People who can’t do simple holidays

[smerina]

How would you describe someone who only really seems to go on hard to organise holidays? Like we like going to Dubai or Mallorca, nice and easy, one flight and done. Or if we go further afield then we do a package with Tui to Cancun or Dominican, usually AI.

But I have colleagues who seem to go on really whacky or trips that sound like a pain. They’d go to Greece and then get a ferry to some place no one has ever heard of. Or if they went to the Caribbean then they’d pick somewhere that needs two flights and a ferry to get to. Never do AI or something easy and relaxing but self cater and drive around.

Spot on.

I'm probably one of your colleagues, OP. I crave adventure and peace. I would never go to Cancun or Dubai because there would be too many people, too many bars and nightclubs and too much traffic. . (I have been to the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico but not Cancun). I am interested in nature, culture and how people in other countries live. I want to try the food that the locals eat and mix with them. I don't want to go to English pubs abroad or eat English breakfast. I find that the harder to reach places are the most fulfilling and well worth the extra effort of getting to them. Each to their own!

'Interesting'

I would hate an AI holiday to Dubai

Someone who likes travelling and seeing lots of different places?

Also, someone who knows that doing it yourself is often much cheaper than a package holiday!

ETA: OR people who have husbands, like me, who are coeliac and who can’t safely eat in many bog standard hotels and AIs.

I don't like AI. Had food poisoning twice.

Independent travelers/holidayers? vs package holidaymakers?

I see the pros and cons of both, and like doing both.

I call myself an independent traveller. I prefer to go away from the hoards not towards them. I like culture and exploring. I'm not looking to stay on a sun lounger and eat the same foods as my home country. And travelling there is an adventure, a package type trip is more of a pain for me - like the coach transfer with you and tens of others. But to each their own.

I'd have never thought to label someone who travels differently to me so your question comes across a little odd, and quite naive and judgy. The world is a big place and not everyone wants simple and not everyone is the same.

I honestly don't see why you would need to label these people with a name. We love holidays like you described and have never been AI.

Even when we went to Mauritius we hired a car and drove around the island. Now we have two children we still go self catering and hire a car so we can try out different beaches and attractions.

Each to their own. Other people's holiday choices surely has no impact on you.

So. To summarise.

The thread is a dump and run. The OP has no interest in our opinions.

People have described their holiday preferences and/or said but it doesn’t matter because people like different things.

Nobody here much cares what other people prefer.

We are all here talking into thin air. Nobody cares about what anyone else has posted. Including this one.

I feel like I’m at a staff engagement meeting.

I'd rather eyeball battery acid than go on an all inclusive to Dubai.

Isn't it wild how we all like different things?

By the same token I can't get my head round people who go on holiday to places that have appalling human rights records and indulge in a bit of modern day slavery on the side. But you know, you do you and all that

Shouldn't your holiday of all things be what you want to do? Why should anyone else judge it and why should anyone go somewhere based on how they're going to be judged.

FWIW I must be one of those few people who enjoys adventuring but isn't pompous enough to turn my nose up at lying on a sunbed in the Canaries for a week either. I can see the appeal of both and have enjoyed both at times when I've needed them most.

Why is it in any way impacting you where someone else chooses to spend their downtime OP?

Planning holidays is my hobby, I really enjoy it - love going somewhere different (I don't mean in a snobby way of "different to where my friends go", literally a change of scenery), love wandering around new places and I don't cope with hot weather well so a lot of the classic destinations aren't fun for me. I'm often able to save a lot by finding random locations and obscure ways of getting around.
I don't judge people who prefer a package beach holiday.
Words to describe it: you could say people who prefer active holidays?!

I much prefer to swerve AI or package holidays. Anytime I had the budget I built my own trip, source local transfers, flights, hotel and activities while there. I find we can get away from the crowd, try local food, local drinks, local amenities.

Our last holiday I booked a place with our own little pool, a stones throw away from the beach and some lovely local restaurants that were 20 mins off the main tourist strip. It was a bit more than the package holidays I've booked, but was probably 5 star for 3 star prices.

Our apartment owner picked figs and watermelon out of his own garden behind the apartment for our breakfast, on rustic sun-bleached furniture he makes off season and the kind you'd spend ridiculous money on for an eclectic dining room at home. Our apartment was designed by his son and built by them all. We had daily sheet changes by his wife and a maid and freshly cooked apple pancakes from her as well.

