Cancelled next years holiday abroad

[YellowphantGrey]

And feel awful about it.

Trying to convince myself a UK holiday will be ok bur I know it won't.

We've just returned from disaster holiday after two horrific flights. Holiday itself was fine but the flights were absolutely horrific. People in tears, screaming, crying, my kindle screen broken, DH hurt his back, people throwing up, all from 2 hours worth of severe turbulence on a 4 hour flight and Pilot had to speak several times. It was a night flight and all lights went out and emergency floor strip lights came on. He ended up having to fly lower to try and avoid and was prepared to divert when it started becoming clearer.

On the way over, it was an hours worth of turbulence and not as bad but still took some quite big drops, everyone lifted out of their seats on each drop. Couldn't land and had to retry which was successful second time round.

We decided today after we are all bruised and shaken that we don't really want to fly again but I'm also worried my DS will now be restricted in life and we should be forcing ourselves back on a plane.

Any ideas what to do? I don't think any sort of scared of flying course would help as even the cabin crew were crying yesterday! Apparently turbulence is set to become more frequent, common and extreme.

Cruises are a definitive no as well.

I suppose we could train or drive?

Can’t believe so many people think driving is safer than flying 🙃

depends on the driver I suppose

We drive because we treat the drive as part of the holiday, not as a chore. We have been doing it for so long that we have traditions in the journey:

• who drives which section,
• favourite motorway service stations (French ones are good and many have their own character)
• places we avoid (Paris)
• places we travel via (Rouen, despite having to have a crit air sticker for the privilege of driving through the industrial zone)
• hotel chains we will stay at en route and ones we avoid

It's all part of the fun and we love it. One day we will be too old to manage it but not yet.

We have rented villa near La Rochelle and Cognac- both were lovely and slight less travel than southern France but the weather was great.

I love motorway services in Italy- the food is amazing.

Motorway services tell you a lot about a country. 😀

Not sure why people are piling onto the OP and so bothered by obvious turns of phrase like ‘hundreds of flights’ and ‘everyone screaming’- was surprised to realise this isn’t in AIBU as replies have been so bizarre!

OP this sounds terrifying especially with kids, we had 2 long round trip flights this year and after the Singapore Airlines news I was really vigilant about making sure we were all belted at all times, especially the kids, whereas in previous years I’ve been much more relaxed and just want them to be comfortable whilst sleeping. I’m glad because we did have some mild turbulence on one of the flights, but an experience like yours would prob make me think twice as well!

I know you said you tend to look for the cheapest flights to wherever you want to go, but maybe going for the bigger airlines (that have larger planes) and travelling to further away places like the Gulf region etc could minimise the risk of turbulence?

We went to Wales this summer and it was fantastic!!! Beautiful beaches, loads of activities for kids (paddle boarding, caving, etc….) mountains, waterfalls and great food! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

I just got annoyed as OP exaggerated in her OP and people were being put off flying themselves. Bad turbulence IS scary... her experience didn't need extra additions for effect.

She's gone from apparently cancelling a holiday to booking another flight all in the space of a couple of days, so obviously a huge knee jerk response. Just felt like scaremongering to me.

@Dogsbreath7

*Ergh… didn’t a plane fall out of the sky due to turbulence causing the plane to stall in Brazil a few weeks ago? There was a video and it dropped like a stone.

Sounds like you are thinking of the ATR accident in Brazil.

Way too early to have the results of any official investigation but the cause of that is generally thought to be most probably related to icing.

I’d agree with the poster you were replying too when you made that comment; it’s hard to close to impossible find any record of an aircraft flying along in the cruise and being downed simply by turbulence. It has happened very rarely but they are way back in history and there were often complicating factors.

OTOH these days you have got better forecasting and better aircraft but even so sadly not that unusual to hear reports of cabin crew getting injured - they’re sometimes up and about walking the cabin checking that the paying public are strapped in and get caught out.

No doubt the crew of the OPs flight will have filed the required reports and bar the one with injuries gone on to fly their subsequent sectors…I know passengers perceptions can be very different but for the crew they’ll probably regard it as pretty much another day at the office, albeit a slightly wearing one.

BTW while I’m on I know the various posters suggesting things like short flights on routes where there is rarely any turbulence are well meaning but even on such routes the reality is you are rolling the dice.

For example if you fly from London/SE England to Amsterdam or the Channel Islands on a day a depression is trundling up the channel you’ll have a bumpy ride, and that can happen at any time of year.

Agreed. I felt exactly the same. OP was also very defensive in responses.

