AIBU not to love holidays?

[NotSoSunny]

I’ve been on 4 this year and can’t say I’ve loved any of them. All different holidays: friends, partner and family holidays.

I find the prep, travel and pressure to have a good time a bit much.

AIBU, do people absolutely love their holidays?

I don't agree personally as holidays are important to me, but we're all different.

Why not go on holiday alone? I’ve done that before and it removed a lot of the stresses that you mention.

Maybe you’re going on the wrong holidays? Can you think of anything you’d like to do?

Have you ever enjoyed holidays OP? Or is it just those you've been on this year that you didn't enjoy? You say that the pressure to enjoy yourself is too much, do you not get to do things that you want to do while you're away, and end up trying to enjoy doing things that others want to do? For example, if your thing is to lay by a pool and read a good book, but your companions want to go off exploring, do you stand up for yourself and say 'I'm just going to lay by the pool today, but you go off and enjoy what you want to do', or do you let yourself be pushed into going out, when it's not really your thing?

I absolutely love my holidays, always have, but I have a couple of friends who hate the very idea of staying away from home and another who will only go to the same hotel, same town, same 2 weeks every year.
We're all right and so are you!

I don’t like holidays. I mean I don’t mind them when I am there but find them very stressful in the run up, the planning, the trying to keep everyone happy, the worry of bad things happening whilst away/before leaving etc. Not to mention the money!! These days I can’t get over spending thousands for a week or two when that could be spent on something that makes a difference day to day for years like a new bathroom…

No one on Mn likes holidays, OP. They find packing stressful, get anxious in airports, freak out about what to wear on the plane if flying to a hotter or colder climate, and miss their own beds, cups of tea, routines etc.

This is me

I love holidays - the run up to them, anticipation - often buying new clothes, swim wear or footwear
Usually somewhere with better weather, I manage to switch off from stress better. Relax reading, swimming and exploring new places
Spending more time with my loved ones or a good friend
As soon as I get back I’m planning the next one!

Maybe I enjoyed them more prior to having children? I do get to do things I like, though I do think I do things that I think I should be doing such as tourist attractions etc as I think I’ll regret it if not.

I agree with most of this, plus planning outfits for myself and children, day trips and excursions.

I despise the travelling to and from a holiday, it’s stressful, takes so long and I haven’t been on a flight which has been on time in about 8 years!

I don’t like them either. I’ve done lots of travelling and I enjoy the excitement and hustle and bustle leading up to it. but once I’m there I feel disappointed or the excitement is gone. Plus I don’t sleep well in other beds so I never get a good nights sleep. I also think about how all the money spent could go into my house, something I enjoy much more and longer than a trip. I’m a weirdo 😂

I love them so much! Just as much with children! We go away 6 times a year and I’ve never had a bad holiday. If only I had more annual leave!!

What do you love so much? I’d love to love them!

How old are your kids OP? Do you tend to go abroad, or holiday in the UK? I get the impression that maybe you're trying to fit too much into your holidays. I get you feel you ought to make the most of where you are, in case you don't go back again, but equally holidays are supposed to be about having a rest too, in my opinion. So, would you say you're getting the balance right?

@NotSoSunny

I love the food, the culture, the architecture. I love not being at work and just doing exactly what we want. We used to favour city breaks before children and I’d love exploring during the day, visiting a few bars, then a lovely dinner. After children, we did the same when they were young and portable, but when they hit the toddler stage I started to enjoy visiting beaches a bit more, seeing them so happy digging in the sand and splashing in the sea.

We like to go self catering, so we tend to go exploring during the day, have lunch out, then pick up some food at the market for dinner. Having your own pool is great for children and just general relaxing. We tend to opt for somewhere with a washing machine so we take the absolute bare minimum (what’s 5 mins out of your day pressing a button on a washing machine?) and means we can travel light so aren’t laden with bags.

I’ve only had a delayed flight once, so maybe I’ve been lucky, but I don’t find air travel that stressful and it’s easier with children as they seem to try and get you through quickly! We also do driving holidays in mainland Europe (where we don’t pack light!), and train journeys in Central Europe too. I find the travel quite exciting and part of the holiday!

