My job is pretty stressful so for the first day or two I can barely summon up the energy to do anything other than 'drop and flop' but once I've got over the journey then it's time to hit the road and get out and about to discover the area and the local culture. I love just 'dondering around' as my Dad calls it, exploring the nooks and crannies like Val, stopping for a coffee and people watching etc.

When I'm in Cuba the usual routine is to arrive latish on Saturday evening and then spend Sunday re-cuperating beside the pool at the Hotel Santiago before starting the dance classes at 9.30 on the Monday morning! I guess that a daily 3 hour group dance class followed by Spanish classes or private dance classes in the afternoon with a quick siesta so that I can enjoy an evening of dancing at the local live music venues counts as 'all action'

SM

I'm like Val, I get bored if I'm just lazing about all day long. I like to explore the local area etc I'm not one for sitting and sunbathing as I find it boring. I work a job with many hours a week, and yet I still like to do things on holiday.

Mainly all action, but we do like the odd day of drop and flop. An organised tour at a relaxed pace or a multi centre seems to work best for us.

Definitely not the drop and flop type.... 2hrs sitting on a sunbed is the max for me then I have to do something to relieve the boredom. Almost all of my holidays are multi centre where there is a lot to see and do. A mixture of culture and scenery usually fits the bill, even on the odd one week beach resort holiday we always hire a car to spend time exploring the area.

Re swimming with dolphins. There is nothing more magical than being on a boat in the open seas and seeing half a dozen dolphins swimming along side, that's where they should be not in an enclosure, no matter how large, they are wild animals and shouldn't be penned purely to be made objects for our entertainment.
Dolphins in the wild can live up to 30-35years some females have lived till they are 40, in captivity the average life span is 4years. Please think twice before taking part in this activity.

edited for spelling mistake

The best place of all to experience any sea creature is in the sea..hence why I love scuba diving. I have never been fortunate enough to encounter a dolphin whilst underwater, but I have met sharks and turtles, rays and all sorts of other wonderous creatures. I have also seen whales and dolphins swimming alongside our dive boats before.

I'm not a diver Val, although a strong swimmer I've always been afraid of the open seas but when I visited Egypt over 20years ago I was persuaded to snorkel at Ras Mohammed and I still remember the colours and variety of fish, the highlight was seeing a huge turtle glide past me. Sixteen years later I was visiting the great barrier reef in Oz and made myself snorkel (I still don't really like swimming in the sea) and again the colours and different species of fish, coral and plants that I saw under the surface became one of the highlights of the trip. I am envious of you being able to see so much of nature in it's raw state, though I don't think I would have the courage to learn to dive.

Helen T wrote:

Pinky we were out in a" lagon type thingy" - but Both hubby & I can honestly say we were having such a fab time we didn't notice any fish around us - although when we went snorkelling later there were plenty. I wonder whether the nets that protect the dolphins are fine enough to keep the fish out. It might be worth you asking that question elsewhere :think

I tried this several years back whilst on hols with son to Dom Rep, sent him in sea first to check out if there was fish nearby he went got his snorkel and looked about and after about half hour reported back and said 'No mum no fish, their is too much coral, and fish don't like coral so no fish. so happily went in the water to my knees - Years later (i.e. few months back), son admitted there were tons of fish and all around the coral as they love it, but wanted me in the sea and to enjoy myself without going into a panic attack - so shanll not be asking him again, and would not trust a stranger either

Used to flop and drop on holidays, although we still chill for the first few days as we have got older we tend to explore the area or go on a few organised trips. W e are always treatening to hire a car but we are both a bit nervous about driving abroad , we did in Cyprus and Malta as you drive on the same as UK and I must say we thoughly enjoyed it. We had a good laugh getting lost and ending up in places like a Farmers yard...it was a great adventure.......
M

Oh definitely drop and flop for us

The kids moan about walking anywhere in the sun and much prefer to spend most of the day playing in the pool with the friends they have made. We do like to visit the town and beach a few times to break up the holiday with different scenery but I love nothing better than sitting, chilling, reading or listening to music around the pool or beach and people watching.

After working all year rushing between here, there and everywhere before the holiday we love to do very little when we eventually get there! My family just wouldn't be interested in an all action holiday and I'd feel I had done so much I'd need another holiday after that!

