Your WORST ever holiday...

[turienzo's lovechild]

You say misery, you had a bad experience. If holidaying in a caravan was that bad for everyone, they would be not caravan parks. It's an investment and if you have children going to uni, it can work out a lot cheaper then renting. 3 bedroom caravan your child stays in it for free and they find two others to pay and it saves a lot on uni debt.

are there many universities near to caravan parks out of interest?

 

[Bad Ash]

You say misery, you had a bad experience. If holidaying in a caravan was that bad for everyone, they would be not caravan parks. It's an investment and if you have children going to uni, it can work out a lot cheaper then renting. 3 bedroom caravan your child stays in it for free and they find two others to pay and it saves a lot on uni debt.

I have never heard of a student caravan. What university did your child go to?

 

[MissGull]

Well wild park seems to constantly have caravans in it, maybe it's not gypsies maybe its students after all.

 

[Beach Hut]

Losing all your money is a pisser for sure. Same happened to me in Moscow. Went there for a vacation about 6 years ago, on the first day went and drew out all the spending money for both me and the Frau for 10 days....went to a bar/cafe place to meet some friends, left my wallet on a bar never to be seen again. Losing that amount of money was nothing compared to the bollocking I got from the Frau when we got back to the hotel.

As annoying as that was having both set of car keys stolen was seriously inconvenient however luckily Mrs Hut had taken out an insurance policy. Being with friends we got another hire car from the airport and then we needed to get new keys as there was a Vauxhall outlet in the nearest town where the car was taken to. So much for Vauxhall security as I rang our UK dealer where we bought the car and they gave us the details over the phone of the security codes which I relayed to the French garage. On the day we left luckily we got the car back.

Camera, phone and MP3 player were just annoying and the passports mysteriously re-appeared a few days later.

 

[Steve.S]

are there many universities near to caravan parks out of interest?

Yes, take Brighton for instance, loads of caravan parks along coast and just a short trip on the train.

 

[Steve.S]

I have never heard of a student caravan. What university did your child go to?

They do not call them student caravans. You buy a caravan on a site and then you can let it or use it yourself. They only have to be empty 4 weeks of the year.

 

[turienzo's lovechild]

Yes, take Brighton for instance, loads of caravan parks along coast and just a short trip on the train.

are you not slightly limiting your options to universities in coastal towns though? Or is the money saved worth commuting to somewhere else?

 

[Steve.S]

are you not slightly limiting your options to universities in coastal towns though? Or is the money saved worth commuting to somewhere else?

I just gave an example. If you went to Edinburgh uni, then you will find sites all around the area, with maybe a 20 minute commute by train. What you need to do is look around the areas where uni,s are and then look at the cost. It's an option to look at if you have a child going to uni. It may be the case that there are non near the uni your child goes to. Unless you look, you will never know. Pick a uni and then do the research.

 

[Jim Van Winkle]

Sun paper holiday for a tenner(or some such shit)...in a chalet in October in Westward Ho!.......... truly the shittiest experience this side of just about anywhere you could care to name.

I had one of these "holidays" with my parents circa 1997 in Camber Sands at a holiday camp in the middle of November. Have to say depressing is the most positive word I can use for the experience. Since then none of my holidays have consisted of camping in a tent or going to some hell hole holiday camp.

 

[atfc village]

Cologne 2009 not for the place ,just that it took 50 odd hours to get home

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

Cologne 2009 not for the place ,just that it took 50 odd hours to get home

Were you cycling?

 

[atfc village]

Were you cycling?

No a bit of snow iat Gatwick fecks up flying for 2 days.

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

I just gave an example. If you went to Edinburgh uni, then you will find sites all around the area, with maybe a 20 minute commute by train. What you need to do is look around the areas where uni,s are and then look at the cost. It's an option to look at if you have a child going to uni. It may be the case that there are non near the uni your child goes to. Unless you look, you will never know. Pick a uni and then do the research.

aren't most caravan parks only open for 12 weeks a year though?

 

[Thunder Bolt]

£4000 rent for a patch of grass in a desolate field sounds a bit steep. I'd rather sleep in the car.

French caravan sites are far from a patch of grass in a desolate field. There's indoor and outdoor heated pools, well marked out pitches with hedges & flowers, and many more facilities.

aren't most caravan parks only open for 12 weeks a year though?

From the beginning of April through to the end of September.

 

[SIMMO SAYS]

I have just returned ( early) from a 10 day "holiday" in a static caravan park in North Norfolk. This was my other halfs idea and was intended to give the kids a bit of freedom.

The journey up there with a car completely rammed with shit and a one year old bellowing at the top of her lungs was just the start...we arrived to find our luxury caravan which honked of stale fag smoke and a tinge of damp was decorated entirely in beige with 1980s fittings was still waiting to be cleaned so we had to hang around in a mildewed marquee for a couple of hours with some carrot crunching transvestite ( I'm not kidding) moaning about the on site showers being broken.

Our " van" was tiny and with three lively under 6 year olds and their various scooters, prams, dolls trashing the place whenever you turned your back..the digital revolution seems to have not quite reached mundesley yet so the TV was just a mass of psychedelic pixels half of the time...so no CBEEBIES...no wi fi and no phone reception.

Each night we slept in slightly damp bedding and sat looking at each other for entertainment. The area is like something from the 1950 s and the RAF jets thundering overhead all day add a little bit of excitement. The local restaurants cost a fricking fortune and EVERYONE keeps trying to force feed you Cromer crab at every meal.

By day 5 I was losing my mind with boredom..the weather forecast everywhere in the country seemed lovely but every day we were greeted by a dank sea fret and cold wind North Norfolk has a microclimate all of its own it seems. We went out with the kids every day, braved the beach and the nearby " attractions" which inspired even my most optimistic child to repeatedly request that we " go home to our real house" on a regular basis.

It goes on and on. Please cheer me up by sharing your tales of shitty vacations.

I think you could sell 'this' to the BBC---six episodes at least---I'd watch it

 

[Surf's Up]

My first and only holiday with my mum and an aunt to the Isle of Wight. The trouble was I was about 11 and had just discovered the lethal combination of girlie mags and ************. As a result all I wanted to do al the time was **** myself senseless, which I duly did. This made me somewhat surly and unappreciative of my mums entertainment itinerary, The result? Came home a week early with my mum swearing she'd never take me on holiday again, and she was true to her word!!

 

[Matrix10]

Malta, enough said!!! Might be nice when they finish it!!!

 

[Bevendean Hillbilly]

Malta, enough said!!! Might be nice when they finish it!!!

Malta or Caravan..Malta or Caravan?

Ooh..I cant decide.

 

[nicko31]

Dubai, a stop over was more than enough...

 

[clapham_gull]

A week in Barcelona. I was on my own but I've had lots of holidays on my own so that didn't bother me - Barcelona being such a hell hole did. I've never seen such a miserable place - there seemed to be a druggie or a prostitute on every corner. Struggled to find anywhere to eat or drink - there are plenty of bars and restaurants but it was impossible to get served in them, ended up buying food from supermarkets and eating in my hotel.

After a couple of days, I abandoned my hotel (that had been paid for), caught the train to France and spent the rest of the week in a more civilised country, eating and drinking to my heart's content, returning to Spain on the day before my flight back. I spent the night in Girona which restored my faith in Spain somewhat. But I certainly have no intention of returning to Barcelona, a sort of Spanish version of Croydon.

I'd imagine that was a few years ago. It's massively cleaned up it's act and is a really nice city to visit.