When does your holiday start?

[honey lamb]

On a recent post, ratechaser posed the question When does your holiday start which I think is worthy of its own thread.

Many people on here have said that it starts when they close the front door on the way to the airport; others when they check-in; more when they check-in to an hotel the night before the flight.

In the past , I would have said that any of these would have applied but I have decided that for me it begins with the decision to go and the booking process. There is a frisson of excitement when the first email pops into the Inbox which, for me, is built upon as I book hotels, consult with friends and gradually build up and itinerary which often consists of more flights and more hotels. If you are flying VS and the T-60 date comes into play, there's the anticipation of booking seats. The countdown clock on VF adds to it when all of a sudden you realise it is in the teens and then all of a sudden in single figures. The airlines start sending you emails reminding you of your booked flights and all of a sudden you are in the throes of packing! I won't mention family arguments as to who brings what and the absolutely essential item which everyone but its owner knows won't see light of day while you are away in spite of hauling it across an ocean/continent/halfway round the world. ):

All of a sudden, in spite of all the planning and preparation, the day is upon you. The cat/dog/grandad has been assigned to its temporary home for the next couple of weeks or so. The cases have been locked and finally the front door closed and the holiday has begun......

....... or did it subconsciously begin weeks/months ago?

im with you HL. for me it starts when i book thr flight proper (not sure i count the countless times of doing dummy bookings etc as the countdown doesnt start in earnest till you log in to your MMB the first time after receiving the email.
i check mine almost everyday lol but it kind of becomes my motivation at work.
the excitement more like anticipation mounts once cool hotels are booked and then plans start to come together; friends to see places to eat etc. then nearer the time booking LHR hotel and CDCs at both ends.
but for me it starts proper once we are relaxing at our LHR hotel the night before

I agree in part that it subconsciously starts with the planning and booking, the excitement involved etc. But the holiday proper for me begins when I lock the door and am on way to the airport, sitting in the first class carriage of the train, and if it's a weekday that usually means there's wine available, and I can relax. I start winding down from work stress etc during this period, which often includes a night at a nice hotel at the airport, a good dinner etc. Flying UC now adds to the experience and aids relaxation so really I'm very chilled out when I arrive, rather than stressed from the long journey. And that's just the way I like it; I couldn't go back...

What a timely thread.

Yes it's 5am, but I'm excited!

The house is quiet, cases are packed but lying open waiting for the last toiletries to go in etc. Dog is snoozing, quite unaware that at 8.30 sharp she is off to the kennels ):

Looking down the wonderful valley onto the Moor I can see the mist is clinging onto the trees, but the sky is clear.

I'm having a last quiet few hours before OLCI opens at 9am. I'm not going to achieve SEQ1,2,3 and 4 but I am going to try. Broadband speeds here are a complete misnomer.

Junior's mate arrives at 10am (from even further into Cornwall than is possible) and we are clear to decamp the South West at about 11am. Gatwick Hilton our bed for the night and the CH our breakfast venue.

Has my holiday started? I guess it did when I booked it. But it feels like it today. That key in the door is my cue. And the anticipation is taking me back to Christmas Eve's long since gone……

The dress rehearsal is the discussion and planning then the holiday begins the minute I click the final button online to confirm the flight. This way I get maximum enjoyment ! The excitement mounts as I book hotels, taxi and car hire. Then planning what to pack. ( All the little details that other friends find so tedious ! For them the holiday starts when they reach the hotel at their destination. )

Have a super time Marshy11

The house is quiet, cases are packed but lying open waiting for the last toiletries to go in etc. Dog is snoozing, quite unaware that at 8.30 sharp she is off to the kennels ):

Looking down the wonderful valley onto the Moor I can see the mist is clinging onto the trees, but the sky is clear.

That sounds like a holiday in itself..

For us it has changed over the years. It has never really been from the point of selecting the holiday or any of waypoints up to the day of departure, as MrsPJH in particular has an all consuming occupation which makes thinking about the holiday only possible a day or two before...

