Package holidays aren’t chavvy!

[Polarbearflavour]

DH and I booked a half board holiday via Teletext Holidays online. It includes flights and a five star hotel in Malta for a week and is pretty cheap.

A friend of mine made a face and said package holidays are “common” and for chavs. Apparently she only flies BA club class (not charter airlines or low cost airlines) and books hotels separately!

What on Earth is wrong with a package holiday deal?

Maisypops I agree it's not sneering to not like an activity that another person does like. When people then feel the need to qualify with statements like:

hotels on the med, pools with millions of lounges all reserved by towels from 6am, lots of drinking, eating within the main complex and very little exploration beyond that. Whilst some enjoy that, I hate the idea.

I believe this sounds sneering or at very least not embracing of a holiday concept. There are much nicer ways of saying the same thing. such as later down thread where you say "other people might holiday differently", that's much nicer

I would tell them to get F**ked, my money, my holiday!

We go to Cyprus every year with TUI, half board, 3*+ hotel. We are going twice this year as its our anniversary

We go in a mixed groups, including family.

Sometimes there's a distant relative who comes. She's an Area Manager for a Bank and often works six days a week. She drives for at least four hours a day on top of heavy mental work, staff management etc.

If she wanted to spend her holiday, sat round a pool and drinking, I didn't think of judging her. She waved me off of a morning (I like active holidays) and I saw her to have a drink with, in the night.

My Sister during her stint as a CP SW Manager once went to Marakesh and didn't move out of the Riad, except for a wander on day two. Her Friends went hiking in the Atlas Mountains etc.

We all got out of our holidays what we wanted, which is the point of them.

Maisy I may have misunderstood the double negative there.

Peace, love & no sneering !

tellmewhenthespaceshiplands
But some breaks are like that. That sort of resort sounds awful to me, but others love it.

Just like some AI packages will be luxurious, there is a market for the type of package deal I outlined. It's silly to go the pretend it doesn't exist or deem it to be sneering for someone to say it's their idea of hell.
One of my friends think a the boozy day drinking and wandering around cities city breaks is their idea of hell. Nobody would ever accuse them of sneering, but have a view on a certain type of package and suddenly it's sneering.

I'm sure my ideal type of holiday would be someone else's idea of hell and they'd hate it. It's not sneering for them to express their dislike for my type of holiday.

Definitely but to me to give detailed reasons why it's your idea of hell can sound like your looking down on that choice. Especially highlighting some of the cliches to describe a holiday type.

But I think we both agree that when it comes to a holiday it's horses for courses!

there is a market for the type of package deal I outlined. It's silly to go the pretend it doesn't exist or deem it to be sneering for someone to say it's their idea of hell

It is also silly and sneering to keep on with the idea that a package holiday is a synonym for big loud AI resort where eating, drinking and sunbathing are the main aims.

These days this no longer applies and the method of booking has no influence on what the holiday looks like.

It is the same as saying that everyone who shops in Asda eats rubbish because some of the food sold in Asda is rubbish and everyone who shops in Waitrose eats very well because some of the food in Waitrose is healthy organic and unprocessed. People who shop in Waitrose may typically eat better than those who shop in Asda but it is perfectly possible to shop in Asda and eat well, also to shop in Waitrose and eat rubbish, because they sell spam and crisps too.

Orlando=Brits abroad? Not at all. Not my choice, but the people that I know, go for a Family holiday.

Off this week, doing chavvy things, theme parks etc., love it. Enjoy the cold and snow! We'll then do something non-chavvy later in the year to dilute the chav factor!!!

Nothing wrong with a holiday you like! And can afford.
We are going away to Wales this year. It’s a two hour trip to a certain holiday park that I have been to every year since I turned 4. It’s tacky as hell, chavvy as anything, riddled with all sorts of “bad types”. I couldn’t care less, I love these holiday camps and they’re all we can afford anyway.
Sod her, and enjoy your holidays.

It is also silly and sneering to keep on with the idea that a package holiday is a synonym for big loud AI resort where eating, drinking and sunbathing are the main aims
Yawn.
I've already said they arent all like that and there's different types of packages.

tellmewhenthespaceshiplands
Whereas I find it no different to people talking to me about why they'd find camping awful, can't stand the idea of going to a toilet block in the middle of the night, too close to nature, no home comforts, why shared shower blocks would gross them out. It's just someone describing why a particular type of holiday is their idea of holiday hell.
We do agree though on the horses for courses element.

