As the sun sets on Faliraki, holidaymakers are heading to new resorts to spend their summer holidays.
Malia in Crete is one of the new resorts pulling in twentysomethings after Greek and Spanish crackdowns on misbehaving Brits abroad.
 | SUGGEST A DEBATE This topic was suggested by Joe Ryan, France:  Let's talk about holiday plans. Where are people going? Why? Do people have the money to go away?  |
Wales and the Norfolk Broads were the destinations for Hollywood couple Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart this summer. Could UK breaks be this year's in thing? What do you look for in a holiday resort? Is it gorgeous weather and lively nightlife or will good food and a trashy novel do you? Where are the best UK destinations if you can't fork out for a flight?
This debate has now closed. Thank you for you comments.
Your comments:
| A holiday that lets me chill out and enjoy some peace and quiet is for me |
What I want most is to be sat somewhere overlooking the sea, book in one hand, nice cool drink in the other and relaxing. My job is stressful for 90% of the year and going to busy and popular resorts just causes more stress. A holiday that lets me chill out and enjoy some peace and quiet is for me. Find a quiet local that does great food to spend the evenings. Pure heaven. Cornwall, Devon and West Somerset are the best places to go in this country to get peace and quiet.
Phil, England If you spend time looking around in the UK and are prepared to take some chances, you can find some absolutely wonderful B&B/inn type accommodation off the beaten track, with good food and good prices. The trouble is that the UK seems to have far more than its fair share of shoddy establishments charging a high price for inadequate service.
Jonny, England
I'm going to beautiful Florence this year for some culture. My holiday last year was fantastic, staying with relatives in Toronto, but the lack of anything old was somewhat disconcerting, especially as I live in a cathedral town. Lots of pretty old things in Italy though! That's if I can get in anywhere due to floods of Americans...
Emma, Winchester, UK
My American wife and I have been back to the UK for a couple of weeks every year since we were married (9 years) and this is the first year that we are thinking about spending one of our two weeks "on the continent" -- maybe Tuscany or Ireland.
Nigel Pond, Brit living in the USA
I live in Scarborough. I'm permanently on holiday. Those of you who've never been really should come and see how wonderful this seaside town really is!
Mat, UK
| A holiday is all about relaxing in the sun |
The UK is good for a holiday if you like to keep busy and have plenty of money spare for entrance fees to various attractions and overpriced food and drinks. But for me a holiday is all about relaxing in the sun with a good book, swimming in the sea, enjoying different foods and most of all the friendly welcome and nothing is too much trouble service that you don't see much of here. The Greek islands are my favourite holiday destination; yes there are club 18-30 type resorts but these are easy to avoid.
Fiona, Dumbarton I'll go anywhere where there isn't a bunch of foul-mouthed, violent, promiscuous British 18-30 yr olds. North Korea anyone?
Rob H, UK
We are staying home this year because we just can't afford to go abroad. We bought a guide book of Aberdeen for a fiver and so far we have been round loads of things, things we usually ignore or take for granted because we live here. It's been a real eye-opener and very enjoyable and everyone should try it!
Chrissie Nyssen, Aberdeen, Scotland
I am off to Egypt for 2 weeks of glorious sunshine and diving. It is cheaper to go there than to stay here, amazingly. I have had numerous fantastic UK holidays as a child, mainly to Abersoch, the Norfolk Broads and Newquay. They are and always will be the best memorable holidays ever. I would never refuse a UK break but nowadays I prefer to be a bit more adventurous and cultural I'm afraid.
Lou, Knutsford, Cheshire
We love to go on weekend breaks around the UK because there are so many beautiful places to discover, particularly the lakes and Cornwall. Unfortunately we're let down by poor standards and expensive hotels, and restaurants with a low quality of food and bad service. We recently came back from a fortnight in America where we ate wonderful food in restaurants with excellent and friendly service that welcomed children with open arms, stayed in great hotels and didn't have our evenings out ruined by drunken louts. I hate to say it, but much as I love the UK, I'm seriously considering whether I actually want to continue living here or opt for a better quality of life in Australia or the US.
Christine, UK
I have lived in Arizona for the past 24 years, and I can't wait to get back to England in September! You can see pretty much all there is worth seeing in Arizona in a couple of weeks or so, whereas I discover new things on every visit back home. I particularly love the Peak District. My US born husband also loves England, and is looking forward to being able to visit the wonderful Scottish Highlands in the not too distant future.
Jan, Phoenix, AZ
August has become the hottest month in recent years. So being an avid skier I am going to Valle Nevado, Chile for 2 weeks of skiing in the amazing Andes. Snow is great, women are pretty, and Chilean wines and beef are second to none. The dollar goes a long way here (unlike Europe) and the airfares are at their lowest at this time of year.