But ultimately it’s just being able to spend quality time with my family, relaxing in a beautiful place, no work stress, great food, great wine, exercise, and absorbing the local culture. If I won the lottery I’d travel the world!

Loved holidays before I had kids

Hated holidays when kids were little (its basically the same amount of work as at home just in a different environment but without all your stuff)

Kinda like holidays again now kids are teenagers but I do agree that the prep is stressful- plus finding someone I trust to look after the dog (no family to do it) etc

The only thing I do love about holidays is better weather so you can plan stuff much more easily than in the UK as its constant rain

A new bathroom won’t be the thing you look back on with pleasure in later years……

I have noticed this! I am in my fifties and still.love holidays. I also do at least 1 solo trip a year which is bliss.

I love holidays but also understand why some people won’t. There are also some holidays that wouldn’t be for me - everyone is different.

The idea of flying with DS is a hassle I would rather avoid, the logistics would make it more of a problem than it’s worth, so we don’t fly. We either holiday in the U.K. or we cruise from Southampton.

Gosh I love holidays! My 3 year olds been long haul 4 times and just back from a month travelling Thailand with a baby and toddler

we loved it - I just travel super light don’t worry about having nice outfits or lots of stuff - can get things there if needed

having no laundry to do or house work / cleaning and usual day to day crap

on holiday we had zero routine - I absolutely hate the bedtime slog with baby and toddler at home

but on holiday the kids just slept wherever / whenever - we had them out late , husband & I managed dinner and cocktails on the beach several times with sleeping kids in buggies

we took it easy and didn’t push too many attractions and things

I went on a snorkelling trip & kayaking trip alone and it was bliss

my daughter and I helped out for a morning at an animal sanctuary

i took her on a boat tour to see pink dolphins while husband had the baby relaxing by the pool

we played in the beach everyday and watched beautiful sunsets

swam every day

ate amazing food

went to an elephant sanctuary and saw elephants bathing and roaming the jungle

saw wild monkey on the walk from our hote

home life is way less interesting 🤣

I know I hate it when my diamond shoes are too tight as well

This makes total sense

I always get bad anxiety while on holiday as well

I know what you mean OP. We went to DisneyLand Paris last year and we were so excited in the lead up. After literally 30 mins in the park we'd been shouted at by one of the staff on the train and it was horrible (we'd gone to get into the train carriage he'd pointed to and the people already in the carriage had said really aggressively 'no you can't come in here, go away! and literally pushed us out the door. So we moved to the next one and the employee became really aggressive, he came storming into the small carriage and literally shouted in my face in front of my kids for not doing what i was told! it was horrible to be honest. Extremely aggressive and wouldn't listen to what I was trying to tell him.
I was fuming but decided to say nothing because I didn't want to upset the kids further. My DH who is no wall flower was in shock and couldn't believe his reaction (I suspect the employee didn't clock that DH was with me so went aggressive on a seemingly lone woman). The kids looked scared so DH cuddled them (which I was really glad about as normally he'd be very vocal back again and it could have escalated). It was one of those split second situations that you can't believe is actually happening. I could feel my anger rising but the kids were so excited about being there and my son has ASD so didn't want to make it worse for him. The man was quite literally a bully. I could feel myself getting more and more angry and welling up. Luckily there was a really lovely bloke from Birmingham with his two kids who cracked a very well timed joke about the bully and we all laughed and basically made light of the situation. We ended up meeting them on the next ride and had a good chuckle. He really lightened the mood and got us back on track. I was determined not to let it spoil things as we'd worked so hard to get the kids there).

We did end up having a good time but we had to work hard to get over the initial disappointment. It's tainted my view of holidays to be honest. I googled staff aggression at DLP and there seemed to be a pattern of disgruntled behaviour towards guests due to multiple factors. Wish I'd known before we went but you live and learn.

This sort of thing just makes me worry about spending thousands on a huge disappointment.