Vomiting on every holiday this year

[Nobodyiswatching]

This year I have taken the kids to Majorca (back in April.) We stayed in a lovely 5*AI. Kids aged 7 &11. Four days in, my little be comes to the side of my bed at 3am and tells me he feels sick. Cue violent vomiting and diarrhoea for the next 24th a. Eldest then comes down with it. He was even worse. Even after he had cleared out his system he couldn’t stop retching. All bedding and mattresses soiled. Has to keep the bin by his bedside for the next two nights. Then DH comes down with it and I spend the rest of the holiday caring for people and watching other people have the holiday of their lifetimes from the balcony.

Now we’re the first week into another holiday. Day 3 eldest suddenly projectile vomits in the car. We stop car halfway to the attraction and undergo an intensive cleaning operation - it went everywhere. Car seats and personal belongings ruined. Next night I wake up to the dulcet tones of the youngest standing at the foot of my bed projectile vomiting. And I then came down with it yesterday and spent last night hunched over the sink and the toilet with quite possibly the worst case of D&V I’ve ever had. Today has been a complete write off.

I’m so fucking fed up. Our holidays this year have been totally ruined by this. Is it just bad luck? We never had this issue before. But it’s been so intense both times, and has taken us down one by one, effectively screwing our holiday both times. I’m so done. I’m so sad.

Anyone else relate? I had lovely holidays planned for this year and each time we’ve been decimated by D&V. It’s just been horrific. I feel like we’ve totally lucked out

Yes every single time. Its affedted me so much that weve stopped going.
If the holidays werent so expensive and travel was easy id risk it, but it costs so much money, time and effort to just be ruined.

It’s shit isn’t it @Texasbbq92740

Ah that’s really unfortunate. This happens to a friend of mine too, every time she goes on holiday, her DC has been harbouring some sort of sick bug that then goes through them all. It seems very unfair. I wonder if it’s that thing where your immune system kind of takes its foot off the gas when the normal routine stops and stress decreases.

Norovirus can go fuck itself, seriously.

I've had one uk seaside holiday go down like yours. Started with middle child, then youngest, then me, then eldest. Then my Dad (also on hols with us) got it and passed out and i had to get an ambulance whist holding a baby and trying to keep the other boys under control.

Such bad luck getting it happen twice, i really feel for you x

Maybe next year keep them away from places they can any bugs. Soft plays etc can be a nightmare for picking up bugs.

Don’t discount heat exhaustion. This year we got sick and a lot.

I don’t think I’d bother with holidays abroad if they’re that prone to sickness. Sounds hideous & such a waste of money.

There's definitely a phenomenon out there with adults too. I couldn't count the number of times I got a chest infection or some other illness the minute I relaxed on a holiday. It's as if the immune system relaxes too and the bugs have a field day.

@Leo800

I don’t think I’d bother with holidays abroad if they’re that prone to sickness. Sounds hideous & such a waste of money.

It would have been easier, less expensive and less worrying to stay home on both occasions. Not sure I’ll do it next year

I suspect it’s down to sick people getting on flights so as not to lose out on their holiday but in the meantime spreading it to everyone else.

I really feel for you, they’re so expensive and to spend it in the hotel room is such a waste. Your kids are young, perhaps have a year or two of UK or driving to Europe holidays and try again in a few years.

Are you a sicky family? Only ask as I could count on one hand the number of time my family of 5 has been sick and eldest is 8.

Yup - recognize this.

I live half a mile from the Welsh border and my family joke: "M gets sick even when going to Wales."

I remember when 2 of ours were violating away and my OH and I took on one child each. We met on the landing in the middle of the night, each carrying a bucket of sick! - "We simply can't go on meeting like this" he said.

Vomiting not violating!

I think it's just bad luck, but i'd be tempted to go to a Airbnb villa with pool or something else like that so you can go self catering next time and minimise contact with people!. Could it be the AI buffet? Or pool?

One of the reasons we stayed Uk based this year was due to a bad run of various illnesses when overseas. It really does suck.

