Do you actually cater if you go self catering...

[NaomifromMilkshake]

We just use our apartment as somewhere to sleep and hang on the balcony and we use the fridge for wine and beers and snacks... and the makings of light lunch or breakfast...

My DM is horrified at what she considers a waste of money, seemingly you should cater in SC....

In her defence she is 80 and a war child.

Yes, we have a 9 YO DD, so have breakfast in the accommodation, lunch out and then back in time for dinner for DD. We then have a few beers, and then cook our dinner (usually microwave meals on holiday), before relaxing and going to bed.

We make eggs/toast/fruit in the morning and might have a takeaway pizza and eat out. we will get sandwich stuff also somedays but don't cook any meals or anything like that as we don't want to spend time cooking/cleaning etc. I don't like doing too much work on holidays!

I much prefer self catering. I have some GI issues and several food allergies, I prefer to eat small amounts more regularly and know exactly what I'm eating. We always have breakfast at home then take snacks out with us and have a sandwich or similar for lunch. I also get overwhelmed by too many people and things so would much rather be at home in the evening with a glass of wine, a simple home cooked meal and my book or a game than being in a busy restaurant. We tend to book airbnb's because you can get a home away from home much more easily and know exactly what you're going to get in terms of a kitchen. We do eat out when on holiday but not every night.

TooOld I have a "self catering box" for that very reason - a few sharp knives, veg peeler, tin opener, corkscrew, mini chopping board, whisk, wooden spoon, 100ml squeezy bottle of washup liquid, handful of both dishwasher tablets and washing powder tablets, matches, a pair of silicon oven mitts, salt and pepper mills, and a couple of closures for packets etc (and various other "essentials" I've picked up over the years). It goes camping and to holidays in houses/apartments with us, and has been built up over 20 years, I usually cull it before going on each trip to just what's useful that time and throw everything back in again when I get home as they all have their uses over time.

We use our apartment the same as you OP but we do make occasional evening meals to save money. We don't go all out, usually a jar of sauce and some pasta or a cooked chicken and salad. It can make expensive holidays more affordable, such as skiing.

We enjoy cooking so before kids we'd spend holidays making lovely meals to share over a glass of wine in the evenings when self catering. We used to do a lot of hiking too so lunch was normally packed lunch to eat on the go. We'd eat out a couple of times over a holiday.

Now with young kids we still do the packed lunch every day and cook some nights, but will go for a lunch and maybe get take away one night. The meals are simpler.

It would be so expensive to eat out every day we wouldn't have the budget!

Toooldtocareanymore for U.K. holidays I pack all that. Nice coffee and all my essentials like good oil etc.

Not really.
My ideal is to do breakfast and lunches SC but go out somewhere for dinner.
It depends who I'm on holiday with though. If other people are skint I'm happy to do dinner at "home" as well. I like to go out at least once or twice though

I'd avoid it. Only to make breakfast on a day we want to get out and about quickly, or a pack up lunch if we're going to a place we couldn't get lunch. So odd days. I would never make an evening meal or a large lunch. Cuisine is a thing to be experienced, I couldn't imagine living off 'normal' food for 2 weeks when some of that countries tasty goods are to be had!

We really only self cater in the UK and we do cook. For big family holidays (20+ people) we take turns to cook so each couple shops and cooks once and enjoys everyone else’s food the rest of the time. It’s less hassle than getting that many people out for a meal, to be honest. For smaller groups I usually cook, because I really enjoy it, but I never serve or wash up because I don’t enjoy that and there are plenty of other people to do it. Lunch is usually a make your own sandwich, breakfast just normal toast and cereal. I take the first night’s dinner with me, always the same thing, nice little tradition now.

We mostly self cater - so breakfast in the accommodation, pack ups for lunch, then a home cooked dinner in the evening. But a week away would probably include a small number of café visits / lunches / dinners out.

It would add such a lot to the cost of the holiday to eat out as default, and DS and I need quite a lot of downtime (plus, DS is somewhat fussy 😄). I'm happy with our balance.

Oh, I'm talking about the UK though 🙂.

We always plan to. But on any given day at home we can’t be arsed cooking. Far less likely to do it on holiday.

