I love to travel but ?

[BTravlin]

Besides the air travel issues, I hate packing and making all the arrangements for the pets, stopping the mail, the paper, etc. Unpacking is not as bad.

+1

Not to mention, my anal DW who always has to unpack before going to bed even when we get home from the airport around midnight.

 

[flyfishnevada]

We hate the airlines for the most part. It's a necessary evil, I suppose, but they could be more customer friendly and transparent. Redeyes are pretty bad too, especially when the actual flight is only 4 hours and you lose another hour with take off and landing activity.

We also hate the crowds. When I worked, family vacations were always in the summer. Just takes some of the pleasure out of or trip waiting in lines, fighting crowds and all the hustle and bustle. Now, we can travel off-season and avoid that for the most part.

 

[Bestwifeever]

Heathrow.

 

[Moemg]

and of course there is the head cold you get from being in a crowded plane for seven hours with people coughing on you .

 

[TromboneAl]

I don't like the part where it's three days before your trip, and you feel a tickle in your throat, and think "Uh-oh."

I have a theory that people who like traveling have amnesia for the actual long, boring parts (long driving or long flights). These people are descended from nomadic tribes, who, without this special amnesia, would have given up their migrations.

 

[W2R]

So, you all are saying that you love traveling except for the TRAVELING part, when you are actually on the plane and moving from point A to point B?

I don't like the part where it's three days before your trip, and you feel a tickle in your throat, and think "Uh-oh."

I have a theory that people who like traveling have amnesia for the actual long, boring parts (long driving or long flights). These people are descended from nomadic tribes, who, without this special amnesia, would have given up their migrations.

My theory is that some people who like traveling really don't - - they would really just like to live someplace different and are putting up with the traveling part in order to "try it out" on a temporary basis.

I do like traveling by car, but mainly if it is spontaneous and with no itinerary. If we decide what to do from moment to moment, then we aren't boxed in so much. We usually end up coming home much earlier than anticipated.

 

[Jamtin34]

I would willing submit myself to an injection at home before a trip if it meant I could arrive in my hotel on the other side with no recollection of the trip. You know what I mean: taxi, check-in, aiport security, screaming uncontrolled kids, overpriced airport food, bad service on the plane, immigration on the other side, waiting for bags on the other side, being harassed by taxi drivers on the other side.

I need to go and have a little lie-down now as I feel my blood pressure rising meaningfully...

 

[Ronstar]

I agree with others in that the logistics are the problem. Almost all my travel is Chicago-Phoenix or vice -versa. 60-70 times in the last 9 years. Typical trip to Phoenix involves:

Drive to work
Coworker drives me to train station
Take train to Chicago
Take another train to airport
Take plane to Phoenix
Take shuttle van to condo

What a nightmare - sometimes a 4 hour flight with all the transfers adds up to a 12 hour ordeal.

 

[Moemg]

My theory is that some people who like traveling really don't - - they would really just like to live someplace different and are putting up with the traveling part in order to "try it out" on a temporary basis.

I have to disagree . I think most people who like travelling love seeing the places once they are there or travel to visit their children or grandchildren. I've travelled to a lot of places that I would never want to live but enjoyed seeing . We love the adventure part but dislike the getting there . So here I am complaining about the travelling as I look into the next trip !

 

[Moemg]

overpriced airport food,...

I actually think airport food is getting better not cheaper but better .

 

[W2R]

I have to disagree . I think most people who like travelling love seeing the places once they are there or travel to visit their children or grandchildren. I've travelled to a lot of places that I would never want to live but enjoyed seeing . We love the adventure part but dislike the getting there . So here I am complaining about the travelling as I look into the next trip !

I don't see any disagreement at all between the part of my post that you quoted, and your generalization above.

 

[Goonie]

I love to fly, but hate the hassle at airports! I haven't flown in about 8 years, and have no intentions to do so in the foreseeable future.

