What's your travel "style"?? friendly questionnaire

[bclover]

So, some random comments on another thread had me wondering. Do you have a travel style? A way you tend to travel Do you like long trips where you stay weeks on end, or do you tend to take shorter mini vacations more frequently. Are you more at the budget end of things or do you love the luxury? Does one spot hold your heart or has the wanderlust bug hit ya.
Where's the place you really want to make happen?

My family and I have kind of morphed over the years, because our kids where into every sport known to man and God we rarely had 7 days off so we became the king and queen of the "long weekend" trip. I think our first long trip as in a week or more finally happened when my youngest was 16. also because money was tight many years we would only do 2 or 3 day trips.

We've always been the luxury family, my late dh had one demand on any trip, hotel had to have a balcony and a bar. so no way could I get him into an apartment or condo. Now I've been bitten.

I'm just getting into taking longer trips, first I hate flying, not only the actual flight but the hassle it takes to get to a flight so if I fly I want to stay somewhere for a while.
Our guilty pleasure is Disneyworld, lol even with the kids in their 20's we love the place and go annually. Next year we're thinking about London for the first time. not sure how many days I should stay there.

I do want to go to the National parks. sadly I live in Philly and never even been to Gettsyburgh which is about 70 minutes away. gotta fix that.

Ironically I've never had a desire to see any Latin American country.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Personally I like shorter trips, and basically any place I can drive that has a Hampton Inn. I traveled for a living for 35 years and have not been on a plane since I FIREd 5 years ago. Considering I was on one or two per week before that, I think it is an achievement. Flying became a real chore after 911. I still have 500k + air miles on one airline I need to decide what to do with. After I FIREd, I got iPad Airs & iPhone's for the whole and extended family with the other airline's miles that I did not enjoy the service with.

We live in Florida now so there are lots of choices here.

 

[2017ish]

To date, our "style" has been travel to annual week-long family get together in price-friendly US destination, dive trips (one week a year; 2 weeks every 10 years), and typically one long weekend to a city or wine destination in US each year. When we have the option of selecting our sleeping place, we do VRBO or AirBnB, with occasional Comfort Inn and Holiday Inn Express type lodging.

We are very eagerly looking forward to changing this style next year. The "Travel Plans" thread is almost pornographic for me....

 

[Ronstar]

Travel style:

Like long trips and short trips equally
Like road trips
Hate cruises - at least those on mega ships
Like fine hotels, but cheap hotels ok for a night or 2. No camping for DW
Like to eat at casual restaurants
Like national parks, hiking, etc
Like big cities and attractions
Don't care to sit on a beach reading a book
Fly economy class

Generally like going places that work well with hiking and landscape photography hobbies. Have to have variety. Returning to one spot won't work.

Recent trips we've liked:
Driving trip to our Az condo
Driving trip Seattle to LA
Grand Canyon
Driving trip around Lake Michigan
Driving trip to Nashville for weekend

Upcoming trips:
England/Ireland
Key West
Arizona
New England fall color driving trip - next fall

 

[Nemo2]

In random disorder:

- Not quite 'down & dirty', but far, far, from what is considered 'first class'.

- Prefer self contained units where we can fend for ourselves.

- Detest flying.......use ships as 'buses' whenever viable.

- Have been to areas in my younger days that are now 'unvisitable', (totally destroyed in some instances); some places, (had they remained intact), I would have liked to have seen again, but for the most part...naaah......although I'd perhaps return to India..maybe.

- Spent a lot of time on beaches prevously....now they hold little or no attraction....Caribbean has no draw at all these days.

- Like old walled towns/villages and castles...love castles.

- Africa....disappeared too fast.....Kenya, circa 1986, was like Disney, (sorry, but don't care for Disney).....The Selous, in Tanzania, was great, but I think, ~ 30 years ago, we were there on the tail end........DW & I did enjoy Botswana though.

 

[Danmar]

Usually 2-3 trips per year of 10-14 days. Need to stay fairly close due to ageing parents. Since we have several vacation type properties that cover warm weather, skiing, lakeside summers, we tend to take active biking trips. Once every year or two we take our daughter and SIL on a signature trip. Always first class. Too old for budget type trips, and I would rather not go on a trip if it wasn't first class.

Destinations on our bucket list include: Barge trip to France, Atacama Desert/Lake District biking in Chile, Botswana safari, Antarctic cruise, Amazon River Cruise, Danube river/biking trip, Quebec biking trip, trans Atlantic Liner. Still enjoy travel especially with daughter. But I can see how it can get old for an old guy.

 

[DrRoy]

DW and I generally prefer trips of 2-3 weeks so we can have some time to see things in depth. Also, I like to take a lot of photos, and sometimes I want to hang around a good place for both sunrise and sunset, or to have a spare day in case of bad weather. Definitely not luxury, but not bare bones either. I will pay up for lodging within national parks in order to save driving time to the sights, and to be able to shoot from right out my front door. We have been on a couple cruises but I do not prefer them because I can not have my own agenda and timing.

