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

Each to their own. I love a holiday but I do find them stressful and certainly not relaxing with kids.

YANBU. I love holidays and travelling the world but I completely understand it's not everyone's cup of tea. Be true to yourself.

I enjoy some holidays but have got fussier. I need a comfortable bed and not to hear noise from neighbouring rooms. We increasingly go back to places we've been to before and holiday cottages in the UK rather than hotels abroad. The trouble with spending a lot of money on a holiday is that it's gone in a week where as you could spend the money on something you'd enjoy for longer.

Funnily enough, I never want to do a uk holiday ever again . The cost and the weather put me off .

I agree with this.

We need a super king sized bed and peace and quiet at night.

Maybe I’ve just got a rubbish memory because I can hardly remember the places I’ve been now. So the ‘making memories’ thing is lost on me. I know I’ve seen the Sistene Chapel in Rome and I know I’ve been to the Eiffel Tower in Paris but I can’t really remember being there.

So it just seems a huge waste of money which we could spend on other things. My DH isn’t enthusiastic about travelling anyway and even the teenage DC aren’t too bothered.

I know this will sound a little crazy but sometimes I imagine I’m on ‘holiday’ somewhere. Memory is similar to imagination so it feels the same as being there really, especially with all the photos & videos available on the internet now. I mean, you can literally see the view from the summit of Mt Everest on YouTube if you want! You can be anywhere in the whole world (or universe) in your own home for free just using your imagination!

Like other home birds, feel it is a luxury to ‘not need to get away from it all’.

Well, you do you, obviously, but yes, it sounds spectacularly limiting to me, to stick to whichever bit of the world you happen to live in. I’m assuming you wouldn’t want to go and live in another country, either? Or would you?

I can totally understand. I love seeing places but I'm not so much of a 'holiday' person when it comes to logistical admin of them. I actually like flying (as in the actual flight) however the airport and the security charades and the queuing, and the place being full of other people like me, sick of that shit, tired and grumpy, that can piss off quite frankly.

I go skiing a couple of times a year and we almost exclusively drive now (I also like driving, which does help) because lugging all the bags and kit 2-3 hours on a train, or even worse a coach, to spend 2-3 hours in an airport, for a 90 min flight, just really put a dampener on the enjoyable bits.

Belgium, Netherlands and France are quite easy for me by car, so I do like to do city breaks and the like, but I agree, £650 I'd probably have some nice things at home for that. Enjoy them guilt free!

I feel similarly but not exactly the same.

I loathe the actual journey. So much faff, so much logistical stress. I mean I've travelled enough that I can do it on autopilot for the most part but it's such a long amount of time to spend being vaguely uncomfortable and sweaty. Trains are better than planes though.

The most relaxing thing for me is to have my home comforts, my home routine and my own bed without having to do anything. It took me many years to reconcile my desire to travel with the fact that I find a lot of the practical aspects of travelling to be unpleasant chores.

It kind of came together when I realised I don't travel to relax so I shouldn't worry that I can't relax when on holiday. I travel to get a feel for what life is like in other places.

That also means I focus on local restaurants, bars, clubs, hikes and general city strolls rather than the tourist sights - I've been to Rome nine times now, for work and pleasure, and I've never seen the Sistine Chapel. With that queue, I never will. And you know what, I'm fine with that - I'm eating my way around the city's best restaurants instead.

I did go to the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps as a vague nod to doing what tourists should do. The Trevi Fountain was fine but god, so many tourists there! The Spanish Steps were very... is this it. They're just steps.

I like relaxing but I don’t actually have any interest in a lot of places that other people do, I actually am not sure the actual travel is worth it to see these places (for me anyway)

I’m the exact same so no, YANBU.

I feel totally ambivalent about holidaying, I'm happy at home. Recently went to a european city for the first time in 20 years, it was like being in London really, similar stuff just different architecture etc. Not a beach holiday fan either. My friends cannot comprehend it!

Why can’t your friend come on holiday with you just because she has a boyfriend?

I am sixty but still love my holidays and go away multiple times a year. I travel with my adult DC, with different groups of friends, and some solo trips too. I probably enjoy the solo travel the most 😂

Don't related at all I thought you were a pensioner till I saw your age! At your age I was booking all the flights I could like g adventures tours round Cuba!
But if that's not your think that's ok, but it's definitely unusual

I’ve travelled the world when I was younger - but nowadays air travel is such a faff - security , endless queues, overcrowded , endless delays, rude staff, tiny tinny planes with overpriced junk food - that I really can’t be bothered . Covid was the change for me - I didn’t miss it and then never really got back into it .

Ps I love the routine of train to the airport, prosecco and browse round the shops there!

I love holidays and travel of every kind, but different people like different things. I can't see why anyone would think you were unreasonable because you don't enjoy the same things they do.

I think quite a lot of people find travelling or being away from home a bit stressful, or feel the effort outweighs the enjoyment. I'm not one of those people - I love long journeys, seeing new places, having a break from normal life, all of it. I even get excited about how much reading I'll be able to do on a long plane/car/train/boat journey. But of course it's not everyone's thing at all.

I agree years ago you were ok as long as you had your tickets and passport with you. Now you have to hope and pray that whatever you've printed out from the internet or got loaded on your phone will actually allow you on the plane. When you get there you are ripped off if you don't download local apps that you don't really understand eg for taxis

Loads of MNers don’t seem to leave their village (or answer their front doors) so I’m sure many will agree with you but personally I love going abroad and seeing new places.

I accept it's unusual - but I'm glad from the look of this thread so far than I'm not the only one.

I suppose it also comes down to personal circumstances - I live about 15 minutes drive from the Peak District, which I love walking around. When you have a place like that just on the doorstep, it's very hard to find the motivation to go somewhere like Cuba!

But maybe if I lived in a more urban area miles from nature or green space, I'd find travel more appealing.

^This is a good idea. Something you will have to enjoy for a long time.

A holiday is hit and miss and could end up as a waste of time and money if you didn’t have a great time.

YABU. I just can't understand why anyone would not want to see the world. Yes, I do understand the journey is annoying, boring and tiring but it is so worth it.

I love trying foreign foods and getting a glimpse of the lives of people abroad. And I really love seeing the natural world - it's just not the same in a photo. Furthermore I find getting away from the normal humdrum of life at home is such a tonic. It's the only time I fully relax.

I agree. I live in a coveted part of the country with some incredibly beautiful views, very popular with holiday makers. If I lived somewhere drab I’d probably need holidays a lot more.

Just to add I have travelled pretty well over the years and been to several different continents.

Word.