We've done a LOT of group travel via motor coach, and overall it was enjoyable....except almost without fail, there was always one person in the group that was either: a) annoying b) hopelessly helpless c) always late d) hacking and coughing continuously and NOT covering their mouth e) ALL of the above! Had it not been for those FEW people, all of our trips would have been great! Now that I'm retired, and have no time constraints, we've pretty much given up all group travel.

I much prefer to drive to our destinations, and enjoy the scenery and sights along the way!!! I try to avoid rush hour traffic around major cities, but driving in traffic and through metropolitan areas doesn't bother me at all. If we see something along the way that pics our interest, we can stop and check it out....then continue on at our leisure.

We just go with the flow!!!

 

[Purron]

I hate to admit it, but after 9/11, I developed a fear of flying. Not overwhelming, I can and have flown since. But, I'm no longer the fearless traveler I once was. I practically grew up on an airplane since my father's job required frequent overseas moves for my family. Then, as an adult, I had a job that required travel on a regular basis.

That day still haunts me. I could see the Pentagon from my office on that tragic day and live in the high risk DC area. Yes, I know statistically speaking the risk is low, and my fear is quite irrational….but still.

 

[megacorp-firee]

The little kid sitting behind you that starts to kick the seat before the doors are closed and you're on a 14 hour flight to the other side of the world.

I immediately tell the kid to stop. If that fails (which it usually does, since the parents have spoiled the kid rotten), I tell the mother to stop it or 'else' ... with a smile... That usually gets the kid a seat change.

 

[Moemg]

I hate to admit it, but after 9/11, I developed a fear of flying. Not overwhelming, I can and have flown since. But, I'm no longer the fearless traveler I once was. .

I was never a fearless traveler but 9/11 almost stopped me in my tracts except the will to visit my children was stronger so I put my affairs in order and flew.

 

[Gworker]

I dislike checking flight prices, agreeing with the people who will be paying for it that I can take the $1400 flight because it's direct as opposed to the $1000 flight with a layover, then by the time that OK comes back (just 48 hours), the $1400 flight is now $1950. This just happened to me in the last hour.

Make sure you clear your cookies or try a different browser. Sometimes it works. I read this somewhere. The airlines pull dirty tricks when it comes to pricing.

 

[freebird5825]

I got the travel bug out of my system last year with 3 trips to FL.
I flew out of a low congestion airspace (SYR) into a high congestion airspace (MCO). I had wonderful flights, choosing to depart at 230 PM instead of using the usual business traveler departure time slots.
The 2nd and 3rd trips were direct flights both ways. I was happy to pay the extra to avoid a layover at JFK (a mistake I made on trip #1).
Now that I have been completely spoiled by JetBlue, I truly doubt if I could ever subject myself to the other carriers I had to use when I w*rked for the fed. Oh the stories I could tell...
This year I am curtailing my airborne vacations so I can finish the multi-year windows replacement project on my house. Next year...we shall see.

As far as safety goes, I feel safer in the air than I do on the road with people yakking on their cell phones and texting.

 

[bulletbiter]

I love to fly, but hate the hassle at airports! I haven't flown in about 8 years, and have no intentions to do so in the foreseeable future.

We've done a LOT of group travel via motor coach, and overall it was enjoyable....except almost without fail, there was always one person in the group that was either: a) annoying b) hopelessly helpless c) always late d) hacking and coughing continuously and NOT covering their mouth e) ALL of the above! Had it not been for those FEW people, all of our trips would have been great! Now that I'm retired, and have no time constraints, we've pretty much given up all group travel.

I much prefer to drive to our destinations, and enjoy the scenery and sights along the way!!! I try to avoid rush hour traffic around major cities, but driving in traffic and through metropolitan areas doesn't bother me at all. If we see something along the way that pics our interest, we can stop and check it out....then continue on at our leisure.

We just go with the flow!!!

I totally agree with you ......we have not flown in 8yrs. We just drive and see the sights on the way to our destination - and we don't have to worry about the hassles of air travel. It saves us $$ ,too.

