Foot ulceration in diabetic patients is a serious complication, with the potentially devastating possibility of lower limb amputation. We describe six patients with type 2 diabetes who all developed significant neuropathic foot ulceration during holidays, mostly in hot countries abroad. All were male, aged 52–62, and one patient developed three ulcers on the same foot on three consecutive holidays, the last one resulting in a below knee amputation. The specific causes of ulceration were often related to walking barefoot (on sand, shingle or hot flagstones), or wearing inadvisable beach footwear. The association of poor educational compliance and a high‐risk environment may lead to this specific ‘diabetic holiday foot syndrome’. Intensive warning education prior to at‐risk patients going on holiday may help prevent this serious complication. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.