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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To hate going on holiday.

181 replies

TheMasterNotMargarita · 16/03/2018 03:39

First you have to decide where to go. Research flights/accommodation/vicinity to places of interest bar/beach etc. Tedious.

Then you have to pack. DH does the actual packing but I always have to organise most of it. Which is actually the best part for me, I quite like packing Grin.

Then you have to travel. If you stay in the UK you have several hours trapped in a car with your nearest and dearest. Before you spend the duration of the holiday with them every waking moment.

If you travel abroad you are in enforced close proximity to other people. And I don't really like flying.

Then you spend all your time trying to amuse your children without their toys, trying to get them to sleep in a strange place. They are hot, the food is weird, the bed smells different.....

I like warm weather. I enjoy being on holiday. I just CBA with all the effort. I'd like a Narnia style wardrobe that I could walk into and appear out the other side somewhere warm.and sunny already in my shorts and t-shirt.

DH loves a holiday. I told him to go without me. (But he can take the kids 🤣).

IANBU am I?

OP posts:
mumeeee · 17/03/2018 12:14

I love going on holiday. It helps me relax and stop thinking about work and DH feels the same as me.
Our children are grown up now however they loved coming on holiday and seeing different places when they were young.
We first went on a ferry when they were 4. 7 and 9. It was only to Northern Ireland but they loved exploring it and eating in the cafe yes it was a bit stressful making sure the youngest didn't climb but we managed and they loved exploring when we got there. On other years we went by Ferry to France and Spain. We did Euro and Key camp. We flew to Norway when the youngest was 7.

mumeeee · 17/03/2018 12:17

Actually I forgot we went on a ferry to The Isle of White when DD2 was 18months and DD1 was just 4.

Shockers · 17/03/2018 12:23

My first camping trip with DS2 was when he was 3 months, and we had a toddler and an 11 year old with us. It was a great trip!

user380968 · 17/03/2018 13:02

I really enjoy them once I am there but don't enjoy the logistics of getting there; everything has a price though. I love the beach and it is the holiday I enjoy the most.

MeganChips · 17/03/2018 13:23

I love everything about going on holiday, the planning, the packing, even the airports although I’m a nervous flyer.

We have taken the kids all over, long haul, short haul and UK when they were very small, but that was mainly because we were skint. We have seen some amazing things and had some great experiences.

We don’t find it stressful, although admittedly it’s harder work when they are younger. DH can do sometimes though, he gets out of his comfort zone really easily and if anyone is going to stress me out, it’s him.

essexgirly69 · 17/03/2018 14:33

I love it. We go abroad at least 3 times a year and feel lucky to do so. First flights were at 9-10 months (3 kids) and they all loved it.

Tainbri · 17/03/2018 15:19

So we seem to have reached the conclusion from this thread that holidays are great until you have kids and from then on are absolute hell!

Not in our house! Holidays with the kids no problem, DH is the impossible one to please so he's best left at home! Grin

essex42 · 17/03/2018 15:34

Holidays are my reason for being. LOVE them and the research and planning just add to the pleasure. Child free now as our sons are grown up but did all sorts of holidays with them when they were young. Cruising was the very best option then but have to admit they were far less interested in wandering/sight seeing than we were/are and just wanted to stay on the ship. Now looking forward to 3 weeks in southern spain, 1 week in hotels visiting two cities, 2 week house rental in hill village No cooking planned though - that would NOT be a holiday. Searching for brilliant and unusual hotels is my guilty pleasure. DH thinks I am mad but enjoys the end result.

GrumpyMummy123 · 17/03/2018 18:48

I'm fussy, but love the right holiday.

The idea of sharing a little hotel room with DS for a week or two sounds horrible. What do when he goes to bed? On holiday he's normally knackered and goes to bed earlier than usual from all the swimming, running about all day etc. Plus DH snores really badly so not having a spare bed or sofa to evict him to would drive me to a sleep deprived rage.
Having to go to a restaurant for every meal also sounds a nightmare with an excitable, tired and fussy eating small child.
Rain, being stuck in the middle of nowhere, lots of other loud people in close proximity also don't appeal.

But two bedroom accommodation, reasonably equipped self-catering, dishwasher, a choice of restaurants in walking distance, hot weather, beach close, pool, interesting stuff to go and see, kids entertainment...then great!

We don't cook meals really, just pizza or BBQs maybe some pasta pesto or that type of thing. But eat lots of bread, cheese, salad, olives etc that are dead simple. And drink lots of wine. Lovely

Hassled · 17/03/2018 18:54

We've had some amazing holidays with our kids - but then we do prioritise holidays probably more than we should, financially I mean. I can't be arsed with camping - there's a reason we invented bricks - and I'm not going to spend money going somewhere where rain is likely. Also DH and I have a rule that we have to identify the local liquor (there's always a local liquor) and then drink a lot of it, which helps.

And the planning is part of the fun - the creation of the Holiday Folder, in which documents are filed in the order in which I'll need them, is a joy. One year though I put the car hire paperwork behind and not in front of the route map from the airport to the villa - dear god the stress.

BestIsWest · 17/03/2018 18:59

For me, it was a gradual realisation that I hate the heat though I love seeing new things so the last few years we’ve holidayed in the UK. We are going abroad this year but to somewhere much cooler.

LakieLady · 17/03/2018 19:06

I have decided that I'm never going on holiday to somewhere I can't drive to.

