When ICE interviewed 1,000 holidaymakers about the top things they missed while they were abroad, nothing could have quite prepared them for the results.
You'd think that people from home would top the list, along with 'proper' English food, or even TV channels from home. However, the results showed that women are devoted to their pets - 18% said they missed the family dog or cat while away - and a whopping 37% of men interviewed admitted they were pining for their own bed.
Both sexes showed deep loyalty to their home sleeping arrangements, and unsurprisingly, family and friends were also on the list. Of course, a 'decent cup of tea' also made the shortlist.
When it came to holiday essentials, women felt sunscreen and a good book were more essential than local currency. Let's hope they weren't planning on eating or doing anything fun for most of the holiday. Men were more pragmatic; most of them felt like having local cash was a top priority, followed by their smartphones and sunscreen. However, women upped their game by including painkillers in their must-have list; something the men overlooked.
Here are the six can't-live-without items for women and men:
Women:
Sunscreen
A good book
Local currency
Smartphone
Phone charger
Painkillers
Men
Local currency
Smartphone
Sunscreen
Camera
Phone charger
Travel plug adapter
What does this say about our attitudes to currency when we're abroad? Well, women seem to favour relying on debit, credit or pre-paid currency cards, whereas men feel better when they have some cold hard cash on their person.
It's always a good idea to take a mixture of both - enough local currency to pay for drinks, ice lollies, tips and taxis, then putting the rest of the holiday spending money onto a prepaid currency card. You could use a credit card, but be aware of exchange rates and charges for overseas use.
Image credit: Shutterstock
← Bored of Stoptober already? Try living in one of these countries