To not be a 'holiday person'?

[GoldfinchFeather]

Totally appreciate I could be in the minority with this, but just curious if anyone else feels the same way towards holidays or if there's something wrong with me? 😆

So, the backstory is that this week I had two pieces of good financial news in one day. First, a letter from HMRC saying I'd paid too much tax and they owed me just over £600. The second, an email from my bank saying they were giving me £50.

I was telling a friend about this (not in a boastful way, just joking about how it must be my lucky day etc) and their comment was to me that I should treat myself to a holiday with it.

But the truth is that I haven't been on a 'proper' holiday (in terms of actually going away to another country) since before Covid. Truthfully, I don't really think I'm a 'holiday person'.

For a start, I'm single and of an age where we don't do family holidays anymore (early 30s), so in all likelihood I'd probably only end up going somewhere by myself. Which, if that's your thing, that's fine, but I can only imagine it must be quite lonely when you're in a foreign country.

Secondly, on times I have been away, I've always dreaded the 'going away' part. The faff of packing or going to an airport, then the torturously long journey just to get somewhere, only to do the same thing a few days later when coming home. Does anyone really enjoy that?

Finally, I'm very much a home bird and enjoy my home comforts. I seem to lack the wanderlust/itchy feet that most other people have. Seeing photos of the pyramids is enough for me to know they exist, I don't really feel the need to go see them myself.

Of course, you can never really say any of this to friends in real life, for worry they'll think you're odd/boring/unadventurous (so I'll probably get it in this thread instead). But does anyone else feel similar to me they they just can't be bothered with holidays?

YABU - you're a boring sod and really need to see more of the world
YANBU - you're right, and holidays are too much effort

Are you me OP? I feel exactly the same. I’ve done my fair share of travelling, both solo and with friends but have reached the stage where I’m not really fussed. The whole thing can be a hassle, especially if you’re on your own. A lot of my friends think I’m odd but I’m past caring. I think it’s odd that people spend eye watering amounts and get into debt to go away every year but each to their own. At the moment I’d much rather have some quiet time off at home with the occasional meet-up/trip. It makes me happy so I don’t think that’s odd at all 😀

Use your money and treat yourself to something you’ll enjoy.

In that case, if all bills are paid, I would be looking for a piece of art or a piece of antique jewellery (I love old jewellery).

It will last longer than a holiday.

Congratulations on your windfall.

YANBU! I get this, it's not necessarily the effort that puts me off, it just doesn't particularly excite me. I'm also a total home bird!

You wouldn't get much of a holiday for £650!
I am very much a holiday person and a big fan of solo travel but as I get older the appeal is waning. For now the enjoyment I get from being away outweighs the faff of travelling but I'm sure the day is coming when I decide to just stay at home.

I feel the same, but have my own young family. Holidays are overated and I’ve always been gagging to come home, even when I’ve gone to places like the Maldives, Seychelles, Thailand etc. They’re nice enough but always delighted to be home.

A basic holiday for us (family of 5) in Spain, Greece, Italy or wherever this summer, in the school holidays will be about 5k. My DH is gagging to get something booked, and I’m just completely ‘meh’ about it. Normal, regular family holidays are just so much money now and with young kids it’s just not worth it.

I’m the same OP, I’m just not a holiday person! I’m early thirties too and my parents still like a family holiday - we go to Prague next week and I’m not excited at all, I’d rather spend the week off at home pottering, or maybe a UK holiday.

My friend and I have been speaking about a beachy summer holiday and I don’t really want to go but I don’t want to let her down either 😫

I can't be bothered either anymore. I did it last year for the kids but I couldn't wait to get home.
I think I'd rather spend the money on making my home life nicer - healthy takeaways when I'm too busy/tired to cook, a bottle of prosecco with friends in a nice bar, taxis home on a rainy cold night, nice big well grown plants for the garden that are impossible to kill, fun treat days out with my son where money's not a problem.

These things make me so much happier than packing a hundred things into a too small bag, stressing for 3 days that I've forgotten dome elusive item that's going to ruin being away, getting up at the crack of dawn and spending a day travelling always terrified your going to miss the train/flight/transfer, having to eat food that has been made in an unseen kitchen and handled/left on a counter for an hour, and live in a hotel with hundreds of people I don't know.

I just can't get excited about it anymore.

Seeing photos of the pyramids is enough for me to know they exist, I don't really feel the need to go see them myself.

Exactly. These places are much more magical in my imagination anyway.

In real life places are just full of tourists trudging the same paths as you, shunting along year day after day, year after year, with a souvenir place selling plastic pyramids/ plastic taj mahal's/plastic Mount Fuji's/plastic Ayres rock

I'm a holiday person but not a long haul holiday person.
4 hours my my limit.
Sitting any longer on a plane does not interest me at all.

I had this very much after Covid, prior to that I was very much a holiday person, had done lots of travelling - for extended periods of time.

But I've got my mojo back. Just come back from 2 weeks away - city break and beach - with a long faffy flight - but had a lovely time away and was very chilled. I liked seeing new stuff.

partly it's because I live in a very boring place!

I haven’t had a holiday since 2017 and had two that year. I haven't missed it at all. It was initially because I couldn’t afford it but I feel I’m just out the habit now and it seems like too much hassle and I hate flying. I know I’ll probably never have a beach/hotel type holiday ever again as I’ve done those to death.

I’m also a home bird and I live close to the sea, people come here for their holidays so I don’t feel a great need to be in similar surroundings somewhere else.

I don't think there's a right or wrong here. You like what you like & that's just fine.

I, on the other hand, absolutely ADORE going away. I'm not remotely interested in beach holidays as I'm very pale skinned & have zero interest in lying by a pool or on a beach.

