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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Horror holiday stories

124 replies

Tooconfused12 · 07/04/2026 10:18

Posting in AIBU for traffic. Currently holed up in a hotel abroad - lovely weather, people playing happily in the pool outside and good vibes all around. Apart from the fact that both my kids have successively succumbed to the worst stomach bug I’ve ever known them to have - one after the other. Hours of compulsive vomiting, reaching, diarrhoea and now general malaise. I’ve just sent DH off to the supermarket to find antibacterial spray, and other hardcore cleaning products. I am sat here, for the fourth day in a row on the balcony watching other people have a holiday. I’m so gutted for the kids.

I was recalling all the holidays we’ve been on as a family for the past 7 yrs or so and I honestly cannot remember a time where no-one either puked, had the runs, or some other awful dehabilitating virus that fucked it, if not completely then for a good majority of time. Then we all get better the morning we go home. Please come and tell me your godawful holiday stories as I can read them today in between the vomiting and remember that I’m not alone

OP posts:
badgergrl11 · 10/04/2026 03:54

Went to Portugal. DD came down with food poisoning and was up all night running back and forth to the toilet. I jumped out of bed a little too quickly to check on her, got dizzy and fell into the nightstand, knocking myself out and ended up with a nasty bruise on my back (2 years later and I've still got a lump there!). DP drank the water and spent a few days on the other toilet. It was a memorable holiday for sure. Hope everyone is well soon!

BetterOffNow · 10/04/2026 09:24

EvieBB · 09/04/2026 17:45

It's just to do with us oldies of a certain age - when I was a teenager, literally only criminals and reprobates had tattoos so I still equate them to that unfortunately. It's David Beckham that made them mainstream.....

😂I'm in my mid fifties and have tattoos, I assure you it's nothing to do with David Beckham etc, and I'm not a criminal or a reprobate (most of the time).

How come it's OK to make assumptions based on ink but not on anything else? Maybe I should invent a new thing - being tattooist 😂

Katflapkit · 10/04/2026 09:59

Tooconfused12 · 07/04/2026 11:41

@Vintageblueribbon

That sounds horrific

It's like that old adage, 'you don't really know anyone until you have lived with them, worked with them or gone on holiday with them'

I take it that was the final nail in the coffin

Fernticket · 10/04/2026 12:33

If anyone wants to read more about holiday disasters, the actress Emma Kennedy has written a book about the holidays she went on in the 70s with her parents. It's called the tent, the bucket and me and whilst well and funnily written, it will resonate with a lot of the posters on this thread.

sunnydisaster · 10/04/2026 13:35

Another one! DCs were small (3 and 18 months approx) and we’d gone to the canaries with DH’s parents (I liked his mum, but I only tolerated his dad - really not my type of person). So we’re a couple of days in and there was a massive storm one night, really loud, windows were ratting, DC were scared etc. The next day we woke up to see the glass atrium of the hotel was all smashed in, seaweed everywhere on the beach, lampposts down etc. I remember we couldn’t go out of the hotel for a while but it must’ve cleared up as I have photos of us out for a walk and you can see the devastation!
In a way it was good that the PILs were there as the provided extra amusement for DC when we were stuck in!
Also on the same holiday when in car, DD (3) piped up ‘where do babies come from!’ I was not expecting that, but MIL had a good ‘stock’ answer that she was satisfied with (took another 5 years until I actually told her the mechanics!).

LadyVioletBridgerton · 10/04/2026 13:37

We both got awful colds in Florida once. In fact, I’d go so far so to say DH’s was flu. When we got back he was actually diagnosed with pneumonia which lasted months, followed by whooping cough 🤦‍♀️

SettledAndHappy · 10/04/2026 14:23

The year I turned 40 we collectively had some sudden health issues. We went to Germany for a fortnight, split between two locations. There was a heatwave and it was 40-42 degrees outside. Both locations were in a flat in the loft of the building with very limited window-opening capacity so we were being roasted alive. We had major food issues at the time which required us to bake our own bread in the oven daily, which became almost inbearable.

I got ill with agonising chest pain, acute shortness of breath, panic attacks/racing heart/palpitations, serious digestive issues and inability to sleep (like 30 mins a night). I ended up in a specialist A&E for people having heart attacks, but they couldn't find anything wrong. Had another doctor's visit for an ECG but nothing wrong on labs.

We moved to the second week's accommodation and I got rapidly worse. I ended up in hospital overnight so they could monitor my heart function due to acute symptoms - but couldn't find anyone until they finally found a significant potassium deficiency. DH had to look after the children who are both autistic with separation anxiety and neither of who had ever spent the night away from me before (I coslept with both).

