The guaranteed sunshine is part of the reason for us but the other main reason is cost, for what it would cost us to go self catering (so therefore still need to pay for food) somewhere like butlins or haven for a week we can get 2 weeks all inclusive abroad.

I agree when the sun is shining no where can beat the UK but unfortunately it is abit hit and miss! especially after the floods of last summer

Fatcodycat

I'd say Sun would be the no1 reason!
Mainly because if you go abroard you can almost guarantee some nice weather but if you book the uk in the middle of August you could get solid rain!
Also most beaches are better abroad!
Another point is that I find places like Spain, Portugal etc to be more child friendly, especially at night when you want to go out and have a drink!

Also a great plus point is that us men are guaranteed to see some half naked ladies!

I guess it's a bit more reasonable for us, as we have the caravan all season, so it's best to get use of it. I do agree that if i was going to be spending £600-£1000 on a holiday, i'd be looking to try and guarantee a bit of sunshine!!!!

fatcodycat wrote:

I agree when the sun is shining no where can beat the UK but unfortunately it is abit hit and miss!

When the sun is shining in the UK, I'm sneezing and itching with hayfever! I'm all sniffly right now after a warm afternoon and sunny evening Being away from British pollen for a couple of weeks does me good!

Chivas69 wrote:

if you book the uk in the middle of August you could get solid rain

I am tied to school holidays (I have kids and I work in a school) and it's not very often we get a glorious dry August in the UK - June and July are often much nicer here but I can't have a holiday then.

Well I would pick abroad to the UK anyday

Firstly as other people have said it's hit and miss here in the UK,and secondly I can relax much more abroad then here, it's not as hectic, well for us it's not

We also like to explore different parts of the world, etc
People seem more friendly abroad aswell
And no cooking when your on your hols either

definetly the top reason is the gaurentead sunshine..
also it is cheaper to holiday abroad than in the uk.

I think i found that when i looked at the reasons for me going abroad, sun definitely came out on top

Friendly locals? Well, not always, sometimes you wonder why you give the cash

Cheap meals? Not so much these days

Cheap drink? If you are buying from the supermarket, yeah, but from bars ... not so cheap these days, my local Wetherspoons is cheaper!!

Easier to relax? Maybe, but sitting overlooking the isle of bute with the isle of arran in the distance is pretty relaxing too - the only one thing i would say is that i always feel that my work know i aint TOO far away!!!

Less hectic? It's only hectic here in the UK if you make it that way

Other plusses i have are my own language Radio, TV, newspapers, and everyone speaks the same language (well, apart from some of the glaswegians that pop down ) I also have my car to zoom around with (europe is quite far for me to drive to!) and i can pop along for a sauna and swim anyday, plus if the weather is nice i can go outdoor bathing at Gourock at a constant temp of 86F

For me it used to be the cost . When the children were younger it was cheaper to coach it
to the Costa Brava than go to Pontins or Butlins . Now there is only the 2 of us we can spread our wings abit, and we have done so with cheap airflights to Poland , Czech Republic, Budapest, most of europe but only for long weekends. there are so many places in the Uk that i would love to visit like
Scotland , Ireland even Y'shire and the Lakes but prices work out so much cheaper to go abroad .

Cidermonster, I too have a caravan that I really need to use more. Its in Stirlingshire and what an amazing weekend we've had there weatherwise. I am fortunate enough to be very well travelled, and get more disgruntled at the price of things abroad now, so I would agree that the guaranteed sunshine is the best about flying off somewhere. I have a feeling that we may go away for 1 week this summer and make the most out of our van for the remainder of our holidays.

Jade,

I have a week set aside in September, and if the first two weeks in June and August are a wash-out, i may well be looking for a week abroad myself (no, i'll take the wife too, don't worry )

So, as i said, it's the sun that i want!!!

Mainly we go for the sun, well I suppose that is the number one factor, however there are others:

1) We love our AI which we couldn't get at home or at least it would cost a small fortune. All year at home I cook, clean, go out to work, shop, act as taxi service, dog walker etc etc Those two weeks are the only time in the year when my responsibility is limited to sharing in supervising the children. I get to read the books I've spent all year storing up and everyone to a great extent sees to themselves. For two whole weeks I get to decide just on what I want to eat, if nothing green touches the kids plates for a fortnight then so be it!!
2) Britain can be so expensive and not just the accomodation- we've spent a small fortune just to park the car! However I do have to give a big thumbs up to Hunstanton, where we went yesterday, so refreshing not to come home complaining of 'rip off Britain'
3) I like the kids to see the world; to visit different places and get to know a bit about the history and culture, also just to experience things they never could here.