There was no limp breakfast buffet that had been pawed and coughed on by loads of others, no fighting over a sunlounger by our private pool, no next door neighbours yelling, partying or shagging loudly. It was heaven and we can't wait to go back.

This year I've picked a package holiday as I don't have the time to build it and pay all at once, but it'll be poor value for money.

Poor old OP is suitably chastened.

We always did complex planning adventure type holidays but in the past 2 years we booked our first package deals to popular European destinations (one AI and one not) and to be honest we loved it! I think post-covid and a big house move we just needed low stress, minimal organising. I think it's fine to enjoy both and not be critical of either, they both have their place depending on individual circumstances.

What I'm not a fan of is going on holiday as a group. I know some people who never go on holiday with just their partner or their immediate family unit. It has to be with the extended family or a big group of friends, every time! That's their choice, I cant criticise it as it doesn't affect me, but I would never choose it.

I'd say their goals and interests are very different to yours.

If you go on a AI package holiday to Mallorca or Dubai you're making a choice to avoid engaging with another culture and will pretty much find Britain in the sun, and mingle with other tourists doing the exact same thing you're doing. I would never go to Dubai because of ethical concerns, which you can easily insulate yourself from if you go as a white tourist for a 2 week package holiday and are willing to look the other way.

If you are interested in culture or history then you might prefer a less well-worn track which gives you a chance to see some of the culture of the place you are going to, rather than just stay in the bits designed to be palatable to tourists.

Also, some people really enjoy unfolding onto a sunbed and not moving for 2 weeks, whereas I get very easily bored and need somewhere with something going on. I have tried a package holiday to Marrakech where you could book excursions but the resort was quite isolated and it wasn't safe to go walking about. I ended up wishing we'd just rocked up and checked into a Riad in the centre of Marrakech so we could have explored more and not had everything predetermined and sanitised.

AI sound like my idea of hell and I am never likely to go on one.

I like to do multi city or country holidays. If we are in a country we like to explore around us not just stay sat in one place. We get everything we possibly can from the trip.

We've done Prague, Berlin, Austria in one trip via internal flights and trains.
Barcelona, Madrid and Bilbao via trains.
Munich, Nuremberg and Leipzig via trains
Tallin and Helsinki this summer
Various Centreparcs across Europe using them as a base to explore different cities - Amsterdam, Paris and Strasboug when the kids were little

I love visiting the food markets and sampling the different foods. I especially like finding bizarre flavour crisps. And trying different public transport.

AI sounds like hell for me and not something I would like to do. You don't see the country but just the hotel.. And Dubai - no.

@MurdoMunro I think exactly that - plenty like me I'm sure can appreciate a fly and flop occasionally AND a DIY travel experience- it's like someone from the Sun posted just to prove we are all snooty and turn up our nose at 'ordinary folks' holidays. Whereas most think each to his own!!

I love going on holidays and not knowing wheels om going to end up.. Obviously I know the country im going to and if it's a late arrival I'll book accommodation in advance but after that I just make it up as I go along. I have a rough idea of what I want to see and do however I leave my plans to be flexible.
Going g to one place and staying there bores the hell out of me. All inclusive is absolutely awful. Last time I went was with several girlfriends in October and it was as bad as I remembered from years ago.

I think actually it's the reverse, and you're in a specified category of "people who only go on package or all inclusive holidays." That has negative connotations for me (people who want bland hotels and western food with minimum exposure to the host country apart from the weather) but maybe that's snobbery on my part.

Why does she need a word to describe those people?

Surely it's subjective, anyway? For some people the description would be "adventurous traveller" or "not boring"; for others (like the OP?) it would probably be "smug" or "superior".

I’d hate AI or package holidays. I like travelling, not basic boring holidays.

It's not "can't". It's "don't want to". We're going on our first ever AI holiday this year because we decided we wanted to spend two weeks just chilling - usually we organise everything ourselves and do loads of exploring, but we wanted to come back rested! Often I come back more tired than I went, but at least having seen and experienced new things. Even this time we're going to an Indian island so we'll be exposed to a different culture - it won't be like going to Benidorm for a week (I hope).