I was discharged from hospital feeling pretty grim, and shortly afterwards DS2 stopped eating. Like completely stopped. Then he got really bad diarrhoea and I spent my 40th birthday stuck in this 40+ degree flat still having all the symptoms of acute heart problems and major digestive problems, with DS2 having acidic diarrhoea every 15-30 mins which seemed to be burning his insides out.

I only managed to get out of the flat for 2 days, and DS2's eating problems started 6-8 weeks of barely eating and losing weight. Before we travelled home, DS1 also started problems with eating, though not quite as bad as DS2. Not the most fun holiday in the world.

rainbowunicorn22 · 10/04/2026 15:49

yes i read that book well worth reading.

SpaceRaccoon · 10/04/2026 16:17

Tooconfused12 · 09/04/2026 15:03

Has anyone ever done a road trip? I’m wondering if they work out or if the idea of them is far, far better than the reality. I have a friend who lives in America - she did a roadtrip once - never again. Everyone was sick and her LO screamed through the entire state of Ohio

Yes but we have a campervan and travel sans children or pets!

SunCreamQueenie · 10/04/2026 16:43

Honeymoon in Bali, had jetlag for two days, on third evening H walking down corridor and a 4 metre tall glass door smashed in half (as he pushed the handle) falling on him breaking his nose and severing his arm through to the bone.
Managed to get to a hospital, travel insurance refused, cash demanded. Gave what I had, then had to go (alone) to a cashpoint outside hospital past a load of people hanging about. Got him stitched up, managed to get a flight home after a day or so. Went straight to A&E off the flight as wound looked infected. Waited about six hours, not classed as urgent, wound eventually reopened, cleaned and stitched up again. No lasting damage (to the arm) so all good!

Fgfgfg · 10/04/2026 17:05

ohyesido · 08/04/2026 22:53

You poor thing! I’m so sorry for your experiences, particularly being attacked by your so called friend!

ive been called a Jonah a harbinger room because every single flight bus or train that I board / am booked on will be late, cancelled, or suffer an accident or emergency of some kind. I was booked on a flight from Luton in 2023, and of course hackers infiltrated the air traffic control and all flights were cancelled/ grounded.

A man died of a heart attack on another flight from Portugal upon which I was booked, I felt pretty terrible about that even though there’s no reason for me to feel that way.

I got evacuated from a train in the middle of bloody nowhere (great chesterford, apparently only fields of sheep there and no phone service)

another train going through Enfield clipped a vehicle that had misjudged the crossing signal, huge trauma caused to the train driver who was taken to hospital.

so yea, it sucks being a curse

My mum has great holidays and rarely has any problems. However, you can guarantee that about a month after she returns home whichever country she's been to will experience revolution, war, rioting, civil unrest, or a natural disaster such as an earthquake or hurricane. Every time.

Tooconfused12 · 10/04/2026 17:06

God some of these are giving me panic attacks just reading them. @SettledAndHappy - that would have put me off going abroad ever again. Like, ever

OP posts:
Fgfgfg · 10/04/2026 17:20

WaddesdonWanderer · 09/04/2026 09:00

My parents:

  • booked to go to Yugoslavia and war broke out (cancelled)
  • booked to go to LA and there were riots (they still went)
  • booked to go to China and there was a SARS outbreak (postponed)
  • booked to go to Egypt and there was a terrorist attack (cancelled)
  • went to Mauritius, DM snorkelled too far out to sea and had to be rescued, and ended up with really bad sunburn

It was a standing joke in our family to avoid anywhere my parents booked!

Oh and we dragged whinging teenage DD round Pompeii in 40° heat when she had a slight rash. Turned out it was shingles. Oops!

Edited

Mine too! Hurricanes, riots, earthquakes, revolution, war. Always about 3 - 4 weeks after they've returned home.

MargoChanningsglass · 10/04/2026 17:31

BetterOffNow · 10/04/2026 09:24

😂I'm in my mid fifties and have tattoos, I assure you it's nothing to do with David Beckham etc, and I'm not a criminal or a reprobate (most of the time).

How come it's OK to make assumptions based on ink but not on anything else? Maybe I should invent a new thing - being tattooist 😂

Yeh exactly. Im 68 and have them, im wondering how old the oldies must be 😄

Ive quite a few but having convinced my horribly frightened of flying husband to get on a plane to Portugal a bolt if lightening hit the window he was sitting at.

Flight had to return to Belfast and going down the steps we could see a huge scorchmark right across it

Scammed in Spain years ago. The waiter told us our 20 euro note was fake, we should have thought quicker as wed got it from the bank. Hed obviously planted his own fake one. Instead we stupidly took his abs gave him a "good"one. In our defence it was our first holiday abroad and we were young and niave.

Muffinmam · 10/04/2026 17:37

Parrotpirate · 07/04/2026 13:06

Im not naturally a sweaty person. I dont wear deodorant as I never need to etc.

