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?

I didn't go on a holiday until I was 20 years old - that includes uk breaks. Growing up we just didn't have the funds.

Now I'm a parent, and we do have disposable income, I absolutely love holidays with my children. And to us, a holiday is a fortnight abroad, a week at Center Parcs, a weekend in London, or a few days in the beach town 10 mins drive up the road from us.

The only time I get to give my full time and attention to my family is when we are on holiday. There's no 'hang on, just putting a wash on, no 'in a minute, I'm just about to start dinner'

A week off of work isn't a break when there's still a household to run.

It's pure family time, with nothing to do but make memories.

Me too

Everyone has different views of what to spend their money on, what to priorities etc. I think it’s bonkers to spend all that money on AI and sitting next to a beach for 10 days, but I love skiing and cycling abroad and getting at least a week in the alps plus another couple of long weekends in Europe is a priority for me and we save to do so. Others will think it’s bonkers to spend all that money and come back more tired than you were before you went and do the same saving to sit in the sun next to a pool.

Some others go to the pub every Friday and Saturday and spend their money there, or on a weekly takeaway and some spend hundreds a month on car finance etc. Each to their own surely. Yes some people can’t afford any of the above, and some people have what feels like unlimited cash, but for average income households which I think is what the OP is on about here there will generally be enough that means some saving each month can allow for one or maybe two of those ‘luxury’ items as their spending priority.

We love holidays and spend easily up to £10k a year on them. We've just early retired and have holidays planned for every month. Cruises,
luxury long and short haul, City breaks, festivals, spa hotel breaks, walking tours, motorcycling tours etc etc.
Most of our adult DC's favourite childhood memories are holidays and so are ours and we have definitely passed on the holiday gene.
I have a long bucket list of specific places I want to visit and some old favourites luckily DH will go anywhere.

I don't understand people who spend loads of money on bags and shoes, or hair and nails, or a new kitchen/car/phone when the previous one worked fine.
I do understand people who spend every last penny on experiences, especially travelling abroad.
Different people just like different things and have different priorities.

I love holidays and travelling for work. DD14 and I just got back from 2 weeks in Florida. It was amazing and educational. It's fantastic to get teens out in the world.

This. We have so many memories.

I used to work in end of life care, going into people’s homes. I remember one particular elderly couple who I was very fond of.

They’d had some great holidays in their time, as a family and then alone as a couple
later on. They must have spent a lot of their income on them. They talked about the places, some that they visited more than once, and showed me photos, he joined in when awake as he remembered a lot ftom
that time (although his short term memory had gone) but his wife showed me more photos and talked about more of their memories while he slept for a lot of the time.

I have always been a big holiday fan anyway (and really prioritise them over new cars and gadgets, or expensive clothing etc ) but spending time with that couple really cemented that for me. Right at the very end of long life together, those memories were some of the ones that really stood out for them and were still bringing them pleasure.

One day my DC will be grown up - and we will still have memories and perhaps go away together I suppose, but there is nothing like packing for a trip with small excited DC, and arriving and seeing their faces, and having that family time together with nothing else intruding .

We have been on interesting city breaks and done self catering, but with multiple DC I still think it’s worth every penny to have all inclusive and waterslides and evening entertainment and all that malarkey.

I travelled before DC and will again one day, but for now this is the way to do it and we have holidays at times that cost about 1 months joint salary and I still think they are worth it.

I have noticed that some people are a bit sniffy about it though, with “It’s alright for some isn’t it?” or “ on holiday again?”

I often think to myself that those same people are driving around in very new cars (mine and DH’s are both over 12 years old) or having their gardens landscaped or building extensions or something whatever, and that the only difference is that we prioritise different things (but I keep my thoughts to myself as it’s not really any of my business or concern as to what others spend their money on!)

My husband works incredibly hard and it's the thought of his next holiday that gets him through some days.
We don't have a big house or a flash car, but we go on several adventure filled breaks, sometimes abroad, sometimes at home.
Some people like a status symbol new reg car to clean on a summers day, we prefer to go snorkeling...

A change of routine and scenery is refreshing.

I love camping... it makes me appreciate my bed 😂

After I went travelling, it was amazing to come home and wash my teeth using tap water.

I love the UK. I love seeing other places in the rest of the world.

Change recharges the soul.

Because I work a long hours stressful job from which I can rarely switch off. I do not want the uncertainty of shit weather and unfortunately it costs to go abroad.