Meerkat, Washington, D.C., USA
| People here spend so much time complaining they seem to forget just how beautiful and relaxing the British Isles can be |
I've just returned from a lads' weekend rowing down the river Wye. So many people here spend so much time complaining they seem to forget just how beautiful and relaxing the British Isles can be.
Jonathan, UK Sun, sea, good food, friendly locals, luxurious accomodation and beautiful scenery. Absolutely NO children, stressed parental types, 'English' pubs and lager louts. We went to an'adult only' hotel in Greece and it was heaven!
Rachel, Newmarket
North Devon has some of the best beaches around. Not only that but fantastic scenery and two national parks within easy reach. Superb - but don't tell anyone - I would rather it stayed unspoilt so I can go there again next year!
Ian, UK
I went to Nice, Sth France, it cost me �1500 for a week and most of the time all we could get to eat after 11 was pizza, The beer was 2 Euro for a half pint (�1.40 which makes apint �2.80 not cheap)As for the French rudness parsonified. UK has a lot more to offer, London is great all night clubbing,food and reasonable priced cabs.
Jake, London
I have just come back from a great week in Devon. The weather was dry (much better than what the north east had last week!), the caravan clean and there was plenty to see and do within a short distance! I think that the UK has a lot to offer as I don't want to just sit on a beach and fry for a week!
Tracey, Durham, UK
My wife and I have for many years now have taken our holidays in the Republic of Ireland on the west coast in Co. Mayo. I was fortunate enough to serve in the Royal Navy when we had ships that used to go around the world as normal practice so I was able to see a lot of the world and compare it with the UK. In Ireland you can back pack for days without seeing anyone and when you do they are always friendly and helpful also it is so easy to get to. It is the people that make the country.
Ron Milligan, Gosport, UK Cornwall for us this year - we have been for the last 3 years and love it. We've never had a problem with weather but even if we did, the weather isn't everything. Not everyone is obsessed with getting burnt. If it's sunny, great and if not, so what. The scenery takes your breath away and if the accommodation isn't great, whose fault is that? Be a bit more careful about what you book. I am, and we've stayed in some lovely places. I can't wait!
Sarah, Epsom, UK
I just got back from a short cycling trip in the Cotswolds. Beautiful scenery and villages, lovely pub grub, friendly people, glorious sunshine, great company and, to pitch a tent, very cheap. I think I'll stick to holidaying at home in future!
Russ, London, UK
Last year my wife and I and our three children went to Thonon-les-bains in Haute-Savoie on the southern shore (French side) of Lake Leman (Lake Geneva). We flew by Easyjet from Luton to Geneva, hired an Easycar Ford Focus and stayed one week in a self-catering apartment overlooking the lake. The weather, swimming, views, town, food and places of interest were all fabulous, and we all had a tremendous time. Our total expenditure was less than �500!! Flights �160, Car Hire �55, Airport parking �60, Food �75, Petrol �50, general spending �75. I found some good deals on the internet and we just relaxed, kept it simple, and enjoyed ourselves.
Mike, Ivybridge UK
I would like to dispute comment that only rich people can holiday in England. I am certainly not rich, and have never holidayed anywhere except England - for a start I can't afford a passport for myself and my family! There are many positive things about holidaying in England - yes it can be expensive, and yes the service can be bad...but from what family and friends have told me, those kind of negative aspects can be found in any country!
Jenny, Essex, UK
We go to a campsite in Dorset where there is everything for both kids and adults alike, we have been there four times now and the weather has been great, last year we went to Cornwall and came back on the hottest day of August, never again are we going that far south with the traffic jams at Bristol M4 junction! This year we are doing something different, my hu8bby and son are hiking the Coast to Coast walk and I'm going to York with my daughter and 2 year old son and staying in a college.
HJB, Audenshaw
Living in London - why go elsewhere? Brilliant city with loads to do. And the expense of living here is not that much. It costs �2.50 for a one day bus pass for unlimited travel in Zones 1, 2, 3,and 4 - a huge area. Or �9.50 for a week. Many of the museums are free; you also have places like the Tower of London, Tussauds, the Zoo, beautiful parks such as Regents Park and Hyde Park with acres of greenery and trees and water; unique markets in Camden; Theatreland with the very best in entertainment; the restaurants with a diversity second to none; the wonder of Soho and its unique culture; and great pubs which doesn't just cater for the young, trendy, "yobbish" types that dwarf holiday destinations abroad. There are loads of good hotels which don't always cost an arm and a leg - the secret is to look around. I am glad to be a Londoner living in London.
Ronald McKenzie, London, UK Popular spots abroad full of Brit 'twenty-somethings'? No thanks! Popular areas in the UK - overpriced, overcrowded, tacky and squalid? No thanks! Give me the wide open spaces, friendly folk and reasonably priced lodging and food in western Canada and the north west states or ditto in northern England. Bliss!
