Shit holiday

[WorkingMum1391]

Just want a moan really.
Arrived yesterday to thunderstorms and down pour which looks like it will continue on the rest of the week.
With DH, 8 year old SS and 1 year old DD. I'm sitting in the room in darkness and silence while she has a nap while DH and SS are going between indoor pool and arcade.

Just boring and crap so far.

How do I make it better if the weather doesn't improve? Wine?

Hire a car seat too

I’m with you OP. I wouldn’t have left my 1 year old with a bunch of strangers either

We got them no problem with car hire in Turkey. We didn't have to pay extra (although it might just have been that particular car hire firm lending them out for free).

Tomorrow is looking better, as usual the start of next week. How long are you there for?

Have you got thin coats with you? I’d go exploring and see what’s about. Our hotel had covered table tennis, pool and mini golf, and if there’s a heated outside pool that can still be fun in the rain.

If you wanted warm and dry, this week, you were a bit unreasonable to book somewhere where the average rainfall in March is more than twice that of London, (and in April is more than 1.8 times). Didn’t you pack any books or games?

I'm sorry OP that's awful for you. Unfortunately the weather isn't predictable, if only.Years ago I went Lanzarote in April and the weather was cold and wet for the entire week, meanwhile in Blighty it was 20C hot and sunny 😒

I’ll be joining you soon, this time for the crappy weather of Madeira, it is definitely unseasonable for the time of year there, they are basically getting all the crap weather we get in the UK, ironic that we chose it to avoid April showers 😂. Oh how we planned to hike with a 6 month old & 5 year old expecting to avoid days that were rainy for our 14 days so I can breastfeed on route 🙈..

I tried Portugal in very early May once, it was cheap but put me off doing an out of season holiday ever again.

It is risky going anywhere in Europe in March but I do think you have been very unlucky OP. My friend is there now and she said it is not just wet but cold too. I have been to the Antalya region many times out of season and never known it like this. I hope the weather improves in the next few days.

I guessed the vibrant city as Barcelona.

I went in April once and it was freezing sea mists every morning. Cold, damp and impossible to see more than a metre in front.
Annoying as the winters can be very dry and sunny (if cooler).
They generally burnt off by mid afternoon but still really affected what we could do.

I'm envious - which bit of the UK are you in? In the SE there have been really strong winds today - this afternoon it reached the giddy heights of 15⁰, but feeling like 11⁰ in the wind - so annoying outdoor pool would have been a bold choice unless in a wetsuit!

@Papercup the weather has become so unpredictable in the Maldives it’s harder to know when to go! Once it stopped raining it was lovely but it really was horrible- our room kept flooding as did the restaurant. They just aren’t designed for that weather.

This thread has brought back memories of the torrential rain in Marbella (May 2016), Tenerife (March 2022), Rio (March 2024). Only now can I see a pattern!! I seem to have terrible luck in shoulder seasons in destinations.

is there no facility for the baby to go to a kids club/creche?

At the beginning of April?? The local kids will be at school anyway so no "nannies" around.

Sorry you're going through this OP.

Reminds me of many years ago in Portugal when friends kindly let me have the use of their house. Old Portuguese cottage.

It was freezing, no bathroom (= outside in the bush), just a cold tap for washing and I lay in bed with a book for a week. Only venturing out to the local cafe for morning coffee (where the locals were on the cognac at 10 AM).

It was a 2 mile walk to the beach for restaurants. I did make the most of it, catching local busses to the nearest town. Everybody was so friendly and kind everywhere which was a blessing.

Sometimes you just have to make the most of it.

I mean Madeira is off the coast of Morocco almost halfway down it almost by the canaries and the Sahara!! It does get rain because it’s mountainous, but not normally this unsettled!

If you hire a car ask for a baby seat it's a common request

I enjoyed Rome too but I know a few people who haven’t. The only Italian city I was genuinely bored in was Florence.

@SunsetCocktails I think it’s different for me with Florence and have been lots of times because our Italian distributors are based just outside- so we always have work stuff whilst there too and a few lunches with their team etc - I personally find Rome more enjoyable as I personally dont go a bundle on churches or art from way back when

Sorry OP. Sounds grim. Try Fuerta Ventura next year. We've just had 2 gloriously warm weeks there. I was expecting rubbish weather and had taken winter vests 😅🤣😂

This is why I didnt have foreign holidays for years when the kids were young. Totally pointless!

As Victoria Wood put it....'Why pay all that money just to sit in the hotel room with the curtains drawn singing "The wheels on the bus go round and round"?'

I think I know exactly where you are, and we are due to go there in just shy of 4 weeks. I keep seeing posts on the hotel chain FB group about the weather being poor right now, and the fact that people went there this time last year and it was glorious. I’m a little apprehensive as we are going with small children…so whilst I have no suggestions, I sympathise entirely! Hope it picks up for the rest of your holiday, and in the meantime I hope you can enjoy a break from work (and the million house chores I intend to enjoy a break from!)

New york?

Off to Albufeira tomorrow, forecast also wet.

Reminds me of a two week Spanish holiday in May, whilst on maternity leave. I was so excited as it was the first time I was able to travel in term time (teacher).

Poured for 10 days.

That’s when you realise these sunny holiday places, have little else. No leisure centres with indoor pools, few indoor attractions at all. Wandering Carrefour really didn’t cut it. ☹️

This should cheer you up OP!

I am old enough to remember the hell that was The Baby Clinic, and the description of the women running it is pretty accurate!

Is it New York Curious.

I was in my late 20s/early 30s when I went and I didn't enjoy it much at all. I didn't even enjoy the shopping that much to be honest (and I like shopping!).

I will never pay my own money to go to NY again.

I think it's always worse when you have gone abroad and the weather is better back in the UK, and everyone says " ooh it's lovely here " - which it is actually at the moment !