When the offspring were young, it didn't really start until we were at out destination and unpacked. Too much unpredictability about the reactions to and behaviours during the travelling and hoping we'd remembered everything.

As they grew older it spread to the outbound flight itself, but getting to that point still had the potential to be fraught, what with the trip to the airport and the inevitable parental "discussions" about where to eat.

As they grew up and away, we (I?) took the decision to up the ante on travel class and getting to (and from) the airport, so now the holiday begins the point at which the door is locked on the way out to the taxi (and I've checked it at least twice...and gone back to check I closed the bathroom window...and checked I have the tickets...and where's my passport...).

Paul

I think I'll have to go with starting when the taxi arrives to take us to the airport hotel.
If I went for the planning stage it would be far too far ahead.
We booked provisionally booked the house for next year 15 months ahead and confirmed it at the 1 year date.
I booked our flights on the first day they became open and upgraded to PE on miles.
5 days of daily checking and upgraded outbound to UC
then a further month of checking for the inbound, sometimes 4 times a day as reward seats seem to come on line at any time of day. Then decided on day change for the way home.
So now more planning what to do with that day.
I'm so sad I have a spread sheet as a project and included in it is a countdown formula showing how many days to go.

So in summary holidays are a major part of our life all year but start with the journey. (Three days to get to South Carolina)

Dick D

The house is quiet, cases are packed but lying open waiting for the last toiletries to go in etc. Dog is snoozing, quite unaware that at 8.30 sharp she is off to the kennels ):

Looking down the wonderful valley onto the Moor I can see the mist is clinging onto the trees, but the sky is clear.

That sounds like a holiday in itself..

For us it has changed over the years. It has never really been from the point of selecting the holiday or any of waypoints up to the day of departure, as MrsPJH in particular has an all consuming occupation which makes thinking about the holiday only possible a day or two before...

When the offspring were young, it didn't really start until we were at out destination and unpacked. Too much unpredictability about the reactions to and behaviours during the travelling and hoping we'd remembered everything.

As they grew older it spread to the outbound flight itself, but getting to that point still had the potential to be fraught, what with the trip to the airport and the inevitable parental "discussions" about where to eat.

As they grew up and away, we (I?) took the decision to up the ante on travel class and getting to (and from) the airport, so now the holiday begins the point at which the door is locked on the way out to the taxi (and I've checked it at least twice...and gone back to check I closed the bathroom window...and checked I have the tickets...and where's my passport...).

Paul

Paul, that all sounds familiar here!

I wish we could hop in a taxi - in years gone by we would fly up from Plymouth but that is now closed. These days it is a car journey up the day before....it will be about 4-4.5 hours. There's no rush today.

As for checking the door, tickets and passports - we are already on the second check today. Not half a mile up the lane will be another.....then we will do the "room sweep" tomorrow morning to double check nothing has been left and across to the boys' room to do the same.

I left my purse in the car at Gatwick airport parking and was airside before I realised once - fortunately we were well within time for mr marshy to be escorted back through security to save the credit cards and holiday money which I had helpfully left on the dash! So all double checking is thorough now!

Love this thread!

This year my excitement started back in January when I managed to get our first G's to LAX...then followed months of just waiting, now I'm at 93 days and waiting for the 60 day milestone when the excited of seat booking starts. I'm just filling in my time booking hotels and car hire etc. For me the holiday will start the second I wave goodbye to work and the drive to Heathrow commences! ....speaking of work I really should be going there now instead of reading this forum!

I left my purse in the car at Gatwick airport parking and was airside before I realised once - fortunately we were well within time for mr marshy to be escorted back through security to save the credit cards and holiday money which I had helpfully left on the dash! So all double checking is thorough now!

The first time we did the full UC experience with taxi (but before non VS vehicles could use DTCI) was a big surprise for the end of MrsPJH's "50 things to do when I'm 50" year. I was a wee bit flustered about keeping the surprise going (and praying I hadn't over egged the pudding and that she'd react along the lines "this is a total waste of money!") and so I left my man bag with the tickets etc in the back seat of the taxi. I realised this just as it was pulling away, thankfully...

