UK holidays

[Feek]

We generally holiday in the UK. Neither Mrs. Feek or I are bothered about sitting around a pool or on the beach and we're not sun worshippers. We've been to a fully inclusive resort in Norfolk a few times and in a couple of weeks we're going to another one run by the same company in Essex. There's plenty for us to do, the food is excellent, the included drinks are all good, branded, well known ones and the evening entertainment is superb. Later in the year, we'll have a week in the Channel Islands.

We have simple tastes.

 

[Haggisman]

Cardigan Bay is lovely - yes the sea is cold, but MTFU. Loads of wildlife - have seen seals, dolphins, free-dived for spider crabs to chuck on a fire on the beach. It's only as expensive as you decide to make it.

Always fancied the Lake District but just can't justify the prices of a weekend there when I can go to Mallorca for cheaper with flights and accommodation.

Last time I went to the Lake District for a weekend, it cost me:

£24 in fuel to get there and back.
Let's be unrealistically generous and say £50 for food over the weekend (£20-30 is probably closer)
About £3 in gas.

Yup, definitely expensive

It would almost certainly cost me more either on the train, or in parking to get to London to fly somewhere.

Sadly, despite living only a couple of miles from BHX and it being 1 stop away on the train, they don't seem to fly anywhere interesting from there

 

[Freefaller]

We generally holiday in the UK. Neither Mrs. Feek or I are bothered about sitting around a pool or on the beach and we're not sun worshippers. We've been to a fully inclusive resort in Norfolk a few times and in a couple of weeks we're going to another one run by the same company in Essex. There's plenty for us to do, the food is excellent, the included drinks are all good, branded, well known ones and the evening entertainment is superb. Later in the year, we'll have a week in the Channel Islands.

We have simple tastes.

There's more to holidays than sitting around a pool or at the beach

 

[413x]

if you get the weather i like Anglesey (North Wales in general)..... the problem is you can pay all that money and get a week of solid rain and cold weather.

at least if you go to <insert many places abroad here> you will get the weather, as well as decent snorkelling/scuba and other stuff which is harder in the UK (and even then you have to hope no one is dumping sewage in there)

People warned to avoid 83 UK beaches because of raw sewage dumped nearby

The alert includes Tripadvisor’s best UK beach

www.independent.co.uk

For me a week in the UK is the longest i can take........

Problem with the UK is the weather. You can't really book in advance with any certainty.

Its horrible being at beach in miserable rain. And paying a lot for it.

If we had more "seasonal" weather the UK would be great

 

[mattx4]

I've recently been to Woburn center parcs was great for the kids and easy access to London and Milton Keynes where we have family made it a good base. Will probably do it next time I'm back as the price was about the same as a decent Airbnb in the area

 

[Feek]

There's more to holidays than sitting around a pool or at the beach

Yup, absolutely. A holiday can be whatever you want it to be and ours are perfect for us

 

[Amplus]

Cardigan Bay is lovely - yes the sea is cold, but MTFU. Loads of wildlife - have seen seals, dolphins, free-dived for spider crabs to chuck on a fire on the beach. It's only as expensive as you decide to make it.



Last time I went to the Lake District for a weekend, it cost me:

£24 in fuel to get there and back.
Let's be unrealistically generous and say £50 for food over the weekend (£20-30 is probably closer)
About £3 in gas.

Yup, definitely expensive

It would almost certainly cost me more either on the train, or in parking to get to London to fly somewhere.

Sadly, despite living only a couple of miles from BHX and it being 1 stop away on the train, they don't seem to fly anywhere interesting from there

£24 for fuel there and back to the Lake District from Brum?!? What do you drive a 1 litre Fiat Panda?!....also you are forgetting accomodation.
£30 for food for a couple?!

Talking REALISTICALLY then for 4 nights in the lake district you are talking £80 in fuel...£50 a day in food for meals and lunch (for a couple that's £200 for 4 nights)... accomodation I've just looked and for something decent talking £120 a night (£480)...so for a couple comes to £760. Not to forget the weather most likely will be ***** and then it's around a 3 hour drive from Brum.

BHX to Mallorca flights in off season are around £100 each. Food and drink talking around £30-40 a day. Accomodation for something decent is around £80-100....so actually works out cheaper and let's face it much rather be in Mallorca then the Lake District.

