How many holidays do you have a year?

BTW never been to Cyprus- but have you read Victoria Hislop's new book- the Sunrise, about the civil war and partition of Cyprus. Incredible to think it was so recent, in the early 70s.

Travelling in a camper van for a couple of months doesn't cost much more than being at home. The van's hold their value too. Whilst we travel we learn. Life is too short look at the celebrities who have gone this year. Use it whilst you can.

It is interesting to note that the reasons some people on this thread are giving for not holidaying are not to do with money so much as dogs and ill health. The range and frequency of travel is amazing and gives one hope for the future when my own DH has retired and we are finally free to go out of season. It seems that children marrying and moving abroad also considerably widens the scope for travel, another unsung benefit of globalisation.

My DH and I try to get to Venice (or Rome or Florence) for a few days in late summer or autumn but we mostly dash down to our small but lovely place in Devon as often as we can. When I retired from teaching we thought we'd be able to avoid school holidays but we are still stuck with them. Taking a week including a Bank Holiday means having nine days off in a row for only four days holiday taken. Same at Christmas as the 'shutdown' means a fortnight off for three days taken. I reckon we get ten days at Easter, a week at Whitsun, a fortnight in August and Christmas and four long weekends.

Some would find holidaying in the same place and with potentially awful weather dull. However, there are benefits:
-three hours door to door and no airport hell. It takes a whole day to get anywhere when flying
-not much packing needed when it's our house as supplies are there
-top notch accommodation every time
-no migrant or terrorist issues
-very cheap as we have virtually no fares/expenses and don't need to eat out all the time
-England is set up for poor weather activities and Devon and the coast are lovely in all weather conditions

We realise that we are lucky in the extreme but my DH works incredibly hard and has various stress related health conditions and he really needs to get away to be able to face the job. Hooray for holidays!

We have our own touring caravan, and the biggest cost associated with that is depreciation. So to get bast value from our investment we use it as much as we can. Every year we have 4 weeks in mainland Europe (this year - the Jura Mountains in eastern France), one 10-night break in Scotland somewhere, plus as many other 4- or 5-night in the UK as we can fit in. Most years we spend between 80 and 100 nights in the caravan.

My DH and I have a touring caravan too lefthanded but over the past year (at least) I can count on one hand the amount of times/nights we have been able to use it. We have booked lots of weekends and a couple of weeks too but something has always happened at the last minute preventing us from going. I am starting to wonder whether it is just a big waste of money and people like me aren't meant to have holidays.

I am sure this thread was not started with this intention, but it does smack a bit of "how many bedrooms do you have/how many cars do you run/how often do you eat out/how big is your garden" - the sort of checking out your place in the affluence pecking order boasting that goes on in children's school playground.
While we are perfectly at liberty to ignore the thread, does it occur to you that there may be members existing on their OAP, JSA, PIP or with life limiting illnesses who might have looked forward throughout their working lives to be able to go on holiday whenever they want , that "hope for the future" Lilyflower refers to, but simply can't? Rubbing it in a bit, it seems.

You're probably right Alea I kinda thought something similar.

I will begin the race to the bottom by saying;

I have have never been on a long haul holiday in my life and probably never will.
The furthest I have been is Cyprus and that was donkeys years ago.
We had a static caravan (only an hours drive away) but were forced to sell it to keep the business afloat.
We have a touring caravan but sadly I can't remember the last time we used it.

The O/P did say How many holidays do you have a year?

I can't remember my last holiday!! unfortunately funds don't allow holidays so I stay at home with my daughter and two granddaughters and we enjoy the time together.

Me too Alea although for me it is longer than 3 years ago. (My husband now severely disabled.)
Last holiday was so long ago in fact that I can't remember exactly when it was! And even then we took the children (now grown up!) to stay with MIL and SIL (who hate me) in Ireland, so not exactly a holiday for me!

Holidays don't have to be overseas, or even away from home !

My Mum wasn't that keen on travelling but she would set aside a few days often when no housework was done, if the weather was good she would lounge in the garden with a puzzle book. She would only eat her favourite things and the world could go to hell in a hand basket as far as she was concerned.

Sometimes she treated herself to an ice-cream having scootered to the seafront with a sandwich and a book. Sometimes it was sitting indoors with her knitting in the middle of the day watching a favourite video.

Really no money involved at all.

At the end of a few days , in the comfort of her own home, with all her things around her, she would pick up sticks and get back on with her day to day life.

Lovely post NanaandGrampy

Hit the wrong button. Hate that especially as I had a stroke four years ago and it takes me a little while to type.☺
Anyway we go on scottish country dance holidays .last year we went on five.
This year we have been on 4 in scotland so far with another in scotland in two weeks time. Then in July we are going on a fred olsen cruise for the first time, would be interested to hear comments about their cruises. Then in September we are going on a dancing holiday to Jersey.
It certainly has helped me on the road to recovery.

