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Original poster

No interest in travelling post-pandemic

35 replies

vikkivix · 09/07/2024 08:32

This is one of those 'Is this just me, or...' posts.

Before the pandemic I loved travelling. My family and I would go to France or Italy 2 or 3 times a year. We love Bordeaux in particular. However, since Feb 2020 I haven't been anywhere. Been to places around the UK - Lake District, the Highlands - but just totally lost interest in flying. DH and the kids have been on short trips, but I just don't miss it. It's not that I'm scared of anything, but airports are a pain in the arse and I don't know if the enforced break during Covid has been some kind of cold turkey, but I'm happier staying where I am (and it's not a Little England Reform thing!). I can't quite explain it. So is this just me, or does anyone else feel this?

OP posts:
missshilling · 09/07/2024 08:35

I don’t. We managed to keep travelling through covid despite all the extra hoops we had to jump through to do it.

Whu · 09/07/2024 08:36

Not me OP. With the miserable weather this summer I’m so glad I’ve a foreign trip coming up to look forward to.

IPartridge · 09/07/2024 08:36

I'm the same, haven't been abroad since the pandemic. Plenty of trips in the UK.
I keep looking at flights to different places, then decide it's too much hassle.

I expect that once I do finally go somewhere I'll be thinking why didn't I do this sooner?!

MojoDojoCasaHouse · 09/07/2024 08:38

Absolutely not me or anyone I know. We mostly travel by ferry or Eurostar as DH hates flying although I did go to Ibiza with friends last year. My DC are teens so I feel we have to squeeze in as many trips as possible before they are too old to travel with us.

Judging with how busy everywhere I’ve been post pandemic I think people are desperate to travel more than ever.

longdistanceclaraclara · 09/07/2024 08:48

Drive to Bordeaux?

I love travelling more since the pandemic.

dudsville · 09/07/2024 08:55

I'm with you op, but although it was motivated by the first lockdown I don't think that's entirely it. I think that although I'm interested in different cultures, anywhere I go is going to be heavily touristy, and I've already travelled a lot anyway, and I like comfort and my home and my bed are v comfortable. In that 1st lockdown we learned we're happy at home and save a ton of money. Our old habit of two holidays abroad and two here each year is no longer an ideal way we wish to spend our time.

Berlinlover · 09/07/2024 09:00

I didn’t agree with the lockdowns and got out of this country (Ireland) as soon as that ridiculous EU travel ban was lifted.

Heatherbell1978 · 09/07/2024 12:28

I get it to a point. But I crave sun too much to let it stop us travelling! If I wasn't such a sun-seeker I'd be quite content just staying in the UK. And that surprises me as I've always been an avid traveller.

MrsSkylerWhite · 09/07/2024 12:30

Retiring fairly soon. Looking forward to lots of little trips.

WetBandits · 09/07/2024 12:33

Not me! I live for a bit of sunshine, snorkelling and good local food!

BoudiccaOfSuburbia · 09/07/2024 12:33

I have seen a lot of people shrink their horizons since lockdown. Sometimes positively in that they have found the benefits and enrichment of equally interesting travel within the UK, sometimes because they seem to have retreated, huddled, become more cautious and reclusive and it doesn’t seem that positive for them.

Only you can know what makes you truly happy… and it might change again.

BigDahliaFan · 09/07/2024 12:33

I get it, I lost my travel mojo for quite a while post pandemic. Used to be away and excited and planning the next trip as soon as I was back.

Some other things changed thought, we got a dog, just before pandemic and moved house. The dog is tying and also frankly I like spending time with her so it's UK holidays for that.

And our new house is much nicer than the old house ... I get now why people take time off to be at home...

But we are picking up again with the holidays outside of the UK and I think it's good for me, not just the weather, but seeing something different.

crostini · 09/07/2024 12:39

Don't understand this at all!

hennybeans · 09/07/2024 12:42

I feel a little like you do. I have always loved travel and did it often, loved the excitement of being somewhere new. But I would say the last maybe 5 -7 years or so, travel has just become such a pain.

