At Easter I enjoy 7 days, and don't really find it flies by - apart from the last couple of days. As we have 2 weeks off then, I like to be home for the other week to catch up with things. During the summer I love my 2 weeks - a week of drop & flop, and a week of being out & about more. Our first ever holiday abroad we went for 10 days, and we both said we'd have loved those few extra days - perhaps it was because so new and exciting To be honest - I'll take whatever I can afford - can't get enough of holidays

unfortunately with hubbys job he only gets a few weeks holiday a year so we have 2 weeks in the summer,has to be 2 weeks or hubby doesnt feel like he gets a good break.
last year we did get an extra trip away tho for 5 days in Athens without the kids for a change, wouldve liked it to be a bit longer as we didnt get to see everything we wanted but it was a good break

Without a doubt I find 10 or 11 nights the best. A weeks not long enough to fit everything in and can feel a bit rushed, but towards the end of two weeks you find yourself getting into a routine which is the last thing I want to be doing on holiday!

Having said that it doesn't matter however long we've been away for, we always want to go back after being home for a couple of days!

Depends a lot on what sort of holiday you take.

I find laying on a sunbed the most boring occupation known to man , I can just about hack it for one day but after two days, I would be suicidal, so when I go to to a European resort area then a week is usually all I need, I always hire a car, visit places of interest do a lot of walking and if the weather is good a fair amount of swimming but at the end of a week I'm ready for a change. But on my long haul holidays I often go away for at least a month sometimes more and I never want to come home, I think if I had the money I would spend most of life travelling. One of my best trips was just under six weeks long, when I did a round the world holiday and just wanted it to go on and on.

I'm guessing that this topic is appealing more to people who remain in the same place for their holiday, so my answer would be one week, though having fallen in love with Portugal on my first visit last year I could perhaps be persuaded to stay there 10days instead of the week that I have booked.

i like 10/11 in summer and 7 at other times
have done 7,10.11 & 14 day holidays
at the moment we usually have three holidays a year. a week around march/april, 10 or 11 days in august (we find 14 days to much)and another week in october.
as kids are getting older(only one comes away with us now shes 14 and sometimes she would rather stay home with her grandparents)and we have more money i expect before to long we will be having 3plus a year
in my opinion you can't have to many holidays abroad:)

I agree that 10/11 nights is a nice length, 7 days can be a bit short and 14 can drag for the last day or two.......but we rarely book them - we always end up doing 14 nights in August as the cost is usually only a little more than 10/11 nights in the school hols and then we do 7 nights at October half term flying Saturday to Saturday (OH is a teacher)

We actually did 10 nights this April as Easter was so late and it dragged but that was more due to iffy weather (i can rarely get time off as Easter even though OH is off for 2 weeks )

When we had the one holiday a year it was always a fortnight, now I like to spread them out through the year so we go 4 x 1 week. I have a fortnight booked for November as hubby is retiring, so if funds allow will be able to stay as long as we want. .....Caz

Long Haul fortnight short haul a week

I only get 25 days a year so don't wanna waste them all at once but with long haul a week would be pushing it.

When we used to go to Costa Brava every year we found that 10 days was enough , as we knew the area and had done all the things to be done before , now we are spreading our wings and trying new places i find we need 2 weeks

Can only afford one holiday a year so it has to be two weeks as one just is not enough!!!

I'd never do less than a fortnight for longhaul ( and try and aim for 3 weeks in Cuba) but if I can manage it I do prefer 10/11 days even for shorthaul. My work can be realy stressfull and by the time I actually get away I'm usually exhausted both physically and mentally so the first few days are about just being able to relax and get into 'holiday mode'.

Like Judith, an entire holiday spent on the sun lounger isn't for me but for the first couple of days I'm not good for much else. A 10/11 day break gives me wind down time and then, refresshed and relaxed I can then really enjoy getting out and about and doing things.

SM

I love my 2 weeks in the summer and a week at Easter. One or two weekends in this country are great if we can afford to fit them in.

I don't think there are many package holidays for 10 days these days.

I don't think there are many package holidays for 10 days these days.

I'd agree with you there, Shirley, I can remember a time when it seemed to be much easier to get a 10/11 day package. I'm not sure which came first - the lack of 10 day packages leading to a growth in DIY or more people going DIY so encouraging TOs to concentrate on the most popular 1 and 2 week packages? Either way, the dearth of 10 day packages is certainly one of the reasons why I mainly go DIY these days. Cost being another but that's a different topic!

