Holidays are just not worth the money

[Phonicshaskilledmeoff]

Holidays are just not worth it.

The kids are desparate to go on holiday. I struggle to see the value though. For the 5 of us an abroad holiday is about £3k minimum. I struggle to get over the cost whilst I’m there - £500 a day and I sit wondering whether it was worth it.

The kids are excellent travellers and beautifully behaved when on holiday so it’s nothing to do with them. I just think it’s insanely expensive for what you actually get.

I enjoy it whilst I’m there - how do I stop being a cheap killjoy?!

YABU.

Holidays make amazing memories.

Stay in a Eurocamp and make it cheaper.

YANBU. I don’t think it’s worth it. Especially if you have kids and are limited to expensive school holidays.

Well you get dedicated family time away together. Maybe nice weather. The chance to explore a new culture, eat new foods, see new things. That's worth a lot of money for many people.

Agree with the first poster, try a Eurocamp. I love holidays and have travelled well, however ever due to increasing costs this is probably the first year since covid I haven’t had one.

£500 a day?! That’s just being dramatic!

There is cheaper or expensive ways to holiday depending on what you want from it but for me seeing the kids relax and play in the pool / beach / sun if very much worth it.

£500 a day? Wow! What are you buying?

But they get to experience a different country, different food, travel, new sights to see and learn about.

YABU

Whilst I do agree that the cost is crazy, I do think they are worth it.

with my first child we were living poorly so he didn’t get any :-(
however I had 2 more kids a decade later and am in a much better financial position and as a result they have been on holidays and we’ve loved them
and I often feel guilty that my oldest missed out on them (he’s now “too old” to come on holiday with his parents and siblings)
poor lad didn’t get any fun trips like these two do.

£500 a day!!!! Yabvu

Don't go on a holiday that costs that much!

It's quite possible to find cheaper holidays - just adjust your expectations.

You can holiday somewhere in England, Wales or Scotland, perhaps for a shorter time.

Yanbu

I think the same about cars

A rolls Royce is £200000 and does less than 20mpg and it doesn't seem worth it for school run and supermarket

You’ll get a 50/50 response here OP.

I used to hate holidays when the kids were small. It was more work for me with less stuff, different food to get then to try etc and I couldn’t be arsed with it.

the trick is finding the right holiday for you.

personally I cannot stand sitting around a pool all day with hundreds of strangers, queuing for 3 meals and trying to stop the kids drowning eachother. That is not fun. End of.

I enjoy culture, activities and yes, some relaxation.

so we go for villas now, where it’s just us enjoying a private pool, we’ll go somewhere where we can hire a car and visit the cities, museums, the countryside, different beaches if we want etc.

it’s not all that - we do water parks for the kids and days of sitting at the pool but ultimately it has to be a holiday for everyone.

£500 a night! For a week's holiday the flights will take up proportionally more of the total. 10 days or a fortnight and cheaper digs could be the same total price. But don't go if you don't value it.

I have such fond memories of going on holiday as a kid. Mostly Scotland, we didn’t do much, lots of monopoly, eating bacon baps for breakfast. Once to France and it was so exotic feeling.

I get you it’s expensive….but if you can afford it….it’s important.

It's well worth it to us. It's time away from housework, work, cooking and all other life admin. A time when we can relax and all reconnect as a family. We prioritise our holidays over other things as they are so important to us. I've got one coming up in 2 weeks and I am loving the planning, anticipation and I even enjoy packing 🤣

For me holidays are worth it. Firstly, the lovely consistent heat. Secondly, dh is away from his home office and cannot work, he totally switches off and becomes a different person. For the duration of the trip someone else is cooking the food. There are no chores, clubs, work insane demands on my time. There is usually lovely food, culture, architecture and scenery to explore.

She means it's a 3K total holiday, so each day effectively costs £500.

OP means if you divide £3k by a week so the £500 includes flights and accommodation.

I do know what you mean OP although also love my holidays. We like cheap and cheerful UK things, this year we’ll have spent well under £2k for all our holidays and generally go away 3/4 times. We went to a holiday park in Dorset at Easter, swimming pool so guaranteed activity but we were actually really lucky with the weather. Then went to Yorkshire and the Lakes in AirBnBs at half term. We’ve got a week in Suffolk in the summer holidays. We are quite happy poking around a castle, on a beach if the weather is nice, going for walks though. If possible a pool is a game changer as can still fire my daughter out even if it’s raining. We would always rather spread out a few different breaks rather than have all the eggs in one basket of two weeks somewhere hot. Saying that though, I do really want to try Eurocamp so may do that next year!

£500 a say?!

I’m going away for £800 this summer. Most of that is accommodation but I have paid about £200 for flights - there and back with a checked bag.

You’re just choosing insanely expensive holidays.

I’m staggered by the price of them when I first look to book - I keep harking back to the fact that DH and I used to go away for about £3-400 each before we got married (just pre Covid) and that was school holidays too as I was teaching at the time. Basic, but pleasant and clean accommodation with a pool etc. We now have DD, although technically it says she gets a free child place, I wasn’t able to find anything for under £2k for the three of us this summer. Same basic places as before. We’ve actually spent a little more for a nicer resort and all inclusive as for a small difference in price it seems to be quite a step up in accommodation so I think that will at least be a novelty for us - we’re very used to cheap and cheerful!

Last year we went to Iceland - that was expensive but definitely felt worth it, very special, and particularly as there was a family reunion element whilst there.

It’s worth it to me still, but I can also understand how you feel when you break it down to the cost per day.

People saying Eurocamp - how are you getting it so cheap? Are you driving? I looked into it extensively but still couldn’t get it to come in under 2k for 3 of us once flights and travel were added in.

Hard disagree. Holidays over everything, for us.

House swap? We had soooo many free holidays when kids were growing up. Amazing memories and they’ve been everywhere.

Holidays are everything for us too.