Is it still a restful holiday if you have to cook?

[timberleigh]

Usually we go on holidays to places where we can afford to eat out for every meal. Often skip breakfast out because some yoghurt and granola or cereal is fine.

We are considering going to a very expensive place for a week’s holiday. A mid range meal out for two would easily be £150. We just don’t want to spend that much on food every day, so we’ve found an apartment with a kitchen so we could cook in maybe half of the nights. Will this trip still feel restful?

There's four of us - 2 dc who have now nearly flown the nest. All our holidays in the past have been self-catering, either Airbnb or Eurocamp type holidays. DH loves to cook so it's been nice exploring local supermarkets and worked better financially.

However, this year I we decided we were done with clearing up, washing up, meal prep etc. we've booked a nice hotel with breakfast included and plan to eat out for the rest of it. I can't wait to not have to think about the logistics of every meal and am looking forward to having other people doing the tidying and cleaning. First hotel holiday ever and I can't wait!!

It’s not clear to me whether you are planning to get your lunch out and then cook in during the evening, or self cater both meals. We rarely eat out twice a day on holiday and tend to eat at our accommodation in the evening anyway. Fresh pasta and a ready made sauce with a bag of salad takes minutes, as does a frozen pizza or just cold bread, cheese, pate etc. Or you could grill some meat or fish to have with salad. Just make sure it’s simple to prepare as not only is that quicker to do but it creates less stress washing up which is the real nuisance when you’re away (although we try to pick accommodation with a dish washer )

Not necessarily the cooking, especially on foreign holidays trying foreign ingredients can be fun, but more so the washing up, wiping down the kitchen etc.

Not for me, it’s not even just the cooking, it’s the thinking about food, meal planning, buying the food and then having to cook and clean up. One of the things I love about holidays is not having to think about food beyond choosing what I want off a menu.

I much prefer the flexibility of having cooking facilities as I don’t want to eat out for every meal- too stressful with young kids and I get too fat and bloated as I’d rarely order a salad.

I’d buy quick and easy food I like to eat and is expensive to have at a restaurant. Steak and garlic butter, sea bass and chips, lamb rump, chicken shish.

And then if I really can’t be bothered and have a hangover- pizza or jacket potatoes.

I don't meal plan on holiday. I just go with the flow and see what lovely local foods are available in the shops.

I think some people make too much of a deal of food shopping and preparation. We just keep it simple.

We aren't picky eaters though.

On our last holiday we ate out 3 times a day, by the end of the week we were absolutely sick of it. On the last day we all had fresh bread and tomato soup for dinner...the best meal of the week!
This time we will limit eating out.

No!

It’s more restful for me to self cater because the alternative (eating out every day) is unaffordable and therefore very stressful. Last summer we hired an apartment in Dubrovnik with an outdoor bbq so “cooking” chiefly consisted of grilling things and having them with salads and bread. It was fun.

Don't cook.. Buy Salad/ cheeses/ cold cuts/ fresh bread etc.
Much easier.
Or just easier stuff .. soup and a roll etc.

By meal planning I just mean literally sourcing the food, I love going to supermarkets abroad to check out snacks etc, but not meals, that would be a chore. I like to enjoy local cuisine being cooked for me, they’ll do a much better job than me!

I would say no - from my perspective we save really hard to go somewhere where I don’t have to cook and clean for a week! That for me is a proper rest 😀

Not for me as DP hates cooking so this is my rest. We did consider booking an apartment instead of a hotel this year to save money. Maybe not eat out much.

however this completely changed when I said I wouldn’t be cooking all 3 meals and we would share. Suddenly he found a great all inclusive. He is great at the tidying and cleaning shares.

I love a holiday apartment to relax over a hotel room, but only if we eat out.

For self catering holidays, I will stretch to assembling cold ingredients together for a buffet type meal, otherwise a heat up meal or a takeaway, if we're not eating out.
It's my holiday too, and I want a holiday from creating meals from scratch every day.

Although we go self catering we only do breakfast in the apartment or maybe lunch as we only go for basic accommodation.
If I were in a bigger apartment or villa then yes I could probably be persuaded to cook once or twice but would only be basic as I wouldn't want to spend on all the bits I naturally have at home.

Apologies if suggested already (and I get this isn't the aim of the post), but, Switzerland?

I've been to most of Europe but always avoided Switzerland due to the ridiculous prices

I like the shopping, don't mind the cooking, but deeply hate the washing up and cleaning on holiday.
I second picnic style foods (and paper plates)

In answer to OP: absolutely not

I prefer it as I have allergies and our youngest is a fussy eater. Knowing that we can sort breakfast and can pack a lunch is such a relief.

We love foreign supermarkets, bakeries, grocers, markets etc. So it can be an insight into cultural differences and seasonal options for the local area. I notice if I cook and eat fresh seasonal produce, it tastes great and I feel great. If I order in a restaurant, I am not always sure what is seasonal or local etc.

The best local meal I ate on our last trip to Barcelona was some veg from a local grocers and sausages from the butchers, still stands out in my memory.

I was thinking the same. We only ate a few times while we were there in 2018 and the prices were outrageous. £50 for the cheapest bottle of wine and £50 a head for decent quality food. We didn't order any wine but I'll never forget the small bottle of cider we shared for £22.

Now we have a small caravan so we always make our own food, including packed lunches. I love having the freedom to prepare our own food and the bonus is that it's easy to eat healthily.

It would be for me because cooking is what I do to relax 😁and I love food shopping in a different place (bit weird probably 😄). But I guess only you know if you'd enjoy it

Nb..if we're holidaying in our camper we do cook a lot more then as often when abroad we might be places not near restaurants etc but also we're often quite busy so cooking something simple then chilling out is easier.

If you're both sharing the cooking than that's a maximum of 1-2 nights each. Fine. Throw a pizza in the oven, doesn't have to be a big culinary experience.

Yes Iceland too, we stayed in an apartment there, bought food at the supermarket and brought flasks of coffee and packed lunches out with us for the day. We had one meal out during the whole stay, at lunchtime which was cheaper.

Hold out for a dishwasher. Take a sharp knife from home

We do a mix of eals eg pizza, stir fry, fajitas, eat out, salad