I can say with a fair bit of confidence that many of the British ex pat community spent a fair bit of their holiday time in France before moving here on a permanent basis.
I most certainly did.
It begs the question where do ex pats go on holidays?
Many go “home” to the UK, but what other destinations do people choose and why?
I have just put up a blog post that talks about our choice of holiday destination, and thought it might be a good discussion for the forum.
Allez-y!
We’re always talking of going to Italy, but not been yet. We go back to the UK or out to Cyprus to visit our parents who are part-time expats out there. We Must do the Italy tour we’ve been talking about for years (more wine, good food, old villages which we love).
We’ve popped over to Barcelona a few times, just booked to go to Cyprus from Girona with Ryanair - bargain 200 euro for 4 of us return. Before that we used to have to go back to blighty to fly. We take advantage of an even longer season than in France by going to Cyprus out of season. The mountain villages away from the coast are lovely.
I did a cruise 2 years ago, departing from Nice for a week. Had a fab time, cost my friend and I 250 euros each by booking last minute! We went to Barcelona, Sicily, Naples, Carthage, Mallorca, and Marseille (we didnt get off in Marseille, but indulged in the spa and treatment centres 
And we won 500 euros in the casino - paid the bar bill!!
Costa Cruises - can recommend.
We went to Marrakech and to Seville for some cheapie short breaks (Bravofly + Booking.com = cheap getaways!)
This year, we are looking for a villa rental in Languedoc or maybe Les Landes- pool, aircon. To sleep 8. If anyone has any recommendations, pls let me know! Oh and must accept dogs
Since I wrote this, my husband has started working in Berlin. We have organised an apartment there, so we plan to take family holidays in Germany this year.
It is a country that we know little about, so we will be taking full advantage of the apartment to discover this new place.
My eldest daughter has already booked a weekend there in April
I think I will be going out for a week with my youngest daughter during the next school holiday.
We will be hiring a car and taking a look around the surrounding countryside. Can’t wait!
We usually go to Spain too for our hols- although we do not manage to achieve this every year due to animals etc either. We usually drive down to the Costa Brava coast just over the border and stay on campsites.
Year before last we went to Biscarrosse in the Landes regions of France -it was nice, but just didnt have the same “holiday” feel as Spain for us!
On the subject of being tied to home because of animals … I have for a while been mulling over the practicalities of forming an exchange/barter set up for smallholders (or anyone for that matter) to swap items and also services. Do you think its worth considering on this site?
Ole!
Cruising had never crossed my mind but sounds like a very good idea. Last year we drove to the Alps which was a wonderful trip as we could take as much ‘stuff’ as we wanted and were flexible to drive around as we pleased. This year we are looking for a more relaxing holiday so a cruise would be perfect.
Who do you normally sail with and what times of year do they sail?
When are you thinking of coming? Some places are better in the summer - others better in the spring or autumn…
Your budget might influence where you go - Provence is fab! but not cheap. Depends also on what you are seeking ie rural, weather, tourism etc.
Hi Helen and team
As I stated on Facebook, it is our dream to one day in the near future settle in France, but not sure where at to go for our first holiday there…any suggestions?
My mother was born and brought up in Mumbles and has to have her Mumbles fix every year. It’s a lovely nostalgia trip for me and the boys love it, especially visiting the castles and jumping in the waves.
Sorry to hear about your bro in law. I hope he enjoys his trip to Tenby.
That’s Newport sorry!
The Mumbles! Lucky you - That was where we used to go, and further along the Gower as we lived North of Neport. We are hoping to go to Tenby in early Autumn with my brother in law who is recovering from a serious road accident - it is his all time favourite place and he can’t wait to go again.
I take the boys back to the UK to see the family for two weeks in the summer. We usually rent a house in Mumbles to get more of a ‘real’ holiday than just going back to my parents’ house which drives me nuts.
Otherwise, with my bien aimé, we’ve tended to go motorbiking to Spain and around the PO mostly for short breaks. He has a place in Nice too so it’s a holiday for me to go there but not for him (he goes to see his kids).
Just come back - We drive and I love to bring back local produce - chorizo olive oil almonds, oranges, the list goes on…
If we do ever go anywhere - I love Spain, easy, cheap, driveable, Spanish people are great and v friendly and love the wine…
Interesting point which I had not considered for the animal lovers on here - small holdings and the like are a way of life like farming, be it two ducks or twenty cows, they are a responsibility nonetheless.
I await responses for those , like me who are not in the same position, although I have three cats who are taken care of by my nephews when I am away, which is quite often these days (London). Not too convinced on the sentence structure!
Can totally see the attraction of the lifestyle as a small holder, but my back is not up to the task unfortunately.
Excellent - would love to - we haven’t confirmed dates yet but planning to be there first week of July ish.
They are near Matha (nr Cognac)!
Ooo - I can feel a meeting up opportunity - we’re on the Charente border
Holidays…What are those - remind me someone…
Same position as Kathryn really re the animals. Trying to even plan a long day out involves as much strategic planning as the D Day landings. We are having a weeks ‘holiday’ this summer chez my aunt and uncle in the Charente - James will be spending the week doing DIY at their place rather than ours!!
I may speak for a few of us when I say holidays are a thing we did before moving here! One of the reasons to move here was to run a small-holding and so this means we just can’t go away together as the animals all need to be looked after. I end up taking the girls away for a week here or there but it tends to be to see family rather than a true holiday.