Is a self catering holiday still a holiday?

[bagpuss90]

Very light hearted thread. I’m just curious as to opinions on this. So I was chatting to a friend last nite and I mentioned I was off on holiday next week to a self catering cottage . She said she would rather not go on holiday than go self catering because it’s not a holiday . Personally I think that’s nuts . I love the flexibility it gives. We will eat out a good bit . I’m not at work , I’m in a beautiful place away with my family . How is that not a holiday ?

To be fair I've got a bit of an age gap between my 2 and the 4 year old is finally a bit less hard work, but when it comes down to it I'm still parenting, but the kids are sharing a room which they don't do at home, the kitchen is unfamiliar and usually not great and eating out isn't exactly relaxing either as there's a fair amount of active parenting required there too. Plus the joys of long journeys with constant stops to pee (when they absolutely denied a pee was required when it was convenient).

I like my house, holiday cottages in budget not so much. I'd rather camp on a nice site!

I always go self catering or just BnB as it gives me the flexibility I need.

I have an SN DD and she sometimes wants familiar so we'll go to mcdonalds or subway (her go to safe places when on holiday) other times she'll be more willing to try things so we go to a nice pub or resturant.

Much prefer to stay somewhere self-catering.

Breakfast and coffee can be such a rigmarole in a hotel, it's a part of the day I want to do by myself on autopilot.

DP and I mostly eat out when we're on holiday but there's always a night when we stay in and pace ourselves. Finding a local market and cooking a really nice simple meal with local ingredients is something we always look forward to.

OP's friend is weird because while she's obviously entitled to her preferences, the blanket dismissal of other widespread means of holidaying is unnecessary.

Not a holiday to me. I dislike cooking in ill equipped holiday cottage kitchens. Then you have to wash up all the time as there are only the exact number of glasses/ plates as there are people staying. I’d rather stay ina hotel for a shorter period or go wild camping so it’s roughing it with my stuff but we all know what to expect

Totally. I find it more relaxing than hotels, where you have to order in every tiny thing you want to eat or drink or have a depressing pile of fruit/crisps etc on a chest of drawers. And B&Bs when you have to come to breakfast at a particular time, and usually make polite conversation with the barking mad landlord/-lady.

I love not cooking on holiday, so we do eat out most of the time even in an apartment with a kitchen. But it's just so relaxing to have the option to make breakfast or come back in the daytime and make some toast, or get in a takeaway – much as I enjoy eating out, it gets tiring deciding where to eat all the time.

Of you are cooking every meal and running the washing machine and cleaning the skirting boards then not a holiday
If you have nice ready meals, eat out, etc then can be a holiday

Tell him that he will be happy that you are going out to eat out alone then - much cheaper that way!

I find self catering more relaxing than all inclusive hells (I've been once, I wouldn't do it again!). Anything in between is very very expensive, eating out all the time and I'd rather spend the money going away every year then only every other year in order to be able to afford for 5 of us to eat out daily. It probably doubles the cost.

Also we do a cleaning and cooking rota so that kids and dh are also coming and cleaning up/ washing up. It wouldn't be a holiday if I did all the shopping, cooking, meal planning and cleaning. We share it so I get a nice break.

I understand! But it feels odd to me to specify "self-catering" if you aren't planning to cook much, if I wasn't planning to cater most meals myself I would just call that "staying in a cottage" and not mention the catering aspect at all.

Someone said to me that self catering holidays with kids were just “washing up with a different view” and it stuck with me! We did do SC holidays when they were little but also AI overseas and I’m not sure there was much cost difference! Ok you’re in a hotel room to sleep but you’re never in the room, you’re on the beach or whatever - buffet restaurant means you can eat light for some meals, kids try different things….no drudgery of shopping, cooking, cleaning, ugh

Why not?
Is he unable due to disability?
Sounds miserable if you cannot budget to eat out

I like self catering and don't find it a chore, but I think a few things contribute to this:

1. We always eat out for lunch

2. Dinner is simple - e.g. fish and a tray of Mediterranean veg all whacked in the oven together, or fresh bread with local cheese & ham & salad. Nothing complicated is attempted.

3. DP pitches in equally with clearing, tidying etc.

4. We have quite low standards for household cleanliness & tidiness anyway! 😳

I suspect 90% of the woman who say SC isn't a holiday are those with useless CF partners.

I suspect 90% of the woman who say SC isn't a holiday are those with useless CF partners

I agree with this!

if it was just dh and I I’d agree but with the kids they are just so fussy that we generally self cater and do a bit if eating our. Eating out every meal would be exhausting and expensive and I really don’t fancy an AI buffet.
always stay places with dishwashers so never have to wash up

flexibility of having a fridge just to store water and coke if nothing else is great

I’d just add, I’ve been on sc adult breaks with DP, I’m talking about my holidays with DCs - single parent for years and we still holiday just us although they are older teens now. It was just me and them so the SC holidays were definitely a chore

We do self catering with another family that we get on really well with. The children get on, we have other adults to talk to, there are four people to share the cooking and shopping and we get a place with a pool so that we can have fun without other people in our space.

We eat out a few times in the fortnight and do really easy bread/cheese/salad type lunches so nobody feels like they've spent their entire holiday in the kitchen.

It is brilliant.

Oh and critically by going “self catering” this means we can get a 2/3 bedroom apartment or house with separate living area.

I just cannot get my head round how families cope in a small hotel room for 2 weeks straight.

I just cannot get my head round how families cope in a small hotel room for 2 weeks straight.

I agree with this! Hell is sharing a room with one's children. (tho I might be biased as my eldest has night terrors and yells loudly while he's asleep. Somehow younger DC sleeps through it!)

We always book self catering, I'll make coffee and pour cereal and drinks and if I'm feeling really magnanimous, I may stretch to making rolls for a picnic. But that's it. For everything else we eat out.

If everyone else gets a holiday away from their daily chores, so should I.

My kids are fussy eaters so when we've been to all inclusive they only want to eat chips and pizza (no matter what country or location) and would have that for the whole holiday if they could get away with it, so self catering has been good at times to make sure their meals are more balanced or in line with what they are open to

This.

I prefer self catering as we can get up and breakfast what time we like. I like to do a cooked breakfast on holiday so bacon, sausages, an egg, baked beans, hash browns and a half tomato with toast and butter cut into soldiers. DH likes mushrooms too. We are not restricted to one hotel but can eat out at different restaurants each night. I quite like a packed lunch picnic on the beach at lunch time. As long as it's nice accommodation what's not to like? We do one shop on the day we arrive and just go one other day if on a 10 day holiday to top up picnic foods. Some of my best holidays have been self catering.

Always do self catering. So much more space when the children were younger not being cooped up in hotel rooms ! Still prefer it now they are adults!
Sun terrace and always larger balconies,can eat in if we want to which never happens ! More choices food wise at different restaurants,breakfast at apartment with French bread croissants from local bakeries . I genuinely would hate staying in a hotel with less flexibility.

Two things here, we used to always go SC or b&b before DC and have some things in for breakfast, yogurt fruit etc and then just eat out. So no not like being at home, deficient no laundry etc.

Having said that lots of people saying I'd rather SC than being cramped in one room with my family and not being able to choose where we eat.
Our most recent holiday was AI, two bedroom two bathroom suite, two balconies overlooking the sea. Lovely. AI buffet was great, 7 ala carte restaurants and we still good a car, went out did things and ate out if it suited.

No one is wedded to anything. If you don't want to cook and do a tesco big shop on holiday, don't. If you don't want to stay glued to the poolside drinking cocktails on your AI, don't.