As much as I love the UK, our foreign holidays will only ever be curtailed by finances.

Pam

My reasons for picking abroad over UK
sunshine
atmosphere
sunsets
large measures of spirits
cost of Accommodation
trying a different language
foreign food
airport excitement

I do enjoy a weekend or 2 away in the uk but would hate to forfeit my 2 weeks abroad

1) We love our AI which we couldn't get at home or at least it would cost a small fortune. All year at home I cook, clean, go out to work, shop, act as taxi service, dog walker etc etc Those two weeks are the only time in the year when my responsibility is limited to sharing in supervising the children. I get to read the books I've spent all year storing up and everyone to a great extent sees to themselves. For two whole weeks I get to decide just on what I want to eat, if nothing green touches the kids plates for a fortnight then so be it!!

.

I think pam has summed it up for me there alongside the guarenteed sunshine . We do like a week in this country and we would normally choose a cottage or similar but coulnt do without my 2 weeks A/I in the sun getting away from it all. If we take a holiday here it would normally be very different . we would be up and out everyday , we would do a lot of walking etc and definately more cooking and tidying whereas 2 weeks A/i we do the complete opposite , nothing at all apart from veg by the poolside for 2 weeks . so if we could only have the 1 holiday it would most definately be abroad.

Being a veggie i suppose the AI thing doesn't come into it for me, as i don't trust foreign hotels and restaurants!!!

It's always self catering for us so it makes no difference, plus i always make sure the good lady is well looked after

For us really it's the guarantee of two weeks good weather, day after day. You can say 'tommorow I will have a picnic on the beach' or ' we will go to the water park' with some degree of certainity that the weather will let you. Paying for 4 tickets to Thorpe Park a week in advance even in summer can be a bit hit and miss weatherwise.

I dont find it any cheaper abroad now than at home. We were in a country pub at the weekend eating decent steaks, chicken etc and I thought to myself that it had actually cost less than in the Algarve last summer & the Algarve is one of the cheaper Eurozone resorts. But then as standards of living rise across Europe it's only to be expected that prices will even out.

I think that probably cost of food etc does not figure quite so high as a priority now. The prices in most other European countries seem to be very similar to ours now especially with the Euro not being so good.

We tend to have a couple of holidays abroad - usually January and May or June and then have a cottage in the UK end of September/beginning October.

We had a fabulous cottage in Cornwall last September and have re-booked for this year. It was equipped with everything you could think of - a real home from home.

I have to admit that I do love the scenery in the UK and if you get good weather as we did last year there is nowhere better.

Pippa

Spot on Pippa

I think it depends on where in the UK you are, some people from the big cities, London, etc, may find places like the costa brava cheap, but i find it incredibly expensive compared to back home in central Scotland. Food, eating out, drinks, etc, the level of value for money is definitely down

We went abroad for the first time last year. It was me who was holding out going abroad, I just never fancied it but after one too many miserable (and expensive) holidays at the likes of Butlins and Haven, I thought sod it, got our passports, booked it, packed it you know the rest!

There are some lovely places to visit in Britain but sadly we just don't get the weather, when we do it's lovely but we don't get it that often plus pricing up a holiday for 2 adults 2 children for the main summer hols plus expenses (I work in a school so governed by holiday times) we could go abroad for a couple of hundred extra with everything included and not have to pack jeans, jumpers and coats just in case it rains!!

Sadly staying at home this year due to the lack of pennies in my bank, so wishing for a few rays of sunshine at least but we'll go next year but I'm happy my children have had the experience of going abroad; the flying experience, different foods etc so many children haven't even seen the sea!!

CiderMonster wrote:

Spot on Pippa

I think it depends on where in the UK you are, some people from the big cities, London, etc, may find places like the costa brava cheap, but i find it incredibly expensive compared to back home in central Scotland. Food, eating out, drinks, etc, the level of value for money is definitely down

I live in London (well just on the border with Essex), but I dont find places abroad cheap either, I guess prices must have evened out over the UK a bit. When I go and visit my friend who moved away to Yorkshire some years back or she comes here we remarked on how little difference there seems to be these days. gone a bit off topic sorry. Perhaps thats why for some of us now the main attraction is the weather.

The going on a plane/airport thing really doesn't do it for me anymore. If I could bypass that part of the process I could enjoy going abroad more, but I find it daunting nowdays & it actually puts me off of taking one week holidays abroad.