To think it's more of expensive to holiday in the UK?

[hibbledibble]

Like many, I holidayed in the UK this year, due to covid complicating trips abroad. I work in person for the NHS, and can't risk having to isolate on return, if a country's status changes.

I do feel utterly ripped off though. The holiday hasn't been anything extravagant, just driving to a self catering accommodation. The accomodation costs are astronomical, as are eating out and day trips (many days were nearly £100, and that wasn't even including food). I have looked at TUI and it would have been cheaper to get an all inclusive package, and that way I wouldn't have to cook, clean, and could even have used the kids club for some child free time by the pool.

Instead I've had tepid to cold weather, rain, and didn't even get to go to the beach on our seaside holiday as it was too cold.

Not sure what to do in future. I can't afford expensive UK holidays anymore, but not can I risk letting down my department by having to isolate.

I think people's points about UK beaches is that, whilst some are lovely, many are usually quite cold. We are big beach goers and actually the best beach day I ever had was in Scotland. But 90% of the time when I go to a beach, it's too cold to take my coat off. It can neverthless be fun, but not for long and not for everyone. I have never had that issue when abroad in the summer. Some people will be happy to swim in colder waters, but it is not fun for everyone.

Again, there’s no grand conspiracy. People are free to go on holiday where they like. People like different things. People get different deals.

Yep UK holidays are boring and depressing! They don’t even feel like a proper holiday and are a complete rip off!!

@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz I'm a short drive from the Northumberland coastline. A cottage in the summer holidays would set you back minimum £1600 for a week

Rubbish. We stayed about 5 miles from Alnwick this summer in a lovely three bed cottage for less than £700 for a week.

@CityMumma78

Yep UK holidays are boring and depressing! They don’t even feel like a proper holiday and are a complete rip off!!

So it is just UK bashing then - why do we bash the UK so much? I actually like it here.

I've just been sent a link by a holiday company to a last minute cancellation" of a 2 bed apartment on the Norfolk coast. It looks very lovely but there is a shared terrace and it's £1000 for the week (starting Sept 17th). I love Norfolk and we do holiday there but £1k for a week in a 2 bed flat in mid September feels steep. We are going to Crete for the same week to a villa with private pool by the sea. Villa, flights and car hire will be £1k and the weather will be much better. Plus meals out will be much cheaper.

I don't mind living here but I do mind holidaying here. It's not a holiday in my eyes, I do not feel relaxed afterwards, don't feel like I've properly been 'away'. Part of holidays for me is the total change of scenery, culture, languages, etc. and you just can't get that in the UK. I went abroad for just a week and feel like I'd properly 'reset' in a way I just didn't when I went away a few times within the UK earlier in the year.

[quote Getawaywithit]**@BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz* I'm a short drive from the Northumberland coastline. A cottage in the summer holidays would set you back minimum £1600 for a week*

Rubbish. We stayed about 5 miles from Alnwick this summer in a lovely three bed cottage for less than £700 for a week.[/quote]
I'm simply stating the price of the ones we looked at. We wanted walking distance to the beach. Alnwick properties are not.

@Rozziie

I don't mind living here but I do mind holidaying here. It's not a holiday in my eyes, I do not feel relaxed afterwards, don't feel like I've properly been 'away'. Part of holidays for me is the total change of scenery, culture, languages, etc. and you just can't get that in the UK. I went abroad for just a week and feel like I'd properly 'reset' in a way I just didn't when I went away a few times within the UK earlier in the year.

That's all fine - but given that's the case I assume you'll just stop it rather than continue with UK holidays and continue to "mind"? It seems weird to do stuff you didn't want to and then complain you didn't like it afterwards as some people on this thread appear to do.

@JaninaDuszejko maybe as you grew up there your family are used to those temperatures, but you won’t convince me that swimming in the north of Scotland is as comfortable as the Med. Most sources say that 20 degrees+ is the most comfortable water temp for swimming. A quick Google says Scottish seas ranged from 12 - 17 degrees today. So yeah I could probably tolerate it at 17 degrees with no wetsuit but it wouldn’t be fun for me.

People of course have different preferences and I get that not everyone likes beach holidays.

The point I was trying to make was that I just don’t think anyone can reasonably compare the type of beach holiday that is possible in a consistently warm country to a very variable weather, colder more often than not, U.K. beach holiday.