Im a "drop & flop" person too. Dont think I would be able to drag my daughter away from the pool or beach to do anything else really. We do venture into the town every evening and will go on one or two excursions, but thats about it. I enjoy nothing more than positioning myself on a sunbed with a good book and a bottle of water only looking up to have a nose around at what other people might be up to and maybe moving for some lunch. Thats what my holidays are for - relaxing. I do enough running around at home to more than make up for it.

Maybe in my later years, ill get more active but until then....

Marlou wrote:

We tend to drop and flop for 3 days as we are both so tired from our jobs ... We also like doing a few trips, usually 2 if we go for a week, but 3 or 4 if we go for 2 weeks.

That sounds like me! It takes me the first few days to recover from the overload of working, packing and travelling. Daughter has been very embarrased in the past by my snoozing and snoring poolside
Once I've caught up on my sleep, however, I do like to see the sights and do some fun stuff - no point going all that way just to hang around the same building for two weeks, I do that at work!

I tried the drop and flop once..we were in Tenerife and we were both so so knackered, it had been a long time since a holiday due to work etc..so on that first morning, we flopped by the pool...watching as Gav tried to pluck up the courage to powerbomb into a freezing cold pool..I was totally bored within 2 hours and made Rob hire a car so we could explore....think that was about 6 years ago and the last time I "dropped and flopped"..

I know the feeling Val, we were in Grand Canaria a couple of years ago OH caught a really bad cold and was feeling terrible so he just sat by the pool the last couple of days as he really didn't feel like doing anything, we were staying in a resort where you couldn't walk very far and after half a day of being bored doing nothing I took off in our hire car and did some exploring, leaving him to suffer on his own.
Luckily we are all different though, the friend with whom I travel on occasion likes to lay in the sun for a few hours but I always go for a wander whilst she works on her tan.
I used to lay in the sun years ago but it must be 40 years since I did and now my skin is showing the damage that I incurred all those years ago.

I love it when you just explore..that holiday, we found this tiny little village off the beaten track that had about half a dozen houses in and a wonderful sea front with these little steps leading down to the rocks in the sea..so we walked down and we got chatting in as best spanish as we could manage at the time to some old dears who explained to us that every morning at 10am, no matter what day, they all met up and went swimming together from these rocks in the bay and the men of the village went to the other end of the natural harbour and went fishing from the wall. She said they all beleived it kept them young. It was a truly beautiful location, not even on any map we could find, we just found it by accident..and if we had just stayed by the pool, we would have missed experiencing summats like that.

Lovely, for me that's what holidays are all about. Meeting people and seeing new places.

We just got back from mexico and prior to leaving I'd researched all the trips we could do to make the most of our time there, but , to be honest, we went on 2 trips in the fortnight and caught the bus into town 3 times, renewed our vows, then just chilled on the beach or pool, we had a water park in the hotel, so our 9 yr old was more than happy there and we met some great people who we met up with on our last 4 days, both our kids went to the kids club together, so we all just had a laugh round the pool drinking tequilla and swapping toilet stories, crackin holiday !!

Drop and flop (love that phrase) but i'm always in the water, pool or sea, hubby does the icmeler marmaris walk dont know why when its 110o C then he heads straight into the pool to cool off. me i'd say i'll just sit on these rocks and wait for you, or the bar, sunbed whatever.

i wont drive abroad, i'd be scared i killed someone, hubby cant drive. my youngest is planning on trying to draw some sea views this year on the prom. I tend to have a mooch about when its cooler usually july / august time is so hot i can only walk for max 10 mins before getting to hot.

Am a complete wuss about fish in the sea usually have a panic attack if i see a little tiddler. hubby likes watching them,

Bev

This year will definitely be drop & flop - perhaps more so than usual. I had a complee change of career last September & am still trying to come to terms with the change. I will definitely need to re charge the batteries. I am aware that hubby isn't quite so drop & flop as me, so, as there's only the two of us, I'll have to make allowances - but to be honest, I don't have any probs with him going off and leaving me for a few hours.

We chill out most of the day but usually jump in the hire car around 4-5pm and go for a drive and a wander for a couple of hours. We also do a couple of full day trips out in a fortnight plus maybe a couple of half day trips out as it's always those trips that are the most memorable thing about the holiday for me. Having said that, we ended up with no car after Auriga Crown cancelled our booking just 4 days before our holiday in Mallorca last year and it was actually quite nice to totally chill out for two weeks. If we hadn't already been a couple of times before and done most of the sightseeing trips out, I might have been cheesed off though.