What does a holiday mean to you?

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A holiday to me is being able to do one of my regular sports/activities but just in a nicer location with better/consistent weather.

I plan my holidays around a chosen outdoor sport. So choose the sport first, then the location, then accommodation and means of travel.

I don’t mind doing all the normal boring stuff such as supermarket shop, cooking, laundry etc

Agreed - you can do both those kinds of holidays with DC - I have. DC actually really enjoy city breaks, IME. The key is to choose ones with child-friendly stuff to do and if you want to go to a particular museum and your know your DC will be bored and spoil it, you tag team with your DP and go separately. When my first was a baby I used to take him to exhibitions in a carrier and he was great. I know not all DC are like that, but you raise your DC to fit in with your lifestyle, as much as possible. There will be things you won't be able to do at times and there may be certain ages/stages where everything seems impossible and frustrating, but they pass!

We mainly self cater but have been on 3 or 4 cruises. Never had an entire holiday in a hotel but they're fine for B&B for a weekend or overnight en route. I also like camping.

Sunshine is not a requirement, neither is hot weather, I'm happiest with temps in the low 20s some sunshine and a breeze. Not really interested in pools, beaches are fine for the odd afternoon so long as there's shade, or walking along in the mornings and evenings when it's cooler and quieter. My DCs never really liked beaches. We love sightseeing in both town and country so do a lot of that, shopping locally, eating out. We no longer stay in rural
locations, we like to be able to walk out to cafes, restaurants, bars, shops.

I like comfortable accommodation where we have sitting areas inside and out and the means to store and heat easy food for breakfast / tapas style evening meals and enough bedrooms so that people can sleep and store their stuff in comfort (ie no having to sleep on sofa bed). If the weather is going to be warm I like a pool. Ideally situated in walking distance of a nice little town with plenty of restaurants and shops or a market to browse. Big bonus for lovely views.

I like to be able to travel to nearby places to explore (either public transport or hire car). Tend to do a city break once a year too, old buildings, architecture, churches. No interest in modern shops although I like craft shops, tourist tat and foreign supermarkets!

Hotels are strictly for short breaks only and preferably with a room upgrade plus balcony/view.

Eating, drinking, easy access to a nice beach and plenty of interesting (particularly historical) things to see.

Somewhere new to explore preferably with a mix of interesting wildlife, lovely scenery and interesting history. Hate busy accommodation so prefer self catering, b&b or small hotels. Don't like to sit around too much but a couple of hours with a book is good and prefer open water swimming to pools.

I want to see new things. My favourites are sunshine and a beach but I like other things too. Vastly prefer self catering as I get sick of eating in restaurants and I hate waiting for food when I can be exploring or reading or doing something interesting.

That’s very reassuring! I’m desperate for a little trip away on mat leave!

Like someone else said, my holidays vary depending on what I need at the time.
This year we did a week in Italy touring Tuscany. Visited cities.
It was quite a full packed holiday but I needed that...my head couldn't have coped with fly n flop, the active pace was great.

Then a holiday to Spain...I really wanted a nice hotel and facilities and to just chill, swim etc

Later this year we're off to Asia for an adventure. Flights there and home booked and first couple of nights...the rest will come.

Oh and camping. Got a camping week or so in the pipeline. No idea where we're going..that will be a mix of activity and chill.

Holidays for us mean being somewhere that isn't home. It also means not having to cook... So we usually have snacks in our room (be it hotel room or s/c apartment) we tend to have a big breakfast then go out for the day, grab something on the go for lunch, then back to the room after the days activities, freshen up and find somewhere nice for dinner.

Respite from being an unpaid, full-time carer to elderly parent. Two weeks of no anxiety, stress or responsibility. Uninterrupted sleep and doing whatever I want. Bliss.

Museums, galleries, cultural activities. Lots of free time to wander around a new place, read books, rest and recharge.

I live seven minutes walk from the beach so that’s no draw at all.

Same for DH. Two weeks in north Norfolk would do me, any time of year. Feeling utterly shite this week.

A holiday for me is somewhere I can rest and relax, switch off and spend quality time with my family and somewhere we don’t need to cook or wash up.

preferably somewhere that’s warm, has a pool and close to the beach.

We live two hours' drive from the nearest coast, so being by the sea is a holiday must for me. I like simple self-catering accommodation to serve as a base so we can come and go as we please, eat out where we like - not interested in luxury accommodation, just clean and comfy.

I like to be as off-grid as possible - just check my phone once a day in case of emergencies, don't watch any television etc.

