I don't enjoy going on holiday

[sugarfreegum]

There I have said it. It's not that I hate it, but I definitely don't get what the fuss is all about. And I flatter myself that I am open-minded, not unadventurous, etc. etc. I even like travelling for work, which I have done a lot. But when I go on holiday, it always seems like a lot of faff for a lot of money and not that much pay off. I would rather spend on little things that make daily life better, like good coffee, books, nice clothes to wear. Am I the only person in the world like this, because everyone else seems to be bonkers about holidays?

YABU! I live for, and work really hard to afford as many holidays and weekends away that I can go on! I wish I was satisfied hanging out at home.

Same OP, I totally agree with your OP

My husband and I had 2 weeks in the Caribbean in March. Gorgeous.

But 2 weeks off work took meant it took me one month to catch up. Im in a senior post and I’m at a point in my career where the penalty for time off in terms of the horrendousness one goes back to, makes me think it’s not worth it. I work in local government, so I get a LOT of leave, but I do wonder if it’s worth taking it.

This is so alien to me . Why don’t you enjoy it ? Do you miss home ?

@Nothingisblackandwhite I think for some people it's extremely stressful trying to reorient yourself in a new place, catch transport there and back, co-ordinate flights / trains / tickets / hotels not to mention getting the airbnb ready when it's time to leave, looking after kids in a new place, catching flights back etc. the experience of a holiday can often be super stressful, outweighing the relaxin parts. Obviously every holiday is different but there's always that underlying potential stress of map reading, orienteering yourself, figuring out how to use the oven, worrying about making a mess of the carpet or speaking a language that's unfamiliar. Not to mention who you go with can be annoying too! difficult husband or arguments with friends or underlying tensions so often come up on holiday situations.

I enjoyed it before having two young children. Now the payoff for organising isn't worth it in terms of relaxing and getting to experience new things... lots of packing, a stressful journey, children who don't sleep well in a strange place, precisely zero lie ins, the constant hunt for beige food, being on high alert around the pool the whole time...

That said, my DC enjoy it (or at least the older one does) and I take pleasure in their joy, so family holidays (like soft play and birthday parties) are in the "suck it up" category for me.

I’m with you OP.just choosing a holiday and then obsessively googling trip advisor….much rather stay at home and chill

See this is the crux of the matter. If you are fortunate enough to live somewhere beautiful then holidays have less of an impact. Unfortunately most of us are not so lucky. Also having small kids makes it less enjoyable. Me? I have an adult ds and live somewhere not beautiful therefore holidays are magical for me

Agree OP. Crowded airports, then frying my skin in ever rising temperatures abroad is a real turn off.
Short breaks in UK for me.

As a (now retired) senior nurse, if I only took one week’s leave my colleagues would just leave all problems for me to sort out when I got back to work, whereas if I took 2 or more weeks off they’d have to sort it out for themselves. But yes, a week’s holiday involved a frantic week’s work before it and another frantic week after it, another reason one week off was barely worth it.

I'm going off holidays the older I get.
I actually dread flying now and all the hassle of checking in for flights, I worry disproportionately about missing my flight and I've noticed I get really anxious about return flights and have an underlying g fear I'll be stuck in a holiday destination (which started after Covid).
I also feel the preparation at home and at work is not really worth it.
It's weird because I did it for a big family for years, now it's just me and DH I'm panicking more.
I would be happy with a European city break of three nights and a Uk holiday but my DH wants to go further afield now we have fewer commitments. I don't look forward to it.

@Starintheshow
after multiple miscarriages and complications we stopped trying so no kids for us

Two weeks on a beach or by a pool in some generic Med resort is not my idea of a holiday either. I want to see and experience different places.

No one ever lay on their death bed reminiscing about the nice coffee they drank. It’s holidays and experiences in general for me all the way. I have so many stories to tell the grandkids when they are older and we’ll hopefully install some wanderlust and a sense of adventure in them too.

My DH and I have a system where we schedule a "holiday" day or two each usually once a year. It basically involves going where you want, no questions asked or consultation. i usually drive a few hours, take a short hike, few glasses of wine somewhere, nice meal and early night in a cheap hotel followed by hotel breakfast maybe wander around local town or village and home by afternoon the next day. It does more good for the soul than 2 weeks in the sun with the kids. I make sure DH has hotel room number and switch off my phone, maybe checking in once. I'd recommend you try it. Dh does the same but different preferences. Its doable on a budget if you have a car - bring a pack meal and come home late, only cost is petrol.

Thoroughly agree with the OP.
Dislike holidays and have not been on one for well over 30-years.

What we do like however is going away for the weekend (or midweek now we are retired) but flying somewhere or travelling across the channel.... forget it.

those who never left the U.K. will have such narrow mindset . It is so shocking to me . I can’t grasp it at all , why wouldn’t you like to meet new places and cultures ? Is it because people are very self absorbed and won’t tolerate something different or are they xenophobic and scared of different people ?? It really is a weird concept to me to never leave this island and be proud of it

Eh?? Everyone that has posted on here disliking holidays has travelled. We just don’t like it? Have you actually read the thread?!

I have the same issue myself , I’m in the legal field and a team leader so when im gone I come back to a massive load of work . I had both your mindsets for years then a few years ago I got suddenly very poorly , turned out to be pneumonia and took ages to go away , I had 5 weeks off work and on my return , the office had managed all urgent cases , I still had lots of extra work but instead of stressing about it I had this epiphany and realised work would still be there for me or someone to do anyway so if I get I’ll or died or something happened so to me work would have to deal with it . Since then I had the “ oh sod this “ atitude and I take longer holidays . I just booked 18 days in July and 12 in august .
I love my job , but no job is worth not spending time with family traveling .

Not all , some have only traveled once and some have reasons that lead me to believe the above . Hence me question it

I’m on the cusp of not enjoying holidays.

the week before at work is always relenting hell, the airports suck your soul dry and most cities are now pretty generic in Europe, you don’t especially get the ‘wow what a different culture” in any short haul place. I’ve been travelling around Africa and that was pretty cool, so really I’m at a stage where it has to be very different….the holiday to Spain….I genuinely would rather stay at home, off work, doing some pottering and crafts.

I miss my animals too.

I would never holiday in the UK, very expensive and rubbish weather, but LOVE going abroad, I love the sun and warmth, even being warm at evening is a real treat, I love not having to do housework and cook, bliss

I've lived in 5 different countries and travelled all over the world since I was 6 weeks old. After 30 years of travelling I'm now not very keen on travelling.
It's nothing to do with xenophobia ffs.

I haven't seen a single post that says the poster has never left the UK, nor any claiming to be 'proud' of anything? I've travelled all over the world - I think Australia/NZ is the only continent I've never visited bar Antarctica.

I now have a business to run (and being self employed means no paid holiday either) and I live in central London, so I'm not short of different things to do without having to set foot in an airport. It's far easier and less stressful for me to plan different smaller outings/activities every week/month than one or two 'big' things a year, and I get to go home afterwards 😊