We look forward to them all year round. We boast about them before we go and when we get back. Summer holidays are great.

But sometimes they don’t go exactly to plan. In fact sometimes you can end up cursing your dream destination or wishing you weren’t there.

Here are 10 things that can, and will at least once in your lifetime, ruin your break away...

1. Forgetting your bikini (or another vital piece of clothing)

You might have your passport, hotel confirmation, mosquito spray and plasters but you’ve forgotten the thing you were planning to use the most. Sure you can buy one when you’re there but it’s never the same.

2. Lost luggage

This will put the forgotten bikini into perspective.

 

3. Spillage

Be it your sun cream or shampoo, having a liquid burst in your bag over your clothes will leave you reeling for days. It will also be the first story you tell everyone when you get home: “Sure when we arrived, hadn’t my shower gel spilt ALL over my suitcase!”

4. Sunburn

This could be a result of you not investing in more after yours burst all over your bag. Then again it might be your desire to get a tan or even a consequence of you falling asleep on a sun lounger for five hours (yes, that has happened). Either way, it hurts to move.

5. A creepy hotel manager called Mario

Okay he doesn’t have to be called Mario, he could have any name, but he is a little too friendly for your liking and always appears out of nowhere.

6. Rain

The last thing you want when you’ve spent hundreds on a holiday is for the Irish weather to follow you but the truth is sometimes it does and it sucks. It also makes you dread the first question everyone asks post-holiday: “So, what was the weather like?”

 

7. Unwanted holiday friends

Seeing someone you know and having a chat for 30 seconds is nice. Seeing someone you know who invites themselves out to dinner with you and your other half is not so nice.

8. Arguments

Whether it’s a family holiday or your first trip with the boyfriend, there’s always a chance of at least one argument. Moral of the story: bite your tongue or don’t go on holidays.

9. Food poisoning/ Bad booze/ Contaminated ice cubes

Lesson number one: stick to what you know and make sure it’s cooked before you eat it. Lesson number two: if the drink deals sound too good to be true, that’s because they are. Lesson number three: if the water isn’t safe to drink, don’t make ice cubes with it.

10. Travel delays

Yes, it did have to happen to you and no, you couldn’t have walked to your destination faster.