Trying to organise a holliday for next month and all I get off the missus is links to anonymous blocks of flats with a very blue pool, 800 sun loungers and an all incusive resaurant. Followed up with some emotional blackmail “I don’t want to do anything, I just want to relax and spend time alone with you”.

Discussion down the pub indicates this type of holliday is considdered normal.

Was it just my parents who ‘wasted’ my childhood hollidays climbing mountains, sailing boats, riding bikes, walking places and generaly doing ‘stuff’.

Nope not just you, really don’t understand the appeal of flying to another country and spending the whole time on a resort (but then a sun tan isn’t something essential for me like it seems to be with most). Was a discussion at work yesterday about how “10 days is enough for a holiday, any longer and you’re ready to come back” most were agreeing all I could think was “Ur doing it wrong”.

Parents never took us all inclusive, we were always camping/chalets/gites and never staying in the same region for more than 3/4 days. See the world!

Am I alone in the world in my perception that hollidays are for doing things you haven’t got time to do the rest of the year?

No, your other half seems to think the same.

How much time, during the rest of the year, does your other half spend lying in the sun next to a nice pool, with a pool bar just along the terrace and a nice beach just over the way.

Shut it, Woppit! 😉

Macgyver, you do know that I hate you, don’t you? 😉 Looks ace!

Sleep. Lots.

just let me ask the wife to see if it’s OK

I’ll do likewise. 😕

Meet me at the bar at 7. Do you like Pino Colada? Getting caught in the rain? Junk food? Don’t tell me, you’ve got half a brain….

Just spent a week surfing in Cornwall…great family fun.

CaptainFlashheart – Member

Shut it, Woppit!

I was right, then… 😆

I thought that would rankle with you Flashy. The Rage is something that I have been very lucky to sail. Sitting out on the pry wayyyyyy beyond the gunwhales is ace. Gets kinda hectic on a tack as there’s barely two feet under to boom to cram everyone under. Post race and sailing back into the harbour with a cold beer in hand is pleasant too.

If you do end up at a beach resort, book her a spa/massage pampering day very early in the holiday and go do something fun while she’s there. Scuba, windsurfing, sailing, or if you must -hire a bike and do some miles.
You’ll both enjoy it more, and with a bit of luck she’ll want to do it again before the hols end and will end up booking you something fun to keep you busy.

Macgyver – Member

Not envious in the slightest, honest, not at all.

****ing lucky ****ing ******* 😛

If you do end up at a beach resort, book her a spa/massage pampering day very early in the holiday and go do something fun while she’s there. Scuba, windsurfing, sailing, or if you must -hire a bike and do some miles.
You’ll both enjoy it more, and with a bit of luck she’ll want to do it again before the hols end and will end up booking you something fun to keep you busy.

I’ve tried that one before, seh enjoyed it and booked another one for both of us. It ended with a turkish guy walking up and down my spine which was strange enjoyable, although I did look like i’d spent time with Flashy’s dominatirx as my back was bruised from the ‘massage’ !

Just got back from two week family holiday in Les Arcs and Verbier. Have booked Verbier for next year. Next holiday will be snowboarding. Went on a beach holiday last October due to Katies back operation, still found plenty to do but it just wasnt the same as throwing my self down a mountain.

Trying to organise a holliday for next month and all I get off the missus is links to anonymous blocks of flats with a very blue pool, 800 sun loungers and an all incusive resaurant. Followed up with some emotional blackmail “I don’t want to do anything, I just want to relax and spend time alone with you”.

There’s an easy solution to this one: http://www.padi.com. (Other certification also available.) This year do a course, next year you go diving every other morning. Back for lunch as a loving couple, spend the afternoon visiting somewhere local.

There is usually a very good halfway house.

My Mrs is the sun bed + book type and I am not, but our holidays have usually succeeded in keeping both of us happy. For instance it is not unusual to find cottages or chalets with excellent views and a nice sun terrace that are in the mountains. Equally, there are activities like jet skiing and diving if you do get influenced to go to the beach, of course you can go out of your way to find beach resorts that are close to the mountains, then you are both spoilt for choice.

Just try and make the most of it.

Tracey – Member

Just got back from two week family holiday in Les Arcs and Verbier.

ORANGE FIIIIIIVE!!!!

igmc

find beach resorts that are close to the mountains

Have a mate who goes regularly to Olu Deniz in Turkey – for the para-gliding.