I don't have a problem with flying per se, but I do have a problem with being crammed into a tiny cramped space with loads of strangers. Even worse is the hell that is airports: noisy, hot, often crowded, endless queueing, overpriced drinks and (appalling) food and you have to get there so fucking early you usually need at least two meals between check-in and take-off.

If I ever won the Euromillions, I'd learn to fly and charter a plane if I wanted to go much further afield. We live within a few miles of a channel port so places within driving distance give us quite a lot of scope. Even the south of France would only involve one overnight stop.

And we have a motorhome, so all we have to do is sling some clothes in a bag and put some milk in the fridge. We keep toiletries etc on the van, as we go away most weekends from Easter till October so it's ready to go at 10 minutes notice.

LakieLady · 17/03/2018 19:13

As for "making memories" kids will remember that they want to remember.

True.

One of my brother's most fondly remembered trips was a day out at London zoo where he saw "a rhino having a massive crap". He still talks about it now.

He's 53.

LakieLady · 17/03/2018 19:21

I just spent 48 hours packing for Centerparcs and ended up taking 2 cars for 3 people. I am never leaving the house again after this.

Wtf are you taking, Haribo? Shock Or are they very small cars?

When I used to go camping, I had an enormous tent, loads of gear, XH used to insist on bringing his infernal guitar and we got everything, plus two dogs in their cages, into an Audi A4 estate.

Don't the Centre Parcs places include all the bedding and kitchen stuff?

HicDraconis · 17/03/2018 19:32

@bumblingbovine49 I don’t have the “mental list” at home - DH has that and it’s on an app on his phone so it’s not buzzing around his head all the time. A week off work but in my own home is bliss :)

Hot sun, beach, poolside and swimming, day walks in amazing scenery, overnight walks with huts to camp in - have all of these at home, why would I want to holiday anywhere else? It’s interesting that someone said it wasn’t a holiday if it was in the UK - our last two trips away were to the UK.

Being on holiday with my children is a state of mind rather than a location or change of location. We have random “we’re on holiday” weekends where we go for walks, kayaking, picnics with the dogs, eat out and don’t do any house chores. I took them camping once (only a few hours drive away) and DS2 hated it (to be fair dome tents in the wind aren’t fun) - he likes his 5* home and can’t understand why we’d pay to go and stay somewhere not as nice :) we are still doing different things and making memories! They just don’t involve leaving the country.

JugglingMuggle · 17/03/2018 20:43

I love holidays but with smallish children we aren’t v adventurous. We go to the same place every year. Cheap self catering with lots of local cheap restaurants around and tons for the kids to do. Loads of other families nearby so plenty friends for them to make. It’s almost like a second home now. And this suits us till they’re a bit older. Cheap and v cheerful.

Teateaandmoretea · 18/03/2018 07:15

So we seem to have reached the conclusion from this thread that holidays are great until you have kids and from then on are absolute hell!

What nonsense. Holidays can be hard work when they are toddlers but having DC means we go to slightly different places and see different things and that's good. The best holidays with 1-3 year olds were child friendly cottages imd. No aeroplane, space to run around, toys. The worst were hot places with a pool as you have to watch them like an absolute hawk and then they get bored and grumpy when you keep stopping them running off.

Mummadeeze · 18/03/2018 07:29

Love holidays - even plan ones I can't afford to go on for the fun of it (in case I have a windfall!). Love being somewhere new, love spending fun time with my daughter and having time off work. Love trying new food and feeling relaxed, carefree. Love exploring and finding different fun things to do. YABU because if you can afford nice holidays you should appreciate them and if you don't enjoy them, then you should find a style of travel you do enjoy or alternatively stay at home!

Summerlovin24 · 18/03/2018 08:50

Love holidays. Get away from dishwasher. Kids have less stuff so less shit lying around the place. Change of scenery, no work and most important no clock watching. I enjoyed holidays when kids were little as well. Quality time with them. I think people don't enjoy with little kids as their idea of a holiday is a rest. You don't rest with small kids so once that is out of your head its great fun

pericexe · 18/03/2018 09:49

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Nofilter · 18/03/2018 11:16

Yup yup and YUP!

Although taking 6 month old DD to Oz & NZ visiting some family in NZ was amazing - now she’s 2 it’s horrid!

Mexico last Feb was a whirlwind of her not sleeping due to time difference, naps and nappies - I actually just went to Dubai 4 nights on my own felt guilty as hell but it was BLISS.

We now have a 1hr door to door mobile home on a quiet site close to all the amenities so she’ll have a fab summer there and no aeroplanes!!!

Sevendown · 18/03/2018 13:48

I don’t do holidays with under 2s.

I don’t see that as a holiday.

But older dcs you just go somewhere that has enough to keep them occupied to give you some peace. If you’ve got enough of a budget it shouldn’t be same shit different location. Eat out, get takeaways.

I don’t do bedtime routines or anything when on holiday. They eat well and sleep well at home so a week or two of late nights and living off pizzas and chips won’t kill them.

treedragon · 18/03/2018 15:52

I am not bothered with holidays. You spend most of the time on the khazi anyway having the wild shites. Why go away to do that when you can do that here, in the comfort of your own home?

HariboIsMyCrack · 18/03/2018 16:31

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Shockers · 18/03/2018 22:08

Looking forward to driving to the French Alps next week with the teens. Planned stop off in the Champagne region; a car fridge full of snacks, audio books on the car stereo, plus our holiday playlist. Then we ski!

All excited!