We went on a European city break.in July, during a heatwave. Followed by a cruise.

I didnt sweat at all. Instead my body held on to every bit of excess water. I couldnt get my shoes on by day 2. By day 5 (of 10) I had no clothes that fit.

Nothing I did would make it go down, tried diuretics, the ships drs. Nothing helped.

Luckily I was with family who wear bigger sizes so I didnt have to walk around naked. But I did have to buy some very questionable nana type velcro sandals.

It was so uncomfortable. I felt like a skin sausage, we had booked loads of lovely trips, with lots of walking and i was literally tottering about like the marshmallow man from ghostbusters as I couldnt really bend my knees or arms anymore.

Flew home and over about 10 days I went back to normal.

Have you considered a mast cell disorder? I am allergic to sunshine and heat sets me off. I get so swollen after being out in sunlight that my face swells and so does my legs and feet. It gets to the point where I have difficulty walking. It doesn’t have to be full sun - even standing in the light during an overcast day can set it off. I have steroids, antihistamines and diuretics.

MargoChanningsglass · 10/04/2026 17:41

MargoChanningsglass · 10/04/2026 17:31

Yeh exactly. Im 68 and have them, im wondering how old the oldies must be 😄

Ive quite a few but having convinced my horribly frightened of flying husband to get on a plane to Portugal a bolt if lightening hit the window he was sitting at.

Flight had to return to Belfast and going down the steps we could see a huge scorchmark right across it

Scammed in Spain years ago. The waiter told us our 20 euro note was fake, we should have thought quicker as wed got it from the bank. Hed obviously planted his own fake one. Instead we stupidly took his abs gave him a "good"one. In our defence it was our first holiday abroad and we were young and niave.

Edited

Oops too late to edit, it was pesetas in those days not euro 😁

PeloMom · 10/04/2026 17:47

Oh OP this happened to us a couple of weeks ago too. My kid got a stomach bug, fortunately I had scheduled few days downtime in the middle of a very hectic trip and it fell during those these. However as he got better and we ramped up again I got the bug too. I Had to lay in bed while everyone else had fun in Disney but hey, that’s life. He only remembers how much fun the trip was so it’s all good

purplehair1 · 10/04/2026 23:37

Processional caterpillars had a nest in the tree above our tent on a campsite in France. They have poisonous hairs they love to shed over everything. All over the wet towels and swimsuits hanging on the line for example. After a day or so all the adults came out in hives and itchy rashes - to the point where no one could sleep. Thought it was mosquitoes at first. Luckily the kids unaffected. We had to go out and buy all new clothes, towels, sleeping bags, everything. It was the most miserable holiday ever. And the campsite didn’t want to move our tent as they were fully booked.

EvieBB · 11/04/2026 02:57

BetterOffNow · 10/04/2026 09:24

😂I'm in my mid fifties and have tattoos, I assure you it's nothing to do with David Beckham etc, and I'm not a criminal or a reprobate (most of the time).

How come it's OK to make assumptions based on ink but not on anything else? Maybe I should invent a new thing - being tattooist 😂

ha, yes I'm certain you're not a criminal or reprobate lol....I was just explaining that when I was a v young most people who had tats (in the UK anyway) were from that walk of life....
That's how it was back in the day.....so those assumptions weren't misplaced back then. Of course things have changed and I feel that the tide turned when Beckham made it mainstream/cool rather than something rough...

EvieBB · 11/04/2026 03:03

MargoChanningsglass · 10/04/2026 17:31

Yeh exactly. Im 68 and have them, im wondering how old the oldies must be 😄

Ive quite a few but having convinced my horribly frightened of flying husband to get on a plane to Portugal a bolt if lightening hit the window he was sitting at.

Flight had to return to Belfast and going down the steps we could see a huge scorchmark right across it

Scammed in Spain years ago. The waiter told us our 20 euro note was fake, we should have thought quicker as wed got it from the bank. Hed obviously planted his own fake one. Instead we stupidly took his abs gave him a "good"one. In our defence it was our first holiday abroad and we were young and niave.

Edited

Well I'm 52 and I distincty remember only ever remember seeing tats (growing up in the 80s) on criminals and reprobates lol.....maybe I just lived a sheltered life lol 😂

MargoChanningsglass · 11/04/2026 08:58

EvieBB · 11/04/2026 03:03

Well I'm 52 and I distincty remember only ever remember seeing tats (growing up in the 80s) on criminals and reprobates lol.....maybe I just lived a sheltered life lol 😂

Never been a criminal or a reprobate

Never judged a whole section of people either.

Love a big melting pot where we are all different.

"Under tattooed" #head tilt. #tinkly laugh.

