2015 YTD Travel Results: Experiences

[sengsational]

As I was taking stock of 2015 investment and spending results in other threads, it occurred to me that I should also take stock of the experiences I "invested in" during 2015. You can have awesome life experiences without leaving your couch, but travel, highly valued by many retirees, might be a good metric to track and reflect upon, as well as set-up goals for 2016.

In 2015, I spent 119 nights (17 weeks) away from home. For me, that's a jaw-dropping number. 32.6% of 2015 traveling!

This calculation might not be apples to apples for those that winter in a different place (ie, have more than one place you call "home"), vs those of us that have one spot to call home. As a guideline, let's say if you feel like you are "traveling", then it counts.

• UK 16
• Florida 12
• California 12
• Midwest/Canada 23
• France 13
• Florida 8
• Washington/Oregon/California 19
• Florida 11
• Asheville/Richmond 5

Somehow I doubt I'll get this much travel into 2016...I only have one trip on the books so far. It's duration isn't defined, but at least 20 days. I need to get "booking!"

 

[W2R]

I didn't leave the New Orleans metro area at all. Didn't want to so I got my wish. As you pointed out, leaving home can be a great experience but for those of us whose lives have left us "travel weary", there are equally great experiences to be had right here at home.

My goal for 2016 travel is the same, to stay right here in the New Orleans area. One of these years we'll have to do another hurricane evacuation; they are as sure as death and taxes around here. Still, I hope it's not soon.

 

[Alan]

We spent ~21 weeks away this year.

California 14
Oregon 14
Washington 4
Alaska 18
Canada 81
Montana & Wyoming 15

 

[rodi]

We had 9+ weeks away to Europe over the summer. That was the only travel that involved all of us. In addition to that:

DH's trip to see his nieces wedding/visit family/get his mom moved to a memory care unit. 18 days.

My trip to see BFF in WA state - 4 days

Younger son's trip to 6th grade camp - 5 days.

Older son's trip with my sister to see aunt and cousins - 4 days.

DH's trip to Yosemite and Sequoia with his brother 7 days.

DH wins with most days away from home. But given some of the family drama that occurred on his 2 trips without us - he can 'win' all he wants. LOL.

This next year we're looking at about 4 weeks of travel - all as a family. I might do one trip to WA state, and DH may have to travel to see his mom prior to our planned summer trip.

 

[pb4uski]

Florida winter break - 8 weeks
Texas family wedding - long weekend
Florida with kids - 4 days
Florida at Mom's - 2 weeks

So about 11 weeks total. I'm not sure whether to count the winter break as "traveling" in that while we were away from home and did some touring, it was moslty just doing what we normally do but in a warmer place.

 

[Dawg52]

Two week road trip out west and roughly 15 weeks at my vacation home on the AL coast.

 

[Sue J]

I didn't travel at all this year. My sister and BIL told me that they were gone on vacations 90 days this year and she'd like to stay home a little more in 2016. They do at least 3 cruises a year, trips to their timeshares and in an effort to see more of the USA they have been enjoying Road Scholar trips.

 

[Ronstar]

3 -1 month long trips and 2 -1 week long trips to our Az condo.
A four day trip investigating the Appalachian trail and Mason Dixon line.
But the Az trips don't seem much like travel anymore

 

[REWahoo]

A little over four weeks, the least we've traveled since I retired in 05.

We usually spend 60 nights or more in the RV but only managed 23 this year, largely due to taking an Alaskan cruise in early September. That's when we normally take a 3-4 week trip to NM and CO but decided to forgo it this year for the cruise.

 

[Meadbh]

I travelled less than two weeks this year, partly because I was budgeting for other expenses, and partly because I took up golf. in 2016 I will spend more $$$$ on travel and be away for longer. I will still play golf too!

 

[Souschef]

We took 3 trips
1. A very relaxing time on Kauai in a condo
2. A Tauck tour of the East coast
3. A Tauck tour of the Canadian Rockies.
Our travel plans for 2016 are on hold pending my wife's recovery from a knee injury.
We have decided we would much rather travel on our own, as opposed to "bags ready at 7 AM, on the bus at 8:30"

 

[spncity]

Seven weeks total in several trips.

Texas
Tennessee/Alabama/Florida
Upstate NY
Maryland

One of those was nearly three weeks for our maiden voyage with the RV. Also, a short RV trip.

Hope to beat that number by a lot in 2016.

 

[FUEGO]

Something like 8.5 weeks away unless I missed a small trip here or there.

7.5 weeks in Mexico (San Miguel de Allende, Oaxaca, Mexico City, Cancun, Tulum).

