I think YABU to expect an abroad experience from a UK break. They are not comparable and have to be viewed as different types of holiday.

DP and I are currently abroad enjoying a city break but we also like going to the Lake District. In the Lake District we walk and read and eat sausage rolls in our rain coats, on our foreign city breaks we sit out in the sunshine sipping coffee and aperol and eating olives. Both are lovely breaks away but you have to have different expectations of what you are going to be doing, pack and plan your activities accordingly.

Also i’m not sure why people are spending so much on accommodation!

I love UK breaks, the countryside looks spectacular. It was warm and sunny here yesterday and we had the most gorgeous evening drinks on the terrace before a dinner party and it was incredible. Everywhere has horrible areas, but you choose the nicer ones next time op!

Sounds lovely whereabouts are you? I'm trying to think of somewhere to go for a week away next June just me and my husband ☺️

Wetherspoons coffee was so bad the only time I had it I had to ask for a refund. It was undrinkable.
Don't take this tip.

If the answer to the problem is going to Wetherspoons then I think the OPs point is comprehensively made.

You obviously can afford it as spent the money!

In those situations, when money's tight, we had a flask of tea or waited until we were near to a cheaper chain, like Macdonalds, which you could also have done.

From what you've said, you've chosen to spend a minimum of £34 on 3 teas and coffees. I've never done that if money is tight and would have expected that if things are so tight that the coffee drinker had tea as it's cheaper.

Likewise, if eating outs so expensive, make picnics etc. It is possible even with the current price hikes to do it on the cheap, we have literally just done so.

I also don't think that you will be finding this utopian cheap holiday abroad either for some time to come...

So many places... Most are what you make them...

Are you close enough to the New Forest? Windsor? Canterbury? Rye? All lovely.

My mum and sister are just on their way home from a lovely break in Yorkshire. They go to the same cottage every couple of years and I have been sometimes too- independently booked so not part of one of the big websites making it much cheaper to book. Weather can be hit and miss but we always find something to do- head into towns/museums if the weather is bad, walks/coast if it's nice. Eat out about half the time and they said it hasn't been any more expensive than usual- obviously depends on where we eat- touristy seaside places or boutique type restaurants then you expect to pay more, local village pub or average cafe and it's less.

I regularly buy coffee and tea in Starbucks next to the Cutty Sark / Maritime museum in Greenwich - which must be one of the biggest tourist draws in the country (and maybe in Europe?) - and it comes to £4.50. So I’m surprised that random hotels on the coast are charging £9+. In your shoes I’d be going somewhere else / not buying at all / taking a flask; there are very few times I’m willing to pay that much.

I think UK holidays can be lovely but you have to play to its strengths - get good all-weather gear and don’t be surprised when it pisses down in Wales (or plan backup indoor activities); use the supermarkets you know rather than local tourist traps to stock up. (I’m all for supporting local independent businesses, but not if they extort.)

Same here, we went to the Lake District this week. Air BnB accommodation was crap and way overcharged (it wasn't even clean and had been empty for some time). The cost of eating out was ridiculous and has we had better cooking facilities in the house we would have just cooked. We paid £4.20 for a single sandwich, made with Hovis, with one slice of ham and a slither of butter. I got a Ploughman's salad for £9 consisting of three small slices of ham, three small slices of turkey, some chutney and a little side salad. We went to a supermarket and bought sandwiches to take after that. These cafes are going to end up going bust.

We have a week in Wales every year and yes, restaurant prices were slightly higher. 3 course meal for 2 and a bottle of wine £110. But everything is locally sourced, superb quality and excellent service. It's what we'd pay in our city.

Don't get it. If you're moaning about the price of drinks, take a flask. If you're moaning about the price of food, take a sandwich. If you're moaning about the price of ice cream, anywhere by the sea will have a mini supermarket or corner shop where you can buy a four multipack of cornettos. It is quite possible not to consent to these prices, or enquire first and don't stop if you don't like it!

Agree with the Spoons tip from pp.

DP and I will try to find a Wetherspoon pub in an interesting old building wherever we’re staying. The Playhouse in Colchester was a favourite! They have old show rooms, banks, assembly rooms - all sorts of historic spaces.

I'm no fan of Tim Martin but I admire his care for the buildings.

We have actually stayed in a Wetherspoon pub overnight and it was fine.

You think prices of coffee and ice cream would be cheaper post Brexit and post covid if Labour was in charge? Is that what you're saying?

Op, prices have gone up, but I haven't noticed a massive increase in the prices of coffee. I would refuse to pay that much for tea or coffee. There must be nice places that don't charge that.

We never holiday in the UK as the standard of hospitality is so, so poor in relation to price. We've just got back from a fortnight in Tenerife, self catering apartment in a beachfront complex, flights, transfers and baggage for 2 adults, a 2.5 year old and a baby for £1200. We were within a few minutes walk of bars, beaches, restaurants, shopping centres, play parks. And the weather was excellent for the entire fortnight.
We've looked at UK breaks, but as we're in the North East, we'd have to factor in a significant amount of money to travel anywhere that might get decent weather, and the UK just doesn't compare to what we can get abroad.

I did a long weekend with the kids years ago, during some lean times, housesitting for friend in a tourist hot spot. We ended up doing this most of the time, buying a supermarket picnic or ice creams and sitting out eating it somewhere 'bracing'!

Mind you, we couldn't afford the train fares these days to get there ...

I wonder of part of the labour shortages in hospitality abroad is the lack of young British workers spending a summer in the Med clearing tables and serving drinks etc for free accommodation?

It used to be piss easy to arrange. Now it isn't.

Previously, you could turn up with a passport to a café, bar or hotel in a Mediterranean resort and walk into a summer job on the spot and be handed an apartment room key. Plenty of friends and I did it in our 20s and early 30s (pre kids). Now, that's not going to happen.

Exactly, especially if, as op asserts, she couldn't afford those prices! I wouldn't have entertained those costs if I couldn't afford them.

Go to Wales! We are on the North Coast, prices very reasonable had a dinner last night for four adults including 2 steaks and a bottle of wine for £60.

Double spirits with mixer £7. Large glass of wine similar. Actually cheaper than home (big northern city). And the weather's been great too!

Plenty of places in Torquay that don't charge anywhere near that - we've just returned from a few days there.

Go to the River Shack at Stoke Gabriel. It's about 20 min drive and amazing!!!!!

Horrendous how much was your main meals OP? You can get cheap holidays... Turkey/Spain I booked Portugal last year for ending of September £350 all inclusive package!

You just have to research properly

There was a massive shortage of summer staff in Mallorca last year. The people we spoke to said it was a shortage of seasonal workers from mainly Eastern Europe, they said they don’t usually get many Brits working there.

This is not just a UK problem and it’s not solely caused by Brexit (but that doesn’t suit the narrative on many in here).

I'm happy to pay a bit extra to support British hospitality. It amazes me that there are so many threads on here about how much more expensive everything is for households yet so few who realise businesses are also facing the same pressures.

I live in cheshire and it's reasonably priced here, I eat out a lot and most meals for 2 kids off drinks come in between 70-100 restaurant, coffee is 2-4 per serving and drinks are 7-10 cocktail 3-7 beer

Loads to do as in Forrest's, cities and countryside