A couple of years ago we went to Lanzarote in a half board, package deal. Had a few sniffy comments about “Lanzagrotty.” We stayed in a lovely 5 star hotel by the beach and it was off season and not at all like Brits Abroad.

We wandered around the town during the day and had lunches out and dinner in the hotel in the evening.

What a pompous, stuck up twat.

The only problem I have with camping is I'm crap at packing...it seems like I squeeze our entire house into the car only to discover when we arrived I've forgotten everything we actually need 😁. If I could that I'd probably enjoy it!

OP what I always love about many towns in Spain is your only about a 5 minute walk away from where the locals eat/drink/shop so a more authentic experience when you want a break from Kaz's Karaoke Bar.

We're going to Ibiza in the summer and I can't bloody wait to flop on a plastic sun lounge!

tellmewhenthespaceshiplands
Whereas I'm the opposite. Camping packing doesn't bother me. I take as little as possible with me to save space because I hate packing heavy.

I hate carrying lots on holiday but the second I do a city break/sun break I start worrying about every eventuality and never use 50% of the stuff I pack anyway. Then suddenly I end up buying a nice dress or swim cover up I'll never use again. It causes me irrational irritation taking one suitcase and a cabin bag for those trips. I enjoy the holidays but absolutely detest the packing and unpacking process.

Who even mentions they are going on a "package" holiday or an "independent" holiday? People tell you they are going here or there, but who goes into that much details anyway?

I couldn't care less what other people do, at most I take notes to avoid or to imitate their holidays but as long as I have enough holidays in a year, others really matter very little.

I have to say, given how knackered I always feel (thanks, insomnia), the idea of a ‘Fly and Flop’ holiday, as mentioned by a previous poster, really appeals. I am practising the ‘Flop’ element on my couch today. I am not sure I have it down absolutely pat yet, but I am willing to put in the work!

Callmevito I think people do mention package holidays but in a different way these days. My SIL loves them because she’s a beach person and likes everything organised. She’ll say she’s booked a holiday which cost xxx each. But when I talk about our (activities) holidays I’ll mention flights and Airbnb prices. The implication is there.

There is space for all these holidays, both types have their place. How can anyone think a holiday is a horrible thing! I love holidays! I just don’t do packages often because I am a bargain hunter and you don’t get them in the places we want to go.

iam
Believe me, some of my friends thought my week camping in Scotland getting eaten by bugs would be a horrible holiday in their eyes.
To be fair, it was a LOT more buggy than I was expecting for the time of year.

Their long weekend in Vegas/ibiza (some party destination) where some quite luxurious hotels seem to do pool parties sounds horrible to me.

I think we all have our idea of what would be heaven vs hell in a holiday.

I've got some travel envy from a uni friend at the moment. Their trip seems amazing (2 month sabbatical from work) but I'd not be cut out for it. It's horses for courses.

I am trying to think of a holiday I would hate and I just can’t think of one 😂 Maybe a fishing holiday. But I don’t suppose that’s fairly niche!

Afternoon you lovely lot

(I'm crap at linking otherwise I'd pop one here but) There is the mirror thread for this one right now in AIBU . Demonstrates perfectly that we all like different holidays!

We've reverted to booking package holidays. Turkey this year was more expensive to book flights and hotel separately. Our package includes transfer but we won't use it we'll book a private taxi because the bus journey from Dalaman to Marmaris is a killer.

Also just booked New York and the cost difference between a BA Package and flight with hotel was ridiculous! The packages give us protection and let us pay it up. Win win!

I don't think they're chavvy per se, but they do attract the kind of people who just want to sit by a pool all day in large droves. That's fine if that's what you're into but it sounds like a prison camp to me. I would rather go self catering and not speak or see anyone else. But I am misanthropic, particularly when on holiday.

You have clearly displayed your ignorance here ^^ nigel with your assumption that all package holidays are "flopping on the beach for a fortnight" style

Our Jet2 package to Rome was simply a means to get from A to B and have prebooked accommodation. When we were there we did our own thing.

tbf I did one of these once in a ‘5 star’ hotel in Malta and it was pretty chavvy. Excelsior I think it was called.