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.

You don't have to do nothing other than sit in the sun on the beach, if you go abroad, you go for walks, museums, castles etc, if that's what you're interested in, just like you would in the UK.

But it seems that we're unusual, in that we'd do similar things if we had a UK holiday, compared with an overseas one so can accurately compare costs.

I've certainly had diving holiday in Egypt, Malta or the Canaries for less than I've paid around the UK coast and on the latter, you often find you lose 30-50% of diving days, sometimes more, due to the weather making it unsafe, or at best, extremely unpleasant to dive. I've known people go on UK diving holidays and not been able to dive at all all week. Plus in the UK it's usually cold, dark and often you can see very little. In the Med, it's warm, clear and you can see a lot better.

I've already posted a comparison between visiting Lands End, and the Mallorcan equivalent, where they clearly didn't get the memo about taking the opportunity to rip off every visitor at every turn.

A pub lunch in a UK coastal resort with a couple of glasses of wine will probably cost about twice as much as the equivalent in most places in the Med/Canaries etc.

I've pretty much never paid to park at beaches or on the edge of cities or around other attractions overseas, where this is standard in the UK. Many historical monuments overseas are free or the really spectacular ones, eg Seville Alcazar, Mesquita in Cordoba are £5-10. Warwick Castle or the Tower of London are £20-30.

@Neverrains

Of course a week self catering in the U.K. with meals out and paid activities every day are going to be more expensive than AI holidays where you just sit by the beach. It’s not a genuine comparison. We love going abroad but we like to self cater with a private pool. We also don’t stay in the same place and like to combine with a city break etc. We eat out a lot, putting a lot of research into restaurants and go to local landmarks/museums etc. That’s generally far more expense than our week in a caravan in Wales was this year.

But if you compare your UK self catering holiday with meals out and paid activities, with your self catering/private pool/city break/local landmarks/museums as these are actually comparable, not the 'caravan in Wales' the overseas version is likely to be cheaper, and you have the option of spending a bit of time relaxing in the sun and cooling off in your private pool, which really adds to the experienced compared to what you'd likely end up doing in your caravan in Wales, which would be sitting in the caravan because it's too cold and wet to sit outside, doing the same as what you can do at home for free any time you like - TV, board games etc.

I don’t really see this at all. Most years we have our summer holiday in the U.K. and a winter holiday abroad. We are happiest when the temperature is in the low/mid twenties so canaries in December works for us. Prices are similar for both holidays when I work out all the costs. We like to have days out and explore on all holidays. We always hire a car, pay for water parks etc abroad.

U.K. holidays usually involve theme parks, walks, swimming pools, beaches etc. We had a merlin pass so free entry to those theme parks and anything else I plan ahead and use Clubcard vouchers, 2 for 1 etc. I will usually plan ahead to bring a picnic to theme parks etc as I find it’s easier to spend 10 minutes packing a picnic than stand in queues for food and drink all day long when I could be having fun. The food in these places is usually rubbish so a picnic is win win, more time, less money, better food 😊.

In the U.K. I find things like museums and parks etc are much better for kids and usually free. Restaurants always have kids meals or deals and are better priced than France/Italy. This years it’s been harder to find deals for restaurants and attractions for sure but it’s not impossible.

We normally spend around 500 a week on self catering accommodation, this year it’s been between 650 and 750 a week but the houses have been lovely. One had private use of a shared pool which was all the kids wanted to do for the whole holiday as they’ve missed swimming so much. We have a Scottish island holiday booked for October, it’s cost £650 for the house but it sleeps 6 so grandparents coming. The ferry is £50 for car and 4 people. The house is stunning with sea views. The weather will be cold but we are okay with that.

Massive benefit of U.K. holidays is you get comfy beds, your own bedrooms, your own car and everything you want to take with you from home, we take body boards, bikes, kayaks or paddle boards, board games etc etc: no stress on travelling day, with airports etc.

I think it just depends on what you like though, I’m not keen on an all inclusive all staying in one room, no one sleeps well, the food is generally a bit pants, pools are busy and you have to fight for sun loungers

You don't have to do nothing other than sit in the sun on the beach, if you go abroad, you go for walks, museums, castles etc, if that's what you're interested in, just like you would in the UK

I am aware of that, but it seems that’s what many on this thread are using for their comparison.

Our time actually in Wales probably cost a similar amount to our time in Spain this year. However Spain had £1000 flight costs for the 5 of us (plus £300 Covid tests!) whereas Wales cost us £60 in diesel.

I do wonder if there will be a shift in the UK to an “all inclusive” model for some resorts to compete?