I avoid places with lots going on - I prefer peace and quiet, though I like a bit of people-watching so not totally deserted places. I always take plenty of books to read.

A little quirky thing I do is always buy new pants for a holiday 😅I can enjoy wearing lovely, soft new pants every day, then after we're back and they've been through the wash I can have the satisfaction of chucking out an equivalent number of old, saggy faded pants.

All day long solitary walks in fairly remote places. Exploring new places on my own or with others. I like to be active but enjoy sunbathing for a while too. Relaxing with a good book. Nice weather is a bonus.

It's relentless isn't it? Sorry to hear things are pants at the moment.

It used to mean new adventures, but now I seem to have sectioned my holidays into City Breaks, trips with friends, etc and I see my proper holiday as the one I've repeated each year for the last three years.

Younger me used to think it was a waste of holiday not exploring new places with every day of PTO, but I love our 10 day routine of driving to a houseboat resort and just having everything meet my expectations, no nasty surprises, knowing where everything is, and what all the facilities are, how clean and peaceful it is... so that my shoulders drop as soon as we turn into the gates.

My son is an adult so self catering only means for me that I can get up, get my coffee early and sit gazing at the wildlife and just exist in solitude for a bit on the deck, outside of a really hectic career and life at home. Fresh bread is delivered everyday so it's just the breakfast dishes to do, and we wash them together, chatting companionably.

If he wants to laze in bed, I don't care. I'll take myself off to the pool or spa and leave him with the dog. It's also the most dog friendly area I've ever been to, so we book a private gated section of the dog beach for a few days.

Even though it's the same location we haven't eaten in the same restaurant twice, there's always somewhere new to try.

Every year I think of a new location we could go, but then I get panicky envy that someone else could be enjoying my houseboat and I rebook. 🤣

Definitely nowhere with a “resort”, “kids club”, “entertainment” or anything “all inclusive”.

I like exploring somewhere culturally interesting. Somewhere with lots of things to see and restaurants to try.

We usually rent a villa or apartment somewhere beautiful - it has to be hot for our summer holiday and near the beach with a pool too. Other times of the year, I prioritise being more central over the beach.

@Tomatocutwithazigzagedge
Could you tell me a little more about the houseboat resort please ? Is this in the UK?

No it's not in the UK sadly, I live on the European mainland.

Hiking and wildlife spotting, mostly. It’s usually just me and DH, so we prefer self catering. I like to relax on a deck or balcony with wine and nice food at the end of a long day, and the idea of dressing up to go out after my shower isn’t always appealing. We also like the space you get in a self catering apartment. If I wake early (thank you menopause) I like to be able to get up and potter without disturbing DH.

I like to do a variety of holidays so I don’t have the pressure of trying to find one holiday that ticks all the boxes.

For me there’s nothing quite like going to a brand new country and experience new sights/ways of life etc. I’ve only been to a few Asian countries and definitely want to see more.

I also love to holiday where I spend hours each day swimming in the sea and going on boat trips. These holidays aren’t normally to new countries. I really want to get to 100 countries but do keep repeating Greece, Italy and Turkey because I love them so much,

Recently I’ve got to the stage where I’ve seen enough ruins and viewing towers for a while and want to try more experiences such as cooking classes, visits to Tuscan farmhouses with olive tasting, visiting schools, seeing how people live etc. More doing things than looking at things.

I also enjoy cruising.

I haven’t really ever done a self catering holiday as I like to have a break from meal planning.

We’re the same!… No thanks to group holidays or meeting and chatting to people!

My pil, dil and nephew have just come back from being in Greece and were disappointed that there were no children similar to nephew’s age to play with… it came across that they were basically looking for free child entertainment

Or they were hoping for the DC to enjoy making a new little holiday friend which many people have lovely memories of when they were young.

It's changed over the years for me. Went through a sun, beach, out for drinks, all-inclusive phase in my early twenties, then pre kids DH and I tended to favour either city breaks abroad or walking holidays in the UK, so pretty active but always with some downtime, usually self catering in airbnbs but with plenty eating out in restaurants. Now with toddler DD we favour a UK self catering break, loading up the car and mostly cooking in the cottage but v easy meals, more heating up than proper cooking! Northumberland is a favourite for good scenery, good food, nice beaches, lots to do. I suspect in the next few years it will evolve again as the kids grow. I think the only thing I really miss at the moment is not having time to sit in the sun and read - unpredictable UK weather plus toddler has put paid to that!