Our holiday’s of recent have been:

Daytime: I ride my bike in a nice place I don’t usually ride while the missus sits by the pool/sea and reads or chills in a spa or shops…

Evening we go out together to eat and drink too much!

Both happy 🙂

Its Lucys bike but its not a five, think its some Strange model

This is mine

No sunbeds for us

I am on holiday, all the time…….

What am I doing now?? Ohhh…

Erm.. I went for an early ride just out back west of Florence and came back through the city. Then logged on to check mails and skype Mum to tell her we’ve cleaned the place up a bit and opened the windows to let the sun in.
I’ve cleaned the scooter and will be off later when the local scooter shop opens after lunch to collect a new battery, then we’ll be off into Sienna on it for supper and a meander around the hills.

Tomorrow will be much the same tortuous schedule.. I can’t wait.

This year weve done 2 weeks in the canary islands, Mrs C arranged 5 days road bike hire so I wouldn’t go stir crazy.
The rest of our time has been spent relaxing and enjoying each others company with junior C.
We all needed a decent break for a change rather than a wet 2 weeks camping in england

There’s an easy solution to this one: http://www.padi.com.

You might think that that, but when OH told me we (she) wanted to go to Malta, I found a what liked like a nice cozy guest house in Valletta. Then when I mentioned PADI AOW/ dives over 3 mornings/ taking my own drysuit, she also decided we needed an upgrade to 4* white block with pools and all-inclusive options (not taken, but that kind of place)
That said
– hotel had attached dive school, 1 extra dive free
– I’ve never stayed in a hotel with a pool (armed gurads, yes, but never a pool) and I have to say, there is something to be said for an afternoon or two lazing by the pool when there’s hardly anyone else about.
– the views were brilliant (both from the room and at the pool)
– so was the diving

Nope not just you, really don’t understand the appeal of flying to another country and spending the whole time on a resort

I have neighbours who will spend thousands of pounds, and fly halfway round the world to lie on a beech and get burnt. Then regale us with tales of their wonderful trip to whatever exotic location they’ve been to. They will buy various items of tat from local tourist markets, but that’s about the limit of their interaction with the locals and their culture. Of course, it’s their choice, but it just seems a shameful waste of time and money to me, especially considering some of the places they’ve been to. The bloke always moans about various aspects of the trop that weren’t quite t his liking, I’m not really sure he enjoys it at all actually. And his wife will be off the the GP to have her sunburn and septic insiect bites treated. i think they only really do it to have something to try to impress others with. Personally, I’d muchrather have a few days just riding around Wales or somewhere, even if it rains.

To each their own, but for me, a good holiday requires a little thought and imagination. Love the idea of MacGuyver and Bikebout’s trips, they sound fantastic!

Been there, and worked out a compromise that ended up with us windsurfing in Greece. Morning was a couple of hours riding, back for breakfast with the missus, lessons with the missus, bit of time reading by the beach, table footie, a gentle ride around the area with the missus, back to pad, out for dinner, back for bed fun. Repeat for 7 days!

I do not choose resort type holidays either, as they just dont appeal to me. I have never been one to sit round a pool sunbathing.

we either go camping and have lots of days out or go to Disneyworld. Complete opposites but equally very busy.

I dont like to sit around doing nothing, I dont find it relaxing , just boring.

Holidays usually involve riding bikes or doing/seeing things. Neither of us can be done with just sitting down frying in the sun.

We have a vague idea of going to South America (Chile?) for a couple of weeks shortly. Anyone know of any half decent bike guides / guiding companies?

jota180 – Member

Up around 6
Go for a run till 7
Go buy bread etc.
Breakfast till 9
Sit and watch the world go by until 1 ish
Go find somewhere for a long lunch till 3 ish
Read
snooze
read
snooze………… …7 ish
Nip to the bar for a quick one whilst the missus gets ready
Quick shower and change
Walk out somewhere for dinner

DrP – Member

Add a toddler and get:
Up around 6
Chasing toddler around room to go to breakfast till 9
Breakfast from 0900-0907
Chase toddler and watch the rest of the world relaxing until 1 ish
Go find somewhere for a rushed, messy lunch till 1.10 ish
Read about excursions we won’t do
Nip to the bar for a quick one whilst the missus gets angry at me being at the bar.
Quick shower and change the muddy, food covered clothes
Frantically find somewhere for dinner…..

TBH, I wouldn’t change it for the world!!