I've been to an all inclusive place in the uk where they had all sorts of sports included. It was pretty expensive (I think would have been way more expensive than AI abroad) but even that is not comparing like for like as they had to maintain multiple indoor sports facilities and have fitness or sports instructors for many of the things (as well as all the usual hotel staff) whereas an AI holiday abroad might have a pool to maintain and be on a beach with less staff needed.

YANBU. next year I think the uk travel industry may suffer as it's been such rip of this year and such bad weather. .who would book again?

We have done AI abroad with waterparks when kids where in primary but equivalent of that doesnt really exist in uk and we also still did activities outside hotel every other day. We also dont drink much and dont eat massive quantities and ds only eats plain food as asd so to eat and drink out costs us about 100 a day in uk the equivalent of AI abroad. I am not sure you can compare a nice coastal restaurant with an AI buffet.

When we do activities abroad there is 1000 flight cost and then similar amount for car hire and parking etc for 2 weeks and paying for our car in airport car park which gives 2k of extra to fund things, most of which we save in uk. But if you are happy sitting by a beach all day its probably cheaper abroad and better as uk weather is variable. We have been lucky and no rain at all for 2 weeks but could easily have been 50 per cent rainy days. We are heat intolerant so cooler temps are better for us, i am normally restricted to water activities anywhere in southern europe in summer.

It's not about comparing types of holidays, it's about saying we want a lovely week's break, where's cheaper? Def abroad. Last time we went to Salou, the year before pandemic, with Jet2 I think, we also had three days worth of theme park passes included. Yesterday at Luss in Scotland it was £16 for four basic icecreams, 99s. We weren't charged twice, that was the cost. No prices on ice cream van and not asked, no lesson learnt. A quick sandwich shop elsewhere not touristy, £30 for four sandwiches and five drinks. A recent trip to York we managed to do relatively cheaply by using Tesco club card points at Ask and Prezzo vouchers, so ate well for nothing on that occasion.

We were lucky that our uk break was during the July heatwave so we did have a great time, but it was so expensive. Our very basic two bedroom cottage was £960 for the week, and we spent about £1000 on food and activities for the four of us, and we didn't even eat out that much

It’s for this exact reason that overseas package holidays exist and (in normal times) millions book them.

I don’t see how a U.K. holiday is more expensive when you factor in flights and paying for vaccines tests. Also depends where you go and what you do. Some countries are more expensive than others.

We had a fortnight in Cornwall abd Devon.
Accommodation and travel cost more for two of us there than similar level ones did in France for three of us.

Only reason good wasn't quite as expensive was because we hadn't pre booked so couldn't go in some of the better restaurants as they were fully booked!

@Walkley18

It's not about comparing types of holidays, it's about saying we want a lovely week's break, where's cheaper? Def abroad. Last time we went to Salou, the year before pandemic, with Jet2 I think, we also had three days worth of theme park passes included. Yesterday at Luss in Scotland it was £16 for four basic icecreams, 99s. We weren't charged twice, that was the cost. No prices on ice cream van and not asked, no lesson learnt. A quick sandwich shop elsewhere not touristy, £30 for four sandwiches and five drinks. A recent trip to York we managed to do relatively cheaply by using Tesco club card points at Ask and Prezzo vouchers, so ate well for nothing on that occasion.

It depends what your ‘lovely week’s break’ involves though. For the things we like to do, it is cheaper to do that in the U.K. than abroad. We have done both this year so I have a direct comparison. I wouldn’t enjoy a week in Salou with 3 days of theme park passes, so although it would potentially be cheaper than the U.K. equivalent, it isn’t a holiday I’d go on. The point being that whether it’s cheaper abroad or here entirely depends on what you do on holiday, so it’s impossible to make a sweeping generalisation.

Where do you find these? We had 2 weeks booked for France this summer, £1500 for accommodation with a pool etc. Had to cancel it and the equivalent money could have got me a week in a caravan.

Pricing up holidays for next year and cheapest cottage in U.K. where I want to go is £1500 for. 2 bed. A caravan is £1200. When you add on eating out etc it’s definitely cheaper to go abroad, found a nice self catering for the same price in menorca but i can’t wfh so if need to isolate still that’s 3 weeks leave.

@cardibach

It’s been more expensive in the U.K. for years, and I’m sure it’s worse this year. However, I’m confused about the ‘terrible weather’ posters. I haven’t worn a cardigan since about May and I didn’t have a waterproof until I went away for the weekend and the weather was forecast to be bad. Wore it for an hour. Not needed it since. There was a heatwave at the start of the school holidays.