Young kids and special diets mean that, yes, we do cater in self catering. Although it does tend to be a lot of convenience foods etc. we might aim to eat out once a day but it doesn’t always happen.

Surely the joy of self catering is not that you eat in all he time, but that you have options? breakfast, for example - in self catering you all just wonder around in your pjs eating croissants or cereal before you get moving while staying in a hotel requires getting up and dressed etc. Ditto, storing snacks and bits for light lunches or dinners if you've had a big meal - cheese, fruit etc. When we went to Centre Parcs we did a BBQ the first night, cooked about 30 sausages and had those stored in the fridge allowing instant "hot dog" for DC lunch one day or whatever.

I certainly wouldn't be preparing full on meals in a self catering cottage as a rule. But anything more than 2 days and DH and I insist on self catering for that flexibility.

We tend to eat out for lunch, and buy bits from deli for evening meals.
No real cooking, but adults can chill with wine and the kids entertain themselves.

It's your holiday, you do whatever you want!

UK SC I bring everything with me and cook in most days. It is expensive to eat out generally and I do get sick of restaurant food after a few days. I tend to prepare meals in advance before I leave and freeze in freezer bags so little prep is needed. Eg I'll marinade chicken for a curry, freeze it and just stick in pot when needed.

Abroad eat out at dinner. Much cheaper and besides I'm not going to do a massive food shop for basics that I can't bring home (olive oil, salt, pepper, spices) Last year in Tunisia used to walk to patisserie every morning for breakfast.

Depends where and who is going!

What’s more though as long as what YOU BOOK & pay for suits YOU it’s no one else’s business, but everyone,especially your Mum will have an opinion —they cannot keep to themselves—

In the USA for example I’d just go for hotels, in the UK it’s usually either just a couple of nights so BnB or camping. in France I always book airBnB ‘Entire place’ because I want the fridge, washing machine and privacy

I LOVE the French markets so the fridge & worktop are always full of fresh veg, fruit cheese and olives. And there’s always several bakeries for morning croissants and lunchtime baguettes! I hate cooking at the best of times so don’t tend to actually cook much when away, but I like the option to but it’s mostly just the fridge that gets utilised.

I do know people that go SC and live like at home, but that’s not the vast majority of people booking SC I’m sure

Just say hmmmm and roll your eyes a lot and do what you want.

My Mum always says ‘You have a mind of your own’ in a tone that indicates it’s a BAD THING, makes me laugh. Yes I DO I’m in my 40’s and ‘having my own mind’ Is actually a BLOODY GOOD THING FFS.
What she really means,of course, is that I’m not a carbon copy of her (thankfully) and that I make different choices (oh the dreadfulness of that🙄🙄)

Carry on your own sweet way 🌷

We go SC and do a mix of meals in and meals out. When we do eat in the apartment its quick meals like pasta or loaded nachos. We will do most of our meals out or get a takeaway we can take back. Its cheap to eat out where we go. The fridge usually has bread and butter, milk and some snack food in it.

Tend to go out for lunch / dinner but like to have the fixings for snacks and lazy breakfasts / lunches. Depends where I am though. In Asia for example it’s cheaper and easier to eat out than cater.

Nope, not much anyway, snacks, most breakfasts, maybe two dinners and four lunches in ten days self catering, otherwise eating out.

We go self catering if we go away for a weekend so:

Friday afternoon arrival.
Small supermarket shop.
Eat out & bar Friday night.
Cook own breakfast on both days usually as cafe breakfasts are usually rank.
Out for the day, will buy chip shop chips or a sandwich etc when out if needed.
Back to accomm. and depending on how tired we are we'll either go out for dinner & bar or cook own dinner and stay in.
Sunday we go out but usually eat out then back to accomm. & no bar.
Monday, up and out and eat on the way home.

Nope, late breakfast/lunch combination and then out for the evening meal. We got a take away pizza and had that in the room once when the kids were tired other than that out.

or cook own dinner and stay in.
Usually consists of oven pizzas and drinks from the off license.

U.K. mostly self cater tbh. Breakfast stuff in, lunch out, mainly cook our evening meal.

Abroad mixture of eating out & cooking, our last abroad hols was all inclusive which I would never do again so would go back to self catering.