Harry Hall, Wilts, England
| Personally I find most beach resorts in the UK incredibly tacky |
While there are many beauty spots in the UK you really do need to know exactly where to look. Personally I find most beach resorts in the UK incredibly tacky being full of half naked drunken louts, tacky fairground rides and arcade machines. Went to Southend yesterday and sadly it convinced me further to go to France instead for my long weekends. Otherwise for a longer break I always go further a field because as wonderful as the UK is in places, I like to learn about new places and cultures!
Nassy, UK I don't understand why people go on holiday in the UK- it costs the same (sometimes more) than a week in Europe, and the weather is far more unpredictable here.
Adam, London
The UK certainly offers many attractions but is still appalling value. Accommodation is the worst offender and eating out comes a close second. Whilst you can see the UK on a budget by camping and self-catering, you can stay in lovely hotels/guesthouses and eat wonderful meals out on that same budget when taken overseas. Although we take a one week holiday somewhere in the UK each year our money goes so much further in most other countries we have visited. There's also the strong pull of the exotic and I find immersing myself in other cultures eye-opening and exciting. That said, I've certainly enjoyed my holidays in UK and recommend the West Country in particular, as well as Anglesey and Lincolnshire as a few destinations were reasonable value can still be found! nd by those willing to look.
Kavita, London, UK
We just returned from a few weeks hiking in Kent. I have to say that we were treated like King and Queen! Walking the North Downs Way provided scenery that we have yet to experience in Canada or the US. Every few miles, there is another village with friendly people. Truly Heavenly!
Marcel Valentin, Ottawa, Canada I still remember walking out of a travel agent's shop because it was filled with the types of people I go on holiday to get away from. Walking holidays are great - the perfect antidote to living in London has to be going walking when you can see for miles in all directions and not see another human being. Not only that, most tourists don't want to walk more than 100 yards from the car park so if you're willing to make an effort you get the best bits to yourself. I really don't understand why people go on holiday to do nothing more than drink until they chunder - to me the point is to do something I can't do every day at home.
Jonny, England
Holiday in rip-off Britain, you must be joking! Dreadful micro-waved food, appalling service in grotty surroundings. I am mortified when my American friends insist on coming to beautiful Britain - it has become an embarrassing joke and it breaks my heart.
Steve Payne, Marlow, UK
| to me the perfect holiday is girls drink and sun. In any order. |
I am going to Magaluff in Spain. I am 18 and to me the perfect holiday is girls drink and sun. In any order.
Peter Rooney, Liverpool A correction: Malia in Crete is not a new resort for the twentysomethings British tourists. It's been a tourist destination for the British for more than 25 years! It is always 95% packed by British teenagers who usually cause the same problems like in Faliraki.
Nikitas Tsagkatakis, Crete, Greece
I would love to take a UK holiday sometimes, but it's far too expensive. Accommodation costs a fortune, eating out is expensive if you want healthy food, and many places don't want children.
A Legge, Leeds, UK
I went to England, Scotland and Copenhagen this year for three weeks. It rained everyday, which was fantastic! The UAE rarely sees rain and I had been craving it for so long! Scotland is glorious - amazing scenery! York, Whitby and Harrogate are great, London was dismal. Copenhagen - far and away the best, shopping, food, bars, scenery, things to do! Christiania in Copenhagen was perfect! Next year though it is South Africa.
Joanna, Dubai UAE
I already took my vacation during the last week of May. I visited England and I loved it. I was blessed with good weather and beautiful sights the whole week I was there. Now if only something could be done about the exchange rates my vacation would have been better; at Lloyds for $350 I was only was given 182 pounds, so I couldn't buy much. Yet, I will try to return to the UK as soon as I can. I wish it was now as it has been 100 degrees in Sacramento lately.
Joyce Kelly, Sacramento, California, USA
The Channel Islands are my favourite destination. Have visited all of them and would have no hesitation in going back. Otherwise, heading off to Dorset with the camping gear is a perfect way to unwind.
Pauline, Farnborough England
I am really looking forward to Norfolk next month. Beautiful beaches, good food (bacon and egg breakfasts, steak and kidney pudding - yum!), fascinating history, no upset stomachs (I remember how I suffered in Egypt once). North Devon and North Yorkshire anytime. Think Whitby Abbey at sunset and a fish supper in the Magpie. Or the Isle of Wight... Perhaps Cornwall, maybe Rye... you get the idea.
Carol Metcalfe, Essex/East London To me a holiday means getting away from people, computers, TVs, phones and traffic jams. Cornwall is my favourite place in the world, and it's very easy to escape the crowds, even in the height of summer. Britain is not expensive if you have a tent...
