Help, dh and I can't agree, who is bu?

[Notasunworshipper]

Dh and I can't agree on a holiday.

He has decided last minute that he wants to do a package holiday abroad. I'm fine with that, but having researched I don't believe that we can afford anywhere decent.

Dh is talking about going to a 2* in Benidorm because it's cheap, I don't want to.

We usually go to a nice cottage in the UK in a beautiful location and I don't want to trade that for somewhere crap abroad.

It's not that I don't want to go abroad, I want a peaceful, family orientated destination but everything I find he says is too expensive.

I'm with you OP.

Would rather have a lovely holiday every few years than a crappy holiday every year.

Do the last week and fly from Scotland, we’re going to Canary Islands, b&b in a hotel on the beach for £1600. Saving almost a grand because Scotland are back at school then.

Where are you going cabbage? We are quite a way from Scotland so we'd have to stay overnight.

Have you tried travel republic? Enter your dates, pick your hotel, and then choose flights to match (easyJet, Ryanair etc, and often cheaper than direct through the airline), you can add on coach or taxi transfers, so you end up with a “package” without paying tour operator prices.

Two star in Bendidorm

I am with you OP . Not my choice of a holiday either.

There is nothing peaceful about Benidorm.

Fuerteventura, also a fair way from Scotland so we’ve booked a hotel there and back... worth the hassle for the saving 👌

In your shoes, I would spend a few hours on the internet scouring the holiday websites, and find some options that I did like.

It sounds like you are reacting to DH's suggestions, but not really making any of your own? I might be wrong.

Do that digging deeper and find something a bit nicer!

Theres loads of nice places in greece you could go to for your budget. We always book through on the beach tbh as it seems a LOT cheaper than others.

Have never been but some of my friends rave about Bulgaria .

Good accommodation, good food and drink and not overly expensive they say .

find a well rated family place. None of them are 2 star.
What's your budget incl travel and food/how many of you are there/what do you like doing/when do you want to go? We might be able to find something between us that you haven't spotted!

Maybe the solution is that you both extend the budget to go somewhere much nicer than a run down hotel in Benidorm or you opt for a holiday cottage in the UK. If you like family orientated English holidays you are going to HATE Benidorm with the rowdy nightlife, drinking and grubby atmosphere.

Don't do it.

Personally I might compromise and go for a gite in France combines his wishes to be overseas with your wishes to be somewhere decent and family focused. You could almost certainly do it on a very similar budget.

For what it’s worth... old town Benidorm is so different from the main strip, so depending on where the hotel is, it might be basic but not horrendous...

That said, I wouldn’t go Benidorm.

I've stayed in a 2 star in Benidorm. It was vile. It's going to be in the roughest area. Benidorm is nice if you stay near or in the old town. The rest of it isn't and I'd never take children there.

I’ve just booked a lovely 2 bed apartment with a large terrace over looking a lake in Southern Germany
There’s a Spa, games room, swimming pool and lots of other amenities
I’ve paid £800 for a week including flights
Wont be any drunken arseholes there either
2* in Benidorm isn’t a holiday, it’s an endurance test

Change tack. You are trying to agree when you are looking at it from different angles. You dont want to compromise on quality, but he is determined to pay as little as poissble.

Show him holidays that fill all the criteria and then when he says its too expensive say "Well this is what it costs to have the holiday we want, so we either pay it or stay in the UK again this year. If you dont want to spend that much then we cant go." Just state the facts as they cant be argued with. He doesnt have to compromise on price but equally, you dont have to compromise on location/quality.

Dh has ruled out flying from Scotland, no way in hell he said. He's also adamant it must be daytime flights, to be fair I'm with him on that, night flights would be hell with my youngest. He's also saying no long flights (longer than 2 hours) so that rules out Greece or the Canaries, and no long transfers to the resort.

I'm looking on places like tui, on the beach and Thomas cook.

Once we've filtered by all our preferences there is still a few within budget, but reading further into it they're far from the beach (we must be able to walk to the beach).

We are left with Benidorm.

Have you done skyscanner to find flights that suit your date, time and budget. Start with that and work from there. There's somewhere ok from as good as every European airport!

Sounds like he’s set on going to the Benidorm shithole and deliberately throwing up blocks to anything else.

Benidorm is a shithole.

You have a fairly unanimous vote against taking children to Benidorm on here, and yet you are still considering it. You need to put your foot down if you have any hope of avoiding it.

Southern France has lovely beaches you can walk to, great options for budget travel and is within two hours or less in fact..

Have you looked at the costa brava and northern Spain?

I went to Benidorm in 1982 .
It was already pretty built up even then .
We stayed in an apartment that was owned by a then friend's Auntie.

It was ok but we were 17 .. Single and had money to spare.

I don't know if I would go now , and I don't know if I would take children but probably Not.

You could probably manage a campsite in europe for the £1400, especially if you drive to france? You might at a push find one cheap enough in spain or italy?

Canvas holidays in one of their mobile homes, with channel tunnel, petrol and food etc. We did lots of these holidays when I was a kid and we loved them. I've done the same with my husband since then and I can thoroughly recommend Camping Fabulous in Rome.

Always seems lile a good compromise between holiday in uk for 800 and flying all inclusive abroad.

And why is your husband getting to say all the no's and set all the rules?
Easy reply to him... you're saying absolutely no to the craphole that is Benidorm. If he wants to go abroad, then he can damn well loosen up on his rules to allows it to be family friendly.

If you're open to trying something different, I'd highly recommend home exchange! Free accommodation, and the security of having someone staying in your house while you're away. We've done it for a good few years now, never had a problem. And all the money you would have spent on accommodtion, spend it on meals out instead - so although it's self-catering, you're not spending your time cooking.