*nanaandgrampy*, sounds tempting OK but could you imagine the chaos not to say muck in the kitchen/bathroom/laundry basket/carpets/garden if those of us with poorly DH s weren't doing what we do?
Hell in a handcart doesn't come close.
One day in bed with flu a couple of years ago was all I could manage before the crashing downstairs , plaintive requests whether there was anything at all to eat the whimpering and resulting puddle on the carpet which resulted from him forgetting to let the dog out before he went across to neighbours., decided me that death was not immediately clear bent, or if so, preferable.
Ignore me, just grumpy at all these holidays, little places in Devon, even the meetup in Edimburgh that I couldn't go to, not actually bothered about long haul, Mexico, Caribbean or other far-flung places. Just fondly remembering Shropshire, Lake District, North Norfolk, Scotland and Somerset.

"Clear bent"????
I meant imminent silly iPad.

I totally understand Alea my Mum never had to cope with that although there were four kids... she had us whipped into shape we did the necessary. When we all left home my poor old Dad just had to fend for himself ( he was in good health) . He played the 'poor me ' card though. I remember once popping in and found him eating a cold meat pie.I asked why he didn't heat it up and he said 'I don't know how' !

Mum was having her 'holiday' so wasn't taking care of him . I should point out he married my mum when he was in his 40s and he managed to heat up a pie very well until she had a ring on her finger.

I'm so sorry your world has got so much smaller due to your DHs ill health. Can you carve out an hour here and there for yourself perhaps?

apparently my Mum wasn't alone ---its called a 'staycation'

Usually we manage 3 holidays abroad and perhaps the odd weekend in Britain. So far this year we have been to Madeira for a week in February. We were planning to go to New York to see our daughter and son-in-law, but, as they are coming over here in June and September for two weddings, there doesn't seem to be much point in going over there, especially as they both have such high-powered jobs and probably wouldn't be able to spend much time with us.
I had a knee replacement last May and am getting more and more fed-up with being treated like a potential terrorist at airports. I need a wheelchair as my walking isn't great and you have to walk such a long way at airports and I get frisked in a most intrusive way at security, as I always set off the alarms because of my metal knee. I think they should use a little common sense and realise that a 73 year old British lady in a wheelchair isn't likely to be an ISIS bomber. I love holidaying in the sun, but the airport problem is putting me right off!
We don't have any more holidays planned, except that we will probably go to Bristol, where the first wedding is and London, where the second one is, so that we can see our daughter and son-in-law, who will only be able to come over for long weekends due to their work commitments.

One week in June usually to Norfolk. That's my lot!

No holidays for us
Occasional few hours out makes do and then were normally talking about the animals and what fence needs repairing
Heyho

None. but then I'm living the dream.

We were very lucky to be able to retire early when we were about 55. While working and the children were growing up we lived in a large town in what had become a busy area and on the local 'school run'. After our girls had left home we decided to 'up sticks' and move to a very small town in Suffolk. We now live in a very quiet area and have a large garden which backs on to a farmer's field. We took this decision knowing lots of holidays were not for us and after nearly 15 years it has proved to be a good decision. Living where we do we do not feel the need to have holidays so time away is usually just one short break a year either in the UK or Europe. We are both very involved in local activities which for husband includes being a fireman on the local steam railway. Why go on holiday when we have this all the time but I do appreciate that we are very fortunate.

I would go away any time anywhere really, but money prevents that so we usually go once abroad somewhere and the rest in the UK when we always take the dog ,as he loves holidays. The dog stays with my sister when we are out if the country.

I am blessed to have spent a year going around the world in 1979-80. Thank goodness I didn't listen to all those who advised me to wait until I retired as I have Progressive MS [diagnosed 2007] and life - especially travel - has been increasingly difficult since I was 52.
Being now permanently in a wheelchair, needing a hospital-style bed and air mattress, having specific requirements for showering, needing to have wheelchair space on the right
side of a disabled loo, and a wheelchair-accessible vehicle, I haven't been able to face going away from home for half a dozen years.
As I was always the family "Admin Manager" I still book holidays and events for my dh and adult children.
I don't mind that, as I still feel useful but don't have to go through the hassle of travelling!

I have being away from home for more than a few days - a week tops- so am happy to do odd weekends away. Even that is difficult to arrange as the family take up a lot of our time, either visiting or being visited.

Dh is threatening a BIG holiday when he retires again in November! Eeeekkk!

Due to family and childcare committments we don't manage to get away for long,
But even a week away is lovely, and we do a lot of four day breaks, either staying with friends or at hotels. After a lot of holidays abroad in the past, nice to discover bits of England that we don't know well, and just potter around.