Tommy has over 15 years experience within the insurance industry, and his primary focus is helping travellers find the right cover for their medical conditions.
After several years of pandemic-restricted travel, foreign holidays are back with a bang this summer. For many of us, this means finally being able to enjoy all those funny little holiday quirks we all secretly love to indulge in and find ourselves doing, no matter how cliché they might be!
From enjoying a 6 am pint of beer at the airport to over-doing the breakfast buffet and the urge to reserve those sun loungers that we just can’t ignore. To celebrate the return of travel we’ve put together our top ten holiday clichés we Brits just can’t resist!
1. The Pre-Holiday Wardrobe
Even though you probably won’t end up taking it on holiday, you rule out wearing any potential holiday clothing at least one week before your departure. So you spend a week sweltering in winter jumpers or trying to avoid being seen in moth-bitten t-shirts before you finally head off (minus most of the do-not-wear items you had on the list).
2. The Passport Panic
You know you have put it in the zipper pocket of your holdall, but the urge to check at least every 10 minutes that is still there is overwhelming, not to mention the panic you feel when you suddenly can’t find it only to discover it has just slipped lower down in the pocket. The need to ask your other half/family members if they have packed their passports also has to be repeated every 15 minutes until you are sat on the flight for take-off.
3. Breakfast Alcohol at the Airport
You don’t normally even eat breakfast this early, but you’re at the airport and the holiday has officially started, so what better way is there to start it than with an obligatory beer at the airport? Pretty quickly afterward you feel dreadful and incredibly sleepy having woken up at 4 am to get to the airport, but that never stops us doing it every time we find ourselves at the airport for a morning flight!
4. The Meat or Fish Conundrum
Long-haul flights are finally back and with them the joy of the in-flight meal. For many of us, this means the decision between meat or fish has to be made, often without knowing what the tiny plastic tray will contain – the suspense as to what dish might be served is one of the flight highlights matched only by what type of ‘salty snack’ we will get with our in-flight drinks.
5. The Luggage Carousel Scrum
The fear of someone else taking our precious holiday-wardrobe-filled suitcase inspires many of us with the need to push ourselves to the very front of the carousel to ensure we are the first to take our suitcase from the conveyor belt, and no man/woman/child/dog had better get in our way of doing so!
6. Heart Sunset Photo
Have we really even enjoyed a holiday sunset without capturing it on film? For those who like to document their travels on Instagram, the photo of hands making a heart with a beach sunset backdrop is a must – no matter how many friends or family it will fill with jealousy back home...
7. Overdoing the Breakfast Buffet
Nothing says 'holiday', more than a hotel breakfast buffet, with many offering a huge selection of delicacies to choose from including ten different kinds of cereal, pastries, sliced cold meats, and of course a full English breakfast. The temptation to try everything can be too much to resist – just how many platefuls can we manage?! And not to forget smuggling out a bread roll – for lunch.
8. The Sunbed Fight
Despite lounging on a sunbed next to a pool, which has been off-limits to many of us for the last couple of years, it seems Brits haven’t lost their skill of waking at dawn to lay down their towel on their favourite lounger. The news has been full of hilarious footage of holidaymakers running down to the pool to reserve their spots as soon as the pool opens for the day, we laugh at them secretly knowing we have done the same.
9. Obligatory Duty-Free Purchase
Despite the fact you could probably buy it cheaper in the supermarket back home, many of us just can’t resist a stop-in duty-free with a purchase of perfume or alcohol (to help use up that spare foreign currency!).
10. Finally….the Post-Holiday Blues
Did it even happen? After returning we have to bemoan the fact that it ‘feels like a lifetime ago…my tan has already faded’, then get busy booking our next one.