Heading back to Orlando airport 1995 and had to stop to pay a Toll. I had to get my wallet out of my pocket and in the rush to pay just placed it between my legs and forgot about it.
In those days Alamo was a few miles from the airport and I was getting off the shuttle bus when I realised I had no wallet. Straight back to Alamo and the car had already been cleaned and guess what? No wallet to be seen. Back to the airport and I phoned my bank to cancel my cards and we flew up to Boston. Then checking in for the final leg we were told we didn't have seats and they would be allocated at the gate.
Well we were both upset but in true Brit stiff upper lip fashion politely told our sorry story.
The check in girl went off and returned to say we were now in First Class and gave us vouchers for the lounge. ( I think it was American Airlines and very nice it was too.)
And so started the slippery slope of never wanting to turn right into a plane for a long haul.

Dick D

My trips are quite frequent so, although the excitement about the booking process and the YEAH moment when I have clicked on PAY NOW still remain, THE moment for me is when I know the girlie gundogs are sorted and I finally close the door to get into the taxi to the airport.

At that moment I can actually feel the stress leaving me and I go straight into HAPPY mode. From then on it is an adventure, it is why the class I travel in is of little consequence, it is just about getting there.

And I don't understand people who say they wont travel unless it is in J or F, just think what they are missing out on. I would quite happily sit in the hold with the suitcases, I really would. I actually like flying and I will and do have fun whether in F, J or Y.

And that is why I travel in smiley mode, and trivial crap like seat changes or warm white wine bothers me not a jot and I actually feel sad for those such does bother. It really does have to be quite something to knock me out of that happy state (and no I am not mentioning HER again!!!!).

Coming home is the same but different. I will have had a brilliant trip and leaving OZ will be painful, but then I DO and WILL have the next adventure to organise, if not already done.

And, very importantly, I do have the three girlie gundogs waiting for me at home too and their welcome is awesome.

y)

Holiday? What's that?

Holiday for us starts with the booking process 100% in most cases.

We try and do 2 types of holiday - the bucket/spade routes where we know what we doing and staying one place for duration. These we just book and forget about until 2 weeks before we go - when we start getting excited.

2nd type is the independent traveler type - we book flights at the max limit alone, then start to plan itinerary during the year the due date comes up. This keeps us involved in the holiday right up until time to go - getting more and more excited, and involved right up to go-time. We in this phase for our 2015 road-trip now, and considering adding a train journey up to Seattle (along coast) in during this past weekend, then driving back.

The actual holiday itself though starts when we arrive the day before at a LHR, LGW or Stansted hotel (like other posters we too far away from LHR for a taxi (3 hours +) to really be viable - it's usually at least 100+ more than driving, with hotel and parking, and can get stuck on M25 as my business trips frequently experience, nothing you want on a relaxing holiday). Holiday officially starts as we are eating our dinner the night before/drinking in the executive lounge. We tend to do this even with an afternoon departure - so we can make most of the airport lounges we can use.

Key advantage of above approach is we check all items before leaving and again at hotel - as we have time to go get anything missed if required.

I agree with the above. The pre-holiday run up is super exciting, particularly on VS, because when I come back to Tokyo from LHR I always fly UC so the last thing I experience on my London holidays is always that amazing clubhouse.

I think I get a bit obsessive about it though, continuously re-selecting seats and mentally planning my schedule in the Clubhouse. Sometimes I forget there's a holiday in between the flights.

Our holiday officially starts the night before we have to travel to the airport. Cue a few alchohlic beverages to start us on the right foot once I get home from work and start sifting through the cases stripping out all the excess weight we do not need to get them under 23kg!
Like Marshy11 we too are from Cornwall and always travel to the airport the night before as it is a bit of a trek to LGW especially with 3 kids in tow. Once we hit the airport hotel it's straight to the bar and hand the kids their iPads to keep them amused while we get ourselves into holiday mode!