SM

well ....its horses for courses with me....I went pefkos in august a few years ago...just for 7days....it was spot on for me because it was very hot....dosey days and beautiful evenings eating out in the open ....but too hot to do a lot of walking... and as I dont go in the pool ect heat was draining me out..

When I coach it to callela de palafrugel in sept/oct its 17days and another week would be lovely....its just nice for walking...and Ive still got lots of exploring to do yet

We went Playa taurito in gran caneria for a week beginning of july and didnt want to come home....was AI and didnt have time to explore enough....so went back following year for 2 weeks end of july...was hotter and had problems with a member of staff.....couldnt wait to get home..

We coached it salou for over 10yrs ...17 days each year....didnt want to come home....couldnt wait to go back....then it changed and the friends we met each year stopped going....last time there wasnt bothered about coming home and decided not to go back again....Ive been since for a 4 day break...just to take lads to portadventura....was nice just to chill out...but 7 days would be too long

So it all depends where and when we go that decides how long is too long or too short....

we are off soon for 17days coaching it to CDP again....and cant wait.....tweetie

There is no straightforward answer, for example if I am going on a city break to somewhere like Marrakech I think 4 nights is perfect, on a multi centre Far East then I like at least 2 weeks but ideally would go for 3 weeks , if I am going to Goa then I would like 2 whole months ................maybe one day

The longer the better for me - 6 months would be ideal

We usually go for 2 weeks but sometimes we try to add an extra few days onto that. 3 weeks would be better and I would still think I could stay for longer.

I do love my holidays

Usually 2 weeks but this year we spent a month in Symi to cover Greek Easter, the big festival of the year. With different people there for parts of our stay in two different apartments, it was like two completely different holidays. Wonderful.

When we were both working, personally I preferred the 10/11 days package because it gave me time to get sorted with the shopping, clothes, the boys/school before having to go back to work from my 2 week annual leave.
I remember once going to Tenerife for two weeks and Manchester Airport was only closed twice in the entire year due to fog, fate would have it, it happened both outbound and inbound and we arrived home nearly a day late, I was on the early shift the next day and had to be up for 6 am"¦it was a killer.!

I don't think there are many package holidays for 10 days these days.

DIY and low cost flights may have influenced the decision by the TO's to ditch this option, but I also think in what has become a ‘cut-throat industry', that the binding contracts between the hoteliers and the TO's, where the TO 'buys' x amount of rooms and promises to fill those room for x months is another reason, because by offering 10/11 day holidays, it meant the hotel room would be vacant for a few days every week, until the next chartered flight was due, ( both losing money), whereas a 2 week holiday maximizes the hotel room"¦.the guests move out that morning and you normally move in after mid day.

I think in 30 years, I've only managed to get my OH away for a week on a couple of occasions, his theory is that the flight will cost the same, the price of the taxi to the airport will cost the same and we used to find that having another week wasn't that much more expensive, so 2 weeks it was"¦.or compromise on 11 days.!

One of the joys of being retired"¦we can go when we want and for as long as we want, and we don't for one second feel guilty about that, because after 40 years of hard slog, working & paying into the system, struggling to pay a mortgage, bringing up kids etc, we resent folks saying we're ‘lucky' or that we should go outside high season.
During high season the prices have always been expensive, so nothing has changed in 30 years and the high season price was just as difficult for us 30 years ago, (as it is for some today), and we didn't have the choice like there is today of DIY and low cost flights.
I don't want to go away when the resort is half closed, the days are short, the nights cold and the possibility of more days of rain.

Apologies for going off topic and getting on my soap box, but it really does annoy me when in real life I say "we go away when feel like it" and someone replies that we are lucky.
No we don't feel lucky and by the time some of you retire, you'll realise that there's nothing lucky about it"¦.you'll be glad that you've shaken off the shackles of routine and commitment, and feel that you deserve the freedom of choice.!

Sanji

We used to love a fortnight in the sun just chilling but since we had our daughter we have tried 7,11 and 14 nights and 11 nights is just fine. Always find 7 is not enough and 14 is way too long with a toddler.

Chelle