Holidays - familiar or new places?

I can only go on holiday in GB and always by train with travel assistance. But I never go places I went to with my husband those memories are precious.

I love deciding new places to go . Because of disability I stay in Premier inns except when I visit my brother and sister in law and stay in a Travelodge near to the village they live in.

I don't visit the same place twice and only been going on holiday since 2024 when I didn't worry about money anymore. May went to Lancaster ,July Sleaford, August going to Lewes and September Dundee. The hotel has accessible rooms for walking and wheelchair disabled and are perfect for me . I have the meal deal in Premier inn but not at the Travelodge as I have all my meals at my brother's. Always have early check in and pay the flexi rate which is more expensive but you can cancel your booking up to 1pm on arrival day and get a full refund. If you pay standard to get full refund you have to cancel 28 days before arrival .

Already booked my room for Aberystwyth in May .

I love exploring new places and having new experiences. I go on holiday on my own and do what I want. I have meet really interesting people on trains and where I explore. Love trying new foods and non alcoholic drinks.

But I love hearing about the far flung places others visit . And things they see and do.

Every new place makes new memories.

Close to home in Spain at the moment ..

We had to cancel our trip to the Bosphorus (Istanbul) due to the unjust war on Iran.

The northern coast of Spain ( 5 hours from Madrid ) via High Speed AVE Train or with our dear friends who have a car.

We like it so much that DH and I return to the Miramar Hotel in Puerto Pollensa every three to four years. However, I do like seeing new places too and my bucket list needs addressing as I'm now mid 70s. So it's a Norwegian Fjord cruise next year.

I don’t feel torn at all. I want to see new places whilst I can.

I would alternate, one year continental tried and tested and UK New, the reverse next year, you may go back somewhere and think it boring after two visits. Sometimes when I go back somewhere it can be nice to try a different hotel as that can give you a different perspective on the area. Although we all have a favourite hotel and places.

We’re 67 and 70 and normally have 3 holidays a year . Long haul in the winter and Europe or the med in Early June and September. We like different places as the world is a big place . We do kept returning to Greece and Turkey but always different areas . My sister and her DH go to the same place every year, often to the same villa . They like the familiarity and that once they get there , they can relax . Although this year they said , there’s been a big building boom and prices have increased a lot . Their small quiet Greek fishing village is no longer small .

We like to do both!

Marmin

We do both. One familiar and one new. We are currently planning a week in Zadar (Croatia), particularly drawn by the sea organ installation.

We went to Zadar earlier this year. It's a truly beautiful place and the sea organ is certainly worth seeing (and hearing).
We have already made plans to return for another.
I hope you enjoy it.

Same places are fantastic as you "learn" them over many years.
People recognise you and many ard happy to see uou.

We have made a conscious effort to reduce our carbon footprint so UK only.

Marmin

We do both. One familiar and one new. We are currently planning a week in Zadar (Croatia), particularly drawn by the sea organ installation.

We love zadar....we've been 6 times now ......we fly into pula or split then stop over on a couple of different islands each time...before having 4 nights in zadar to finish the trip......northern Croatia is very reasonable....the islands are stunning....hope you enjoy!

Madgran77

Monica Norfolk coast is lovely. Which part of Norfolk are you going to?

Holme-next-the -sea

I believe in always trying a new country each year Honeyrose. My problem this year is the EES, wildfires, drones, ground staff strikes, and jet fuel, or lack of it! So where to go to avoid all that!

It depends on your circumstances.

Holidays are a luxury and you always need a good one iykwim

But also if you need a break sometimes going somewhere where you know you’ll have exactly what you want is most probably what you need

I’m a bit of a home bird though.

NotSpaghetti

Same places are fantastic as you "learn" them over many years.
People recognise you and many ard happy to see uou.

We have had one holiday a year in the same whilst our children were growing up. People recognise us and say hello and make conversation. My children were spirited though, so hopefully they remember us for all the right reasons 🙈😂

As a child, I loved going back to the same place every summer, seeing the same families year after year. And our DC felt the same in their turn.
Later, we used to return to a favourite spot in France but also visit new places.
Nowadays, having learned a decent amount of Spanish via Duolingo and Adult Education, I go to different places in Spain. Holá!

When DDs were a lot younger we did return for many years running to a beach resort we loved, where we’d got to know many of the locals and where the assorted watersports (essential then) were both freely available and run by safety-conscious owners. And the sea was both warm and safe!

Nowadays I will admit to not being bothered about discovering new places - dh and I are very widely travelled anyway - but I’m certainly looking forward to a forthcoming week on the Northumberland coast - new for us! - where at least it’ll be cooler than it’s been here lately!

We alternated 'dragging the children round Europe' type camping holidays with bucket and spade holidays in Woolacombe.

On our own, we have travelled a fair bit but also had a favourite place for downtime. We have just got home from that hotel having been sadly disappointed by it's downhill slide. It's a weird feeling that our happy place at various times over the last 50 years is not what it was.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

A bit of both would suit me best. I’m looking at perhaps a couple of city breaks next year with a friend, so maybe 5 nights to get a flavour of places. So far, apart from Florida and Spain, I’ve only done Belfast, Dublin, Paris and Berlin with my late husband. I’ve never been to Portugal so Lisbon (or wherever) might be might be our first booking.

Portugal is lovely but make sure you see the coastal side too as it's so beautiful.

We were dreadful parents, Australia travels two months at a time, with children out of school over Christmas period.

Dragged round ski resorts, Caribbean beaches, European cities along with their Grandparents home a two minute walk from the Mediterranean Sea…

We try and do a long haul in the winter months Mexico, Caribbean or Far East. However if we can't fit in, we go in September.
We used to take the Children when they were at home, they had interesting experience around the world with us.
Now we tend to do a European one May - June time, in September we are off to Mexico again.
I know we are fortunate we have already been to Prague and France twice so far this year, and I'm doing a long weekend with my chums to Amsterdam end of Nov.

We never considered the UK for a holiday, but we might do a long weekend somewhere in the UK in December, to do a bit of Christmas shopping.

I do like the familiar. As a family we have been going on holiday at a small coastal town in France at least once most years . The last 4 years we have gone to the same resort in Turkey but are not going this year as it has gone up each time and is now really expensive .

I’m recovering from an operation at the moment and can’t fly so rest of family are going to Barcelona for a week (new for them ) and I am staying home with my best friend visiting for the week which I am looking forward to just as much. The following week we are all going to the little French place again via the tunnel ( can’t do all the ferry steps just now)

When I’ve fully recovered ( the op has improved my mobility substantially) I’m hoping to go to some new European destinations next year

We've not travelled too extensively - we have dogs which I'm reluctant to leave, and we have a narrowboat which we spend about 12 weeks a year on (with the dogs). We have had two big holidays overseas in the last 10 years - one to Australia and Tasmania, and the other to India and Sri Lanka. I would love to revisit, Australia particularly, but once the dogs have gone we know we will only have so much time left so will probably explore new long haul places. NZ is top of the list. Not interested in Spain/ Europe. Saw enough of that in our younger days.

DH hated holidays and thought them a waste of money (for himself) but had no objection to the DDs and me going off somewhere without him. Since he died, I’ve been aiming for 3 or 4 jaunts a year, but to familiar places, Paphos, Malaga or Barcelona, but 🤞, I’ll be going to New York in September with DD2 - her 42nd visit there (complete with wheelchair!). She knows Manhattan like the back of her hand, so we never get lost.

New places - but no holiday last year. May have one this year if I can find someone to join me