravan and chalet holidays and I've found the same. Just a lot of hard work but in a different place! If we eat out (chips and cheap cafes) and make sandwiches/picnics then it does ease the work load, but yes, as a parent, self catering is not always really a "holiday" as such!
I prefer it the times we've stayed in the Travelodge where a cleaner comes in when we are out and when we've eaten out (chips/cheap cafes/Wetherspoons) or our relatives nearby have kindly invited us for a meal.

I like SC - I like the space and our own room to do things.

But I do think it depends on where you are and what your doing.

On SC holidays we rarely cook. We might do a simple BBQ or we go to a local deli and grab fresh bread, salad and cooked meats and cheese, or fresh pastries for breakfast perhaps. Most we'd 'cook' might be heating up a pizza or making some eggs. But we eat out at least once a day too.

And we don't clean either. Always have a dishwasher. And would tidy around as, like I would in a hotel. But not proper cleaning unless we'd had an incident that necessitates it.

As for location - we chose somewhere with a pool (actually a pool is probably the key thing for us) and often other things like table tennis or a pool table, etc. We also choose places which are walking distance to amenities inc shop, pub, beach if at coast, and not far to drive to other places to visit.

As I say I'd choose SC over AI (and usually hotels in general) most times, esp for a relaxed chilling out holiday.

However, if your doing everything yourself and having to cook and clean then it's not really a holiday. But SC definitely can be.

I've always preferred to just having a hotel room.

But then I have a husband who can cook, clean, tidy, look after kids.

Well you know, a normal adult/parent!

I don't think the real issue is the cooking. The issue is the op is basically doing her normal life, just in someone else's house. In the UK sc with little children not near the beach sounds grim.
For me it wasn't the cooking it was the fact I was expected to be overall entertainment manager, cook, cleaner, laundry maid and activities planner.... When it's passing with rain, you've been up since God knows when with small children, produced breakfast and cleared up, and family say 'what are we doing today'... I wanted to cry...
I need some one else to do the thinking... That's a holiday for me

I don't fall for the ridiculous 'dh can't cook' as it's more like to be won't.
At home I normally cook as I'm in first so it makes sense. I also enjoy making bigger meals for people coming st weekends etc. So dh's cooking can be limited at home so he could try and be one of these 'can't cook' dh - but he isn't. Because he's a grown adult who is capable of reading instructions and giving it a go!

Even if they don't cook much elsewhere I am sure every adult could:

Lay out a deli type spread on a table
Heat up a pizza
Zap a ready meal
Boil an egg
Boil some pasta and add a stir in sauce
Heat up some bacon or sausages in a grill or pan
Pop a burger in a BBQ
Make some cheese on toast under a grill
Heat up some frozen chips
Etc

The meals don't have to fancy, just food. Of course they can cook that kind of stuff!

I think it depends on how you self-cater. Our approach is:

Breakfast: Toast, or maybe cereal. No cooking and minimal washing up.

Lunch: Either pack a picnic, (which generally for me just means making a few sandwiches and putting them in cling film, and throwing some crisps, fruit etc in a bag) or buying a sandwich / pastry from a shop / cafe.

Dinner: Eat out or have a take-away.

I don't think I've ever actually 'cooked' on a self-catering holiday, and we plan it so we have minimal washing up. I know people who even take paper plates / plastic cups with them so they have no washing up at all. All-inclusive wouldn't suit us as we love going out to local cafes / restaurants and exploring the local area, whereas with all-inclusive you are tied to the hotel restaurant for every meal. I also don't think we would really get our money's worth on an all-inclusive as DD1 is nearly 3 and only has the appetite of a sparrow, and DD2 is 9 months so obviously doesn't eat much either. And because of having two young kids neither or me or DH ever end up having more than 1 or 2 alcoholic drinks of an evening, so I think it would work out a lot more expensive for us.

"Sorry, but no matter what, women always do the bulk of the work on a SC trip."

"Always" is rather sweeping.
@sunglassly: I think you missed my post upthread where I said my DH does all the cooking. At home & on hols. He also tends to be one to clean up afterwards (faster eater) & load the dishwasher; he's fussy how to load it so I leave him to it.

We were s/c hols in a country where the food is very salty. DC commented about salt every time they ordered chips, the bread in shops was very salty, everything was just so salty. I did not want to eat out at all.

I am not useless... I planned days out, handled recycling/rubbish & handwashed most of our clothes b/c the laundromat next door charged 13 euros per 5 kg load. I get really bored on hols with DC so washing not such a burden.

One friend, her husband has OCD so although friend cooks she leaves all the cleaning to husband. He's only going to clean it all again, so she would only bother to clean up a Big Mess. They seem happy with their arrangement.

It depends, we found that for our family self-catering was the only way for a blissful holiday. We will be judged horribly, but here goes

We could get up whenever we wanted, dad and kids popping down the nearest baker to get breakfast whilst I could have my first cup of coffee in peace. Everybody then having breakfast together, and kids going to play or watch tv whilst we finished in peace.

Out every day, so no one is bored and we don't have to think about entertaining the kids. Lunch out, no fuss and even the little ones can seat patiently after running around all morning.

Evening diner at home, either take away or barbecue/salad kind of thing. Not having to rush because kids get bored and loud at the table, when they are done they can go and play or watch tv (again, who cares), whilst we drink wine and don't have to worry about driving.

Very minimum cleaning, we pay for a weekly cleaner. I still have to do laundry, but we never book without a washing machine, and everybody can survive with the same bed sheets for a week or 2. In case of bad weather, or lazy day, kid unwell (shit happens), we are not stuck in one or 2 hotel rooms so it still feels relaxing.

Completely different holidays with or without the kids, but I do enjoy mine!

I agree. We have 2 young kids and although it costs more, we do all inc with entertainment on site as tbh, when I'm hols I don't want to think about what we are having for the next meal or clean up after them. Hope your hol gets better

I remember taking DC on a cruise when they were under 5. It was surprisingly enjoyable as they couldn't go anywhere far, swimming pool on board and they had kids clubs etc. Great food and a different place to visit each day if you wanted. Only thing was I would have booked a balcony to sit out at night as obviously we all had to go to bed at same time.