Any Travel Plan for 2019?

[brett]

After years of structured business and personal travel we pretty much migrated to spontaneous travel with the exception of days arriving or departing and longer stays. Some of our best finds were done the day before or the day of. We only had one place in 9 years of very frequent international travel that we did not like....but it was only for one night.

When we go for two months we will have an air ticket to go, sometimes but not always a booked return flight from an alternate location. In between those dates we have a general idea of where we want to go and how long we want to stay. All subject to change based on whether we are enjoying it. It was a challenge at first and we eased into this mode of travel. Now, we love it. More than once we have picked up stakes and moved because an area or a city was not what thought. Or decided to stay longer because the area or the accommodation was so great. Gotta love retirement. This style of travel would not be for everyone though.

 

[Scuba]

After years of structured business and personal travel we pretty much migrated to spontaneous travel with the exception of days arriving or departing and longer stays. Some of our best finds were done the day before or the day of. We only had one place in 9 years of very frequent international travel that we did not like....but it was only for one night.

When we go for two months we will have an air ticket to go, sometimes but not always a booked return flight from an alternate location. In between those dates we have a general idea of where we want to go and how long we want to stay. All subject to change based on whether we are enjoying it. It was a challenge at first and we eased into this mode of travel. Now, we love it. More than once we have picked up stakes and moved because an area or a city was not what thought. Or decided to stay longer because the area or the accommodation was so great. Gotta love retirement. This style of travel would not be for everyone though.

I’m really fascinated by this and would like to try this mode of travel, but I always seem to chicken out and prebook our lodging and transportation between places before we go. How did you ease into this mode? I need remedial help! [emoji2]

 

[brett]

A. Book the first week and go from there. After the first day or two start thinking about/researching/booking where you want to stay/go next

B. Book the first week, complete with no cancel accommodation and no cancel transportation such as car, air. After two or three days realize it is not for you but you are a little stuck now! Spend the next four days wishing you had not booked.

There have been a few times where we woke up in the morning without a reservation. We knew where we were going, of if we wanted to stay in the area. Got on line, made a reservation for the next night(s) prior to checking out. It all works out. One thing though, you do have to be aware of local holidays/stats. Usually we plan one or two days in advance.

We ended up in Da Lat, Vietnam this way. We were in Saigon, looking at flights to various places. A $25 AUD Jetstar flight came up to Da Lat for the following day. Thirteen hours by bus or one hour ten by air..... We grabbed it because we knew that we could take a minibus back to the coast (our original destination). So glad that we did, spent three days in the area that we might not have otherwise visited. Same for the Greek Islands. We planned to spend more time on Patmos. Cut our time a little shorter and moved on to Naxos instead. So glad that we did.

We do not travel with our phones. Only ipads using inhouse wifi After 10 years so far so good.

We do a fair amount of research before we go. We have a good idea of where we want to go and how to get there. But,,,we always have a plan B and sometimes a plan C. We sometimes keep an eye out for last minute cruises depending on where we are traveling. If we see something we like at an attractive price we grab it. We have done this in the US and in Europe several times. We simply re-adjust our land travel plans.

 

[Scuba]

A. Book the first week and go from there. After the first day or two start thinking about/researching/booking where you want to stay/go next

B. Book the first week, complete with no cancel accommodation and no cancel transportation such as car, air. After two or three days realize it is not for you but you are a little stuck now! Spend the next four days wishing you had not booked.

There have been a few times where we woke up in the morning without a reservation. We knew where we were going, of if we wanted to stay in the area. Got on line, made a reservation for the next night(s) prior to checking out. It all works out. One thing though, you do have to be aware of local holidays/stats. Usually we plan one or two days in advance.

We ended up in Da Lat, Vietnam this way. We were in Saigon, looking at flights to various places. A $25 AUD Jetstar flight came up to Da Lat for the following day. Thirteen hours by bus or one hour ten by air..... We grabbed it because we knew that we could take a minibus back to the coast (our original destination). So glad that we did, spent three days in the area that we might not have otherwise visited. Same for the Greek Islands. We planned to spend more time on Patmos. Cut our time a little shorter and moved on to Naxos instead. So glad that we did.

We do not travel with our phones. Only ipads using inhouse wifi After 10 years so far so good.

We do a fair amount of research before we go. We have a good idea of where we want to go and how to get there. But,,,we always have a plan B and sometimes a plan C. We sometimes keep an eye out for last minute cruises depending on where we are traveling. If we see something we like at an attractive price we grab it. We have done this in the US and in Europe several times. We simply re-adjust our land travel plans.