Lydia, London, UK
I have just come back from Newquay in Cornwall, never again. Newquay must rate as one of the awful places in the UK. The shopkeepers were surly, bus drivers unfriendly. You cannot get a decent local cider at all. After 7pm the town is taken over by lads and ladettes. At 11pm the town is full of drunks vomiting and/or fighting. The whole place is a quagmire of 'traditional' (ha ha) pasty shops, kebab cafes, tacky souvenir shops and themed pubs. Give Cornwall its independence and remove Newquay fom the map of England.
Geoff, London, UK
As much as I love the Lakes, sadly you need a second mortgage to have two weeks up there. Average price of a pint is now �2.50!
Davy Maclean, Preston
Only the extremely rich can afford a British holiday. It is also necessary to achieve an impressive level of suspending disbelief. The quality is generally terrible; the waiting staff only speak Polish and the towns increasingly all look the same. Unless "Ye Olde English Teae Shoppe" impresses you, I suggest France or Italy.
Steve, UK
As the owner of Ye Olde English Teae Shoppe, I must protest at the comments made by Steve UK. My Devonshire tea won the East of England Best Devonshire Tea award three years running between 1983 and 1984. Or 1985. And my waiting staff are not Polish. They are Ukrainians. I remember you, UK. You were that spotty little bald man with the twitch. You sent back my Eccles cake complaining that there weren't enough currants in it. Currants indeed.
John, USA
To John, the owner of the Ye Olde English Teae Shoppe, I find it very difficult to believe that your staff are Ukranian - I didn't receive a single proposal for marriage during the entire of my 17 minute visit, and clearly I am a single man.
Steve, UK
| We have more surf than the Med will ever see |
I reject the idea that all the British isles offer are twee teahouses and naff tourist attractions. We have stunning landscapes, fantastic beaches, and more surf than the Med will ever see (ok, not so much of the sun). And the best selection of international food. I'm taking my Hungarian partner to Scotland camping, and am looking forward to squashing his perception that the UK consists merely of bad food and rain!
Fiona, Budapest, Hungary Gratuitous air travel in particular is wrong, and terribly polluting. Stop wasting your lives working to make enough money for a few days to yourself, just work less and spend less and have more of your life back.
James St George, London England
I prefer travelling around for a month at a time, inter-railing around Eastern Europe is really great - meet loads of people, have a few wild adventures. I also take snowboarding holidays in the winter, usually to the Alps, but N. America when there's more cash to be spent. I'm off to Thailand for a month in August which should be my most exciting, and different trip so far.
Andrew, Edinburgh, Scotland
| Going someplace that makes me glad to be home when I return... |
My idea of the perfect holiday is going someplace that makes me glad to be home when I return. In the past I've visited India and Thailand. This year we are going to Russia. Interesting culture but probably not someplace I'll daydream about when we return.
Julian, Manchester I used to dream about a UK holiday. However, with the price of the pound against the dollar, I could not afford it. Even if I could, there is the issue of high crime rates that I've read about on the BBC. May not sound PC, but I was interested in seeing all things British, not Chinese, Indian and Pakistani. The UK used to be a cultural destination for me. Now, it's pretty much the same as any other country in Europe. So, I think I'll go to Brazil.
Josh, Atlanta, USA
Give me a nice beach that isn't overrun with twentysomethings from the UK getting drunk. After all, holidays are not only for the young and we don't all feel the best holiday is one spent vomiting in the street.
Nigel, UK
The Highlands of Scotland, because I don't have to share it with the whingers who constantly complain and whine about how dreadful they think everything in Britain is.
Martin Bucknall, Glasgow
Well I have just moved to Miami, and I discovered vacations take on a whole new meaning. I mean I live in vacationland. So I am going to Arizona on my vacation. Come to America for your vacation - the pound and euro are strong and we have everything - beach, babes, booze, water, great food and great scenery.
Mike Daly, Miami, FL We DINKIs are backpacking around the Baltics and Russia. Having both been made redundant in the last two years, we spent our redundancy money backpacking Australia. We're still renting and have no intention of paying through the roof to buy a house, so any saved money goes on travelling.
Cathy, Liverpool, UK
I am not going anywhere this year. I am looking after my sick brother whilst my parents take a well deserved break to Norfolk.
Gary J, Ipswich
I love sun, beach, food and history. They are all in Turkey. Pristine Mediterranean beaches and Roman ruins and you don't have to know Turkish; English is very common. This September I am going to Turkey for the fourth time and I need more trips to see it all. In September and June you can really get cheap accommodation and airfare.
Mike B, Philadelphia, USA
Personally I can't stand those Faliraki type resorts. I'm travelling round Lebanon and Syria for two weeks in September.
Jim, London
If there was no sun or sand it just wouldn't be a holiday. I live in cold wet weather every day; I think the sun lifts your mood and makes you break away.
Cath, Liverpool
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