To go all out for next year’s summer holiday! Anyone else with me? I’ve just booked…

[Challengerice]

7 nights
Sea view, suite, own pool, direct beach access
Absolute top end
British airways flights. At perfect times.
Private airport transfers

Spent 30% more than on previous summer holidays, and i have always gone fairly top end.
It’s pretty eye watering but strangely, not even a nano second of regret.

Are people doing the same? Two years of no abroad holiday (yes yes, UK holidays are lovely. Got a week booked by the coast at really looking forward to it! In the same way as abroad luxury holiday with guaranteed sun? No.).

Anyone else going a bit crazy with their summer holidays next year??

@Daphnise

Does anyone on MN boast about their low end holiday proposals, or book standard accommodation?

And if you boast about top end accommodation while you are in it, would it not reduce the "top endedness" of said accommodation?

Down to "Common"!

I love a Butlins holiday. Going there at Christmas time.

No. Well not if I have my way.
DH is keen to book something and really want to go all inclusive.
We usually get a SC villa but he's seen some villas within AI resorts or he'll
book a couple of suites. It's my idea of hell and most of the quotes he's had cost more than our first house which feels obscene.

@kottbullar sorry refuse to do self catering. I am on holidays I want no cooking whatsoever. I love getting up in the morning and strolling down to the breakfast buffet and picking out different types each day. going back to my room each day seeing the bed properly made up and towels replaced if required. save hard for my holidays. I self cater at home every other day of the year. if you can afford it let compromise let you husband have his choice. enjoy it after the year we have had everyone deserves to enjoy a luxury holiday

@Daphnise

Does anyone on MN boast about their low end holiday proposals, or book standard accommodation?

And if you boast about top end accommodation while you are in it, would it not reduce the "top endedness" of said accommodation?

Down to "Common"!

Can’t wing a tampon for a thread re

I make a chicken carcass last for a week making healthy varied food for my 4 children and husband. I budget £12 a week on groceries.

Oh the number of threads re people scathing “package” holidays and waxing lyrical about the £2 a night wild camping in a utopian spot in a quiet corner of Scotland.

Endless talk about budget breaks etc and how spectacular they are (with undercurrent that w tone who does spend is a fool).

So if you want one of them, probs my best to avoid this one!

swing!

Budgets holidays can be brilliant fun. Especially with children.
I’ve done a number
The key is that they are short! Ie a long weekend at most!

@Wexone
I know people find it a treat but just not my cup of tea.
We very rarely cook when SC anyway so that's not a problem. Where you enjoy the breakfast buffet I enjoy walking down to local shops to pick up fruit, pastries and iced coffee.
I hate the idea of someone going in my room, making the bed and rearranging my belongings so that's not a luxury in my eyes.
Sharing spaces with loads of other people just isn't relaxing at all for me.
We will probably compromise and do a week AI and a week SC or maybe he'll take the children and I'll stay at home

Not booked yet but I so want to see my partner who lives in Australia, sadly I think it'll be a while before I can go. I had a trip booked for April 2020 and Covid hit. I haven't seen him for 4 years and I do miss him terribly

Re low end holidays. Normally my main expensive holiday is 4 weeks in the UK staying in my mums spare room. This costs way more than a week in the Maldives, everything is so bloody expensive. Usually we get through 6 or 7 thousand in that time just on fuel and general stuff. But nothing beats it for me, it's home, it's muddy and rainy and Grey and lovely.

We are splashing out too. Booked Antarctica for early 2023. We don’t have children, I haves worked from home for years (so no commuting) and I really couldn’t care less about anyone’s feelings.

Also planning a trip to the UK. For us that’s a big trip with a 10-hour flight so we ho for at least 2 weeks. Always fly business class. No way I could sit in economy for that long.

How do we afford it? Good job with 6-figure salary. And not a MN chicken in sight.

Re business me too. Hate flying. But a qsuite makes it an enjoyable experience.

@BritWifeInUSA

We are splashing out too. Booked Antarctica for early 2023. We don’t have children, I haves worked from home for years (so no commuting) and I really couldn’t care less about anyone’s feelings.

Also planning a trip to the UK. For us that’s a big trip with a 10-hour flight so we ho for at least 2 weeks. Always fly business class. No way I could sit in economy for that long.

How do we afford it? Good job with 6-figure salary. And not a MN chicken in sight.

I'd love to go to Antarctica! Sounds amazing.

I am going to. I haven't booked yet, though! But either next year or 2023, I am going to go all out!

Good for you OP, I hope you have a wonderful time, with everything crossed, surely life will have returned to normal by then.

