Competition: win over £450 of brilliant summer reads

Went to Turkey on our first ever beach holiday. First day, tired from flight, went to sleep on beach in shade of beach umbrella. Sun moved round, still asleep, no longer in shade of beach umbrella. Result: sunstroke - spent next three days recovering in bed in between being very sick.

My worse bad event was holidaying in lovely Dorset last year where I usually book a week in a cottage in a lovely seaside town. I got on the bus to Bridport on my own as wanted to see the antique/bric a brac market there. Had a nice time looking around.
The bus both ways stopped at the same bus stop but I didn't know this. It was by now raining and overcast, the bus arrived I got on. Not being familiar with the area I didn't notice I was on the bus going in the wrong direction - but then I noticed Chessil Beach - yikes - at 15 miles in the wrong direction I spoke to the driver. He said the last bus going back to the area I was staying in had already left Weymouth. At 27 miles in the wrong direction, he kindly dropped me opposite a stop going the other way. Never again. Both drivers were kind enough not to charge me the extra fare.

Thank you all! I and my daughters are like little happy pigs in s*it

Thanks Gagagran I hope it does too x

Was married for 30 years to a man who never wanted to leave home for holidays, big dogs and garden were his excuses, so I went alone or not at all. Bereaved, recovered, met lovely man, also bereaved, who had never flown, only been abroad once. Our first holiday together was planned, off to Vienna for culture - opera, art, cafes. The night before we were due to fly I went to get my passport out. Not there. I searched the house. Twice. He came and searched the house (ex copper, very thorough). Nothing. Flight time came and went. I was distraught, he was philosophical -"Shit happens, let's go to Cornwall, never been to Cornwall either". So we did, had lovely time, in spite of my constant guilt trips. Reader I married him. And found my passport 3 months later.

Took my grandson on his first holiday abroad on the first day he slipped by the pool and broke his arm.It was hard work keeping him amused for the rest of the week although the rest of the guests made a big fuss of him and decorated his pot to show his mum.

Years ago I went to Bulgaria with my mother, first night there coming down in the hotel lift to dinner my mother tells me she's changed some money on the black market.As the lift doors open there's two heavily armed police I nearly collapsed on the spot!! We return to our room without dining as I'm going mental with my mum anyway I calm down eventually. The following day we decide to relax on the beach so off we trot and find a fairly secluded spot, I'm reading my book enjoying the peace when my mum starts whispering about some man wearing a suit Sat up on the lifeguards seat staring at us.To be honest I think she's either winding me up or she's had too much Sun,well I look to my left and can see the lifeguards seat but no man in a suit, no no the other way she whispers obviously I look up to the right yes I spot the suit wearing man who is not only staring directly at us but is also giving himself hand relief!! That was it enough for me I was off that beach like a shot my mother was highly amused and found it all hysterically funny.

Well done NanaandGrampy!

Went to Portugal many years ago when children were young, and as our apartment was self catering we went to the local supermarket to buy some basic groceries. We bought what we thought was milk, it was a huge bottle and and picture on the front looked like milk and when we got it back to our apartment, opened it to pour on breakfast cereal and it was double cream.

We also bought what we thought was washing up liquid and when we tried to use it found it was disinfectant.

Lovely prize NanaandGrampy - you are on a winning streak for sure. Hope it continues with the house selling/buying!

Isn't it great when the winner is someone we KNOW?

Congratulations, Nanaandgrampy! What a fabulous prize!

Holiday disaster has to be when my spanking new mega-expensive Laptop (which I was compelled to take on holiday with me for some reason) became a temporary colony to a species of ants. I tried to get rid of them, but the moment I would lift the lid, they would escape into the keyboard and through the edges of the screen, Eventually they ate through the pixels like Pac-Man!

My honeymoon! Two hour flight delay to St Lucia. The 40 minute transfer to hotel was over two hours. Sent to wrong 'bungalow' (already occupied). Suitcases then got lost. Decided to have shower and huge cockroach jumped out on me. I cried! But the good news is my first daughter arrived nine months later!

I was once delayed in the airport for 15 hours coming home from florida. When we finally got on the plane it taxied out and they discovered a fault. We sat on the plane for 2 hours while they tried to fix it, were removed back into the airport for another 2 hours while they tried again, eventually we were transferred to a hotel for the night. Returned the next morning where we were delayed another 3 hours. Finally took off and in the air they told us we were flying to Manchester instead of newcastle where our car was. Once we landed in Manchester we got on a coach to take us to newcastle. Half way home it broke down on the side of the motorway. By that point we had given up and rang family begging them to come get us. You couldn't make it up. Xx

Worst holiday disaster probably has to be allocated an apartment at the top of a hill whilst on holiday in Spain. Not great when you use a wheelchair and there is no means of getting down or back up the hill!!!!

our Holiday disaster happened back in 1993 when I went to Ibiza with my then boyfriend (now Husband) We had 2 days there and my Mum and Dad were meeting us there 2 days later. We'd hired a scooter and had a great couple of days on it. When my parents arrived they wanted one too, so we went straight to the hire shop. My Dad was used to riding big heavy motorbikes, but the scooters were cheaper so they hired one. We decided to go on a journey straight away. As we approached a left hand turn, we heard a skid behind us, it was my parents with the scooter on top of them!! My Dad had leaned to the left and told my Mum to do the same (as you would on a big bike) and obviously it tipped over. Well as you can imagine, they were in a right mess!! My Mum had ripped the top off her new sandals, hurt her shoulder and cut her face on the dry gravel and my Dad had ripped the knees out of his new trousers and gauged a big hole into his elbow!! We ended up all day in the hospital having them bandaged up and given pain killers and we'd only been there an hour.

In Majorca, a few years ago, we hired a villa with private pool. I went out in the morning for an early swim before the others woke up, and was horrified to find a stark-naked, extremely drunk middle-aged German man, crashed out on one of the sun-loungers! He'd stumbled into our place by mistake, thinking he'd got back to his own villa!

We camped on a campsite on the top of a cliff at Lowestoft. it was a very windy night and one side of our tent lifted, leaving it flapping in the wind!I tried to wake my hisband up but the best I could get ouit of him was "go to sleep, it's just a bit of wind". He jumped out of bed very quickly when he finally opened his eyes and could see the stars!!

Nearly missing a plane home because we didn't realise the clocks went forward in Spain!

We once completely missed a holiday to Portugal as we lost my husbands passport. We tore the house apart trying to find it only to find it a couple of years later in a bag of Lego!!!

you don't have to fly to go abroad

I don't go on holidays abroad (aeroplanes aren't my friend...), but I get into enough trouble just travelling around the UK! I was visiting Newcastle, and somehow managed to forget some VERY important medicine. Silly old me had to phone bout hospitals, NHS24, chemists etc etc. Ended up me having to pay cash for medicine I normally get on prescription. Now I make sure to always quadruple check and take twice as much as I need!

Years ago I took my young daughters to Spain, my eldest sat on the plug hole in the shower blocking it and flooded the apartment below!

On a recent cruise we were struck down with a noro virus and were confined to our cabin for all but 2 days of the cruise..... Due to so many people being struck down with it there was security in the corridor making sure we did not leave our cabin! It was like being struck down with the plague.