I really sympathise. My last holiday both my daughters got really awful ear infections..one at start and one at the end so most of week ruined

I was going to say migraine, reading your OP. That was the cause of several holidays in a row when I got ill on day 1.

This is different though. We deliberately had holidays close to home, and long weekends, so that we could do without, get home, or at least know it was only a short break ruined. Spread the risk so to speak.

It got better when they were past primary.

Yes, it's happened to me too, twice in the space of a year.
First time abroad, 4 star hotel, Husband became ill one night after eating in the restaurant, I was OK. he was fine after 24 hours.
A couple of days later I was ill with D&V all night, felt ill for the next 2 days,
We often eat different foods because we have different tastes. The hotel swore no one else had been ill with any sort of food poisoning. I found out later others had been ill at various times during the 2 weeks we were there.
It was an AI hotel, so the odds are it was what we had eaten there.

The second time was 3 nights at a hotel in Wales. The food was delicious, yet once again I was really sick on the last night.

I am seldom sick at home.

A lot of AI buffets are to blame. People don’t wash their hands. Parents let kids touch the food and put it back. Watching some German guests in Portugal a few years ago put me off the buffet concept for good.

The most likely culprit is Norovirus. It is one of the most contagious viruses there is, it's not killed by hand sanitiser and can stay on surfaces for days. It starts with sudden projectile vomiting and will go through every member of a family in days. Once you've had it your immunity to it only lasts a few weeks before you can contract it again. It's one of the most feared viruses to infiltrate hospitals and cruise ships.

https://ukhsa.blog.gov.uk/2025/10/23/norovirus-what-to-do-if-you-catch-it-and-helping-to-stop-the-spread/

Some years are just bad norovirus years.

Are you strict with hygiene from the minute you get to the airport? Touching things that thousands have people have touched will introduce so many germs. Are you strict with hand sanitiser/ hand washing before eating or drinking anything at all, after touching escalators, stair rails, seats etc and regularly through the day?

I always find that travelling hammers the digestive system. A couple of days into any holiday and there's bloating, constipation, diarrhea. Not always serious but always uncomfortable. And the further the destination the worse it is. Fed up with it really.

With this as the starting point I'm not surprised that any little bug then has a big effect.

This, I’ve seen so many grubby people doing manky things. We take little antibac/antiviral wipes for the plane tables, wash hands frequently and we have a little bottle of hand sanitiser on the table for eating at hotel buffets and use it each time we go and get food. All it takes it someone to use shared serving stuff without washing their hands.

I wouldn't go all inclusive for this reason. People are gross, even a 5* buffet will be full of germs. Norovirus is airborne so all it takes is for someone to breathe over the food for example.

I changed the way we holiday after 3 consecutive years of Center Parcs and norovirus. It's the number of people, particularly children, with poor hygiene. Chuck in an airport and AI and you've got dozens of nations sharing germs, recycled air and a hot bed of germs await. We use Airbnb now and happily, don't venture abroad anyway.

I was convinced to go on a very big family holiday to Center Parcs a few years after I swore off it. There were 3 big birthdays and a retirement to mark. Day 2, SIL started vomiting but carried on using the pool anyway. I refused to swim after that and several other family members dropped like flies.

i have severe emetophobia and since I became a mum 11yrs ago I’ve never caught a bug off the kids touch wood.
my kids are very rarely sick as I get them to wash their hands before eating , or whenever we’ve been out for the day , I drum it into them so much that they just do it now without being told. Don’t get me wrong they do get bugs but their hand washing is great! So when we go away abroad and uk holidays Everytime they go into the arcades or anytime before sitting down to eat they wash their hands. I have 3. It’s hard work but I genuinely cannot be sick and I HATE when my kids are too I could literally run away. We hardly eat take out etc and everything is cooked by me. (I know I’m no fun) but my emet is so bad therapy doesn’t even touch it. X I’m sorry this has happened but handwashing can defo prevent it