Nine-and-a-half days is the perfect holiday

Nine-and-a-half days is the perfect length of a holiday according to new research from Halifax Travel Insurance.

9.4 days is the average point at which Britons on a two week holiday abroad start longing for home. Almost a million homesick Britons start longing to be back in the UK within the first four days of their holiday abroad. Men claim to suffer less from homesickness than women, with half of men claiming they don’t miss home when holidaying abroad, compared to 37% of women.

Millions of Britons can’t survive without their home comforts when on a two-week vacation and take personal items to remind them of the UK. Over a third (34%) takes British music abroad, unable to be separated from their favourite bands such as Snow Patrol and Oasis. One-in-five (3.1 million) take photographs of friends and family for a visual reminder of home. To ensure a contended nights sleep around 1.3 million take away their pillow. Foreign television doesn’t seem to appeal for the million or so Britons that take DVDs of British TV shows abroad each year.

Food and Drink

British holidaymakers fill the equivalent of 31.9 Boeing 747 jumbo jets each year with food and drink items to remind them of home. Tea bags alone fill the capacity of 10.8 jumbo jets each year, with British beer filling 6.6 jumbos. Jars of Marmite fill the equivalent of 1.5 jumbo jets.

Britons are major tea exporters when they go abroad, with almost half (46%) of holidaymakers taking teabags to remind them of home. One in ten Britons (9%) takes biscuits or Cadburys chocolate (8%). Condiments are popular choices with ketchup, Marmite, HP Sauce and Branston Pickle all being packed away.

Halifax is advising the 688,000 Britons taking British beer away on holiday to research what they are allowed to take through customs before they fly. Countries such as Saudi Arabia ban the importation of alcohol. Holidaymakers concerned about what they can take into a particular country should contact the Foreign and Commonwealth Office for advice before travelling. There are stringent restrictions on all liquids, including drinks and soups, taken in hand luggage onto an aircraft. No single container of liquid with a capacity greater than 100ml is allowed on board and it must be carried in a clear plastic bag.

Vicky Emmott, Senior Manager of Underwriting at Halifax Travel Insurance, said: “Holidaymakers who do not check regulations regarding the importation of food and drink into a country could find items being confiscated and destroyed. Visiting the FCO website before departure can help travellers avoid delays and incidents when taking consumables abroad. Travellers taking expensive DVDs and music abroad should also ensure that it is adequately covered should it be damaged in transit or stolen."

Holidaymakers from Wales (43%), the Midlands (43%) and Eastern England (43%) are the most likely to miss home when abroad on a fortnights break. Those living in the North East are the least likely to miss home, with 29% missing England.