Why is there so much pressure to go on expensive holidays?

Bunnie1982

I feel under a lot of pressure at the moment to plan an expensive honeymoon, but I'm not going to bow down to it.

On another site I go on all the women are going on about honeymooning in exotic and expensive locations and when I say what we are doing, they tend to laugh and put me down for it.

We have booked 2 weeks off together, in the first week we are having a couple of days out and the second week we are going camping probably in Great Yarmouth (it cost us £40 for the week last year)

eyeopener

lynzpower wrote:

Wise words as usual Auntymargaret!

Personally, I cant wait for our trip to the beach house, we'll have the dog with us, barbeques, candles & connect 4, It was a lovely surprise last year, fingers crossed for the weather! ( me & OH had only just met when we hada night there) and this year I just cant wait. Apart from the food and wine :beer: it'll cost us less than a tenner on the megabus to get there. For both of us!

Don't suppose you could tell us how you found your little beach house?

Sounds idyllic and perfect for OH and me(but no doubt a state secret to keep the riffraff away).

lynzpower

Ah, its owned by part of OHs family. Its one of those old style houses wooden houses on stilts, not too far from bournemouth. As I arrived there last year I said ooh I wonder how much one of these costs, one up for sale a few doors down, believe it or not, 270 grand.

Ill stick with our free week I think !!

eyeopener

£270,00!

Good grief. Well, if those magic 6 numbers do ever materialise that can be my extravagance.

Still sounds ace though.

(Our hols will be in a caravan at Filey, first with new baby, can't wait)

finlay

We holiday a lot but that is only because we are now debt free. We usually go to Europe but last year went to the USA. Even though we both work full time I couldnt justify spending money from money put aside for our savings, you never know when the car is going to conk out do you, so I put loads of stuff on Ebay, mainly music memorabilia that I had accumulated. I mananaged to raise enough and more besides! It got rid of loads of clutter too. Of course if I had sold this stuff when I was in debt then I would have been debt free earlier! We love our hols and would rather have tem than take aways etc so I am always looking for savings at home. Dont be tempted to increase your debt just for the sake of a tan though. Holiday at home and get a fake one from Boots (on your points!!) I keep thinking of all the places that are around me that I have never visited and it is criminal! There are loads of places to go that are free, beautiful and interesting.

Broken_hearted

I think there is pressure to get everything nowadays, from a mobile phone to a villa in Spain. No-one seems happy with what they have.

Bestthingsinlifearefree

Bunnie1982 wrote:

I feel under a lot of pressure at the moment to plan an expensive honeymoon, but I'm not going to bow down to it.

On another site I go on all the women are going on about honeymooning in exotic and expensive locations and when I say what we are doing, they tend to laugh and put me down for it.

We have booked 2 weeks off together, in the first week we are having a couple of days out and the second week we are going camping probably in Great Yarmouth (it cost us £40 for the week last year)

Don't bow to the pressure.

When I got married to my wife, due to time constraints (long story) all we could fit in was 2 nights in a little cottage on a mountain (and my mother in law and friend came with us to !! (another long story).

We have had nice holidays alone since then but we still laugh about our "honey moon" and 4 years later are still happily married.

If you and your OH spend a week camping in the Lake district rather than spend 5 K on a massive honey moon abroard.

It won't make no difffernce to the chances of a happy marriage but avoiding the debt could help make the marriage stronger and you might have more funny memories from the basic honey moon rather than the pressurised glamourous honeymoon !!!!!

You can always go for the world tour / cruise on your 10th wedding anniversary !!!

dinkylou

Bunnie1982 wrote:

I feel under a lot of pressure at the moment to plan an expensive honeymoon, but I'm not going to bow down to it.

On another site I go on all the women are going on about honeymooning in exotic and expensive locations and when I say what we are doing, they tend to laugh and put me down for it.

QUOTE]

Yep, dont bow to it Bunnie!!

My brother and new wife recently went to Sri Lanka for their honeymoon, spent £2k to get them there, hotel etc and they said that it was quite disappointing. What a waste of £2k!

Thanks for all your advice and stories people. Think I am going to start being more creative when thinking where to go/what to do.

Am also going to have a set answer for when people ask - 'I'm saving up for a big holiday at a later date'

steve_cov

dinkylou wrote:

So as a fellow DFW, how do you stop yourself feeling down when people talk about hols or ask where you are going?

Oh for goodness' sake.

I'll stop just short of telling you to pull yourself together but I wouldn't dream of holidaying with another person.

Are these enough reasons?

• You won't fall out with a friend because you're pressured to spend all day, every day together
• You can please yourself, not reach constant compromises with your travelling companion
• You can decide what time you get in
• You can sit and read/write/sketch/doze somewhere beautiful without being antisocial
• You don't have to buy rounds of drinks
• You can get money-saving tips (and avoid the tourist trap restaurants!) when you chat to the locals, who rarely talk to groups
• You can sleep au naturel without worrying where your pants are in the night if you've drunk too much!

Avoid expensive single supplements by booking directly online, and remember also that you can often get later availability on flights if travelling alone rather than in a group.

I recommend the Côte d'Azur, which is excellent for the lone traveller: plenty of comfortable budget hotels, free/inexpensive galleries and museums, little need for transport other than Shanks's pony, excellent value from cafés and brasseries including fresh pasta and fish dishes at low prices. If your French is passable, you will receive an even warmer welcome and find the locals easy to chat to in the many small bars and cafés. You can get flights from next to nothing or take the Eurostar from Waterloo in 10 hours if you prefer to see more of France.

dudleyboy

So, Steve, do you holiday alone out of choice or.......