How, where, and when do you holiday?

[keyboardkat]

As this board is aimed at those of us who don't have children, I often wonder what others in this position do for holidays. The main holiday board is often full of theme parks, days out and focused (naturally) on catering to children and family holidays.

What do you like? Are you a sunbed person, do you like resorts? Do you prefer adult only, and do you/are you able to travel term time?

I don't like sunbeds, or resorts, or places catering to children and families, and fortunately can travel outside of school terms. I usually go to Europe, so I pick a country and spend 10 days+ travelling around using trains. I enjoy that. I like city breaks too. Never been on a cruise, have done all the long hauls I ever want to do, so it's easy access and pottering around for me!

Love sitting by the Caribbean, preferably with cocktails on tap, thinking about nothing more than which book to read next and what time to have dinner. Bliss.

I'm an immigrant (naturalised British citizen) so my holiday is visiting family. As much as I'd love to have a proper holiday (sitting by a swimming pool while sipping cocktails) I know that this will mean that my only living parent has died. So I'm happy to postpone that type of break.

I go away for just under 2 weeks each year during the summer. We have fireworks down here in August which I hate. I use it as an excuse to visit a few cities and di a few different parkruns.

I love museums. I'm disappointed that I don't live closer to Edinburgh (I'm south west England) to visit Surgeons hall more often.

I tend to go cycling somewhere, or walk. I either organise something myself, or join some friends. Hasn't happened since COVID, though!

We tend to take leave in June and September so if we want the seaside or somewhere that’s usually busy in school holidays it’s a bit quieter. We usually stay in the UK, and will rent a cottage for preference, and travel around. We are heritagey people so often go for castles and churches and so on.

If we go abroad it will usually be by train to Northern Europe. Love a city visit anywhere, really.

I wanted to ask if anyone has stayed in any of those Warner Leisure hotels, where they are adults only. Some are in lovely buildings and I like the idea, but I wonder if they are a bit staid and stuffy. I like a nice relaxed breakfast and so on, and from the ads, they sometimes look like I might be told to sit up straight at the table and shushed if I laugh. Has anyone got any experience to share?

I've got family and friends in different countries not I try and visit them. I'll often go during winter when its dark and bleak in the UK or during the year with a cheap ticket during an off-peak time. I've also got a sister (with husband and 2 kids) living a couple of hours away in a nice part of the UK which I visit every other month and occasionally join on holidays. Pre-pandemic I used to go solo to South-East Asia during Xmas / New Years as I love the food and wanted to avoid the excessiveness of Xmas but I've been spending it with family.
I'm fairly frugal on holidays and where possible, I stay with family/friends, else cheaper hotels and airbnb.

We like adults only cruises, city breaks and self catering cottage holidays in Scotland.

Whatever we want! done everything from beaches in mallorca to thailand to cruising europe (on less child friendly ships) Las vegas and even enjoyed a childfree trip to disneyworld!

Before Covid I used to do a few escorted tours. Also don’t mind a short-haul holiday in the sun. I actually try and avoid adult-only hotels as I travel on my own and am not a big drinker, and I’ve found that adult-only places are either too noisy or too full of couples being couples 😉 I go outside school holidays though.

Mediterranean. Italy, Turkey or more often Greece. These countries give me plenty of options for both flopping by the pool and sightseeing. When younger it would be alternate days, now I'm older there tends to be more lying down and sightseeing every 3 or 4 days. Apartments or small family run hotels. Never go in school holidays, obviously!

I need to have something to do on holiday, so often book holidays around activities, usually some combination of walking and yoga.

The absolutely best have been at https://www.clublasanta.co.uk

World class, every activity you can think of and plenty more I didn't even know existed. Love the weather, food and the cool scandi vibe. Brilliant.

We do a mix of city breaks and 'beach holidays' but to places where there is plenty of stuff to do so that we can explore in the mornings and chill by the pool in the afternoons. If we are doing a beach holiday we just look for smaller, less family centred hotels. We are hoping to do more long haul once finances allow.

We find Apr/May/Jun but out of schools holidays or September good for getting the right balance between good weather and not paying crazy prices.

We do quiet self-catering/camping in the UK - the only thing we want nearby is a proper old-fashioned pub. We steer clear of any entertainment and the like! We go outside of school holidays, for obvious reasons - one huge benefit of being childfree (unless you work in a school of course, but fortunately I am a corporate person!)