It’s great when you get there, but the act of travel is spoilt by the greedy airlines who make your journey as uncomfortable as possible. Airports are always jam packed with long queues. Delays seem to happen frequently and are lengthy. I might have a 2 hour flight, but then add 2 hrs to get to the airport, 2-3 hrs to check in, then another hour to get to your destination after and a short haul flight takes all day.

A lot of places are so expensive now and really over visited. I guess the shine has been taken off travelling for me. Although it’s not directly related to not travelling over the Covid years.

CheeseWisely · 09/07/2024 12:45

Nope, not here. We never stopped travelling, managing a week away in August 2020 in a brief window where it was allowed (we're not UK) and again in Summer 2021. In 2022 and 2023 we travelled loads.

Now we have a newborn so will probably dial it down a bit for financial reasons but we can't wait to start showing him the world. More driving in Europe than flying though, most likely.

MojoDojoCasaHouse · 09/07/2024 12:45

Reading the news earlier about the protests in Spain 2024 is reported to be the busiest for tourism ever. So I don’t think this is a widespread opinion.

I love exploring this Island and I live in a really beautiful part of it but there is so much food, culture, architecture and scenery on the rest of this continent and it’s so easily accessible. We love sharing this with our teenagers. Would love to go further afield when time and budget make it worthwhile.

Saintmariesleuth · 09/07/2024 12:57

I was a bit like this after the lockdowns lifted OP. I was always a keen traveller pre pandemic (both inside and outside of the UK). After the lockdowns lifted, we did do a couple of nice trips in the UK, but I really wasn't bothered about trying to go abroad.

In retrospect, I think I was so exhausted from working through the pandemic that I just didn't have the capacity to 'think' during my time off, even to pack a bag or navigate an airport. A weekend bag and a 2 hour car journey were my limit. Several years later, now that I've had a chance to recuperate, I've got the travel bug again, and we've been on a couple of brilliant trips. Although had I not been dragged on a holiday from hell in 2022 then I think the recovery might have been faster.

Slightly off topic, but I noticed the same thing with reading.

Edit for autocorrect

RobinHood19 · 09/07/2024 13:47

My travelling habits have not changed at all since the pandemic, but I’ve been a frequent flier for years and have moved internationally a couple of times since Covid, so the number of family members / friends I want to visit abroad has also increased since.

I think it’s mostly because I find travelling a joy, love airports, and don’t find it more stressful than eg navigating a busy train station which I do daily anyway. It’s a normal part of life for me as I’ve never been one to travel only for holidays. The longest I did not fly during Covid was 6 months, and I hated it so much.

SooticaTheWitchesCat · 09/07/2024 16:36

Absolutely not. We managed to travel through the pandemic years and now I want to travel more than ever. The thought that I couldn't travel to some places during that time was just awful and it makes me want to go even more now.

NeedthatFridayfeeling · 09/07/2024 16:56

Not us or our friends, loved travelling before, missed it during Covid and very much enjoying it again

Crushed23 · 09/07/2024 18:26

missshilling · 09/07/2024 08:35

I don’t. We managed to keep travelling through covid despite all the extra hoops we had to jump through to do it.

Same.

I went to Portugal and Italy in 2020 and to Mallorca, Santorini and Lanzarote in 2021.

The testing and hoop jumping was a pain, but I wasn’t going to give up international travel, it’s such a big part of my life.

BlackForestCake · 09/07/2024 20:51

Still love travelling but hate airports, any glamour or excitement has long since worn off.

I can't afford to holiday in the UK – accommodation is extortionate and trains are both extortionate and unreliable – so I go abroad.

MadridMadridMadrid · 10/07/2024 00:08

I can relate to your feelings to some extent, OP. Before the pandemic we would generally go on holiday abroad at least once a year. When it first became legal to holiday abroad again after lockdown, the whole thing just felt too stressful to me, and we booked a holiday in Wales. That then led to us taking several more holidays in various different parts of Wales that I really enjoyed. I just didn't feel the need to go abroad. This year for the first time since the pandemic I felt that I wanted to go abroad again. Travelled out by train and it's inspired me to do more holidays by train.

Original poster
vikkivix · 10/07/2024 09:02

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts. Much appreciated. I still feel muddled about this, but that's kind of okay. V

OP posts:
mitogoshi · 10/07/2024 09:06

Just you, we managed to travel during the pandemic, travelling long haul this year