And the U.K. equivalent costs the same a money, if not costs more at the moment

@DynamoKev Well not everyone is in a position to go abroad. I could risk getting stuck there and having to quarantine for days, but not everyone could. I can understand why people feel like they have no option, and feel resentful about it.

@kwiksavenofrillsusername

YANBU. The UK is pricy for what you get. I paid £35 for fish and chips for four at lunch today and that was eaten while sitting on a bench. Even a basic day out it really really adds up, unless you pack drinks and a picnic, which makes it feel like less of a break if you’re making packed lunches all week. Also you end up paying for a lot more days out as unless you pick the perfect week, you probably won’t have beach/pool weather.

And yeah the cost of the actual break itself can be shocking. A week in a caravan can cost hundreds and you end up feeling a bit robbed.

But our min wage is quite a bit higher than, say Spain's and way higher than Greece's so it isn't surprising holidays are cheaper there.

Sigh. Have booked UK holiday in mid sept for £850 for motorhome for a week..not including campsites or petrol or food. For 2 adults and doggo.

Although it's about the same or less if we went abroad as we usually drive down via channel tunnel, Airbnb a few nights and food as well.

[quote Rozziie]@DynamoKev Well not everyone is in a position to go abroad. I could risk getting stuck there and having to quarantine for days, but not everyone could. I can understand why people feel like they have no option, and feel resentful about it.[/quote]
I do find this odd. It's like there is a compulsion to go on holiday even if you know it will be expensive and you won't like it. Maybe I'm just a bit weird but if I find something was expensive and no fun, I don't do it again.

It seems weird to do stuff you didn't want to and then complain you didn't like it afterwards as some people on this thread appear to do.

Not really. I think it shows that people are being open-minded and giving it a go. If it didn't work for them I'm sure they won't do it again.

I can't compare our holiday with yours because there's only 3 of us so we only need 2 bedrooms, but for us this year's UK trip was much cheaper than the France trip we booked last year. The self catering accommodation in France was about £400 more, then there would be the cost of the ferry and extra fuel and tolls for the much longer distance to the part of France we were visiting. I expect we could have spent less on a package holiday elsewhere in Europe but it's not the kind of holiday we like.

We were pleasantly surprised at the prices of things generally in the Lakes and N Yorks, meals in restaurants, drinks, activities were all cheaper than we pay here in the Home Counties.

Having said that, I'm happy to pay the extra to go back to France next year. I missed the sunshine and the experience of being in another country.

We holiday-ed in Norfolk this summer. A week in a bnb. Last year we camped in Cornwall.

Both years the prices have been extortionate. The weather has also been absolutely crap.

The bad weather only means you end up spending even more. Or sitting in your accommodation.

UK holidays are a decent way to get away from home but they in no way compete with a holiday abroad. I'd never replace our trips abroad with UK stays. Not a chance!

First time I swam in the Med it freaked me out that the water was warm, it felt like it must be polluted (and of course it is). I grew up in the north of Scotland but DH is from Brazil and the DC are growing up in England so I don't think their happiness to swim in the north atlantic can be genetic or acclimatisation (they've not been in Scotland in over 2 years).

An all inclusive beach holiday on the Costa del Sol is obviously a very different cultural experience to a self catering cottage holiday in the UK but that doesn't mean a UK holiday is a rip off. Like for like holidays (I gave a comparison of two cultural hotspots up thread) the cost of the flights make foreign holidays more expensive, particularly if you don't live near a big airport hub with lots of cheap flights. When I've looked for cheap foreign holidays it seem to require holidaying out of the school holidays with no more than 2 children, and being prepared to get up at stupid o'clock to drive several hours to catch a flight to a destination where they squeeze as many people as possible into a single room in skyscraper hotels. Travelling in the summer holidays with 3DC from a regional airport much more expensive.

The Med is an almost enclosed Sea. I have swum in south Australia and California and it's freezing. Ocean currents from colder climes.

Our 1 week Devon break was definitely cheaper than a week in spain.

it always comes down to the cost of living,our national wage in England is high,so everything is based around it,you go abroad & find a difference ,because of their cost of living,if they had our wages it wouldn't be much of a difference, if you lived in that country perhaps you would think it's expensive it's all relative

I'm simply stating the price of the ones we looked at. We wanted walking distance to the beach. Alnwick properties are not

As I said, 5 miles or so from Alnwick, about 10 minute walk to the beach. £700.