In the last 7 years we have been to Italy, Switzerland, Yellowstone and Grand Teton parks, Kauai, Banff and Jasper parks in Canada, Oregon, France, Colorado, northern Arizona, and the eastern Caribbean. I write now from Hamnoy, Norway, in the Lofoten Islands.

.

 

[Bamaman]

In my work, I traveled extensively in the U.S.--from California to the Northwest to the Mid Atlantic cities. Now that we're retired, we seldom even travel to the three larger cities within 2 hours of home.

For the same money as our friends spend visiting the Gulf Coast, we tour Europe for 2 weeks. Since we found Norwegian Air Shuttle, we've been overseas 3x in the last 18 months.

In our travels, we stay in relatively low cost accommodations--with high customer ratings. We often rent cars to explore regions. We'll travel from city to city by train up to 4 hours. Otherwise, we go by budget European air carriers. We try to stay in great cities a minimum of 4 nights.

We've been on so many cruises that we're cruised out. I doubt we'll see Mexico or the Western Caribbean again. And with the Zika virus in the Eastern Caribbean, we are hesitant to go there.

My wife's having mobility problems and future trips may be car trips in the U.S. We've seen most of the major cities, but never been to Montana and Wyoming.

But we still have a lot of travel waiting on us. My problem is what to do in winter, as there's no place we really want to go in cold weather--north or south.

 

[kaudrey]

We are all over the "map", so to speak.


We like long weekends and longer trips. We don't fly first class or stay at the Ritz, but we do like Kimptons if we are in cities that have them. On the flip side, we have camped in a variety of places too - Yellowstone, Utah, Alaska....We generally look for good values in good locations; we aren't spa people.


We generally do a long weekend trip or two each year, and one longer trip (we are still working).


Last year we did a bike trip through Portugal, this summer we went to WA/OR. Next year we are thinking Croatia...

 

[Sarah in SC]

Dirty hippie is our travel style.
Weird, offbeat places, not typical tourist destinations.
Always try to find local friends to stay with, or barring that, little hostels (shared bath ok, prefer private room rather than dorm-style, though).
Typically we do trips that are longer, running into weeks and weeks.

Generally try to do them on the cheap, making it possible for more budget-constrained friends to join us, occasionally springing for nice hotel rooms (using points) and decent dinners. Trips are so much better when you can share them with good friends.

 

[Meadbh]

I like my comforts, and my own room. I have a fractional ownership in a luxury vacation property and often exchange it for similar properties elsewhere. I like having a kitchen so I can make simple meals, saving my eating out dollars for event restaurants. I have taken and enjoyed several cruises. I have on occasion stayed with friends and relatives, but I hate the lack of privacy that entails. I am willing to go on a tour if that's the best way to see what I want to see, but I enjoy travelling alone in safer parts of the world. I am travelling less these days, only going where I want to go. This year I have taken one 35 day trip, which included several extravagances that were of value to me. It was the longest trip I have ever taken, and I loved it.

 

[RunningBum]

My style is similar to Rick Steves', which is why I use his travel guidebooks. Safe and clean, and I generally like my own bathroom but will share if I have to. Unlike him I don't mind using chain hotels, as they usually have a certain level of consistency, but I don't have to. I'd rather go out and see the place I'm visiting then stick around the hotel and soak in the luxury.


I generally like a week or less in length, though overseas I'll probably go into the 2nd week. I think I've only done one vacation longer than that, and that was 3 weeks. If I'm flying, it's usually 7-10 days to make it worth the hassle of flying.

 

[grasshopper]

In our 30's Bed & Breakfasts just about every classic B&B in Napa and Sonoma.
40's Club Med Villages,
50's Great lodges of the National Parks, including Canada.
60's small ship cruising. Living 30 miles from Mexico we have seen much of country. We like Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru and want to travel more of S.A. While will are still able we are going to tackle Patagonia on a hiking tour maybe 2017. We both have no desire to travel outside the continents of N.A.& S.A. Bermuda is as far east as we have been.

It is really hard getting away for even a week, last time I even had to have 1/2 mile of road graded so the house sitter could get her Subaru up to mi casa. So we spend a little more to get a fun, active, carefree time away.

Sun Gate in Machu Picchu at dawn

 

[Katiek]

Since I still have a j*b, it's hard to get away for 2 weeks or more, plus that would eat up too much vacation time in one shot.

I'm pretty middle of the road for accommodations. I don't need anything fancy, but I want clean (and my own bathroom). I'm ok with inns, as long as the rooms are fairly independent and preferably have separate entrances. Marriotts/Hiltons/Country Inns are my usual pick, except if I'm traveling to National Parks, then I want to be in the park if possible.

Don't really care for fancy restaurants, prefer casual dining/pubs etc. Prefer local places to chain restaurants on vacation, but this isn't a strict rule.

I usually try to do two one week trips a year, and a few long weekends. Post retirement, I'd like to do a two week trip to a more distant location, but I'm usually eager to get home after a week or so.

 

[CaliKid]

Since still working and have kids I like two types of trips:
1) 7 day or so trips with kids during a school vacation time. I like beaches but like educational component too. Hawaii is our go-to spot but a Spanish speaking country is a nice bonus we have done a few times. Typically nice hotel.