My balanced, considered and perfectly polite post a bit upthread was deleted though as I referred to potential exaggerating/ embellishing by the OP even though I was trying to help her reframe her mindset and move forward.

Not sure why I bothered quite frankly. Or why I am bothering posting again 🙃

No doubt this post will go "poof" too .

Too much flying is part of the cause of these unpreditable weather patterns. Be part of the solution. You can get anywhere in Europe by rail and, last time I heard, the weather is pretty good in France, Italy and Spain for holidays.

It does cost more than flying, and takes longer, but the journey is part of the holiday.

Your children will be deprived of nothing. They will love the travelling and converstions en route.

Not sure if anyone else has mentioned this (haven't read the full thread) but Northern Spain is absolutely gorgeous, and the ferry crossing to Santander is a bit lilke a mini-cruise, so a really nice start to the holiday.

Great if you live near the euro tunnel but impossible to get there from anywhere up north unless you want to change trains 3/4 times/be constantly delayed/miss connections/pay a bloody fortune…usually all of these and more. Last time I got the train to London was a complete debacle and extortionate to boot. Unfortunately that’s only the first leg of the journey.

why do you not think a UK holiday can be as enjoyable as being abroad?
I've done both, and I've not enjoyed my U.K holidays any less than my holidays abroad. I've been to Rhodes, Ibiza (as a child, so not in a nightclubby way and it was lovely) France, Kenya (AMAZING, so many experiences) but my UK holidays have been just as enjoyable, (well, except compared to Kenya. everything went wrong. someone had an accident in a rental car, it was bad, but he was okay, but I experienced and saw so many things that opened my mind)

but some of my best holidays have been in places like Scotland, Wales, Glastonbury (we go there fairly regularly now) York, and so on. I live in Cornwall. if I didn't, that would probably be a regular holiday spot, as it's lovely.
Dorset is also very beautiful and holiday worthy.

Most people count 'relaxing in the sun' as an important part of a holiday or just being able to sit on a terrace after a day out sight seeing without dodging from the wind and rain.

Plus the UK is expensive so while if you go to the Med, you can spend a lot of time on the beach, swimming in the sea or walking around cities being kept occupied while not spending a lot of money.

In the UK you're at risk of spending a lot of money on indoor activities to get out of the rain or sitting in a cottage reading, playing games etc so effectively doing exactly the same as you would at home but in a property that you've spend hundreds if not thousands of pounds to rent for a week or two.

Might as well stay at home, save your money and have a few trips out if the weather is OK.

Because the weather is awful and it's generally expensive to go somewhere nice. Also, travelling by train or hours in the car is not easy for everyone to (my severe asd child hates it). Short flights to Europe are incredibly easy from loads of small local airports, and you're pretty much guaranteed nice weather (depending on where you go of course). I've spent less on Menorca and the canaries than I've spent on city breaks in London or Bath, and much less than I spent previously on center parcs.
I find it very odd that people think a UK break is at all comparable to literally anywhere in the Med or the canaries.

Overnight sleepers can be a mixed bunch. The best I took no longer runs (Lisbon to Madrid - a real shame). Some of the new ‘Nightjet’ sleepers look interesting, but they’re not particularly cheap unless you book some way in advance. If you have a family and book a whole compartment, they probably make sense, but a lot of people taken them expecting 1920s glamour and romance, and the reality is somewhat different.

Tick all of the above, and I really enjoyed myself in that part of the world but…the crossing to Santander can be quite tough - not ideal if you’re looking not to replicate the turbulence the OP experienced…

Hi @YellowphantGrey

Some images to whet your appetite for southern France:

Les Baux de Provence
River jousting
St Remy de Provence market
Glanum Roman ruins near St Remy
Roman theatre in Orange
Arles

There really is so much to see!

In the grand scheme of things it's not safer i know, way more chance of being killed on the road according to statistics just something about feeling safer on the ground. I like flying , for me there are other reasons why I don't fly. Mainly due to having a dog and she goes where we go.

Would you consider a cruise plenty things to keep everyone entertained,plus the opportunity to go sightseeing or stay on board with a cocktail in hand.

A cruise is not likely to work for someone who hates boats.

There you go again . . .

You have literally been belittling the OP’s experience on this entire thread.

Just a condescending bully.

Indeed. If I went on one, I'd want to get off! I did enjoy the Red Funnel Ferry to the Isle of Wight years ago and the Woolwich Ferry as a child. That's about my limit for being in a boat. Oh I did go to Ireland on a ferry once, everyone was vomiting all over the deck.