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

YANBU.We have just returned from a holiday but it was DH who wanted to go and not me.Tbh the best holidays we have had in recent years have been 4/5 nights somewhere in the UK.Nice cottage with our dogs so no stress about leaving them.I don't fear flying but as others have said the hassle of getting to the airport,the security and ever present worry about delays kills the excitement I used to feel.
Plus no desire to stay somewhere less comfortable than my own home.On return I'm thinking of all the other little treats we could have paid for rather than one week abroad. Days out and a nice meal now and then suit me.
Some of our friends seem to hardly ever be home (retired)I sound judgy but I also think do they not care about climate change too?One friend is obsessed with booking long haul holidays. We don't have the money anyway and I can honestly say I don't mind.Her DH told mine once he was fed up of being away so much,but went along to humour her.Everyones different I guess.

We've only been abroad once since having DS 11 years ago and I will say that I did feel when I got back that I'd had more of a break than on any other holiday we've had in that time (in the UK).

However I completely agree. I like being at home and when people say to me they're off on a lovely holiday I say wow and that I'm jealous (to be nice) but actually I'm not at all. I do look forward to a short UK break, but although I enjoy it I generally just do 5 days as I just wouldn't look forward to a whole week...it would seem too long...I don't know why.

I am anxious about flying though so there's an element of that...but it isn't just that.

Neither?

It's OK it's not your thing. Honestly, travel is not the great mind-opener that people seem to think. Globalisation means that many places which are safe to travel to are quite homogenous, and whilst it might not be as exciting as learning Egyptian history at the pyramids, there's nothing you can't read in a book at home.

Many of the people who go on about Wanderlust are insufferable white saviours anyway.

Personally though, I love a good holiday, trying new food, experiencing different weather, the buzz of unfamiliarity and being a bit out of my comfort zone, but even then we all have our holiday types. A package holiday to Tenerife is second only to an extreme sports holiday in how quickly you'd get a no from me.

The Peak District is lovely, but it’s not remotely like Iceland, or NYC, or Rwanda or the south of France — there are lots of utterly different versions of ‘lovely’.

You can have travelled but decide you don’t particularly want to anymore. If I could just click my fingers and be at my destination then I would travel more but the cost and hassle just doesn’t appeal to me. I would love to go to Japan and South Korea though, but I doubt I ever actually will. Apart from them I’ve pretty much been to all the places I’ve wanted to see.

I have no holidays this year until September when all the kids will be in school and I’m thrilled that this summer will just consist of day trips and visits or the odd few days away fairly locally. We’ve done a few big holidays in the last few years and they’ve rarely come close to a good old fashioned day out!!

Everyone has the right to enjoy life as they see fit - and if being at home makes you happy then so be it.
I’ve always been a keen traveller but I’ve noticed in recent years I’m not as keen. I don’t know if it’s because of covid putting me off, or the menopause, or bit of both!
I definitely get more pleasure/relaxation from staying in a cosy cottage in the lakes these days than I do from going abroad but I’m not giving up on travel. I don’t want to be sat there at 80 wishing I’d actually gone to X,Y, or Z when I was fit enough. It’s the travel/airport/flight bullshit I can’t stand, I’m ok once I’m there.

Im starting to feel like you as I get older. Feel like I have been to loads of places already and whilst some are nice, I feel like I have seen it all before. I find the hassle annoying too.

I do love a holiday, especially where it's warm and sunny.

Not really keen on the faff of the airport though. My eldest ds is currently training to be an airline pilot and I am hoping in a few years he can fly me somewhere warm, hopefully without the hassle of airports and nice comfortable seat on the plane!

@GoldfinchFeather I worry that in this day and age we criticise ourselves for anything! But having said that I love a holiday. I have a holiday every time the kids are off school 🤣. I’m terrible. But if you don’t like it don’t worry about it. What is your version of a holiday- put the money towards that! And congratulations for having some money back from HMRC… I hope my letter is on its way 🤭

I'd go anywhere if I could be Teleported from my front door to my destination!

