What is your vacation STYLE? (Want to dream with me?)

[bisous]

DH and I want to plan our next excursion. We have discovered different things about our travel style! Such as:

1. We tend to prefer to pay a little more for better accommodations (versus going super cheap and more frequently).

2. We like to make sure we have some downtime in our travel itinerary.

3. I've also discovered that if I don't have plans for meals or snacks on hand, I get twitchy, lol whereas DH likes to take time deliberating about where to eat.

4. We love train travel and aren't big fans of driving in foreign countries.

5. We don't mind multiple destinations on our itineraries, and we tend to like to leave the morning to afternoon of the last day open for us to do things that occur to us after we arrive at that destination.

6. We hate flying but consider it a necessary evil. I'm still on the fence as to what kinds of upgrades on flights are worth it? (I'm not thinking first class--that would make traveling unworkable for us! More like, is it worth it to pay for seats closer to restrooms? Slightly more legroom? Etc.) Like flying is torturous so is it worth it to pay more to make it slightly less sucky? Or is that a good time to just consider flying time a form of payment for all the other fun things travel entails?

I'm sure there are more and more that we'll discover. We had our first big couples trip in 2023 and another in 2024 so we're relatively new at this. All prior family and couple vacays have been driving destinations on the tiniest of budgets. But I should mention that we like road trips too!

Do YOU have preferences in your travel style? Do they diverge from your family members? Or from conventional wisdom? What are your hot takes on travel?

(DH has been approached about a full-time position at the company where he is currently working as a backfill for a maternity leave. The boss wants him, he want the job, but because this is at a corporation we're not considering it a done deal until everything is squared away. That said, we're starting to dream of travel being possible again!)

[pinay]

1. Our kids are at an age where we really don't want to do extended trips where we all share the same room and bathroom. Gone are the days of the pull out sofa being a convenient and cost-saving option!

2. DH likes to be a bit more unstructured with trip agendas, but I get antsy if I feel like we're moving too slowly.

3. We traveled internationally for the first time in forever last summer and realized that we need to figure out ways to upgrade into business economy or first class for longer flights. I'm starting to explore travel hacking for this specific reason, but haven't had enough time to really dive into it.

4. We really enjoy getting to know the food culture of the areas we are in- we loved Barcelona's little bars with snacks and vermouth and amazing tapas and love when we find those little hidden gems during our travels.

5. I'm becoming a fan of getting a significant piece of photography or art from places we travel to that we can incorporate into our home decor when we get back from our trips. It's not always easy to transport home, but I love being able to revisit trip memories when I look at the pieces I've purchased from there.

[Liziz]

Fun topic!!

1. While there's lot of places I'd like to revisit at some point, we really enjoy going to NEW destinations.

2. If it's a trip with kids, 2 separate rooms for sleeping is an absolute must. For trips more than a day or two, at least a small kitchen is also important, as we burn out eating at restaurants. If we have a kitchen we like to do lunches out and dinners in.

3. Unless it's an all-inclusive resort situation, we do best with very structured itineraries. We like to go go go and don't do well planning/scheduling things on the fly.

4. It's critical to have either set food plans or a list of restaurants that will "work" based on where we are each day. Any time we try to find places to eat on the fly it gets very stressful.

5. We love to try to the local snacks/drinks/food. Before any bigger trip I always research the types of snacks/drinks/food/wine etc. that the area is known for/what's popular there. I'll research in advance to know where to go to find those particular items. Sometimes it's a meal, sometimes it's a small treat, sometimes it's a specific cocktail or type of wine.

6. Like pinay, we also try to get a piece of art from the area we're visiting! It doesn't always work, but I love the pieces we've collected that way.

7. We'd rather get up and go vs. stay up late and sleep in. (which is kind of funny b/c it's exactly opposite my real-life sleep preferences)

8. In cities, we prefer walking when feasible/safe and public transportation. We have zero desire to deal with rental cars in cities -- but are willing to rent them to navigate throughout a country/region with limited public transportation.