BHX flys to loads of places like Mallorca, Spain, Turkey, Eastern European places, Thailand, India

 

[Raymond Lin]

£24 for fuel there and back to the Lake District from Brum?!? What do you drive a 1 litre Fiat Panda?!....also you are forgetting accomodation.
£30 for food for a couple?!

Talking REALISTICALLY then for 4 nights in the lake district you are talking £80 in fuel...£50 a day in food for meals and lunch (for a couple that's £200 for 4 nights)... accomodation I've just looked and for something decent talking £120 a night (£480)...so for a couple comes to £760. Not to forget the weather most likely will be ***** and then it's around a 3 hour drive from Brum.

BHX to Mallorca flights in off season are around £100 each. Food and drink talking around £30-40 a day. Accomodation for something decent is around £80-100....so actually works out cheaper and let's face it much rather be in Mallorca then the Lake District.

BHX flys to loads of places like Mallorca, Spain, Turkey, Eastern European places, Thailand, India

This is why I find a holiday to Europe to be more cost-effective, even if i had to pay airport parking.

Everytime I look into going up to Edinburgh for a few days and work out the cost, it's more than if not almost the same as going to anywhere else in Europe. Since I would need to fly up there from where i am. If I drive....in my car, that's not going to be cheap either.

 

[SixTwoSix]

So in good ol' GD fashion, there is a clear division in the thread

1) Stay in the UK and everyone who does is a hiker, outdoor enthusiast and doesn't care about the weather, it's cheap, you're just not looking hard enough.
2) Going abroad means your just sat by the pool or lounging on the beach and nothing you can see elsewhere compares to the UK, we've got it all, just stay and save your hard earned.

/sweeping generalisation.

I'm somewhere in the middle, I love being out and about in the UK, some great places but the weather is a PITA and it is prohibitively expensive for what you get out of it. I also love going abroad, getting out of my comfort zone, exploring the area, chatting with random locals, great food, etc.

The world is varied and huge and so much to experience in our single limited life spans. If I have money/time, i'm going abroad, if not, I can find something to do here for a few days, I can make the best of either situation.

 

[Raymond Lin]

For me, a holiday is less about finding somewhere to relax, but more about out of my comfort zone, learning new cultures, eating new foods, seeing and listening to languages that I don't understand.

Travelling within the UK doesn't tick most of those boxes, besides the money side. And when you add in the money aspect, it becomes less value for money as i am not getting most of the stuff i am looking for out of it.

 

[HangTime]

London's too expensive to stay overnight

Admittedly I haven't stayed there for a while but I used to stay in London maybe 20(?) times a year and if you aren't fussy you can get reasonably priced lodging unless it's a particularly busy date. I'd say I paid around £50 on average typically in the £25-75 range. This is excluding hostels and B&Bs as I prefer a private bedroom with bathroom.

Travelodge City is a good one as it was built about 5 years ago so much nicer than most TL in the City, I've stayed there for ~£50 quite a few times. Travelodge Greenwich High Road was around £30-45 and is extremely close to the station (like 1-2min walk so pretty safe). IBIS used to have some good deals to stay in the proper Ibis for £40 or the Budget one for £25 although I think they've stopped that now.
edit: quick search suggests they are now charging over £100 for London City Travelodge, bonkers!

Aside from the chains I generally just went on hotelscombined and searched for somewhere with 3* or better and decent guest ratings, that was convenient for transport. I stayed in a few ropey places on occasion but overall I'd say because London is so big there's a lot of choice and hence you can normally find somewhere reasonable.

Going back to the OP, I generally like to go somewhere new. We did Suffolk in October, Devon in May and it will be Norfolk in August. I'd previously dismissed self catering due to the cost but I'll be honest, we much, much preferred having a nice cottage over staying in hotels like we normally do. The fact you don't need to eat out or get takeaway is quite liberating plus just generally not being couped up.

I'm aware that foreign holidays are cheaper though. My wife hasn't been overseas since 2012 and our kids never have, so we'll maybe look at doing that next year.

 

[jaybee]

Gatwick airport.

 

[413x]

£24 for fuel there and back to the Lake District from Brum?!? What do you drive a 1 litre Fiat Panda?!....also you are forgetting accomodation.
£30 for food for a couple?!