I don't let it stop me that much, but the hassle of airports and all the associated stuff is off putting now. It nearly takes as long to get to the gate as it does to get to the airport! And the crowds, and the queues, and the airline rules, and (now and then) drunk and unruly passengers, ah I could go on.

I still do it though, but not with the same excitement and enthusiasm I had maybe ten or more years ago.

Yanbu because if you don’t enjoy it you don’t enjoy it and that’s fine.
But I can’t relate to it, being on holiday is my number one favourite thing.
i love the sense of adventure, the new sounds and sights, discovering new foods and seeing how other people live. It’s really broadened my mindset and opened it up.
I enjoy U.K. holidays too but I adore the heat and sunshine and would feel depressed if I didn’t have one hot holiday booked to look forward to.
I hope it’s a part of my life for as long as my body and mind comply!

I love going to stay with family in the US but hate the flying and packing etc. I like day trips or one night stays exploring the Uk otherwise.
Definitely preferred travel prior to dc. I think as they are getting older, going away just the two of us is now in the horizon and I’ll enjoy it again

We both hate holidays and have never had one other than our honeymoon when we went for 4-nights (happily married 30+ years).
Short trips (2-3 nights) on the other hand are a different matter and we go away every couple of weeks.

Went away in my youth and it is definitely not a money issue, just never had any interest in them.

Why can’t you go on holiday with your friend now? A relationship doesn’t mean you’re tethered to your partner?!

I love holidays but I have a sister who hates them.

(And what kind of holiday is £650 going to buy you? A night in a hotel?)

I don’t really accept the premise of a “holiday person”, I don’t enjoy package holidays at all and I hate long haul flights but I love travel and particularly love visiting foreign cities.

i think it’s a bit of a shame personally to have never seen anything of the world beyond your shores but each to their own.

Why would that be unreasonable? If you don’t want to go on holiday it’s fine not to. I’m very much a holiday person and it’s definitely what I would spend the money on but I don’t think it’s at all weird that you don’t feel that way.

My friend is obsessed with the fact that I’m not bothered by going abroad. She seems to think it’s because I don’t know what it’s like. I travelled really extensively in my younger years and it was great but I don’t want to do it again. It’s getting to the point where I’m going to have to be really blunt ‘I don’t want to go to Spain and drink cocktails all night in a place where they play English football on the TV, and ‘I don’t want to go and look at how the poor people live in Vietnam from my luxury hotel’.

A week away from it all, camping on the coast with my dog is perfection for me.

I’m a great armchair traveller. All the sights without any of the heat and mosquitoes 😊

“A week away from it all, camping on the coast with my dog is perfection for me.”

This for me as well😊

I feel exactly the same OP. I don’t really get it! I have colleagues and friends who admit they “live for holidays” and I just can’t imagine what that’s like.

If I won a holiday I’d happily go, but otherwise there are plenty of other things I’d sooner spend the money on.

Similar to OP, I live in a place others travel to for it's beauty, and when other people post their 'stunning view' photos from holidays, theyre very underwhelming compared to my daily drive to work.
I would like to see more of the world (I have already travelled a fair bit), and maybe I will one day, but atm I can't be dealing with the hassle of it all. Maybe it's perimenopause, but I need a break to rest when I get back from travelling

I’m the same OP. I travelled lots from late teens to late 30s - Italy, Tunisia, Egypt, Greece, Turkey, Spain, Lanzarote, Tenerife, Iceland etc. etc. Now, I hate the packing, airport wait and hassle. I also hate leaving my cat and miss my own comfy bed and lovely home. If only I could just press a button and be there and same again to get home, I’m sure I would be a lot more attracted to going.

Oh I love holidays. I was thinking earlier about how we used to plan holidays in the olden days - traipse down to the travel agents and pick up brochures. Then spend hours at home pouring over the photos and prices until we found the perfect destination. There even used to be a little temperature chart at the bottom of the page. Then back to the travel agents a week later where you'd sit while Linda made some calls and tapped away on her computer to secure the deal.

Happy days 😅