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Not Gardening at all - group holidays

B3B3 Posts: 27,505
in The potting shed
I retired at lockdown. Haven't had any of the holidays we promised ourselves. We're a bit nervous about going it alone.
Are cruises floating petrie dishes and/or Butlins with no escape?
Are coach holidays full of the kind people you see on that funerrral and have some of my parsnips advert?
In London. Keen but lazy.
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  • Lizzie27Lizzie27 Posts: 12,494
    @B3, why don't you try a 2 night break in a hotel first to get used to being sociable with other people. We choose a town or city we don't know well within a 2 or 3hr drive away which means if the weather's not good, there's usually something to do.

    I've only been on an organized coach trip holiday once (a friend had to cancel and kindly gave me her ticket). We went to Cornwall for 4 days I think. It was okay and they were mainly a friendly bunch, involved quite a lot of coach travelling to and from various 'attractions' but it wasn't quite my 'cup of tea'. 

    Our Garden Club also lay on coach trips to various gardens which might be another idea.

    Cruises would be my idea of hell, I'd hate being with lots of strangers and not being to get off the ship!

    Hope you find something to suit.
    North East Somerset - Clay soil over limestone
  • debs64debs64 Posts: 5,184
    Are you a sociable person? Do you go out often with groups of friends? Do you do any activities with large groups of like minded people? If not then I would avoid group holidays like the plague. 
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    No and No. 😱Thank you  @debs64
    @Lizzie27 I will take your advice.
    Thank you both for saving me from a fate worse than death by agadoo
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • EmptyheadtimeEmptyheadtime Posts: 366
    My parents did quite a few cruises pre Covid. They were caravaners that would tour Europe for weeks at a time before they started to find all the driving too much so changed to cruises. They liked the variety of places they got to see. They did say some companies/ships were better than others and tended to stick to the ones they liked (Mediterranean area usually) and knew what to do regarding tips/drink packages etc. The appeal for them was waking up each morning in a different port, getting off for the day to look about etc before boarding again for their dinner and bed as the boat moved to the next port for the next day. They tried to pick cruise routes that had lots of stop offs and avoided the ones with days at sea between stops. They rarely did the cruise companies excursions and tended to just do their own thing. They were big fans.
  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    Do you want to go abroad or are you happy with the UK?

    We've had some great holidays in the UK, staying in B&Bs and exploring different counties. We stayed in 2 friendly B&Bs in Cornwall and explored gardens open to the public, there are lots of beautiful gardens. We visited sea side villages and had some delicious fresh fish in restaurants and Cornish pasties sitting on a bench looking at the sea. We walked in the countryside and strolled along the beaches. We visited a cathedral. Then the next year we did the same sort of thing in Devon.

    We stayed in 2 fabulous B&Bs in Shropshire, one a farm, the other was an old Tudor house in Shrewsbury. We went on a boat trip around Shrewsbury, saw a Shakespeare play at Ludlow Castle and visited David Austins rose garden.

    We've had holidays in Yorkshire, East Sussex and Suffolk as well, enjoyed them all.

    They aren't scary sorts of holidays and everyone speaks English! Would that sort of thing appeal or did you want to go abroad?
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    We've done pretty much all of the British Isles. Loved the Northern and SW extremes but beyond the driving now 
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • Hostafan1Hostafan1 Posts: 34,889
    maybe a " themed " cruise?  Gardening , Music, Arts or some other hobby?
    Devon.
  • EmptyheadtimeEmptyheadtime Posts: 366
    Busy-Lizzie said:
    Cornish pasties sitting on a bench 
    This is all I need from a holiday. 😁
  • KT53KT53 Posts: 9,016
    My sister-in-law has been doing UK coach trips with her husband and a couple of their friends for about 10 years.  They enjoy them but do say that they are generally the youngest on the trip by some years.  She is now 62.
    I never wanted to do a cruise even before Covid because I can't stand the thought of being cooped up with hundreds, possibly thousands, of people for days on end.  I need my space when on holiday.
  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 10,576
    My parents used to do coach holidays, and I have a friend who still does. As far as I understand it, most of the people on them either don't drive or are no longer able to drive longer distances, and a coach trip with excursions allows them go to places that they wouldn't get to on their own.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
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