A scaffolder who opted to spend Christmas Day in Tenerife, leaving his wife behind in the UK, has shed light on his decision.
Christmas is typically a time for families to gather, exchange gifts, and enjoy festive television such as Doctor Who.
However, this was not the case for Dan, a construction worker who chose to spend a week in Tenerife with two friends while his wife remained in the UK. As expected, Natalie was less than pleased.
Yet, it wasn’t just the allure of sun, sand, and sea that drew Dan to the Canary Islands.
“She actually did mind me going. She didn’t want me to go. But my mate’s house had been flooded and he was in temporary accommodation in a hotel room, his family had all gone away for Christmas and he had nobody left, so I said I’d go to Tenerife with him and another guy from work – as they wouldn’t go just those two,” Dan revealed to the Mirror, explaining his decision to jet off.
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Dan, who globe-trots with Natalie and provides “nothing but honest opinions” as two “working class travellers from England” on YouTube and Instagram, detailed the logistics of the trip.
“We travelled to Tenerife as a group of three friends, our return flights, from Christmas Eve, to New Year’s Eve cost us just £261 each. Our accommodation was on the north side of the island, where it’s much quieter and a little less expensive,” he elaborated.
“We stayed in a house in Los Realejos, which cost us £1,118.40 for three people, for six nights, and as three scaffolders from Essex – this side of the island helped us stick to a nice budget. To reach the tourist hotspots (Playa de Las Américas, Los Cristianos, Costa Adeje), we had hired out a car for £271.80 (for seven days). As I’m not a big drinker anymore, I was always able to act as designated driver.”
On Christmas Day itself, the trio enjoyed 23°C temperatures, glorious sunshine, and “not a cloud in the sky” whilst soaking up the rays on Playa de Las Américas.
“We had a pint at a restaurant and spent the day relaxing in the sun, surrounded by a sea of fellow Brits, drinking and relaxing on the beach. Later on, we tried to find somewhere to have a traditional Christmas dinner, a roast, or anything resembling one,” Dan continued.
“Our efforts were futile. Everywhere was completely fully booked, we even decided to walk a couple of miles out of the hotspot area to find one, but when we arrived, it was closed. On our way back to Playa de Las Américas, we stumbled upon an Asian restaurant with little to no customers inside, the menu was substantially cheaper than most other places we had tried. As three hungry guys who absolutely love Asian food and Asia, we happily settled for that. A Thai red curry with a spectacular view of the sunset over the ocean. That was to be our Christmas dinner.”
Following dinner, Dan took time to contemplate his festive break in Tenerife. Whilst enjoyable, it was missing a certain warmth and sense of family.
“Christmas Day in the sunshine, surrounded by a sea of strangers was just not the same as being at home in the UK; where it’s cold, dark and miserable outside, but you’re in your warm home, surrounded by your loved ones, who are all in the same situation together, with seemingly endless amounts of good food available – there is something special about that,” Dan explained.
“Spending the day in the sun abroad just wasn’t really giving me that same Christmassy feeling. And that’s all coming from a scaffolder who spends six months of every year travelling vlogging abroad, without so much as a second of it being spent feeling ‘homesick’. Although the two older lads I went with would disagree with my feelings and both much prefer it in the sun, relaxing on the beach with a beer in their hand.”
Overall, light-drinking Dan forked out £1,200 on the getaway, covering flights, accommodation, car hire, petrol, meals and some beverages. His two companions spent nearer to £2,500 each “whilst drinking and smoking”.
“I would recommend Tenerife for Christmas if you don’t have anyone to spend Christmas with at home, or if you don’t want to spend the day with anybody at home. I would also recommend it if your family would go with you,” he added. “There were a lot of families there, but that’s likely going to be an expensive trip at Christmas. If however, like me, your family is all at home enjoying the day in the cosiness of a family home, I would recommend you join them and enjoy the day with them, as you might find that in your older years, you can spend the day of Christmas abroad, on the beach, without any family to miss.”
Regarding how Natalie views Dan’s choice now, he remarked: “She’s cool man. She was upset when I left, but we’ve been together for 10 years now. She knows what I’m like.”