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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

I'm having the worst holiday aibu ?

295 replies

seaandsandy · 23/06/2019 10:01

Me and my boyfriend of 5 months have came on holiday on Wednesday.
We are in Tunisia.
We got a cheap deal £286 each all inclusive,I thought amazing.
It's grim
The bar is open 10am to midnight and every day/night he has been drinking,to a point he keeps falling over.
He starts drinking after breakfast.
We haven't left the hotel.
He says why pay for all inclusive to leave the hotel.
Aibu to think this is the Pitts ?
Weather is hot

OP posts:
Pinkmouse6 · 23/06/2019 11:03

All inclusive holidays are kinda renowned for being like this, especially when Brits are involved. Have you ever seen the TV programme Benidorm? Grin Your OH has the mentality the characters on there do- ‘why leave the hotel when everything is free’. The resorts are basically Butlins abroad with more alcohol.

Please don’t leave the resort alone though. Tunisia isn’t safe. Chalk it up to bad experience and dump the twat as soon as you get home, he sounds awful.

Outsomnia · 23/06/2019 11:04

I think I would ask reception (there must be some point of contact for guests) if there is a room free as your bf is ill. Worth paying for if necessary, accommodation appears to be inexpensive in Tunisia.

Also ask about escorted trips. They will know. Best of luck. At least you are not there for two weeks. Try make the most of it.

MuttsNutts · 23/06/2019 11:05

Is this normal when in all inclusive to just get drunk? And that's your holiday.

It is if you’re a dickhead.

Sit it out, take a couple of excursions if you can and just don’t ever see him again once you get home.

Pjsandbaileys · 23/06/2019 11:07

What age is your OH and has he been away before? I love a drink especially in the sunshine but my ex was like this took it to extremes couldn't understand why I found it so upsetting x

PlatypusPie · 23/06/2019 11:07

He could have spent his £286 on a crate of vodka, stayed home with the heating turned on and got a similar experience :/

What is it with similar behaviour at free bars etc? . People who can quite easily pay for normal levels of alcohol feel somehow driven to take as much advantage as possible of an open bar or circulating waiters, even if the quality of the drink offered isn’t particularly great.

He’s shown you what he is. Going on holiday with a relatively new boyfriend can be quite a learning experience- I was on a holiday to Crete once, standing on a beautiful headland, thinking ‘this is the most romantic setting and I am here with the wrong person’ . Not behaving like a complete idiot like the OPs bf, but just seeing how he responded to things going wrong in minor ways and his social interactions outside the group we had met in. I finished it when we got home.

Bread, OP, and fruit you can peel yourself. Some breakfast buffets will have hard boiled eggs, still in their shell, which are at the safer end.

Daydreamer34 · 23/06/2019 11:09

This is just what some people do on holiday, especially all inclusive and not with kids. But.... Wasn't this discussed before you went away? Going on holiday with someone usually makes or breaks a relationship /friendship.
Don't go out alone there, just enjoy it for what it is, try to relax and ignore the behaviour. Have you spoken to him and asked him why he's drinking so much?

64632K · 23/06/2019 11:11

Second what many of the PPs have said. Stay away from the salad, I found it tough when I went there as I love my salad but thankfully the staff catered to my vege demands 🤣.

I hadn't realised when we got out there that Star Wars and Gladiator had been filmed out there. It was amazing to go see these and the differences in all the various areas was amazing. We also went to the Sahara and ended up in a haunted hotel room.

Seahorseshoe · 23/06/2019 11:13

How much it cost is a little irrelevant, your bf is behaving really selfishly - it's like being on your own. 5 months in, it's a bit of a red flag, it's a budding relationship and this is where all the good stuff is.

"I'm really miserable and lonely on this holiday" - is a good starting point.

Dahlietta · 23/06/2019 11:13

It's not the holiday that is grim, it's your boyfriend.

They both sound pretty grim, to be fair.

MuttsNutts · 23/06/2019 11:13

On the upside, at least you won’t waste weeks or months of your life with this eejit.

A cheap holiday is a great way to find out if you are compatible with someone. No-one can keep up a persona 24/7 if you have your wits about you.

sar302 · 23/06/2019 11:14

@letsdolunch321 Love that approach! Not wasting any time Grin

sergeilavrov · 23/06/2019 11:15

Tunisia is beautiful, though it is true to say that there is a lot of harassment. I'd suggest learning a few Arabic phrases if anyone approaches you, or simply just shout Police. Tourism is a crucial industry in Tunisia, and perpetrators know that they will be punished soundly if they are found to be damaging that. I'm not sure where you are (Tunis, Sousse, Hammamet?), but you can book private excursions for reasonable prices. It depends what you're into: History, Culture etc. You'll make friends on the trips! I've worked in Tunisia before, and it's a beautiful welcoming country. Pretend the boyfriend doesn't exist, and get rid as soon as you land in the UK, what a douche!

