To think people are too obsessed with taking a holiday?

[Tepoi]

I don’t get the attraction of saving for months to go somewhere for 10ish days. Fine if you have money but hearing how people are spending the equivalent of 1 - 2 months take home pay on a holiday strikes me as very odd. Maybe because I don’t have the money to spare.
if you do go on holiday, and it takes 4-6 weeks’ take home pay, can I ask why you go?

Our holiday costs the equivalent of 2 months of my own wage - £4500

DH is a high earner but we'll ignore him here

It is worth every single penny to see my children happy, for us to have family time and for the change of scenery/weather

I've 18 holidays with my children - they're always welcome to come with us when they're adults - but I'm assured of those 18 and I will happily spend a massive amount of money to make sure we have that time together

I’ve always felt the same.

And I know someone who is regretting her expensive holiday.

The power of a dream? Something to get you through the other 11.5 months?

Because it’s a break from routine. The weather in the UK is shit. I love going abroad for the food and the culture. I find not going on holiday more odd (finances allowing), it’s healthy to have something to look forward to.

You might not be in the financial bracket OP is thinking about?

Change of scenery.fun,good food,weather,million and one reasons why we go.Just nice to see the world.

I haven’t travelled abroad since Covid. I was more in the budget camp of holidays (£1k per person for 7 nights) but the travels I did do to far flung destinations (Maldives, Seychelles, China etc) have stayed with me for life.

Just knowing that another way of living exists and I can experience it is enough to get me saving for my next far flung holiday.

I don’t drink, smoke, party, eat out a lot, or buy coffees, so getting to go somewhere exciting is my only vice.

Seeing new places, a break from routine, nicer weather, family time…

We go but because of my limited diet the only place which can accommodate this well (where we truly relax) is a 5* resort so is about £3500 for 2 for a week. It’s expensive. I think when we have a baby we’ll aim to go every 18 months instead of a year. I like the excitement of going on a plane and switching off fully in the sunshine, but I could also go without I think

I allocate around 10% of my annual take home pay to holidays, and I go because being somewhere hot and beautiful, with nothing to do except look at beautiful things, mess around in the sea, and lounge around eating and drinking, makes me happier than anything else. In my opinion this makes it entirely worth the money. Especially as I’m not particularly short of money, but I am increasingly aware that life is short and you can’t take it with you. Hope that helps 🙄

I live for my holidays. Ive got them planned out until next year and have a regular rolling programme of bookings on the go

Each year I spend a lot on them, but they're not 'expensive holidays', they're just a flight and an airbnb, we dont do luxury but I am fussy about the accommodation and location and research for weeks before booking

We have a lot of holidays which is why its so much each year, I couldnt do the one big holiday each year, I need lots of holidays to look forward to. I count a weekend away as a holiday by the way, plus UK holidays and I get the impresison most people dont see that as a holiday but there you go.

For me holidays are important because it’s an escape from the appointments and admin of day to day life. It’s worth the hassle

I live for holidays. I find life stressful so having a holidays planned gives us something to look forward to. Pre covid we went Easter, August and December. It split the year into 3 equal sized chunks.

Post covid we’ve only done Easter and Summer as the December ones I’ve seen have been more than I’m prepared to pay, but I do look and would happily book if I find what I’m looking for.

I love the change of scenery, the not having to do laundry/cook etc, and always go places that there are things to do and see.

Our holidays are the favourite part of our year, to me they're priceless.

The holidays I had as a child are my favourite memories too.

Holidays are essential.to me after the obvious basics. Each to their own.

You sound like my twin! I could have written your post word for word

I love going on holiday! I love having something to look forward to. I love looking around new places. It’s like a detox or a re-set for me from regular life. It’s worth every penny for me.

I’ve always had a below average wage but I love going on holiday. I love the novelty of exploring somewhere new, eating food I don’t normally get, doing things I can’t do at at home and being away from the crappy Irish weather.
It’s also very nice to have a break from housework and having to drive everywhere.

I prefer to work 3 days a week so feel I do not need a break. As I get a lot of rest time.

I’d rather have a decent holiday than a flashy car, house etc. I like the change of scene, the guarantee of hot weather and the switching off from life’s usual routine. I don’t get people that don’t want a holiday, even a city break, Haven etc. any holiday for me is a break.

Because I like to see new places, eat in different restaurants & try new foods, relax, go somewhere where the weather is guaranteed to be warm (if going abroad).

People just like different things. It's fine for you to not see the attraction and spend your time and money elsewhere.

I've been thinking similar recently. For me the issue is limited holiday from work rather than finances. During COVID when I couldn't travel I took my annual leave a few days here and there through the year, I've now gone back to saving it up and having ten day/two week chunks in order to go away and I'm not sure I prefer it tbh. I think having a smaller thing to look forward to every month may suit me better than a big thing once or twice a year. But it's just different strokes for different folks.

With unlimited time and money I'd definitely travel.

I think you probably don’t get the attraction because it’s hard to understand something if you haven’t personally experienced it. To me, it’s totally worth the money to go on holiday- good weather, family time, meals out, drinks, relaxing by the pool, complete de-stress, we love it.

Nicer weather, nicer food, cultures that are more accommodating of children, sandy beaches with warm seas to swim in, seeing wonders of the world, architecture, history… the list goes on tbh, I think it’s odd when people don’t want to explore the world, there’s so much out there! It can also be done relatively cheaply if you put the time and effort into planning in advance.

The weather, the activities, the pool, the staying in a nice hotel not having to lift a finger, the different food, the new culture and languages. And so much more.

Like some PPs, we don’t spend on luxuries, alchohol, partying etc, and holidays are what we all love. Our adult DDs still come with us as they adore holidays too, and we have fantastic memories. And having holidays to look forward to does get you through any darker days.

The lack of being able to travel during covid was horrible. We are curtailing our plans a bit now because of climate change, and selfishly I am finding that hard. We will travel more in the UK. But the weather…

Mmm is this one of those stealth "beach holidays abroad are naff and only for the commoners " threads?!

For me it's worth it for all of the above reasons given by previous posters and more.

We've just returned from 11 nights in Sorrento and other than the glorious heat, sunshine, food, history, wine and incredible people - Naples in particular was MENTAL but gets totally under your skin - for us what I noticed most was the different lifestyle, complete relaxation of being looked after and foreign language meant we REALLY were able to disconnect from the 9-5. Uk holidays are great and we have a seaside one booked for October but if you have that absolute contrast that's when you truly can relax. Worth. Every. Penny.

But I'm probably a bit common.