Talking REALISTICALLY then for 4 nights in the lake district you are talking £80 in fuel...£50 a day in food for meals and lunch (for a couple that's £200 for 4 nights)... accomodation I've just looked and for something decent talking £120 a night (£480)...so for a couple comes to £760. Not to forget the weather most likely will be ***** and then it's around a 3 hour drive from Brum.

BHX to Mallorca flights in off season are around £100 each. Food and drink talking around £30-40 a day. Accomodation for something decent is around £80-100....so actually works out cheaper and let's face it much rather be in Mallorca then the Lake District.

BHX flys to loads of places like Mallorca, Spain, Turkey, Eastern European places, Thailand, India

Not sure I'd rather be in mallorca than the lake district myself!


I'm a fan of short breaks. But to interesting places where you get to see/do stuff you can't in the UK.

Somewhere like Barcelona.. Absolutely. But mallorca? No real interest from me there.



Holidays for me are about adventure. Or "new", "different".
Can easily go to a hot beach in the UK. And that's why beach am inclusive holidays in the med have no appeal.

 

[SixTwoSix]

But mallorca? No real interest from me there.

Holidays for me are about adventure. Or "new", "different".
Can easily go to a hot beach in the UK. And that's why beach am inclusive holidays in the med have no appeal.

Tbf the landscape and scenery in the northern parts is outstanding - I hated the seaside towns/beaches though.

 

[413x]

Tbf the landscape and scenery in the northern parts is outstanding - I hated the seaside towns/beaches though.

Apparently ibiza has same. A tacky part and a more relaxing part.

I assume when most people say mallorca + cheap they mean a beach resort type of trip


My next holiday is to Mexico to see the monarch butterfly migration peak. It's my. Number one thing to do on my bucket list. Can't wait. One of the natural Wonders of the world

 

[SixTwoSix]

My next holiday is to Mexico to see the monarch butterfly migration peak. It's my. Number one thing to do on my bucket list. Can't wait. One of the natural Wonders of the world

Don't think you have kids based on your posts? If so you're going to get some cracking deals, BHX to Cancun was under £350 return a month ago - you could then do a domestic connection dependent where in Mexico the migration is.

 

[413x]

Don't think you have kids based on your posts? If so you're going to get some cracking deals, BHX to Cancun was under £350 return a month ago - you could then do a domestic connection dependent where in Mexico the migration is.

No kids.

Yeah it's in planning at the moment. Tour cost is 3.8k (whale watching included) . Which is a lot...per person!

Need to get to Mexico City. Then get to michoacan. Where the reserves are in February.

Just trying to work out if tour is better than going it alone. Gf it's keen on the tour. But seems very very expensive for what it is.

 

[SixTwoSix]

No kids.

Yeah it's in planning at the moment. Tour cost is 3.8k (whale watching included) . Which is a lot...per person!

Need to get to Mexico City. Then get to michoacan. Where the reserves are in February.

Just trying to work out if tour is better than going it alone. Gf it's keen on the tour. But seems very very expensive for what it is.

Been Mexico a couple of times, the strongest advice is unless you're in a particularly safe tourist area, stick to tour groups - you'll also likely see things you'd otherwise miss solo'ing. There were even a few kidnappings near Tulum earlier this year.

We did a swim with whale sharks when we went in 2016, I cannot recommend that enough, beautiful creatures and the only thing that compared was floating through a channel in Fiji with Manta rays.

 

[413x]

Been Mexico a couple of times, the strongest advice is unless you're in a particularly safe tourist area, stick to tour groups - you'll also likely see things you'd otherwise miss solo'ing. There were even a few kidnappings near Tulum earlier this year.

We did a swim with whale sharks when we went in 2016, I cannot recommend that enough, beautiful creatures and the only thing that compared was floating through a channel in Fiji with Manta rays.

Unfortunately I'm not sure if the whale sharks thing coincides with the monarch migration. As its also on the to do list! Manata rays as well.

I'm sure I checked this. But I will make sure.

Yeah gf is a bit more anxious travelling in general. So we will likely go for the tour. It's a once in a lifetime thing. So I don't mind paying up.

 

[MeatLoaf]

We usually go to :

North Yorkshire / Scarborough - various sites - Primrose Valley, Blue Dolphin and Rieghton Sands
Butlins Skegness
Hafan Mor - another Haven site but great for castles and Anglesey

Used to go Blackpool a lot but the other half wont go now as she thinks the M6 isnmt safe since it went to a smart motorway