I just love visiting places of interest to me & soaking it all up.

I go away several times a year & I get very hemmed in otherwise.

I love my home & have a very happy homelife with dh & dc & we all love to wake up in a new beautiful city & spend the days exploring.

For me not being able to travel was one of the worst parts of covid!

I love trying the food & drink, visiting museums & galleries & wandering about.
It's hugely life affirming to me & i never see it as a hassle, always a privilege to be able to do it & we've travelled v long haul with dc so we do understand the logistics

I would rather have a trip & the lifetime of memories that it gives than a material object any day

I feel a bit like this. The older I get the more I hate flying and I find the whole airport experience so stressful. I do love visiting new places but I much prefer travelling by train and taking my own sweet time getting there and exploring. I hate 2 day city breaks where it’s just rushing from start to finish trying to cram everything in and spending an absolutely fortune for the privilege.

For me a slower, more gentle pace of life without the need to have big plans all the time is a real luxury. A lot of people find this boring but I want to live a life I enjoy rather than one I feel the need to escape from.

Totally agree.

Waste of time and money. Especially with the internet, you can be anywhere you want with no hasstle.

I absolutely love a holiday. It just feels very freeing and an escape to me. I need to be away from home sometimes. It gives my brain a break.
But if it's not your thing, it's not. Treat yourself to something you'd really like or enjoy instead.

I wasn’t a holiday person when with my ex because he made holidays horrible. Now I’m single and I AM going to be brave an go on holiday alone (my kids are grown up now and would rather holiday with their friends than their mum). I did go on one holiday with a friend and it was amazing. Totally different to anything I’d experienced before and that converted me. Sadly (for me and my holidays) my friend is now in a relationship so can’t holiday with me.

I can't really relate as going away is my favourite thing. I could live without the journey to and fro, but being somewhere new with all that beauty to absorb is well worth it to me. If its not your thing that's fine. You may find you change your mind at another stage of your life. My urge to see the world hit me late 40s when I started to get the sense of there being a limit on how much of it I could reasonably ever see, and wanted to get as much in as I could. Also the feeling that experiences are more valuable to me than possessions now, as I have all I need.

I am a holiday person, but as I've got older I've realised that I only think the faff and expense is worth it for a really exciting 2 week holiday somewhere interesting and far flung - warranting a stay overnight at a Heathrow hotel and making a proper 'thing' of being at the airport.

UK holidays have lost their shine now prices are so high, every meal in a restaurant needs pre-booking, service is awful, checkin has got later and checkout earlier, and the weather is so often shit.

European holidays often involve only a 2 hour flight, but the whole process of getting to the airport, getting through security and waiting around, flying (with delays as standard) and then getting to the accommodation at the other end - takes about 12 hours. Such a palaver.

A big thing for us is that we love our home and can't justify the expense of a hotel that's as nice. Our lovely bed with good quality bedding, great coffee machine, loads of space etc - we're always staying in something not even half as nice, and then I think "is this what I've worked hard all year for".

We're about to go on a US driving holiday and that's the kind of holiday I think it's worth it for.

You only have to read the holiday threads on here to know most people have an unrealistic expectation of a holiday, and often the looking forward to a holiday outweighs the actual holiday itself.
Most people l know love to boast to others where they're going on holiday so as to appear interesting.
Creating a way of life you don't feel the need to escape from is the answer.
If you want to be herded through the airports like cattle and sat squashed on a noisy smelly plane for hours on end, good luck.
I love the Uk, day trips and weekends enough for me.

I absolutely love holidays. I love going away with friends, my husband, and now our young family. I love the planning, the excitement, the travel, the food, the culture, the architecture. But, for me it’s about sharing the experience, bar hopping with friends, romantic meals watching the sun go down, seeing the children play in the sand, run from the waves, try new food, etc. I don’t think I would enjoy a holiday on my own, I’ve been abroad with work and evenings to myself are bearable, but I’m a very social person and would miss someone to enjoy the experience with.

YANBU and I slightly agree to the extent that I think I've decided to holiday a lot less and use my AL to go on day trips so I still get sleep in my own bed and I don't need to arrange for someone to feed the cats.

But I wouldn't earmark the tax rebate as free money just yet. Twice I've had a rebate only to receive a bill for a slightly different amount a few days later.

So instead of them giving me £50 back,they seem to prefer to say 'here's £600, but you now owe us £550'. Bastards.

Were all different.

I am the total opposite to you. But that’s fine.

I feel the same.

I lived overseas and travelled extensively in my 20s and 30s but now just cannot be bothered with all the hassle.

I love a day out though 😁

My DH have both been on numerous holidays before met including America, Dominican, Egypt etc. Now though we hate going abroad on holiday for the exact reasons you've said. What we do love though is going on holiday in this country. Having our car means we can come and go as we please, we always stay in a high spec cottage or lodge with lots of walks nearby and ideally a pub that does good food. Our idea of a holiday would be very boring to some but it makes us happy and means we get away a few times a year, twice so far this year.

I'm not a holiday person either, but I'm a lot older than you and I think travelling has changed a lot.

I wasn't ever a big holiday person, but I didn't mind a short break kind of thing. Now I find everything is a lot of hassle and I think you need to be able to pay an awful lot to get a good experience.

Like a previous poster, I would rather have nicer things in everyday life. My sister is disappointed, but there are a lot of trips I went on really just to keep her company.

We didn't grow up going on holiday. It was too expensive. So it's not something I'm used to and I don't feel like I'm missing out.

I got massive discounts on spa breaks with one company I worked for. So we did that a lot, but it wasn't worth full price then I don't think. Certainly not now although I haven't checked prices lately.