1 week cruise - Bahamas

2016 might be about the same. Similar cruise planned in January, and possibly a 6-8 week trip to Europe or Central/South America. Though I kind of want to take the summer off and relax at home. So maybe we'll do that and just do a long road trip to a neighboring state.

 

[braumeister]

I like longer trips, but DW prefers shorter ones, so we tend to compromise.

2015 was fairly typical:
1 week in Colorado for skiing
5 days in Oregon
4 days in London
4 days in northern England
5 days in Scotland
10 days in Germany
4 days in Czech Republic
1 week in Colorado
4 days in Michigan
3 days in Virginia
3 days in Georgia

Next year will probably be fairly similar, with a different mix of destinations.

 

[FI by 2024]

Do deployments count? No?

Work travel to 5 countries, 4 weeks if you don't count the deployment and 5.5 months if you do.


ETA: shoot, pressed reply too soon.

Personal travel: 2 days in Georgia, 9 days in Nevada, 7(?) days in California, 5 day cross country road trip. And I feel like I'm missing something else.

 

[Nemo2]

Just two trips:

Didn't count the days, but:

- Transatlantic repositioning cruise from Santo Domingo to Barcelona, thence Portugal.

- Return trip to Genoa, Italy, (and surroundings), with a Med/Adriatic cruise, (loop out of Marseille), thrown in....same ship as above.

(86 days until we fly to St. Maarten to catch the same ship again.)

 

[jabbahop]

Geeze, hardly any. 3 days in sc looking at colleges and 4 days in nc for family reunion, and week in Utah and SoCal. No wonder I am antsy. I was scheduled to go to Bahamas in February but oldest son was thinking about transferring colleges so stayed home with him and made a plan.

This year we are doing February Bahamas, Hawaii in June, and some college visits for the twins. That feels better but looking forward to some more extensive travel when kids are all in college.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[DrRoy]

Still working for 1.5 years, but spent 5 1/2 weeks travelling last year -

2 weeks in Colorado to the mountains and national parks/monuments
1 week at Myrtle Beach
2 1/2 weeks in northern Arizona national parks and monuments

 

[kcowan]

1 week to north coast (Lund)
1 week to visit friends in Victoria
4 weeks to Italy (Milan, Capri, Positano, Taormina)
24 weeks in Mexico, including several trips to Nuevo Vallarta and Guanajuato

 

[folivier]

2 months in Arizona, Utah, and Colorado
2 more months in Colorado
1 week in Arkansas

 

[Car-Guy]

Lot's of one day (overnight) travel out of state. Too numerous to list them all. Longest about 8 days. Overall about 10 weeks

 

[athena53]

We had two family weddings last year, one in Austin, TX and one in Atlanta. We drove to both, with an overnight in each direction. We also spent a couple of nights at our favorite B&B in Hermann, MO and I went to Ohio for a HS reunion. Our big trip was to Iceland.

What's really been a blessing is not being constrained by vacation days. This means we can drive places, with a ton more flexibility (and a car when we get there) instead of relying on the airlines. There's no need to drive 12 hours in a day; we get off the road when we feel like it and enjoy breakfast before leaving in the AM. It's also allowed us to add overnights when flying, too; in order to reduce wear and tear on DH, who's frequently come down with pneumonia or bronchitis after long-haul trips, we stayed overnight in Boston before and after our Reykjavik flights. (It also keeps me from worrying about missing connections.) He returned healthy form this trip. Woo-hoo!

 

[sengsational]

4 days in London
4 days in northern England
5 days in Scotland
10 days in Germany
4 days in Czech Republic

I bet you enjoyed the beers! Were those all separate trips, or was it something like two 2-week trips?

(86 days until we fly to St. Maarten to catch the same ship again.)

Can I come too?

What's really been a blessing is not being constrained by vacation days.

Absoltively! If I were like those in the top two slots of the poll (fewest nights traveling), there would have been a much less compelling case to FIRE.

 

[Nemo2]

Can I come too?

Hmmm....that might be a possibility......I guess.

 

[RE2Boys]

Travel in 2015 may have been the least since I retired almost 16 years ago. Family obligations and kids activities and lousy planning on our part meant it was more like days than weeks. And with older teens, it's getting a bit harder to plan.

Started the 2015 year (Jan 1) on my wife's family homestead in central South Dakota spreading her Mom's ashes on the snow covered prairie. She had passed away a day after Christmas. So nights away from home for me:

4 in Iowa
2 in OHio for younger son's soccer tournaments
4 in PA and 2 in NY in the woods on backpacking weekends.

We've already started family discussions so we plan 2016 much better. A bit hard to beat our 2014 trip of rafting down the Grand Canyon. Maybe visit many other National Parks out west. Gotta work around soccer tournaments, older boy starting college, summer jobs, free enterprise week for younger son, etc.