Holidays into the unknown ;)

Bambino

A colleague came back from her holiday in Tenerife absolutely furious because she had no idea it was a volcanic island, and the "sand was black!"

😂

I must admit, even though we've gone on last-minute holidays a couple of times and explored when we were there, I'm not that daft!

A colleague came back from her holiday in Tenerife absolutely furious because she had no idea it was a volcanic island, and the "sand was black!"

My beloved DH booked a luxurious holiday to a remote island in the Maldives. ( we’d visited the Maldives many times before in the last 40 years) Beautiful island with a water villa at the far end of the island but a mile to the Resturants. Transport was a bicycle or trike .big problem I’m 80 with a knee replacement and had never ridden a bike. For me it was exhausting and spoilt the holiday. So yes research is essential wherever you go

Many years ago we were on a flight from the US to the U.K. For some reason we weren’t all sitting together - dd1, then 8, was sitting next to an American man in probably his 50s.

He asked where she lived - which was Oman at the time -but she said she knew he probably wouldn’t have heard of Oman or Muscat, so she said ‘In the Middle East’.

He said, ‘Is that near the Mid West?’ 🤨

agnurse

I'm reminded of a story my father likes to tell about a colleague of his. She is Spanish (from Spain) and her English is very good, but she does retain her Spanish accent. Someone once told her she had an interesting accent and asked about her origins. She replied that she is from Spain. The man then replied that he thought she was from Europe.

She said she was completely nonplussed and had no idea how to respond.

There are ignorant people everywhere... My DIL is from a family with Indian origins - she, like her brothers and sisters, was born here (she's 53). All the family have 'English' names, and all have been to university here and have good jobs. She told me years ago that if she had a pound for every time someone had said to her, "You speak very good English!" she'd be a millionaire... 🙄

Thanks to Gransnet, I was able to plan the perfect holiday a couple of years ago. I had every day of our tour of the NE of Eng!and organised,but I did leave us some leeway for recommendations from locals, weather conditions, interesting places indicated when passing signposts. But it was nice to know where we were staying each night. On holidays where we haven't booked in advance, so much of the day is lost looking for accommodation.

I think those of us who are "researchers" and planners aren't all the same. Some of us like to plan each day - morning/ afternoon/ evening but I like to have a few places I'll make a big effort to go to - (sometimes it's a return visit) but plenty of days with nothing organised or just loose ideas.

I'm a researcher in the sense that I really examine the actual property and environment where we will stay but once away we make decisions about what we will do each day on a much more ad-hoc basis.

So, for example, when we met an archaeologist on holiday once we took a day to travel to a funny hidden gem of an ancient villa that was fantastic. On another trip we spent an afternoon looking for truffles with a couple we had just bumped into and on another I spent an afternoon attempting to learn a new weaving technique with a retired weaver having found her through a museum.

We don't rush about ticking things off.

2507C0

Well all ye who love a good map, crack on! And all do not, crack on too. We are all individuals. We all enjoy different experiences. I do not see the problem.

We are supposed to sneer at those less smug than ourselves.

For Gramaretto - you're quite right, there's a subset of folk who haven't a clue where they're going, just expect it to be like Blackpool, but sunnier and warmer.

We went to Majorca a few years ago, the plane had all grades of tourists, some going to 'cheap & cheerful', others somewhere quieter. When the plane went over the Med, there were several loud comments asking why -- they hadn't realised Majorca is an island, thought it was a resort on the Spanish mainland. .

Sadly, geography seems very difficult for quite a few people. Watch almost any quiz on TV, and it's a topic that baffles lots of contestants (& not just questions about 'abroad'). There was a 'Tenable' a few years back, in the final round the team had to state the ten most southerly UK counties. This drew answers like "Lancashire" and "London". They didn't win.

@GoldenAge my friend and I did that every year . We had some great bargain holidays and some not so good . The worst was when in our 50s we were taken to an 18-30 hotel . It was dirty and in need of repair and the pool was filthy . We felt sorry for the young people who had paid a fortune to stay there . It was actually featured on one of those hotels from hell type programmes .

Well all ye who love a good map, crack on! And all do not, crack on too. We are all individuals. We all enjoy different experiences. I do not see the problem.

