Are holidays over-rated?

I agree about being incompatible on holiday. DH seems to live for holidays and spends a fortune on them. I would prefer to improve the quality of every day life. I've had a hip replacement but need knees doing soon so I prefer a cruise where I can see things and walk about on board or read a book but DH has the caged tiger mark on him. Sitting in a car or on a plane and I seize up.

Sorry OP that you have been put through the mill ...let's hope the rest of your holiday goes much more smoothly!

I think anticipating a holiday is good for the soul.

When my children were young we holidayed in the UK - no airports, no overlong journeys without good breaks along the way, no worries about searing temperatures that could have caused problems, no worries about fussy diets - we self-catered. We didn't expect a 'rest' for ourselves those days, - more a change as good as. Happy times.

I don't see the point of taking 'littlies' away to exotic places.

I now particularly enjoy mini-breaks, nice B&Bs, a weekend of spoiling ... but still choose to be relatively close to home.

Let's not forget the deeper issues connected to travel. I feel very uncomfortable being a tourist in certain places...and am aware there must be an ambivalent love/hate relationship to tourists, as some places are now entirely reliant on tourism for their economy, but are we destroying their environments? It's all so complex.

Also, as mentioned by one post, the suffering of displaced people across the globe makes complaining about largely self-inflicted troubles seem a tad pathetic.

Good luck to all those who still enjoy their holidays...and why not...we have worked hard for them, but my overall conclusion is that I think they are over-rated at times and very stressful.

I used to love my holidays, now I find myself getting anxious for a couple of weeks before going away even to the point of wondering if I should cancel and happy to get home again. I do enjoy the holiday itself but am wondering if it is worth all the trouble. Is it an age thing I wonder.

Some people love them and others not so. The older I get, the more I like tried and tested places...getting set in my ways I suppose but at best, I think they're a five minute wonder. At worst, all of life's trials and tribulations come up and slap you in the face. I'm off tomorrow for a week but it's a familiar place, no worries about accommodation etc. so may be relaxing and enjoyable.They say that if it's all you live for, you need to examine the rest of your life and it's just a way to compensate for what you ordinarily don't have...not sure...but I hate the way they're forever rammed down your throat on the media. It's perhaps finding a holiday scenario that you genuinely feel comfortable with and going with it...

i too get myself wound up a couple of weeks before a planned holiday,so this year we decided to travel in our own car just 23 miles from home (east coast) as soon as we walked into the hotel it fealt like we were on holiday even though so close to home,we had a good time and have booked to go again in december,we realised you dont need to travel miles to feel like you are going on holiday,

I have anxiety and I find airports with all the people, the queuing, the waiting, the weight and size limits for luggage, the questioning 'Did you pack this yourself?', plus the inevitable delays incredibly stressful.

And then there is the claustrophobia of the flight, children being noisy and disruptive, the awful food, not being able to bring my own drinks, etc etc. I have never been able to sleep sitting up and can't relax.

On my last foreign holiday now almost 10 years ago (and before I had a smartphone) when I had very carefully chosen the flight times so I didn't have too early a flight, I was emailed 48 hours before and told I was being changed to a 2 hour earlier flight (so a 5am start) and coming into a different airport. It was only chance I saw the email.

I had to suddenly buy an open train ticket home and that cost me an extra £100. I was furious but the company didn't care.

After that I decided no more flying, ever again. I haven't regretted it at all. I now holiday in theUK where at least I can get compensation for late trains.

I love cruising from Southampton, it can be as busy or as relaxed as you want . I am a single traveller now unfortunately , it feels much safer than hotels , villas.
Wish I could cruise more often ! Will have to wait for my state pension. Can't believe I want to get older!!!

It sounds like you are having a very stressful time!

When we were in the Dolomite some of the tourist offices had maps of "pram routes" of paths that were suitable for prams and smaller children - so it could be worth asking

Some holidays aren't fun at the time but they become family memories and get talked about for years!

I'm fortunate to live in an area of UK that many people come to on holiday. Perhaps for this reason I'm perfectly happy not to go away on holiday. I like the "staycation" idea and often go on day trips to places up to 2 hours' drive away - this gives me plenty of options! I have also had some brilliant short breaks centred around visiting friends and family who live in the same area of UK e.g. The south west.

As others experience, DH has completely different ideas about what constitutes a good holiday, so Florida, Bali, Spain and E. Africa all figure in our holiday plans for the year too!

We now holiday in the UK. Far less stressful and so much to see and do. Enjoyed holidaying abroad for quite awhile but the stress leading up to it, the waiting around in the airport and all the hassle involved has given us a change of heart. Perhaps at some point along the way we might decide to have another holiday abroad but are quite contented now with holidays here. St Ives in Cornwall has some wonderful beaches and the sea is a beautiful turquoise blue. The weather there can be as warm as abroad. All around Devon and Cornwall are really beautiful places and Somerset is particularly pretty. That's just our favourites but many other lovely places to try yet.

1 and 3 sound fun and like a holiday adventure.

But then again I'm very fit and relish stuff like that, so can appreciate that wouldn't be so fun if you weren't!