We are actually going to the south of France late august / early September and it's not costing too much at all.

For us it's definitely quantity over quality.

We go away 4-5 times a year for what some people throw at a single week. We're usually tactical, and go for 5* accommodation in cheap countries (the penthouse suite in Bosnia stands out...), or go basic for a few nights then luxury for one or two.

Not holidaying this year and enjoying just chilling with the kids instead, actually spending proper time together doing simple stuff. It’s actually been great so far!

YesIknowalready. Yep, a week. We spent a bit extra on rooms with a sea view and we wanted to fly from nearby Heathrow mid morning, not Stansted or Gatwick at some unearthly hour.

Don’t you spend ‘proper’ time together on holiday too?

I'd be happy to go to the continent by rail if the railway in this country weren't so prohibitively expensive and unreliable.

Post covid 2 years wasn’t bothered about flying anywhere - I lived abroad on/ off for 7 years when I was back - again did not miss airports or flying so happy to do lots of England based experiences. But this year I don’t know what has happened - got the travel bug- want to go everywhere so many amazing places to see in the world. I’m going to Copenhagen, Slovakia and San Sebastián this summer all of which I got reasonably priced and my friend just asked if I want to go to Israel next summer. I love history, culture and sightseeing. Would be bored all week on a beach.

It is seeing something different. I don’t go for clubby / beach holidays but cities of interest historically and which has interesting cultures.

They do it because they like it, that is the answer to anything everyone does that other people don’t enjoy.

Dsis and BIL go on multiple expensive holidays a year. They have the money to burn and still be comfortable and they like to visit the world and see the rest of the UK. They enjoy this.

I do not enjoy being away from my own home and do not enjoy spending lots of money on non tangible things like holidays so I do not do this.

You can have brilliant family holidays that include fun, sun, good food etc on less than 4500. So in that sense you're right. I think it's a crazy amount of money.
But I think Yabu to be down on holidays in general, it's normal to want to get away from the UK and have some fun.

House swap?

We love exploring new places and cultures, trying new foods, the weather, learning a language, a break away from home and the temptation of working (we're both self employed and DH hasn't had time off since Christmas, me since last August), introducing DS to all of these things. It's worth every penny. I spend weeks if not months researching before booking though so we get the most from our budget.
Last year's holiday for a week in Greece cost as much as a week in the Lake District. The only difference was we cooked every day in the Lakes, whereas we ate out in Greece, but we had the facilities to cook if we had wanted. It's as much about the change of scenery and not being stuck at home as it is the destination.

I don’t fully relax unless I’m away from my home, there’s always so much to do at home. I don’t have to go far. Just the chance to be somewhere else and relax, as much as you can with children! I particularly love holidays where there is no mobile phone signal.

Your post reminds me of my childhood. My father lived for our (his) 2 week holiday abroad and was stingy with everything in the pursuit of this short break!! I can remember it being hot when we went away, nothing much else sticks out in my memory.

We holiday in the UK and Ireland. A mix of seeing friends and family, and exploring new places, love getting away from the four walls. Always been miraculously lucky with the weather in the main.

Saying that, I am keen on the idea of a bit of winter sun to get away from the dreary winter, so I'm saving for this! My idea of a nightmare would be going away for a summer holiday abroad when it's scorching at home already! Not that I have £4k to dump on a trip away. I'd have much better uses for it tbh. Fair play if you are minted and it's what you want to do with the cash, each to their own and all.

Definitely wouldn't bother with a 7 day holiday abroad with all the palava at the airports either end.

we are not loaded with money and have saved for holidays. In the last year we have done 5 uk holidays and we have just had our first holiday abroad with DD. We love being away and doing new things I do however think uk holidays get a bad rep we enjoyed our uk holiday as much as our 5 star holiday abroad. I don’t personally see the point in paying thousands for a holiday abroad to sit around a pool and her leave the
hotel.

I absolutely love holidays but I just cannot get my head around how much money some people spend on them. With a bit of research and effort you can save ££££. I really can’t believe some of these package holidays are worth the price. We just back from 10 days in France that was £1200 all in for 3 of us and it was brilliant

I've travelled extensively but since COVID put the breaks on travel I haven't been anywhere since then. I have just lost interest in being crammed into a plane to go somewhere that's too hot for me to be comfortable. The thought of the airport faff and the plane just leaves me cold now and I can't imagine going back to the days where a 14hour flight was something I would choose