How important are holidays to you?

[nkf]

I don't mean time off work but the going away etc...
My husband is mad about them and I want to rein in our expenses. I can't bear how much our summer holiday this year cost us. And yet I feel like such a meanie for saying we shouldn't.

quite important, but they don't have to cost loads.

Haven't been on an expensive holiday abroad for years. And there have been some years when I haven't gone on hols at all. Can't say it really bothered me at all actually, but then I was brought up in a house where we didn't go on hols.

I'm lucky I have a lovely house which is usually much nicer than anywhere we go anyway!

Summer holiday - nice, a break, a rest & calm - necessary but not expensive (UK)

Winter holiday - necessary (I have SAD) - I missed last years & have had a very bad year health wise - So aboad & expensive

I didn't go on holiday as a child either. Neither did my husband. He seems to be making up for lost time!

It's worrying me because I feel we are setting up a lifestyle that makes no sense at all. But I can't get him to see it.

important in our house, but does not have to be mega bucks hols. Even getting the tent out for the odd weekend can be great fun.

I find holidays are really important to me for good mental health - so better for me to eat beans on toast a lot all year than to miss holidays.

Having not had one for a bit made me realize howgood they are for you when we went to France last year, so I have booked two for next week. We will be having 6 nights in Duinrell in a caravan at Easter (£180 plus Tesco are paying for Eurotunnel). Then a week at a farm in Germany with loads of things for the DC's eg. Riding, swimming, go karts and lots more. This is £331 for accomodation plus £41 for the ferry plus some petrol. The two months of no council tax in Feb and March cover the German one all but £2. Maybe not everyone's idea of a holiday but perfect for us.

Very, if we didn't physically go away then we would never stop working.

I think you are right. The break - the getting away from home, being able to spend time together without being pre-occupied with stuff to do. It's the awesome sum of money they seem to come to that's worrying me.

What sort of planning do you do?
I agree about posessions versus experiences but a dishwasher is good!
Give me an idea of the three holidays. Where? Price? How you make them cheaper?

What sort of holidays do you like and what sort of budget would you like to be sticking to?

To be honest, I've let my husband plan holidays in the past and the price is excessive. Hence me taking charge.

I like to be able to swim so a pool is good. I don't like having to hire a car.

Budget? Basically, zero at the moment. I'm thinking ahead.

will be watching this, as I couldn't care less about hols but DH thinks they are (1) vital and (2) my job to organise. If it's something you've never done, the cost seems astronomical. We usually end up spending about £400 on renting a cottage in teh UK for a week. It all seems such a daft risk and waste of money to me. But I would like to see the other pov.

Is booking a long time in advance cheaper?

it is difficult to say on the figures - one person's "can't bear how much our summer holiday this year cost" is another's "it was only xyz". Going from that to zero is a big range .
We go to cornwall in may (week before half term), cottage costs £550 - but you could find cheaper, or camp. Plus petrol, food (but we would be eating anyway) and trips (use tesco vouchers alot).
This year we went to Spain for 10 days at the very end of the summer holidays, 2 adults, 2 chidren, 2 bed flat with pool. Think the upfornt cost (flights and appt) was about £1,200. We ate out most nights so that cost more, but could have self catered for cheaper.

Camping is very cheap and gets you away from it all, personally I wouldn't want to do it with very young children, but I will when they get older.
Or caravans.

Do you need to widen your ideas of what a holiday is?

But if you had to come up with a figure that you think would be a realistic amount (ie. Lots less than when your DH does it!) can you give a rough idea? And does it need to be somewhere hot? I think you need to work out what you want and a budget then use that as a starting point, along with what standard of accomidation you would be prepared to accept eg. would you consider a caravan if necessary ?

chocolateteapot - have you got a link to the german farm? sounds good.
I must have a look at Durinell for next year.

Will go down to my proper computer and find it, back in a minute.

Also consider how poor the rate for the euro is, we are almost £=euro (M&S were doing 1.14 yesterday) so cheap holidays in Europe look well gone.

Okay. Here goes.
I've been avoiding talking figures because I know what can happen on MN. My husband organised the holiday this year. Long story. I went along with it for all sorts of reasons. It cost £6k for 10 days in Spain. We don't have that kind of money and it's insane and immoral to be spending it. The holiday was lovely - at that price it should be! - but personally I don't want it. I'd rather live within our means and be creative with how we spend money.

Here Chasingsquirrels. They do get very very booked for school holidays, I booked in 2007 for summer 2009, we originally wanted to go this summer but there wasn't any space.

Good point about the Euro, I bought 400 euros on a Fairfx currency card on Wednesday to pay for the farm as I was worried about the exchange rate. It cost me £331, if I did it today it would be £347.83. However if you do use someone like Eurocamp you are paying in sterling (haven't read their small print yet as to any possible supplement with currency changes). Last year we stayed at a lovely Gite in Normandy which as run by a British couple was also billed in sterling so it didn't matter. Obviously food, petrol etc more expensive but we take a fair bit with us so didn't use all of our spending money and bought a pop up tent in Decathlon with the rest of it.

OK NFK, anyone having a go at your figures can get lost ! Is it generally places like Spain that you like to go to or would you consider the UK or maybe other bits of Europe ?

My FIL lives in Spain, here is a villa close to where he used to live with a pool which is 650 euros a week (so maybe budget on it being £1 to 1 euro). Flights from Stanstead to Alicante,2 adults 2 children at civilised time of day including insurance and all the other rubbish they include for 15 - 22 August 2009 is £787, you would need a car though and you can cut the air fair by changing times, not taking their insurance etc. Here's another at 530 euros.