DrP

Ah ….yes!
That was my holidays a dozen or so years ago
Bizarrely, I miss it 😕

You might think that that, but when OH told me we (she) wanted to go to Malta, I found a what liked like a nice cozy guest house in Valletta. Then when I mentioned PADI AOW/ dives over 3 mornings/ taking my own drysuit, she also decided we needed an upgrade to 4* white block with pools and all-inclusive options

lol, funny how that works 😀

My holidays to date have usually revolved around a long-ish backpacking trip (as in hiking in the mountains), with a couple of days at the end in a nice city to stroll about and sit at cafes before coming home.

I can’t imagine a week spent on sun loungers in a resort, would be deadly boring.

Last year i took an extended holiday (with the intention of staying if i could find a job) to Whistler. Spent most days riding all day! Had some days off to allow my hands to recover. Also did a bit of walking around, sampling the “local herbs” ( 😀 ) and swimming in the various lakes. Drinking at night. This march me and a couple of mates spent a week riding in Wales. Can’t afford another holiday this year! May be going on a lads drinking holiday next summer 🙂

Last year i took an extended holiday (with the intention of staying if i could find a job) to Whistler. Spent most days riding all day! Had some days off to allow my hands to recover. Also did a bit of walking around, sampling the “local herbs” ( 😀 ) and swimming in the various lakes. Drinking at night. This march me and a couple of mates spent a week riding in Wales. Can’t afford another holiday this year! May be going on a lads drinking holiday next summer 🙂

Can I just add that the next time I go away [Oct] to Lanzarote, I’ll be waving the missus bye bye at the airport and riding a motorbike down there to meet her a week later

Channel crossing to Calais
Ride through France and Spain, stopping off at friends in Gibraltar
Ferry from Cadiz to Areciffe

Then I’ll start my lazy routine 🙂

My holiday this year is going to be spent kipping on the floor of my brother’s new flat and taking a week or so to explore the museums and galleries of that London, haven’t done the rounds for at least 10 years and never on my lonesome so quite looking forward to a week of indulging myself. 😀

Nope I can’t think of anything I want to do less than pay money to sit on a beach abroad in an over priced hotel with disgusting “all inclusive” food and drink (pi** for beer, wine like vinegar). This year we’d done 2 weeks MTBing in India, 1 week with Bike Verbier and in October we will be doing a weeks’ diving in Egypt, but I certinaly won’t be lying on the beach .. oh and we don’t do sun!!! HA HA HA.

As for “spending quality time together” I bet she lies there with a book or face down tanning her back and doesn’t say a word? That’s what most women who like that kind of thing do.

No way Jose…good luck!

…not reading all the above crap 😀

A few years ago we did the hotel pool and sunlounger thing and it was brilliant. We were both knackered and needed a break. Sometimes you need spend 2 weeks reading books, drinking cold beer, eating, playing crazy golf and walking on the beach.

Sometimes you need spend…

Sometimes you do. I save my hols for the winter and go boarding. Can’t remember the last beach holiday I went on…which says it all really!

After years of doing bugger-all when I took time off other than just go out for the day to different places I booked a B&B in a pub in South Devon for a week. Just me, and I had a wonderful time, walking along the coast, taking photos, going up onto Dartmoor, eating wonderful local caught food and drinking excellent local beer, relaxing and being chilled.
This year I’ve been offered the guest apartment at some friends farm a couple of miles away, so that’ll save me a fair bit, just money for food’n’booze! 😀

I just can’t sit still it seems. We do a mix of outdoor activities, culture; some very touristy places, some really quiet.
This summer we had a 4 week trip:
Ferry to Amsterdam
Parc Asterix and 3 nights around Paris (rabit hutch hotel)
Gorge du Tarn (6 nts camping)climbing,swimming in river,canoeing, mtbing + hiking.
Aix en Provence
Finale for riding
Alpi Apuane (Tuscany) climbed big rocky peak,bike ride,Pisa + Lucca
Lake Garda, camping in vineyard,climbing,biking and Trento castle
Insbruck, Schloss Ambrass
Regensburg
Rijks Museum in Amsterdam

Mrs not keen on the more scary activities, but 13 year old son up for most (bribes sometimes required);he can read in he car though, luckily!
We even managed to chill out a bit..

Lifer, make sure you go to the Wallace. One of the hidden gems of that London, IMO.

Just booked a trip with wife and small kids to Crete, Greece. I hope to get a way on some biking. Anyone with advice on mtb rentals or guide companies in the area?