Imanautumn · 11/04/2026 09:18

Vintageblueribbon · 07/04/2026 11:37

Many years ago,my friend (who id known since we where 12 and were both in our early 30's at this point) decided to take the kids to a havan caravan (this would have been 2009)

It worked out as 2 adults (both single parents) and 8 kids between us

Got it all arranged,paid for it and was looking forward to it

She said her mum would take her and kids and wed have to take the train

Fair enough,we did

Got there and she suddenly turns everything into 'im the employer and your the slave'

She refused to unpack her and her kids stuff,took all my kids toys away from them and tried to boss them around while her ds sat on his arse playing on a games console (I put a stop to all this) and tried to make it clear I was to cook,clean and wash up for everyone (I refused and said wed do a rota,which was fair)

She then tried to tell me we where going to the overpriced fast food restaurant (which I couldn't afford,so she marched out with her kids,leaving me to cook and listen to the whinging from my lot as to why they where not having burgers)

Her ds came back bragging about his dinner,which set my lot off again

Id budgeted x amount for each day and all she wanted to do was hit the arcades all day (she had parents who would send her top up money if she asked but my parents would have laughed me out of the building if id asked) and when I said id take mine to the beach,she laughed and tried to tell me I was boring

She tried to turn my eldest (who was 11 at the time) into her personal nanny for her dc

She snapped and shouted at mine for the most minor things while hers ran riot and tried to destroy my kids toys/clothes and bother other people in their caravans

her ds and a dd tried to dump all my kids bedding in a large puddle-thankfully i stopped them and she got funny with me

her ds stood in front of me and pissed on the floor-nope not her ds

If they refused to eat what was put in front of them,she just rang her parents and got money to take them out but told mine they had to eat what was on their plates

Her dd bit/pushed everyone-not her child, her child wouldn't do that

We where meant to get up at 4:30am each morning and be in bed by 6pm (kids not adults-adults had to be asleep by 9pm)

Hers had the best breakfast foods while mine where meant to live on toast

Her ds's attitude was foul

My fault that where was no WiFi (she refused to pay the extra-i think I was meant to)

What her kids wanted to do (arcades) was what we where meant to do all day (I put my foot down and she got stroppy and sulked)

I'd accidentally left my suitcase at home so I only had the clothes I was stood up in (we had a row as her kids didnt want to go shopping and why couldn't I just make the best of it?)

On the last day,her family showed up and her sister in law was even worse (she hated me anyway) and she was even worse with the attitude-she tried to tell my eldest to change her babies nappy and shouted when dd said 'no' and thought it was acceptable to sit on her fat arse,trying to boss my lot around (they just walked off so she shouted that they where rude) while cooing at my mates kids (who where running around,biting,moaning,whinging and making a mess)

The sister in law tried to tell my two eldest (aged 11 and 10) to take friends kids,her two and my youngest to the park as she 'needed the break' and went mental when I said 'not happening' (the park was out of sight and at 11 and 10 years old,it wasnt happening)

My eldest two went to put some rubbish in the bin a few yards away and her ds 'fell' over (he hadn't,he just wanted to get out of helping) and somehow this was my kids fault (they where nowhere near) and the sister in law was screaming that they'd pushed him over-i had to tell her to shut her mouth,which made the silly cow worse

They bundled everyone into their cars and finally left,leaving us to clear their rubbish and get home by ourselves

(I want to make it clear mine where not perfect angels all holiday but even their mouths fell open at the behavior of friends kids)

Never again-the friendship didnt survive

Did you both pay for the holiday?

MyGhastIsFlabbered · 11/04/2026 09:28

When I was 15 my parents split up. But they had already booked a summer holiday for us and my dad emotionally blackmailed my mum into going. And it was what would have been their wedding anniversary during the trip. I still can’t think about Malta without shuddering.

Misnofitness · 11/04/2026 09:36

I sat next to a family on a plane once who had flown all the way to Florida to spend a week at Disney and the two kids caught chicken pox. They couldn’t fly on their scheduled direct flight so had ended up after two weeks holed up in the apartment on a flight to London via Houston and Pittsburg. Her parting words to me were to get my kids vaccinated for chicken pox

Ohwhatfuckeryitistoride · 11/04/2026 10:03

Good grief, this thread could put you off going anywhere! Mine are very minor in comparison. The holiday with bil and sil where they had an enormous row and he stomped off with their money and passports, the Highland Holiday booked with my Australian dsis where as soon as we crossed the border the glorious summer became a week of torrential rain, our expensive cottage wasnt ready and there wasnt the number if beds we booked so ds1 was on a bed in the lounge. The night before we left our excellent Cuban holiday when I got the squits and dh was running about scrounging meds. But the best/worst was a day coach trip with mum, 5 yr old and 3 yr old twins. Very hot day, twin on each knee, whining on how hot they were, took their t shrts off to see the chicken poxes popping up visibly across their backs.