[wendibird22]

1. Given current hecticness of life and work I like vacations that are relaxing. Parking my butt on a beach chair is my ideal, for now. DH likes to go go go so I'm happy to compromise and intersperse sightseeing days with relax by the pool days.

2. If kids are in toe then we can't do all day sightseeing/tours. We tried that a few years ago in NYC and they don't have the attention span for it. Empire State Building was fun for about 10mins and then they were ready to move on to the next thing.

3. I love walking or using public transportation. In Europe I'm happy to take train/bus from country to country or city to city.

4. If I'm hopping around Europe I prefer to travel in the evening (my experience is that things tend to close by dinner time...at least the cities I've visited a decade ago!), sleep in the new city, then wake up early and explore that city all day before moving on to the next one.

5. I don't mind getting breakfast and lunch on the fly but like to have pre-planned/thought out where dinner will be.

6. If kids are with us, I echo those who've said everyone gets a bed and 2 bathrooms (or at least a bathroom where shower is separate from sink and/or toilet) makes life so much easier. Now that we are DVC members we prefer to do 1-bedrooms so that we get a kitchen and much more space. We are done with sharing 2 double beds and one bathroom.

[jgenie]

1. DH doesn't do budget so if we’re traveling with him it’s upscale everything. I think it’s really important to show my DC that enjoyable travel can happen at all price points. If I’m traveling alone with DC, we travel budget. Some of our most memorable experiences are sharing meals at hole in the wall spots.

2. We dislike traveling to sit. We generally schedule an activity first thing in the morning and leave afternoons for milling about. We only sleep in our rooms otherwise we are out.

3. DH plans a spot for every meal. DC and I eat on the fly.

4. DH is very comfortable driving everywhere. I tend to do all the driving at home. He does all the driving when we travel.

5. We love local pastries and candy. We seek out bakeries in every city we visit. We seek out grocery stores for candy / sweets when we travel internationally.

[carolinamama]

Interesting question! We love to travel but certainly have our own preferences. We travel in the country frequently but most revolves around a sports game or competition and involves hanging out with friends more than family travel, which is usually international.

We are not good at sitting-on-a-beach vacations. Traveling to more tropical places only works if we can go see and do, preferably with a different culture.

We do best spending most of our time outside our accommodations. We are happy to be up early exploring and return later in the evening.

DH views eating as a necessity or a chance to try all the street food. I enjoy a sit-down dinner with local dishes. I traveled to Italy with DS1 last summer and we had so much fun trying different dinner spots. DH would have gone along with it but probably not with the same enjoyment. I have no intention of cooking on vacation. I don't love cooking at home and I certainly don't care to on a trip.

We love international cities, especially finding quieter, more local neighborhoods to wander. We walk and use public transportation.

We always visit local supermarkets in other countries. It's so fun to try local snacks and drinks.

Accommodations - over the years I've learned I want to stay where there is action but not in the busiest, most touristy area. Think get out of Times Square and stay in lower Manhattan or one subway stop away from Marienplatz in Munich. In Venice, we stayed in Lido and loved that area at the end of the day. Kids need . more space than before. Apartments in cities have worked well. We stay in high end hotels if we need the concierge - ie Shanghai.

We will do day tours and hire guides for our family if appropriate for an activity/place but we don't do travel group tours. We lack the patience.

I still struggle to pay for upgraded airfare. I'm short so extra leg room doesn't do anything for me. Business class would be amazing but I can't get myself to go there. Ask me after this summer though when we have some REALLY long flights in main cabin. I might change my tune!

[bisous]

You guys bring up such interesting points!

I definitely think with kids that having a plan and getting out of our accommodations is key! Even though my kids like being slugs we don't REALLY enjoy our time and I think our best vacays have had a bit of a fast pace to them...