Last went in 2019

Came home to breast cancer treatment and all that entails, resolved not to go on holidays in 2020, didn't want to mind a baldy head in the sun, nothing to do with predicting a pandemic.

2020 booked for 2021, DS got his first real job, 39 hour contract, holidays honoured, but not the isolation. Cancelled BA Club to Malaga (full refund) , cancelled VRBO (they are a bloody revelation) full refund.

Now.... going next year, just the two of us, in a villa that sleeps six, some friends from Scotland have been invited if they come they come.

No need for dive equipment this year, DS may or may not join us on the middle weekend. We are going Club which we have always done as it was the cheapest way to get scuba and dive stuff to Spain.

So........... two soon to be retirees, with 64 kg of luggage allowance each plus carry one, bring it on.

I can't bloody wait.

Waits for the eco offended to turn up.

@LoveManyTrustfewAlwaysPaddle

Waits for the eco offended to turn up.

One arrived and we pointed her to the door!

I would love love love to go on a proper train holiday. Pullman carriages, dining car, step back in time steam experience for at least 2 weeks. It's my dream. Scotland or Bavaria or somewhere a bit wild.

I can't do high end though and everything I've looked at is all champagne and five courses and fine dining. It's not the money. I can't really unpick it but I'm not comfortable at all with any of that. I want to wear dungarees and read my book whilst eating a sandwich. I don't want to dress for dinner and be waited upon by a butler.

As it is, I cannot WAIT to go camping with my friends. We will sit around a campfire while the dc sleep/play and we will laugh. Bring. It. On.

Happy holidays everybody.

@Challengerice

Good work.

@Nsky

If only I could afford too. I always go to family, otherwise couldn’t afford to, luckily 2 of my 3 brothers Spain and Italy. Planning on a big family get together in France ( where 1 brothers own my parents house ) for a relatively big 60th. I’m just hoping to go to Spain this year and have sibling time, esp as I live alone

Did your brother buy parents’ house from them?

I’ve paid the deposit on a Disney cruise that sails from Miami via Mexico and Disney’s private island.

We’re going to combine it with some time in Florida too.

We live for holidays and after two years of only basic U.K. ones I need something to look forward to.

@ShowOfHands

We love train holidays and have done several; Ho Chi Minh to Beijing, Singapore to Penang (Malaysia) and Bangkok to Vientiane (Laos). We used to live in Malaysia, hence the focus on Asia. All were chilled - we had backpacks; no silverware in sight! So you certainly don’t have to do it high end.

There’s something seeing a country from the train that is incomparable to other ways of travel, IMO.

We’ll take the train to Zermatt as it’s a no car town. Hoping that the playground carriage (complete with slide) will keep the kids occupied 🤞🏻

@ShowOfHands

I would love love love to go on a proper train holiday. Pullman carriages, dining car, step back in time steam experience for at least 2 weeks. It's my dream. Scotland or Bavaria or somewhere a bit wild.

I can't do high end though and everything I've looked at is all champagne and five courses and fine dining. It's not the money. I can't really unpick it but I'm not comfortable at all with any of that. I want to wear dungarees and read my book whilst eating a sandwich. I don't want to dress for dinner and be waited upon by a butler.

As it is, I cannot WAIT to go camping with my friends. We will sit around a campfire while the dc sleep/play and we will laugh. Bring. It. On.

Happy holidays everybody.

We've been discussing where to go after we eventually get our twice-cancelled Greek holiday out of the way (it's beginning to feel that way now ) and we're looking at a train holiday in the south of France for 2023. We actually tried to book it a couple of years ago but the "specialist" travel agent was so flakey we gave up.

@ShowOfHands

I would love love love to go on a proper train holiday. Pullman carriages, dining car, step back in time steam experience for at least 2 weeks. It's my dream. Scotland or Bavaria or somewhere a bit wild.

I can't do high end though and everything I've looked at is all champagne and five courses and fine dining. It's not the money. I can't really unpick it but I'm not comfortable at all with any of that. I want to wear dungarees and read my book whilst eating a sandwich. I don't want to dress for dinner and be waited upon by a butler.

As it is, I cannot WAIT to go camping with my friends. We will sit around a campfire while the dc sleep/play and we will laugh. Bring. It. On.

Happy holidays everybody.

Um

I have two primary children.
I can tell you for a fact that high end doesn’t mean that necessarily. High end will offer that but a huge variety of other options, all at exceptional standard.

totally agree High end not all champagne and butler service, you can get that service, but you can also lounge about with a book, its the service that you get , being looked after to the last to a very high standard