“My Husband Always Ruins Our Vacation” 10 Stories Many Can Relate to Their Partner

He forgets his passport, swim trunks, sunglasses, and the book he planned to read on the beach. Plus, he loses the apartment and/or rental car keys, the receipt for the paid excursion from the day before, and every ticket or entry pass.

My husband is usually reliable and helpful in daily life, but on vacation, he somehow lets go completely. I end up doing everything: planning where we go, booking flights and accommodation, arranging transfers. I decide which sights to see and where to eat.

This might suit a control-loving wife, but I’m not one, and it stresses me out. It feels like I’m responsible for everything, and if a beach, hotel, restaurant, or attraction disappoints, it’s my fault. I’ve tried getting him to help organize, but he says he’s not cut out for it and would rather not go anywhere if it’s up to him.

Something always happens to him on every trip. In Greece, he stepped on a sea urchin; in Tunisia, a jellyfish stung him; in Egypt, he got sunburned so badly he couldn’t get up for three days. In Bulgaria, he had food poisoning and needed hospital IV fluids for dehydration. In Italy, he fell off a scooter and broke his collarbone. In Spain, he twisted his ankle on day one and couldn’t explore the city. Now we’re heading to Croatia, and he’s decided he wants to go diving, so I’m on edge.

Nothing is ever good enough for him; he’s always complaining. The beach is too far, the bed is too hard, the food is bad. If it’s hot, that’s a problem; if it’s cooler, that’s a problem too. If there are many people, he complains about the crowd; if few, he says it’s too deserted. If the sun’s out, he’ll get sunburned; if it’s cloudy, how will he tan? Nothing ever satisfies him. He’s worse than a grumpy toddler.

Every vacation, he disappears for at least a whole day, as if he can’t handle spending more than two days straight with me. He goes for a spontaneous “morning walk” and returns in the evening. Or he goes out at night to explore the city and comes back at dawn. He always goes to see something—a mountain, a landmark, anything—as long as I don’t see him for at least half a day. It’s super frustrating. When I say I’ll come along, he brushes me off, saying it’s unnecessary and he’ll be back in five minutes, but every time I’m left alone for hours.

My husband hates vacations; he feels best at home. Once, I begged him to go to Lake Balaton. We arrived Saturday morning and left Sunday evening. On Saturday afternoon, just as we were packing up at the beach to go for dinner, he said he was going home (to Budapest) because he’d bought a car part online and needed to pick it up. So I was alone from 4 p.m. until 11 p.m.

I had dinner alone, strolled the shore alone, and went to bed alone at the hotel. I woke up when he got back but was still mad, so I went back to sleep. The next morning after breakfast, he said he thought we should head home.

He acts like a child on every vacation. With three kids, that’s no easy task. If I don’t apply sunscreen, he gets sunburned. If I don’t warn him, he overeats and upsets his stomach. If I don’t watch him, he slips in the pool. He requires more patience than the three kids combined.

My first husband’s idea of vacation was doing absolutely nothing: just lying on the beach and nothing else. My second husband lasted only an hour on the beach; with him, we had to see every single sight. When I told my fourth husband at yet another church that my feet were killing me and I was getting heatstroke, he said there was “only” one basilica, one park, a famous square, and two museums left until evening.

My husband doesn’t drink at all—except on vacation, when he gets completely wasted every single day. He drinks from morning until noon, then naps and continues drinking until evening. He remembers nothing from our trips because he’s drunk the whole time.

He brings at least three board games, two decks of cards, and a word puzzle to every vacation. My kids and I are totally over these games, but if we don’t play, he gets upset.

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