Thank you for this tutorial. Really helpful!

 

[Freedom56]

We just returned from a 4 day 3 night trip to Santorini. It was a 2 hour 40 minute flight from Geneva. We stayed at the Astarte Suites on the Akrotiri Caldera and we rented a car for transportation on the island. The hotel was fabulous and so was the food at the hotel. It was probably one of the the best hotels we have stayed in Europe. However I can't say I was that impressed with Santorini. Oia, Fira, Thera were nice but far too crowded even in late May. I can just imagine how crowded it will be in July and August. We explored the island by car and hiking from end to end and other than Oia and Fira, the rest of the island wasn't that impressive. We found that the Amalfi coast in Italy and Côte d'Azur in France were much nicer.

 

[Lsbcal]

We traveled down to San Diego to see DS and his new fiancee. Then took off to Las Vegas to do a loop trip through Sedona and Zion National Park. Used the AllTrails app for finding nice hikes and downloading trail maps to a smartphone. Highly recommend this app.

A pic in Sedona showing DW on the trail and the town on the right:

And one in Zion where it got a bit cool and rainy for 2 days (but interesting to see the desert contrast and wildflowers). This shows the Virgin River flowing through the park:

We carry small tripod chairs for doing watercolor sketches on the hikes.

 

[Sunset]

^^^^^ Looks lovely there.

In that first picture, is she carrying a rifle ?

 

[Lsbcal]

^^^^^ Looks lovely there.

In that first picture, is she carrying a rifle ?

DW likes to shoot the lizards.

Actually she is carrying a light tripod chair for watercolor sketches. I think some hikers think we must be very old and frail when they see the chairs.

 

[Freedom56]

Today we made a long journey to Ticino and visited Morcote Switzerland. It's a very beautiful village that was founded around the 10th century and just 20 minutes south of Lugano. Lunch by the lake was also good. This village was voted the most beautiful in Switzerland back in 2016. It is definitely nice and clean.

 

[1242Vintage]

Just got back from a couple days at at Ft Bragg in Northern CA. Highlight was a “railbike” ride. Fortunately it was an electric assist railbike as Wife can’t peddle (bad knees). She was the throttle man on the electric assist and I was merely human horsepower. We only derailed once! Also enjoyed the local breweries.

Next trip is to Western NY in July to assist youngest daughter move to Baltimore to attend graduate nursing school at Johns Hopkins. I can already feel my aching back.

Currently looking for our next leisure adventure. Last few years we’ve been going down to Puerto Vallarta, Cancun and Riviera Maya or further south to Costa Rica for a couple weeks a few times a year.

Now that both of us are retired (wife last Fall and me last month) we are looking to break out of that pattern and venture out further for extended travel.

Wife has subscribed to something called “Scott’s Cheap Airfare” and using that as an idea generator for trips. Yesterday’s conversation in the car coming home was ... “hey, there’s cheap airfare to Australia ... wanna go?” Currently that option is on the table!

Living the dream in our early retirement!

 

[Teacher Terry]

Freedom, love the pictures! 1242, Fort Bragg is a beautiful area.

 

[jimnjana]

Riverboat cruise in France in a few weeks. Definitely recommend Oceania after our transatlantic last month.

 

[ohyes]

Wife has subscribed to something called “Scott’s Cheap Airfare” and using that as an idea generator for trips. Yesterday’s conversation in the car coming home was ... “hey, there’s cheap airfare to Australia ... wanna go?” Currently that option is on the table!

I subscribed to Scott's Cheap Airfare one year ago and refuse to cancel until we book at least one trip based on one of their alerts. We have seen some amazing deals.

 

[PaunchyPirate]

I leave Northwestern Pennsylvania on July 5th for a 3 week road trip to the Northwest USA in my Ford F-150 truck. I am going solo. I will be tent camping (in KOAs, not wilderness camping!) most of the trip with a few hotels thrown in here and there. The focus is on the National Parks along my route.

My intended route takes me through Ohio and Indiana (stopping at the Indiana Dunes National Park); Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota; North Dakota (Theodore Roosevelt National Park); Montana (Glacier National Park); Idaho, Washington, Oregon (Crater Lake National Park); Idaho, Utah, Colorado (Rocky Mountain National Park); and then a straight shot back home via Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

 

[Ronstar]

I leave Northwestern Pennsylvania on July 5th for a 3 week road trip to the Northwest USA in my Ford F-150 truck. I am going solo. I will be tent camping (in KOAs, not wilderness camping!) most of the trip with a few hotels thrown in here and there. The focus is on the National Parks along my route.

