Would you swap Australia’s Bondi for Britain’s Bridlington?

If you can have a long enough spell to guarantee plenty of fine weather the east coast [especially Norfolk] takes some beating. If you’ve only got a week then a trip to the Med or the Canaries is probably the best answer as sunshine is virtually guaranteed throughout – and it might even be less expensive and more free & easy with better accommodation, luxury facilities, and more desirable attractions. I’m not sure that the British hospitality industry has yet woken up to the need to provide the quality of accommodation, meals, amenities, and entertainment that people want these days – not in Bridlington at least, nor even in Great Yarmouth.

It’s all down to the expectation of good weather really isn’t it?
In OZ and in the Med it’s good in the UK it’s not, and the sea is “freezing” all year round.
If only the inevitable Global warming had some positive effect on us, but with our luck it probably won’t.

As Chris said above, I think the weather is a key issue – if you go on holiday to get a nice tan and sit around in the sunshine then Britain isn’t always going to cut it. Although some places do get gorgeous weather in the summer, there’s still always the worry that you’ll end up sitting in a chip shop in the rain.

Having said that, I love English holidays, and I think that if you can get past the weather there are some stunning places to go. I’m a big fan of Dartmoor and Exmoor – fantastic walking, beautiful views and (depending on whether you’re a camping person!) some great places to stay. I’ve done a lot of travelling before, and the thing I enjoy most is soaking up the different cultures abroad – maybe even trying out some rapidly-learned words. But sunshine and novelty aren’t always the be-all and end-all of holidays – I’m aiming to do more holidaying in the UK, mainly for cost reasons, but also because there’s just so much of it that I haven’t yet explored!

Horses for courses, I don’t think we’ll ever all want to go abroad for our holidays, or all ever want to stay in Blighty and face bad weather from day one of the holiday. To me, nothing replaces the sound of the cicadas on a Mediterranean summer’s day and a glass of ouzo as an aperitif in a Greek taverna, but then, nothing replaces a dram in a nice pub after a long day’s walk in the Highlands, followed by a pint of lager and a fish supper.

My husband and I try to have two one-week holidays a year, one abroad for warmth and a change of scenery, and one at home in Scotland, for a wee change from Edinburgh, where we live. In Scotland we rent a cottage for a week and treat ourselves to one meal out during that week, usually in a local restaurant with good reviews/Michelin star/ etc (a fish supper has to be good!). Like that it’s cheaper and we don’t have to rely on bad cuisine for our meals. The best of both worlds. However, to be truthful, I think I could face two weeks in the Mediterranean, but I’m not sure about two weeks in Britain. The weather does start to matter after a while…

Like Sophie, getting a balance between going abroad and staying at home is important to me. I like to go abroad with friends, but if I holiday with my family we always opt for the UK – normally heading to Cornwall.

I’m from Dorset which is still a really popular destination for holiday makers, with it’s beautiful countryside and world heritage coastline you can see why. On a sunny day Weymouth beach can get pretty packed. Having said that, a wet summer can be very damaging to local tourism so I think it’s good that the government are reminding people that UK holidays are still an option.

I’m afraid no amount of celebrity endorsement is going to get me choosing the UK over a foreign destination for my holidays this year.

When choosing my holidays I am looking for a warm relaxing break – the UK is too unpredictable for that. Nikki’s hit the nail on the head with her chip shop comment – that’s my worst nightmare, being cold and wet sad indoors with a frown on my face.

In addition to this, I tend to find UK holidays rather expensive for what they are. Yes, a day trip to the beach is cheap but if you want to eat or visit attractions beyond the local museum it all costs – and you’ll end up handing over a few bob!

A few years back I priced up a weekend away for a few friends to Blackpool as many of them were on a budget and, as it turns out, 3 days there cost more than a weeks stay in the canaries.

It’s a good point about pricing. I agree that once you start adding in attraction prices, particularly for families, it feels like it can be cheaper to go abroad than stay in the UK.
The government is encouraging UK tourism businesses to offer discounts of 20.12% or more to mark the Olympic year, so that may make a difference to the costs.
But has anyone been found one of those discounts? And if so, did it make a UK break much more affordable?

These patronising adverts just sum up the desperation of the UK holiday industry. I live in South Devon. The streets of the main towns at night are awash with noisy drunks and rowdies. Not the nicest place to spend your holiday evenings with a family. So sorry, even with 20.12% off (what knothead thought that up?) I’ll be avoiding the Olympics the torch, the noise, the mediocrity. And especially, I’ll be avoiding Stephen Fry and his tedious ‘I’m so posh and clever’ act. Give us a break. Rolling out tired famous people, or almost famous people doesn’t cut it.
(And, Which, I’m not ‘bored of typing my name and email’ I’m a bit bored BY it – but then I’m clever and a bit posh, and incredibly patronising too, like the adverts).