*. The weather there can be as warm as abroad*

Indeed it can be. Most of the time it isn't though. Friends this year, lots of children, lovely home neee to the beach rented. Cornwall.

The wind and rain ruined he holiday. One week, almost constant. What a waste.

I am on a coach holiday in two weeks , but I intend to skip the tour bit and sit in the hotel , or take the coach to the destination and sit in a nice coffee shop and people watch . My mobility has declined since I booked , it is with the local village club so all the others are used to me . I need a break

Yes I believe they are. I am glad my holidays were taken in the seventies and eighties when I hear what people experience now.

Bbbface .I sympathise with you as I live in north cornwall and the weather in recent weeks has been atrocious Not only that our local authorities appear to take delight in carrying out road works during peak times causing gridlocks.

I'm another anxious person and due to that I haven't had a holiday since 1973 when I was in my teens and spent a week in the Channel Isles.

My other half isn't bothered about holidays either and as we have a dog, chickens and a parrot that's always made it more of a problem.

However this year I've been pushing my boundaries somewhat and managed to get as far as the Cotswolds a few times and absolutely loved it there, but found it too much going there and back in a day.

So back in May I found a nice cottage in the middle of Bourton on the Water and booked it for the end of September, not really giving it much further thought. However I am now starting to get extremely antsy about the whole thing, have no idea what to take or any idea what to do when we are there as obviously having not been anywhere for so long my mind is blank on that score. I am so used to my normal routine at home of housework, shopping and the usual mundane things that I worry we will be bored? Keep making lists all the time and wondering how on earth we will get everything in the car as I seem to feel I need to take everything but the kitchen sink!

We are also taking our dog with us, couldn't bear to leave her and the cottage rules are that dogs mustn't be left alone, which rules out going to a lot of places!

Margaret x .You are so right. My OH hates going away anywhere. Only does it to please me and is always so glad to be home. Have just been on a mini trip to the West Country absolutely beautiful but it meant nothing to him. Don't think I will bother again. I think perhaps it does him good to be a bit challenged but it's too much effort now.

We've had our ups and downs on holidays. Last December we flew to Tenerife with all the family. At the airport we couldn't find our coach. After waiting around for ages we discovered the coach had already left because our group was late getting our baggage. We were put on another coach which sat in the car park for about 2 hours. The driver couldn't speak English so we couldn't ask him why he wasn't moving. It turns out he was waiting for the Gatwick flight to fill the coach. We had our young granddaughter with us but she was pretty good. Another family had two toddlers and they were having a nightmare with crying children. My daughter complained to Thomas Cook the next day and put it into writing. The result? nothing! We're going again next March to the same resort. Wish us luck.

We were looking into going away in October. Because I couldn't get time off work in September, when we would have gone to Lake Garda or thereabouts, we are now looking into the Canary Islands for guaranteed sunshine.

But, even my husband with his itchy feet, has said it's an awful haul for just a week's holiday, and we might not go at all. Hooray - at last some time at home!

Having said that, airport queues and such don't worry me and by now we are seasoned travellers and don't get our knickers in a twist about waits, what to pack and the odd item turning out dearer than expected. Getting there is half the fun!

But what was it Alain de Bouton said? "There I was, sitting on this idyllic beach, with nothing to do, just as I had imagined a holiday should be, but then I realised I had brought myself with me!"

I know how you feel OP. My grandchildren live in the USA ,I have visited six times and been quite ill five times ! I am never ill at home ; now I am reluctant to travel.

I love travelling (as opposed to going to one place for two weeks to lie in the sun). That said, I would not have been happy with the things that happened to you. A three hour steep walk would have finished me off with my arthritic back, knee and feet! We go away once a year, to somewhere hot in the winter. Last January was 5-days in Singapore and a cruise, taking in several India ports, as well as one in Sri Lanka and one in Thailand. Next January, we are spending a month in Costa Rica, including a 10 night cruise that has several Costa Rica ports and 2-nights in Panama and one in Nicaragua. We will be spending about 3 nights in each place (cloud forests etc) in Costa Rica. Not everything goes to plan on ever trip, but we just see it as part of life's rich tapestry.

I dream about my holiday all year & love every minute of it.
Give me a sunbed on a quiet beach on a Greek Island & plenty of hot sun & I'm happy. If it is in a lovely village with plenty of nice Tavernas & I'm ecstatic. Luckily we know just the place & NO I'm not telling as I want that little cove to be as quiet as it is now when I go back next year.
Ideally I'd like no-one there who speaks English but DH would hate that as he likes talking to people but he gave up the Greek lessons!!

We used to do ten days in New York every year, usually late September. It was wonderful, I love, love, love the place! However we're not going this year, in fact maybe we'll never get there again.
My arthritis has become much worse over the past year, it doesn't interfere too much with my life here, but the amount of walking required to get the best out of New York would just be too much for me now.
These days we're both perfectly content to stay in lovely cottages in quiet areas, peace, tranquility, wonderful scenery, fabulous food, wildlife on the doorstep, bliss!
We like occasional long weekend city breaks too, York is a particular favourite. However, for us, a fortnight in a cottage on the North Yorkshire moors with a couple of days trips into York is absolute holiday perfection!
If it rains, it rains! We're not made of sugar, we won't dissolve!