BUT I did love our one lazy morning when DH and I were traveling through Europe last year. We were staying at a REALLY nice hotel (La Mirande in Avignon) and we had a gorgeous breakfast on our bedroom terrace and then just wandered around old town in the morning. Then we took a NAP that same day. It felt like the best reset! (Spent the late afternoon evening at Les Baux de Provence--a practically perfect day!)

Speaking of accommodations with kids, now that my youngest is 10, I'm actually MORE okay than before about all bunking in together. This past summer we had maybe 4 nights out of 10 that had separate bedrooms? The rest were ALL IN ONE ROOM. That was challenging from the standpoint of bathrooms! One bathroom for six is kinda rough. That said, I think I STILL prefer the savings from bunking together? Like honestly even though we're all bigger now, at least we don't have anyone that takes naps or has a 7:30 bedtime and we all have to be quiet as mice!

I think I expressed before about traveling between cities but wendibird's post about evening travel made me want to elaborate. My sister expressed her love of traveling in the late afternoon/evening between cities in Europe and that was SUCH a good hack! We scheduled it so that we had just enough time when we arrived in the new city to eat a very late dinner. It was great because I felt like we could squeeze some fun and adventure from the original city, and get just a flavor from the new city before waking up there. I think otherwise we'd feel like the travel really encroached on ability to do stuff...

And food. Man I wish I was more cool about it because I do like sit down dining! But I just have so much anxiety about making sure that eating just happens. I don't think I used to be this way? Like I never had anxiety about food when I lived in Europe? And I'm a much better cook now and better about throwing together food on the fly so I'm not sure why the anxiety leap. I think it must be a mom thing. I think the idea of researching food ahead of time is a great idea and we'll definitely do that for any future travel.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I'll come back later but all I can think now is that while I am currently planning a trip to Paris and London next month, all I really want is to go to a quiet tropical resort and sit for a week. I want someone to bring me food and drink. I don't want to fight for a lounger. I don't need anything more than the sun, the sound of the water, good food and a good book. The thought of a sightseeing trip is exhausting and of little interest to me right now. Makes me tired just thinking about it. Luckily we have a beach trip scheduled after Europe. Not the same as we are renting a house and have to drive there (then cook, clean...) but it's something and we do plan to hire in some catering.

[bisous]

I'll come back later but all I can think now is that while I am currently planning a trip to Paris and London next month, all I really want is to go to a quiet tropical resort and sit for a week. I want someone to bring me food and drink. I don't want to fight for a lounger. I don't need anything more than the sun, the sound of the water, good food and a good book. The thought of a sightseeing trip is exhausting and of little interest to me right now. Makes me tired just thinking about it. Luckily we have a beach trip scheduled after Europe. Not the same as we are renting a house and have to drive there (then cook, clean...) but it's something and we do plan to hire in some catering.

Oh, I want that for you so bad! I'm sorry! I know exactly what it is like when you just don't have it in you for a vacation that other people would might get really excited about. (That's kind of how it was going to the big island this year TBH!) Hopefully you find your way through it and make a lot of amazing memories! And that you can make the beach trip everything you're looking for!

[California]

Late to the discussion, but it struck a note with me. My youngest has anxiety and has developed such a different travel style than the rest of our family. DD2's ideal day: Sleep in, lazy breakfast, followed by a hike, bike, or a little sightseeing, spend the afternoon playing board games, baking, reading in a nook/cozy spot, and finish the day watching movies as a family. And then repeat, repeat, repeat. I think of DD2 as the perfect snowed-in-cabin vacation person. The rest of us are happy to have 1-2 cozy days, but when we are in a new area we mainly like to be out exploring and trying new foods. DH is on the opposite extreme and likes to go-go-go. Trying to keep the peace with everyone, and navigate two such different styles has been challenging. Fortunately DD2 is now in high school and old enough to be alone for a while. But even though I know it's fine, I still hate leaving!