At one time some package deal companies offered large discounts to holidaymakers who didn't need to know which hotel they were going to stay in or even which resort. They would guarantee a minimum class of hotel either in a particular country or a specific resort and it you opted for one such offering, you only found out when you got off the plane at the destination when the courier would announce which coach you were to board. My mother had friends who always opted for this arrangement because it saved them a lot of money and they often got 4* accommodation when they'd paid for 3*.

Personally I like to plan my holidays but I don't think it's rude to go somewhere 'blind'. In fact I think it shows a certain resilience.

Norah

My husband is a planner as part of his work, I am not.

I'm spontaneous, assuming the pilot can find his way.

My DH is meticulous about many things but as far as holidays go, he'd say "You book it and then point me in the right direction".

Sorry I’m away and lost wifi . I’m often amazed at people who do no research and then complain about things , which a quick google will reveal . And on tripadvisor or Facebook they slate a hotel , when it’s down to them not doing research.

My husband is a planner as part of his work, I am not.

I'm spontaneous, assuming the pilot can find his way.

I’m just like you Grammaretto. Love maps, have hundreds of them. Love to read the whole of the guide book before I travel, try to learn some language before I go. This to me is part of a holiday. I did see on television once someone that got on a plane to Costa Rica, thinking they were going to land in Spain. Very dangerous!!!!

I love researching a holiday and do it thoroughly. Using google maps . Street view , tripadvisor and face book groups . I do the lions share of research and show it to DH and we decide together .

V3ra

petra

I know this is hard to believe but gods honest truth, it is.
In the 70s we were taking a holiday on the Isle of White.
My Aunty Ivy asked me to get her some duty free fags. 😂

We spent our honeymoon on the Isle of Wight.
My husband asked me if we needed to take our passports 🥹

😂 he wasn’t my aunty Ivys brother, was he, she had 4

Grammaretto

Sixandahalf I thought from your first post that you couldn't afford a holiday so suggested cheap solutions. Then when you explained about the pets I suggested getting pet sitters.
It seems you don't want a holiday. Fair enough 😉

Oh gosh, sorry. Things don't always translate well to print.

Thanks for the info. I was joking a little, we have found pet sitting a nice way to have a break.

Thanks

sixandahalf

Grammaretto

Ah well sixandahalf what you need are Trusted House Sitters.
There's a website.
Several of my friends used this when they're away.
My NZ cousins travel using an organisation called Animal Aunts . They come here each year because their son and family are based in Scotland, look after people's pets while they're away and take trips all over the UK and manage to travel into Europe sometimes.

I'm sure they'd be fine with lizards or snakes. Maybe not horses though 😄

Grammmareto, I am a fully qualified carer of lizards and woofers.

I usually know where I'm going apart from when the road signs change to Welsh.

I usually know where I'm going apart from when the road signs change to Welsh.
😂
I remember on our first trip to Wales many years ago, the Welsh Nationalists had turned a lot of signposts round at crossroads.

We found some unexpected, interesting places that year.

Juicylucy

Guilty as charged as well. I read reviews about the resort and that’s enough for us, we switch off and like to come across things as we go for a wander. We don’t like everything planned to an inch of its life as that’s what our normal life is like.

You can find some very interesting, unexpected things round the next corner!
We're usually routine people and planners but sometimes it's good to break out and be spontaneous.

V3ra

petra

I know this is hard to believe but gods honest truth, it is.
In the 70s we were taking a holiday on the Isle of White.
My Aunty Ivy asked me to get her some duty free fags. 😂

We spent our honeymoon on the Isle of Wight.
My husband asked me if we needed to take our passports 🥹

It's a dangerous place 😂

Sixandahalf I thought from your first post that you couldn't afford a holiday so suggested cheap solutions. Then when you explained about the pets I suggested getting pet sitters.
It seems you don't want a holiday. Fair enough 😉

Grammaretto

Ah well sixandahalf what you need are Trusted House Sitters.
There's a website.
Several of my friends used this when they're away.
My NZ cousins travel using an organisation called Animal Aunts . They come here each year because their son and family are based in Scotland, look after people's pets while they're away and take trips all over the UK and manage to travel into Europe sometimes.

I'm sure they'd be fine with lizards or snakes. Maybe not horses though 😄

Grammmareto, I am a fully qualified carer of lizards and woofers.

I usually know where I'm going apart from when the road signs change to Welsh.

Guilty as charged as well. I read reviews about the resort and that’s enough for us, we switch off and like to come across things as we go for a wander. We don’t like everything planned to an inch of its life as that’s what our normal life is like.