 

[Moscyn]

I don't mind the flight as I can catch up with movies if I can't sleep but I do mind crying children (sorry, mothers) as that definitely means no sleep at all even with ear plugs and definite jet lag. I also don't entirely enjoy part of the planning - the part on agreeing on the dates and destination. I wonder whether anyone else have this apprehension - when one is travelling with new companions, there's a bit of worry of whether we can get to each other's nerves when we have to be together for so many days.

 

[kumquat]

I don't mind the flight

Nobody minds the flight. It's the 3 or 4 hours of wasted time getting to and into the airport that is the issue. The TSA's groping is a problem for some as well (for me it's a thrill, I haven't been groped for 40 years). I used to have to go to a city about 300 miles away. So, door to door is 300 miles (4.5 hours drive). From door to door, it was faster to drive. Leave home 2.5 hours before flight (airline recommends getting to airport 2 hours before). One hour flight. 30 minutes to get bags. 30 minutes to rent car. 45 minutes to drive from airport to destination.

In my mega-corp days, the company plane often flew from my base to our US operation. That flight was:

• cab to airport - 10 minutes
• wait to board - 5 minutes
• fly to USA - 100 minutes
• customs, immigration etc - 5 minutes
• drive to office - 10 minutes
• Office
• Drive to airport - 10 minutes
• fly home - 120 minutes
• cab home - 10 minutes

Leave home a 6:40, in US office at 9:30, leave US office at ~4:30, home by 7:00. If flying commercial, add 1 day.

 

[TromboneAl]

Here is a devil's advocate point of view.

We are complaining about hassles, but consider that you are sitting in a chair and are magically transported through the sky to a faraway location. How would cavemen view our bitching?

 

[kumquat]

To revert to the thread title, I do like to travel. I hated the problems when traveling for work since no matter who made the arrangements, any problems were my fault (my PHB once gave me a hard time for missing a meeting because I was [-]traveling[/-] hitching a ride on the mega-corp corporate plane which broke its schedule so CEO could play golf).

DW does not travel well. Any little thing and she's gonzo. She doesn't adapt to local culture very well either. My best vacation would be we leave on different flights and meet at our destination, and no culture shock please.

A good friend of DS got married in India a year ago. He asked us if we wanted an invitation, meaning he'd like us to come but would we/could we. DS wanted us to go. DW asked me if I wanted to go. My response was "Yes, but not with you". She laughed, at least she knows her limitations.

 

[DangerMouse]

Understand where the negative feelings come from with regards to the travel process. However, I find you can buy your way out of it by doing premium travel.

Our next trip is to Hong Kong on Cathay Pacific in First Class. When we get to the airport I expect there will be no-one in queue when we check in. Often for FC or even Business there is a line for premium travellers to get thru the TSA checks. I go thru the nude-o-scopes, don't bother me in the least. From there we will head to the First Class lounge where we will relax until our flight boards from it's own entry point. We will then plonk our butts down in 1A and 1K in our spacious seating with plenty of space for carry on. No-one is going to be hitting us in the head with their 14 bags of carry on as they make their way to the back of the plane. We will then be handed a refreshing glass of Krug, the first of many we will enjoy on the 14 hour flight. When we have eaten all we could possibly want, when we are ready for a nap they will make our bed for us.

I know most people will say they can't afford to buy premium tix but the cost for the two of us to do this flight was 150,000 British Airways points + $250. We play the credit card churning game and in the past year have received more than 700k frequent flyer/hotel rewards point which allow us to travel like this on a regular basis.

 

[FIREd]

Understand where the negative feelings come from with regards to the travel process. However, I find you can buy your way out of it by doing premium travel.

We can afford to travel in business or first class, but I can't bring myself to pay the premiums. Paying the extra $5K for business class or $10K for first class for 2 people on a transatlantic flight seems rather steep to alleviate a few hours of suffering. I would rather spend the money on something else. Of course, if I don't have to pay for it, I will gladly take the upgrade.

But those paying for premium travel allow us to travel cheaply in steerage, so it works for everyone.

 

[DangerMouse]

Probably a good chunk of people riding up the front are probably like myself, there on points.

As I said, next trip I'm riding up front and I'm sure that is costing me less than those travelling steerage.