AIBU to think this holiday is too much?

[tootlepootleschmootle]

DH has planned a trip for this summer, wants to book flights before prices go up. I think flight times are silly with our DS, and too much in such a short amount of time. He thinks I'm BU and boring, should I just do it?

Flight to Spain 5am, we would have to get 20mo DS up at 2am to do this. Four days in Spain before flight to Porto. Half a day there and two hour train to Lisbon, two days there. Fly to Vienna at 9pm for one and a half days, before hiring a car and driving half way to Slovenia, staying in air b n b, waking up and continuing drive to Slovenia where we stay for two days before flying home to airport far from our home, which gets in at 6pm, and then requires a four hour train (or 2 and a half hours if he can convince MIL to drop us at another station from the airport)

I'd be happy with a week in Cornwall with DS. I'm happy to go somewhere more exciting, but can't help feel it's all a bit much, but DH calling me boring and saying things like we shouldn't be together if I'm not up for things like this, babies travel all the time, blah blah blah.

I’m usually up for road trips etc and I like to visit several places in one holiday...but your DH’s itinerary sounds way too much to me! I would second a pp’s suggestion about the Santander ferry and drive to Portugal.

Too much I agree, holidays need a degree of organisation and scheduling of course but they shouldn’t be that full on!

Is he a bit thick? Does he realise that your son won’t remember any of it at all?

It's a no from me.

Ludicrous and selfish of your DH to suggest it.

The second you start planning your life based on how it will appear on SM is when it starts losing meaning because it’s such an easy way to lose sight of your own definition of success/fun/excitement etc. And this is such an ‘insta’ itinerary. I could actually write his captions for him.

Also it just makes no sense- is he just searching the cheapest flight from the last place?

Notcontent

This sounds like a good itinerary for a couple of 20 year olds who have never been to Europe and might not get another chance for a while.

This ^^ His itinerary just reeks of desperation.

In my experience travelling with small children means you have to go at half the pace you’d do as an adult. He needs to rethink the itinerary on that basis. It’s nuts!

Madness. He's completely mental. Your DS will be shattered, and so will you. And as a result I imagine you and your DH will start to snipe at each other half way through.
I love travelling but that's a stupid itinerary at any age .And apart from Spain - you don't have enough time anywhere to do anything apart from collapse from all the travelling. Is your DH trying to cover every available transport option in Europe? Tell him he forgot motor bikes, hiking and cycling.

Break the whole thing in half. One to do now, and one for later.
Spain/Portugal for the whole trip.
Or
Slovenia for the next one. I wouldn't even bother with Vienna for such a short time.

OR just go to the beach like you think - a tiny person will enough that much more.

Oh, hell no lol.

I don't like doing a trip to one of our relatives and back again in the same day with a toddler and that is 2 1/2 hrs each way.

You will not enjoy that trip one iota I don't think, your poor child would be the most tired, grumpy toddler around making doing anything difficult.

Oh and tell him wanting to be like "instagram" families makes him sound like a tool.
Is he not aware that 95% of the images on Instagram are carefully curated and predominantly bollocks? #loser #absolutelynoidea #youdoALLthechildcaresunshine
YADNBU.

That really does sound exhausting. We usually take early hours flight, when small we lifted them out of bed and into car seat. They’d sleep in the car, wide awake at the airport then sleep on the plane. Only did short flights 2-3 hours, short transfer the other side 20-45 minutes. Also our holidays abroad are always 2 weeks so plenty of time to relax and for them to adjust.

I'm exhausted just reading it. That doesn't sound like a holiday. There's a reason not working is known as 'off the clock'. Adhering to such a strict series sounds like hard work - not a holiday!

I was also worn out reading the plan. there seems to be an awful lot of 'travelling' as in the boring, tiring bits of planes, trains and automobiles and very little relaxing, fun, sightseeing bits.

And the plan to combine Spain/Portugal with Austria/Slovenia is pure insanity. Why? Why not do one or the other and actually spend some time having a holiday instead of making the journey. It sounds like one of those books by travel writers based on visiting every European country in as short a time as possible, based on which random Ryanair flight was cheapest on that particular day.

Perhaps time to block all travel booking websites from all his devices?

Why on earth would anyone spend 2 days driving somewhere to then spend only 2 days there? As in the Austria to Slovenia bit?

but DH calling me boring and saying things like we shouldn't be together if I'm not up for things like this

This what caught my eye.

Hell's bells.

That itinerary sounds awful, even without a small child in the mix. It's a mishmash if placed with far too much travelling and not enough "being".

He sounds like a wanker. And I'm the traveler in my family. We've been to some pretty out-there places with DD but there's no point other than his ego to drag a toddler around places he won't enjoy and won't remember.

That's not a holiday. That's a torture. And what an absolute arse to suggest you're somehow at fault for recognizing that. Don't book. And do have a good cold look at him.

Please remember that this is your London was ranked number one for tourism… And as I mentioned on your so many times, there is a reason why so many people go to the UK every year. It's a wonderful place, and I wish people would appreciate it more. I think I would stick with Cornwall. You don't have to go abroad to have a holiday.

Yikes, how old is this man-teen? Does he feel the need to live his life for social media in other aspects of his life? Does he take photos of his food from above?

Like many others have said. That’s two holidays there - Spain and Portugal and Central Europe. Do one a year (if you holiday yearly), perfectly doable with a toddler over 10 days. Keep reminding him that your DS won’t remember any of these holidays so how well travelled he is under school age doesn’t count and that your son’s enjoyment of any trip is of utmost importance to you.

My DCs are well travelled now (they are all school aged now apart from a baby) but when they were small they much preferred sitting on a beach with a bucket and spade and day trips out from a holiday cottage to aquariums or steam train rides.

That sounds like a total nightmare with a toddler

This is one of the rare times that I would suggest that you show your DP this thread.

Maybe then he will see how ridiculous he is being.

Why go to so many places when you'll be so exhausted from moving around that you will have no time to enjoy or appreciate any of them? There are a lot of opportunities for things to go wrong (delayed flights or booking snafus) and leave you stuck or stranded in the wrong place.

It sounds like a waste of money.

That’s about 6 holidays.