My intended route takes me through Ohio and Indiana (stopping at the Indiana Dunes National Park); Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota; North Dakota (Theodore Roosevelt National Park); Montana (Glacier National Park); Idaho, Washington, Oregon (Crater Lake National Park); Idaho, Utah, Colorado (Rocky Mountain National Park); and then a straight shot back home via Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

That will be a fun trip! And your F-150 is made for trips like this. I've done similar trips in my F-150 and they were far better than similar trips done by car.

 

[Freedom56]

We went to the village of Grandvaux in the Lavaux region of Switzerland (between Lausanne and Montreux) just 20 minutes from our home for a hike and coffee/breakfast. The weather was great.

 

[Fshnfool]

We are blessed to be headed to Iceland in about three weeks to “celebrate” one of my dreaded round number birthdays. Looking forward to volcanos, glaciers and maybe really cold diving. Then, in September, heading to Australia to run a half marathon over the Sydney bridge with a friend , travel around down under and dive the Great Barrier Reef from a livaboard. In between, visiting family spread to the far corners of the US, a Vegas guys trip and several trout fishing (and maybe even catching) trips along with some big city visits for Cub games and “culture”.

 

[Souschef]

We are blessed to be headed to Iceland in about three weeks to “celebrate” one of my dreaded round number birthdays. Looking forward to volcanos, glaciers and maybe really cold diving. Then, in September, heading to Australia to run a half marathon over the Sydney bridge with a friend , travel around down under and dive the Great Barrier Reef from a livaboard. In between, visiting family spread to the far corners of the US, a Vegas guys trip and several trout fishing (and maybe even catching) trips along with some big city visits for Cub games and “culture”.

While you are in Sydney, do the bridge climb. I did and enjoyed it thoroughly

 

[ziggy29]

Just got back from a week of cruising in Alaska. We really lucked out with the weather. It was mostly sunny all week and temps were in the 60s and even (in Juneau) low 70s. As soon as we got back near Seattle, it started getting gloomy again.

 

[Vacation4us]

Have a 2 week Tahiti trip planned in August/September. I week on a live abroad around Bora Bora and 1 week in an over the water bungalow on Morrea. Was supposed to be our retirement trip, now DH is staying until 11/2020.

Retirement will have us traveling more soon but not soon enough.

 

[Nemo2]

Not 2019, but I'm too lazy to start a 2020.

We've written off any hope of a trip this year......my doctors would feel rejected & lonely without me......but we've just placed a deposit on this trip aboard our favorite ship:

https://www.vacationstogo.com/fastdeal.cfm?deal=14219

If, as the departure day nears, it still looks like a go we'll figure out our moves before & after.

 

[meekie]

Heading to Puerto Vallarta for a week. Hoping we'll like it enough to be a semi-retirement place for us to live for a few years for a break from our HCOL life while we wait for our portfolio to hit our target.

Our annual expenses at home are 120k, but by moving to PV and dropping that down we can rent out our current home and live mostly off rental income.

Lots of risks and stuff to manage, and we'd be more than a year out, but it's giving me something to dream about.

 

[RobLJ]

Alltrails is a great app; I use it frequently for trails in the Sierra around Reno.

We traveled down to San Diego to see DS and his new fiancee. Then took off to Las Vegas to do a loop trip through Sedona and Zion National Park. Used the AllTrails app for finding nice hikes and downloading trail maps to a smartphone. Highly recommend this app.

A pic in Sedona showing DW on the trail and the town on the right:

And one in Zion where it got a bit cool and rainy for 2 days (but interesting to see the desert contrast and wildflowers). This shows the Virgin River flowing through the park:

We carry small tripod chairs for doing watercolor sketches on the hikes.

 

[bbbamI]

Just completed our third road trip a few days ago. This one was a two week trip to Colorado. Had to take the vette. The scenery, weather and people were amazing. Here are a few pics....

Looks like my 'girl' is thinking....'not gonna go there'...

There was much more snow on the mountains than we thought there would be...

Watching a drive-in movie from our hotel room (Best Western Movie Manor in Monte Vista, CO). The hotel owns the drive-in. We stayed in the Cary Grant room...what a hoot!

 

[brett]

Working diligently on a Sep/Oct trip and a Jan/March trip. Some family issues and timing to line up in order to make finalize the fall trip.