If you’re like us, then you love holidays. But as much as a getaway can bring us peace, calm and tranquillity, then you’ll know there’s also a fair share of things that can get the blood boiling too. Maybe it’s just built into our British DNA, but letting the smallest annoyance bug us on holiday seems to be all part of the experience.
From airport stresses to unpleasant flights to discontent at your destination, there can be frustrations aplenty when you’re on holiday. But which are the ones that really get our hackles up more than the rest?
Wonder no more. We’ve carried out definitive research to find out just that. Read on to find out what the 10 most annoying things that people do on holiday actually are…
What we did
To find out the frustrations that most annoyed British holidaymakers, we surveyed more than 1,000 members of the public, asking them to score certain situations on a 0-10 scale – with 10 being the most annoying and 1 being the least. And to be extra thorough, we looked at key moments in the holiday timeline, including being in the airport, on the plane and at the destination itself.
With these “annoyance scores” (yes, we are trademarking that), we were then able to identify the most annoying things that people do while on holiday. We’ve broken down the results for you in all their juicy details below…
The Top 10 Most Annoying Things People Do on Holiday
The only instance to score in the 9s, we can officially report that being rude to airline staff is the most annoying thing people do on holiday. And for good reason. Airline staff work hard to make our time in the air as safe and comfortable as possible; they deserve to be treated with respect for all that they do.
Elsewhere, making a mess of beaches by leaving litter on them was another grievance the British public couldn’t abide, taking the second-place spot in our list. Interestingly, being drunk and rowdy on the plane was deemed to be more annoying than destination inebriation, which certainly makes sense. There’s nowhere to go if you find yourself on a plane with some squiffy passengers, after all…
Other instances that didn’t quite make our top ten – but were no less annoying – included not having prepared for security (humph) and other beachgoers setting their towel up too close to you (tut tut).
The Top 10 Least Annoying Things People Do on Holiday
What about the other end of the spectrum? What were the things that were least likely to annoy people when they’re abroad?
From our top ten, it’s worth noting that a lot of these frustrations were caused by holidaymakers’ travel companions rather than strangers, and that generally, the annoyance scores were far lower than those in our Most Annoying results.
The number one spot – travel companion taking too many photos – garnered a score of only 3.6, and we’re not entirely surprised. For one, it’s a weird thing to get annoyed by – you can never have too many photos in our opinion. Plus, we bet the same people seeing red over such a thing are pretty glad their pal took all those photos once they’re back home and wishing they were still abroad.
Elsewhere, other companion gripes included wanting to be in the shade too much, using selfie sticks (all the rage a few years ago, but a real faux pas now) and wanting to get to the airport too early.
As for stranger behaviour, our respondents weren’t fans of people taking their shoes off on the plane or others wearing swimwear that was too revealing. It seems that us Brits still appreciate a bit of modesty, even if we are in different countries.
At What Stage of the Holiday Do People Get Most Annoyed?
Are there certain parts of the holiday that rile us up more than others? The results certainly say so.
With an average annoyance score of 6.7/10, holidaymakers are most annoyed on the plane. We reckon we know why: at-altitude annoyances are a special kind of frustration for one simple reason. Whether it’s a crying baby, someone kicking your chair or passengers being boisterous, there’s nowhere you can go. Staying in the plane’s toilets only provides brief relief, and other than that, you’ll just have to grin and bear it – which is when people start getting irked. Our advice: pack some headphones.
It seems we’re a little less irritated by the time we get to the destination – probably because we’ve had time to chill out and switch to relaxation mode once we’re in a different country.
The Most Annoying Things People Do at The Airport: Ranked
Ahead of the holiday, there’s the small matter of dealing with the airport. But with grievances around every corner, even the most zen of jet setters can still get riled up on the way from A to B.
It’s interesting to note that the highest-ranking and lowest-ranking annoyance was almost a matter of opinion. Travel companions wanting to get to the airport “too late” topped our table, while getting to the airport “too early” rounded out the rankings. All subjective, of course, but late arrivers and eager beavers weren’t looked on too kindly as an airport irritation.
The Most Annoying Things People Do “On the Plane”: Ranked
We know now that holidaymakers are at their most easily angered on a plane. But why? In such a confined space, even the smallest thing can become a pain – and there was no shortage of chagrin in our top 10.
Being rude to staff is the biggest no-no, as we said earlier, but there’s plenty of other things that get on holiday goers’ wicks. Anything above a certain volume level was a definite nark, with drunk and rowdy behaviour, talking too loudly and noisy eating coming in second, fifth and ninth place respectively.
Personal space being invaded was another problem too. Having your chair kicked, people putting their seats too far back and flyers putting their suitcase above your seat when they’re not sat there came in third, fourth and sixth respectively.
The Most Annoying Things People Do “At the Holiday Destination”: Ranked
People may be more chilled once they reach their destination, but there’s still plenty of things that can wind up holidaymakers. The number one most annoying thing was leaving litter on the beach or around the pool – no one wants a side of empty beer cans with their view of the sunset, after all.
Other beach-related annoyances included setting up towels too close to others, playing loud music and people shaking their sandy towels in the vicinity of other beachgoers coming in seventh, ninth and tenth. The message is definitely clear: the beach is somewhere for serenity, and this kind of behaviour is a definite no-no on your hols.
The age-old hogging hotel loungers in the morning with a towel made an appearance as well, taking the fourth spot on our list – it wouldn’t really be complete without it, would it?
The Top 5 Reasons for Disagreements on Holiday
Why do we squabble when we should be relaxing on our hols? Here are the main reasons our participants found themselves arguing during their time abroad:
The Top 5 Reasons for Disagreements During the Booking Process
With so much choice on where to go and stay, as well as the right time to travel, the booking process itself can get a little fraught too. Here are the five reasons why booking a holiday can turn into a bit of a bust-up before we click confirm:
The Top 5 Most Annoying People on Holiday: Ranked
So, who are the culprits responsible for all this discontent? As you can see, our fellow tourists take up the lion’s share, with just over 50% of respondents deeming them the main nuisance on a holiday.
Our better halves took the second-place spot, with a comparatively smaller 14.2%, while family members garnered 10.3%. We’re glad to see that resort staff only accounted for 0.5% of the results, which shows their attentiveness and dedication don’t go unnoticed by the vast majority of UK holidaymakers.
Map: How Annoyed Each Region Gets While on Holiday
As you can see, it’s a fairly even split across the UK when it comes to how irritated we are by region. Annoyance scores hover in the sixes, and there’s not an awful lot of difference between parts of the UK.
But if we’re splitting hairs, then the North West and the South West take the joint top spot, with both sharing an annoyance score of 6.5/10. We’d say it sounds like these two could take it a little easier next time they’re abroad, but the rest of the UK isn’t that far behind them either!
Of course, going on holiday is all about the good times. So, let’s get them rolling: head over to our homepage and see where you could be sailing to on your next adventure.