To not understand why people go abroad on holiday in the summer?

[Dogscanteatonions]

My social media is full of people on holiday abroad at the moment. It's glorious here and I've got a few days off work so I've just been for a walk round my village and will spend the afternoon in the garden reading in the sun with a couple of glasses of something.

Britain is lovely in the summer - I'd far rather go abroad later or earlier in the year when the weather is not so good here and make the most of the weather here while we have it.

I've never really understood the desire to go abroad while it's nice here. Anyone else with me?

It’s never been an issue for us taking enough things to do. One of the reasons we like going is the scenery and different places to visit, and you can see and do that in all weathers. As I said though we’re outdoorsy folks so ymmv

@Simonjt exactly why would i want to play board games in someone elses house which is what a air b and b is
A holiday to me is having a break these days
I clean & cook at home and don't want to do that on holiday these days
Have done the caravan hols when kids were small , now want relaxation, guaranteed sun and nice affordable food

You couldn’t pay me to camp or go glamping with a baby.

Simonjt
sorry a week in Cheshire is not going to cut it for me.
I don’t like sitting by a pool and the cost isn’t everything to me.However I do like seeing different cultures, trying different food that I can’t normally get in sunny Burnley, trying new experiences, even skiing in the summer holidays. I have done this years with my kids and had the Easter holidays and other weeks in the summer holidays to explore the uk.

We’re outdoorsy, which is exactly why we don’t want to pay to sit inside playing frustration or pop up pirate.

See I don’t like resort type holidays and I don’t like the heat. Never seen the point of lying on a beach either

Speak for yourself. Grey and cloudy and 13c where I am in the UK. Also I feel like betting on a heat wave is not the way to go. Guaranteed sunshine and a change of culture is the way to go.

Because the UK is a badly governed shit hole and personally I can't wait to retire abroad.

It depends what you want from a holiday. At the moment, my preference is no cooking, no washing-up, no cleaning. And for someone to disappear my DC for a few hours each day and entertain him safely while I lie by the adults-only pool and read a book or go to the spa. I find that these things, while achievable abroad, don't really exist in the UK at a reasonable price.

I wouldn’t go anywhere with a baby under 18 months but that’s just me.

I agree with the OP that it makes more sense to holiday abroad outside the heat of the summer - not least because it's quieter and cheaper. We do late September/early October for France/Germany/Italy etc. We're also lucky enough to have a nice garden and pleasant walks nearby. That said, when our children were at school we were constrained by school holiday times and while we never did the pool/resort type holidays, we did the main continental Europe holiday in July/August and Scotland in October.

PMSL! What a bonkers thread. Of COURSE it's beautiful here now, and I am loving it. I work from home, I work my own hours, and I am enjoying the sun, the garden, the woodlands, the river, and my beautiful garden. (See I can brag too @Dogscanteatonions !)

However, going abroad is wonderful (once you're there, the travel can be a bit shit!) Why would you not want to experience other cultures, and other countries? I LOVE going abroad. Been to 4 continents in my lifetime. Am aiming for all 7. Don't know if I will make it but I'll try!

I love UK holidays but I usually do two things when I am on holiday - museums and shopping. I live in London so I can go to the museums in London any time. I am happy to go to the museums all over the uk- loved the York Castle Museum and Elizabeth Gaskell's house on my last holiday. But there are a lot of museums abroad that you can't see in the UK - I really enjoyed the Picasso museum in Barcelona..nymphenburg palace in Munich was very memorable. And of course the Louvre. Even silly things like the teddy bear museum in Korea and the museum of chocolate in Barcelona. But they don't exist in the UK..
Also I love buying foreign beauty products. I always schedule a trip to Sephora if I go to a city with a Sephora.

@ForestFae I don't do lying in beaches either tbf but I do like a dip in the pool , snorkelling , water sports, fine food and warm nights, someone cooking for me and making my bed and being able to relax and just chill
Abroad offers this more so than uk hols
Plus i live close to a beach so often visit weekends and evenings so another uk beach holiday is just being home
Walking holidays are not for me either these days
We all have different wants and likes and budgets but uk really does price itself out

This thread has really revealed the competitive, underspending, over miserable attitude of MN.

Of course you can get 2 weeks camping in some sad spot of England where you have to sit inside for half the time playing sad board games cos it’s raining and the kids are miserable as nothing dries out properly and you’re doing all your own cooking and cleaning and sleeping like shit but it’s ok because England is SO beautiful and you’re SUCH an outdoorsy family and it only cost £25 for the 2 weeks and your children always say it was SUCH a better holiday than their mates who went to Tenerife instead.

When in reality most people want to spend their time having a more relaxing time than they would do at home - so that means an easier life, usually better weather, some sort of service involved, maybe catered for etc.

@ForestFae

lol why not??

What is with this influx of ‘because I like to do X I literally can’t understand why others might like to do something else’ posts??

Mumsnet has always been full of these wide-eyed, "gosh, I just don't understaaand" posts.

Op, were you the type of person shouting, "stay the fuck at home" when families with small children who live in cramped flats went for a walk in the park during lockdown?

“I can’t fathom that people enjoy different things to me”

Get some wellies, coats and waterproofs and go anyway! We love a rainy day, less people! Also board games and books are free! I suppose it depends what you like doesn’t it.

That's not a holiday though is it? That's just normal life.

Accommodation in the uk can be terrifically expensive and the weather rather variable. Yes it can be glorious. It can also be cold and raining, less likely in Spain or Italy.

Britain is lovely in the summer

Is that a joke?😂 UK heat is awful, especially when it starts touching 28 degrees +. It’s sticky, the air is too difficult to breathe in. Of course people want to go on holiday during the summer

YABU. I have only had 3 sunshine holidays over 30 years, and all of them had good weather, all day every day which does not always happen in the UK in summer time. We had one amazing storm one evening in Ibiza and the next day was amazingly hot again.

I go to South Devon every year, and if it is sunny it is gorgeous and we spend all day on the beach, and if it rains it is miserable. The chances of it raining are very high compared to abroad. It is a gamble on the weather every year if you holiday in the UK in summer.

Also, when abroad, I have been on trips to see local culture and churches, ruins etc. (Cyprus, Northern Cyprus, Ibiza and Corfu). We have been scuba diving. We have swum in the sea surrounded by fish and had glass bottom boat trips.

I choose not to go abroad currently, but it is a totally different sort of holiday to staying in the UK and I don't see how the two can be compared.

I love all holidays but prefer going abroad.

Tend to avoid abroad in July and August as its expensive and very hot.

Each to their own.

Hassle. They don’t sleep well in new places, nappies, formula, having to use a pushchair or sling or if they’re walking they’re SLOW…rather wait until they’re older

It's not 40c in Spain atm. It's 30 right now, and that is in SOUTHERN SPAIN. Norther Spain is 28. Quite a bit different to 40.