We don't look for adult only places - as a pp said, they tend to be rather party orientated and we just want a quiet time and a couple of pints of real ale at the end of the day. The places and timings we choose mean that there are naturally fewer children about and those there are tend to be pre-school age and quieter (excepting the time we camped and it rained for a week and the tent next door were playing 'Postman Pat' on a loop 😂)

Adult only /all inclusive resorts
Cruises
City breaks
Vegas!!!!

Road trips, city breaks, occasional cruises. Favourites have been a deep south USA road trip, and travelling around Japan.

Like me, a lot of you seem to enjoy travelling during term time. (I think I got it back to front in my OP tho!)

Good info about "adult only" spots. I wouldn't have put them down as party central, but it's good to know. If they are not they are probably fairly staid and hushed tones. Either way I'll avoid, as I do go to the sun now and then.

Am enjoying reading about your child free travels.

This is us too.

We tend to look for somewhere a bit luxurious and ideally resorts which don't allow children under mid teens (or at least aren't focused on families)

I mostly do city breaks with lots of walking, but I've done very chilled out cycling holidays, and trips to the Arctic with activities (not Santa-type stuff!) and enjoyed those too.

I've been lucky to do quite a bit of travelling with DH, we tend to not go anywhere for a while and then have a big long-haul trip.

Spent about 4 months in Asia at one point, another year we backbacked some of Europe over Winter and spent Christmas in Budapest, and we've had two seperate road trips across USA, each was a 6-week trip. The first was very route 66 focused, and with the second one, we got married in Vegas and headed to a few of the stunning National Parks for our honeymoon.

Also had a few short breaks, Portugal, Spain, Slovenia, Poland etc. But not many.

Really made the most of bargain flights and always travelled off-peak, saved a fortune avoiding travelling at school holiday times.

Next on the list is a Canada road trip, and I want to do a safari in Africa. Also would love to visit Mexico. And I've never visited Scotland! DH would love a campervan at some point so we'll get one and explore the UK more.

I like active holidays so lots of sightseeing and hiking!

Out of school holidays is my unbreakable rule (getting harder and harder with 4 term school years), no advertised "child-friendly" locations (but then I'm not much of a resort person anyway) and a mix of city breaks and longer European and worldwide trips. The group of friends (also childfree) who OH and I often travel with joke that we've had a holiday of a lifetime roughly every 2 years for the last 15. Japan this year.

Always term time apart from a short Christmas break. High standard holiday cottages, up-market hotels, not necessarily those that exclude children but those that have nothing aimed at children so families tend not to use them. Multi-stay touring holidays - doing New England including Cape Cod and Nantucket this autumn.

We tend to choose self catering cottages in the UK and do a lot of walking. Usually aim for outside school holidays to keep price down.
I’ve got more holiday this year than DH and I quite like the look of this: https://www.walkingwomen.com/

We try to take a few city breaks every year, mostly in Europe. Tend to go away in the UK for our wedding anniversary.

We like an adults only all inclusive for a week somewhere just for sitting down / eating / drinking purposes, and have a big blow out holiday every few years. Last one was Japan, next is a deep south road trip.

Op I have kids, but travelled extensively prekids. I've always loathed 'holiday culture'. Given you are restricted to school holidays these would be my recommendations:
The Azores, good temps all year round (can get a bit chilly but never freezing!) rains regularly, but because of that the islands are generally very green and lush, most of the islands aren't suitable for young families, due to lack of sandy beaches, and the sea can be very dangerous.
Madeira, again not idea for beach lovers or families with young children. The Easter holiday and May half term would be ideal times if botany is your thing.
I know you said you've done with long hauls but if you ever get that itch again and if your budget can stretch to it, Norfolk Island in the Pacific is fabulous (I got massively ribbed by my colleagues when I worked in OZ for taking a holiday there as it's seen as a holiday destination for the older generation....I was early 20s!).
I'd also have Nova-Scotia and Newfoundland for August holidays, stunning places I'd give Halifax a swerve if you want peace and quiet, but as a lone female travel I felt very comfortable in both Nova-Scotia and Newfoundland, although I would advise hiring a car to get around.

Oops just reread your op and you can travel outside of termtime....well in that case the pretty much anywhere! May and June or sept to oct for Greek islands, there is so much more to them than sandy beaches. Olive groves, museums, sunken cities, stunning architecture etc.