We had a week of warm sunny weather for the first week of the summer holidays. Rest has been very mixed. Some warning days in parts but often cloudy and grey, plenty of drizzle.

Two weeks in Cornwall and we had one day when I didn't need a cardi or jacket, but only during the day. Needed layers in the morning and evening. One day it rained fairly heavy all afternoon and evening. Others it was drizzle in the morning or evening, then cloudy rest of time.

This week we had a warm day on Saturday. But again by evening you needed an extra layer.

You can't just compare the "headline" costs of a foreign holiday. What about:-

Airport transfers/parking
Holiday insurance
Spending at the airport and on the plane

I'm utterly baffled that people spent £1000+ on a UK holiday cottage where they (the woman) still have all the housework to do all week. That's no holiday and I'd never even consider it.

For me the definition of a holiday is no cooking/ cleaning etc.

UK hotels have always been more £££ than Spain/Greece but they are nicer - bigger softer beds, sheets changed daily, better food, teabags! So I think they are worth more.

But this summer prices have gone up so much we've not had a holiday at all. I'm hopeful for an autumn break.

To be fair I don’t know why I’m defending the UK so much. Am quite happy for people to go back abroad when they can so prices come back down for those of us who can properly appreciate a good UK break

@Seashor

Many of you who are finding it expensive appear to be trying to compare all inclusive foreign holidays to cheap destinations with UK holiday cottages. I love a UK holiday; walking on Exmoor, swimming in rivers and the sea, picnics in parks; all free. I also love my Italian holidays at a fabulously expensive villa in Tuscany after flying Business class; costs a fortune. The cost of the two holidays are impossible to compare because they are completely different.

I competed similar level accommodation. So same grade hotels in reasonable locations. Just B and B. Not all inclusive type holidays.

The U.K. hotels were more expensive for less central locations, though did have similar level of amenities and services.

I'm utterly baffled that people spent £1000+ on a UK holiday cottage where they (the woman) still have all the housework to do all week. That's no holiday and I'd never even consider it

Not in our house, but then ‘the woman’ doesn’t do all the housework at home either.
We book self catering both here and abroad, mainly for the space. We have three young children including a toddler so we like to have separate living and sleeping space, plus flexibility for snacks and meals etc.
Both here and abroad we tend to eat out a lot, researching local restaurants we fancy. Any meals in the accommodation are minimal effort. Effort is shared amongst all adults on the holiday. Hotels don’t really work for us at the moment.

Whilst we enjoyed our two U.K. holidays this year, we haven't been conveyed. We will return to holidays abroad for the more consistent weather, hopefully starting with October half term.

I'm utterly baffled that people spent £1000+ on a UK holiday cottage where they (the woman) still have all the housework to do all week. That's no holiday and I'd never even consider it.

I much prefer s/c. DH does most of the cooking and I dont think I did any housework bar the odd bit of washing up or loading the dishwasher ,putting a load of laundry in, and sweeping some sand. I didnt do any cleaning.We prefer having our own space, getting up late etc which is easier when s/c.

@DynamoKev

I mean couldn’t we all take a year or two off from holidays? I don’t get why people seem to think it is compulsory?

Because we like the break from normality. Chance to relax away from work and home, to kick back and have fun without the every day stresses in the foreground. To be honest this year more than any we needed that time out. We'd had a dreadful 2020, like everyone but with a number of close family deaths and other upheavals. Just getting away for a bit made a big difference.

I think people have selective memories when it comes to the weather.

May was indeed fairly cool and wet. However we were on the south coast of England for 10 days at the beginning of July and it was lovely, we had one rainy morning and the kids were swimming in the sea. The weather was good at the time of the G8 in COrnwall - think that was June.

Mid-end July was very hot in Scotland at least, we had temperatures of 25c plus for a week, the beaches were heaving. Again, this last week has been very warm and very settled with no rain.

I suppose it's what you expect from a holiday. We booked a house for our UK holiday this summer, LAST summer, we didn't leave it to the last minute as it was obvious prices would rise. When we are away we do not expect to spend all day every day doing things which cost ££££, we're more of a wander round NT property, go to the beach, go geocaching or wander round a pretty town then have a cake family than an arcades, theme park, expensive attraction family.

If the woman is doing all the cleaning, cooking etc you clearly married the wrong man.

We have a week in hotels, a week self catering but takeaways mainly so no cooking or washing up and cleaning is paid for in price, we just take rubbish out and take bedding off. I do prefer hotels but its mainly for covid we did self catering last year and loved this one so much came back.