Meet the jetsetters who go on holiday more than seven times a year
Must be nice, must be real nice
Jack CummingsIt’s gotta be tough to spend most of the year on holiday, finishing essays by the side of the pool and strolling around ancient ruins in 30 degrees.
Let’s be honest, most of our yearly trips are jaunts to shit resorts on the Costa Del Sol or a couple of package lads’ holidays with embarrassing friends from home, but not for these blessed travellers.
Whether they’re financed by working all year behind a bar or by piggybacking on to family holidays, their wanderlust takes them as far as Armenia, Malaysia and Qatar. They’re the impossibly tanned and happy people clogging your news feed with endless “hot dogs or legs” photos, and these are their stories.
Laura – Eight holidays including Bulgaria, Marrakesh and Greece
Laura at a festival in Bulgaria
Manchester grad Laura has been to Bulgaria, Marrakesh, Greece and several other countries, even squeezing in time to visit family in Glasgow.
So far this year she’s also been to Italy, Spain, France and Dublin.
Laura said: “Ever since I was 16 I’ve done lots of holidays each year or been travelling for longer periods of time.
“My best holiday this year was skiing in Italy, but last year I went travelling in Myanmar for over a month and that was really special.”
“The next place I’m going might be another last minute ski holiday in January or possibly a smaller break in Paris.”
Impressively, Laura pays for the holidays herself through working part time all through uni and during the holidays.
She said: “I’ve had a part time job from the age of 14 and always saved money to go away rather than spending it on clothes for example.
“I worked at an investment firm in my gap year for seven months on a decent salary and also worked for them at Easter and in the summer most years at uni.”
Laura has been on eight holidays this year
Laura added: “Travelling for five months was most my most expensive holiday overall, but on smaller trips you spend more per day and aren’t as worried about budgeting.
“I quite often book last minute to get really good deals, and when I go away I don’t stay anywhere that expensive or go on wild spending.”
“I’m also lucky my family still tend to invite me away with them – my sisters are younger so we still do family holidays.
“I’ve started on a grad scheme so I probably won’t be able to do so many now – which is why I went away as much as I could when I was younger.”
Charles – 11 countries this year, including Malaysia, Armenia and Singapore
Charles on the Azerbaijan border with Georgia
Charles White manages to juggle his degree, working part time and travelling to 11 countries this year – and he always travels alone.
The Durham third year mixes it up, with the shortest holiday being a weekend in Berlin and the longest being spending over a month in the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore.
He’s also been to Brussels, Dubai, Switzerland, Italy, Georgia and Armenia.
Charles said: “This is normal, but I never take the ability to travel for granted. So many people can’t and I never want to be seen as being flippant about being a travel-junkie.
“The Philippines are the greatest country on earth. I’m in love it so much that I think I’m one of the only people in the entire world who likes Manilla.”
“I’m a budget hosteller and I always travel alone. I’m the cheapest person you’ve ever met, spending money is almost an affront to my very being.
“I work hard in a minimum paid job and don’t spend any money all year and then just splurge.”
Charles in Lugano, Switzerland
Charles has a head start on his travels as he lives in Dubai outside of term time.
He said: “My parents used to make us travel everywhere when I was a kid so it’s literally part of my very identity.
“My friends ban me from talking about it mostly because if someone else is there they might say where they’ve been. And my friends know I’ll be really judgemental.
“I have a strict policy: if you meet an English person you leave. This happened in the Perhenthian Islands and I got the boat back the next day.
“I turn down dates and stuff with people if they mention they’ve been to Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. That’s a big no-no.”
Indigo – Seven holidays including LA and Qatar
Indigo on one of her seven holidays
King’s student Indigo Ellis’ biggest holidays this year have been to Sydney, Qatar and an upcoming trip to LA in December.
But she’s also been to Stockholm, Croatia, Tuscany, Suffolk and visited her boyfriend in Paris.
Indigo said: “Since I got to uni, I’ve saved all my money to try and travel as much as possible, as I realise when I leave I will have no time and no money to do it.
“The best holiday this year was definitely the Highlands. My boyfriend and I rented a cottage on this peninsula near Fort William, only 50 people live on the peninsula and we were right on the coast.
“My mum pays for my flights to Doha in Qatar to visit her, but I save up to do the others from my student loan and the money I get from tutoring kids.
“The most I’ve spent on a holiday was after my first year of uni when I spent two months in Ecuador – that cost me all in all about £2,500 which I had to work in a shoe shop for eight months to afford.
“I usually do the obligatory check-in on Facebook occasionally, and some ‘artsy’ Instagram photos, but I tend to try and not post about it too much.”
Jack – Seven holidays including LA and two snowboarding trips
Jack in LA
Keen snowboarder Jack Harrison has been to the San Bernadinos in California and Val Thorens.
The Exeter Economics student has also been to LA, but also kept it local by taking short trips to Bath, Dublin, London and the Lake District.
Jack said: “This year has been a particularly prolific, I probably went on three holidays last year.
“The best was probably the second trip to the states, as it was really long, and I got to do lots of cool stuff, and spend time with my brother.
“I would like to go back to California in December, but it depends on funds, and if I would have enough time during the holidays.”
Jack on a snowboarding trip
Jack added: “I paid for Val Thorens, Bath, London, and Dublin with money left to me by my grandmother, and the Lakes and the first USA trip were with my dad, who paid.
“I go away as much as possible because I’m at an age where I have few responsibilities and lots of time, and I don’t want to waste it sitting around,
“There’s so much to see and do, and I’d hate to regret not doing something later in life.
“I’m spending a year in New Zealand, starting next summer, and while I’m there I’d love to visit loads of places in the southern hemisphere, like pacific islands and such, and Antartica would be my ultimate aim, but I don’t know how practical it would be in my current financial state.
“I do the occasional post on Instagram, but it’s not really my vibe, I’ve only got like 60 followers or something.
“I mainly post on Facebook, partly to keep my mum updated and partly to make the people who used to bully me at school jealous.”