From the moment I decide to go, I am checking BA.com waiting for the club / first sales to start.

I agree in part that it subconsciously starts with the planning and booking, the excitement involved etc. But the holiday proper for me begins when I lock the door and am on way to the airport, sitting in the first class carriage of the train, and if it's a weekday that usually means there's wine available, and I can relax. I start winding down from work stress etc during this period, which often includes a night at a nice hotel at the airport, a good dinner etc. Flying UC now adds to the experience and aids relaxation so really I'm very chilled out when I arrive, rather than stressed from the long journey. And that's just the way I like it; I couldn't go back...

Ditto what Bretty says.

Couldn't agree more

Dan

For me a holiday starts as soon as the suitcases have been retrieved from the loft and the packing process begins. I am now able to get this process down to under an hour! However I normally don't feel totally relaxed and in the holiday mood until the 3rd or 4th day of the holiday.

For me a holiday starts as soon as the suitcases have been retrieved from the loft and the packing process begins. I am now able to get this process down to under an hour! However I normally don't feel totally relaxed and in the holiday mood until the 3rd or 4th day of the holiday.

An hour!!
Cases come down at least three weeks before departure.
Contents start to get laid out in the spare room a week before that.
I am fully relaxed at Hilton Gatwick before I finish my first glass of bubbly about 20 hours before take off.
Dick D

[honey lamb]

For me a holiday starts as soon as the suitcases have been retrieved from the loft and the packing process begins. I am now able to get this process down to under an hour! However I normally don't feel totally relaxed and in the holiday mood until the 3rd or 4th day of the holiday.

An hour!!
Cases come down at least three weeks before departure.
Contents start to get laid out in the spare room a week before that.
I am fully relaxed at Hilton Gatwick before I finish my first glass of bubbly about 20 hours before take off.
Dick D

I'm running seriously late this time around. I fly on Thursday and I haven't brought the cases down yet and there's a pile of ironing to be done!! And the house has top be cleaned!!
:0 :0 :0

For me a holiday starts as soon as the suitcases have been retrieved from the loft and the packing process begins. I am now able to get this process down to under an hour! However I normally don't feel totally relaxed and in the holiday mood until the 3rd or 4th day of the holiday.

Very much in the same mould as my wife, packs so fast that her hands are a blur. Final washing and ironing run also done the same day we head off to the airport hotel. I don't get involved, safest that way!

And I don't understand people who say they wont travel unless it is in J or F, just think what they are missing out on. I would quite happily sit in the hold with the suitcases, I really would. I actually like flying and I will and do have fun whether in F, J or Y.

...

And that is why I travel in smiley mode, and trivial crap like seat changes or warm white wine bothers me not a jot and I actually feel sad for those such does bother. It really does have to be quite something to knock me out of that happy state (and no I am not mentioning HER again!!!!).

Couldn't agree more

I love the planning process, the flights and airports. And at the end of the day it's about where I'm going not how I got there. That's not to say I don't get a kick out of picking up a good redemption or a shed loads of miles booking hotels through pointshound or rocketmils ( it all helps ). But life's too short to worry about things I have relatively little control over and I have enough grey hairs as it is! I'm just happy to be able to the modest amount of traveling that I can.

For us it there is the excitement of booking and planning which goes on for months prior to our trips.

For me the main start of hols which for me is when my out of office goes on.

There is generally more excitement when we arrive at the hotel the night before our flight. Once we are there I really feel like the holiday can begin, because I know we're at the airport and the house and cats are sorted.

As nice as it is when we book the holiday there's always 2 booked and another 2 in the pipeline so i get excited whenever I talk about whatever holiday, even if that one is the furthest away!
So I think, for me, the holiday starts the last day in work and I say my farewells (don't burn the building down) to everyone. I always leave with a spring in my step and throughout the day I'm known to burst into song at random occasions...yes i am that camp! ^) I love the last day in work feeling...that's when my holiday starts! y)