INeedAFlerken · 23/06/2019 11:18

I'd consider it a small price to pay to learn that your boyfriend of 5 months is a complete and utter drunken twat and you should kick him to the kerb as soon as you get home. Be thankful you're not living with him; ending it will be easy.

You can do better.

LovelyJubblee · 23/06/2019 11:18

I always have a beer at 10am whilst on an all inclusive holiday. I keep myself topped up through the day. It doesn't make me alcoholic for those two weeks a year

Drum2018 · 23/06/2019 11:18

Well you know what to do as soon as you get home - dump him. He's a tight fisted, drunken idiot. Is that what you want for a partner?

Bananallama858 · 23/06/2019 11:19

Keep yourself safe, don’t leave the hotel. I’m assuming you researched before you decided on the destination so you know that. Download some books on iTunes and make the best of a bad situation. Speak to your boyfriend about your concerns - he may be completely oblivious of your feelings.

seaandsandy · 23/06/2019 11:21

We are in Hammamet

OP posts:
simplekindoflife · 23/06/2019 11:25

If he was the love of your life, you could be anywhere right now and still be having an amazing time!

The problem is him, not the holiday...

A relaxing all-inclusive holiday in the sunshine would be amazing to me and my husband atm. We're so busy and frazzled, we'd love to just sit and chat in the sunshine with nowhere to be and nothing to do, and we've been together for over 15 years!!

If it's this bad this early on, I would be calling time on this one!

TroysMammy · 23/06/2019 11:25

I wouldn't bother speaking to him about your concerns. Before you unpack your suitcase dump him. Imagine him at a wedding reception or works party where alcohol is plenty.

Go on some organised excursions. Go to the zoo and see if the fat raccoon is still there Grin.

simplekindoflife · 23/06/2019 11:26

5 months?!?! Sorry just seen this! Blimey, this should be the best and most romantic time in your relationship! This is the honeymoon phase! Sod that!

Mixingitall · 23/06/2019 11:26

It’s good that you’ve discovered how selfish your boyfriend is early, like someone upthread has said £286 to discover this is a saving!

I think you’re options are:

  1. if you’re on a package holiday fly home early, there is normally an admin fee.

  2. if you want to stay and not share a room with your boyfriend, if you’re on a package holiday the tour operator will have paid for an allocation of rooms, they may let you have one for free or transfer you to another hotel at a cost.

  3. explore the area.

I was a holiday rep in Tunisia for 6 months, the people are actually lovely, there are some leery men, but on the whole they leave you alone if you have your shoulders and legs covered and say no thank you. I explored a lot of the area alone and would happily travel in taxis and buses between Monastir, Sousse and Port al Kantoui.

Which resort are you in?

You can go in to any of the hotels and use the facilities, hotel beaches are nicer than public beaches.

Good luck and I’m sorry it’s not the holiday you thought it would be.

Trills · 23/06/2019 11:28

At least you've discovered this before you move in with him.
He's boring on holidays, rude and thoughtless, doesn't consider what you'd like to do. He won't make a good partner.

I wouldn't go out alone but the hotel may be running some trips where you can go with other people and be safe and less bored.

Some people on this thread are being snobby about all inclusive holidays - they don't have to be like that, you can enjoy the facilities and ALSO go out on trips.

SavingSpaces2019 · 23/06/2019 11:28

He says why pay for all inclusive to leave the hotel...he has just refused to leave hotel as everything we need is here
What was the point in going abroad then?
He could have just sat in the local pub back home!

He's wasted your money and your time.
I hope you're dumping him when you get back?

ZetaPuppis · 23/06/2019 11:29

Sorry you’re having a crap time. Make the most of the rest of your holiday and go on a tour somewhere. There are some amazing places to see and a couple of my friends have said that Tunisia was one of their favourite holiday destinations.

TheNanny23 · 23/06/2019 11:30

My husband and I are on a weeks all inclusive, and all but one day we are staying at the hotel. Our last holiday was a two week multi centre culture trip and we have had a really busy time with work recently so our expectations for this holiday were that we were going to sit, read, drink and enjoy each other’s company.
It sounds like the problem is drinking to the point of falling over- he must be getting seriously dehydrated and that isn’t normal on a couples holiday. It sounds like you had totally different expectations from the start.
Try talking to him at breakfast and say you want to pace it. At 5 months in you really should still be shagging and laughing all day long. Give him the opportunity to turn it around and if not dump him in the baggage reclaim.

I actually find stuff like curry or whatever the local fish is safest to eat as they actually know how to cook it.

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