2) 4 day weekends with my wife. Pool/beach, pool/beach wait staff, luxury hotel, entertainment for evenings. Vegas for example.

 

[brett]

We do everything from cruises to AI's to independent travel. Our independent travel can often include a last minute cruise. We are always ready to take advantage of a last minute travel offer. We have a strong preference for less visited locations. Love beaches.....especially in Australia and Thailand. Absolutely zero interest in Hawaii or Florida.

Hotels...anything from five star to two star and of course B&B's. Recently did a home stay in Vietnam. We buy on value. Basic preferred requirement is a clean room in a safe area with ensuite bathroom. Also rental condos.

Travel duration is usually anywhere from six weeks to as much as 12-15 weeks in the winter months. I like more, spouse prefers a little less.

We plan as we go. We might book accommodation for a week when we first start out but after that it is a day or two in advance. We do mostly open jaw or one way air.

We do carry on only. 20 inch rollers for a one week or for a three month trip. All the same to us.

Just hope that we can continue to do this for another ten years or more.


We currently rent. We intended to buy where we live but are now very seriously considering purchasing a vacation home. Just not certain where at this point in time.

 

[COcheesehead]

Adventurous, active, food & wine oriented, off the beaten path, funky. Must have the ability to "discover" something new. A good mix of country and city. As non touristy as possible.

 

[Nemo2]

Dirty hippie is our travel style.
Weird, offbeat places, not typical tourist destinations.

Ah, to be young again.

I recall such things as taking a ramshackle bus from Tehran to Zahedan, (many of the passengers, it appeared, had never even been on a bus before), and sleeping in the dust alongside the vehicle while the driver took a six hour (IIRC) break......commandeering luggage racks to sleep on Pakistani & Indian local trains......being temporarily 'adopted' by some local students in Karachi and being invited to crash on the dirt floor of any empty concrete block building.

Those were the days...now, in my dotage, I demand a (gasp) mattress.

 

[FUEGO]

Budget travel. I'd rather enjoy 8 weeks of budget travel than 1-2 weeks of "luxury". But by budget travel I don't mean hitchhiking, hostels, bread and water. I mean weekly mid-range apartment rentals with interstitial hotels for 1-2 nights. I mean eating out at local places, perhaps street food or at a market, plus cooking some meals at home (sometimes cooking = bowl of cereal, fruit, yogurt, baguette, etc for breakfast). For transport, we try to go with public transit when it makes sense, and walk if we aren't going more than 0.5-1 mile and it's nice outside.

My house is more luxurious than pretty much any travel experience when you factor in the hassle and inconvenience of getting there (1st class on the best airline ever or even a private jet - you're still stuck inside a metal tube for hours on end). So if I want "luxury" I'll stay at home or drive to a port and sail on a cruise ship (a huge floating metal platform with a swimming pool, nice tablecloths, and lots of good steak and seafood; occasionally it will stop in interesting destinations). If I'm doing "real" travel it's not for luxury but rather to see new places I am interested in (and I'd like to see everything everywhere, time, budget, and energy level permitting).

I don't enjoy long weekend trips unless it's only a few hours away and I can drive. It's nearly impossible to fly anywhere in just a few hours and there's always a significant chance you'll spend several extra hours en route due to delays.

Our travel is also dictated by the kids' school schedule. We try to sneak in a cruise or two during the school year on one of the breaks (Christmas holidays or MLK weekend usually) when it's rather cold in North Carolina and rates are rock bottom. Then in the summer we take one huge, long vacation (7.5 weeks in Mexico; 3.5 weeks central US/Canada road trip; 8 weeks in Europe, etc). On those long trips we schedule 1-2 "do nothing" days each week where we don't plan on going out and seeing the sights but instead might stay at the apartment/hotel, cook a big meal, explore nearby neighborhoods, go for a swim, strike up conversations, find a nearby restaurant, catch up on reading, emails, surfing, etc. Being able to afford those "do nothing days" is all the luxury I demand.

In terms of destinations, we tend to skip the most touristy stuff but don't get completely off the beaten path (3 kids will do that to you). I'm unlikely to ever wait in a long line and pay money to go up in the tallest building/tower in the city for example (and buy a t-shirt that proves you did it from the gift shop!). Museums are fine on an infrequent basis, but it seems like perusing art/anthropology/history feels the same whether you're in Mexico City, Toronto, New York, or Raleigh (and after a few hours of that I'm adequately acculturated for quite a while...).

I'd rather be walking the streets or neighborhoods, exploring a local university, watching some pick up [insert whatever local sport they play], relaxing on a park bench watching the people/squirrels/view, finding a hidden gem of a museum that no one visits, randomly watching the filming of a movie or a good protest, watching/listening to street performers, or getting lost in some beautiful paradise of nature (caves, waterfalls, rivers, lakes, beaches, mountains, etc).

 

[Just_Steve]

For those that travel to countries and don't speak or understand the local language how do you find this fun and exciting?
I dealt with tons of people in my prior j*bs that didn't speak english and I don't speak any foreign language I found it to be stress inducing. So why would I wan't a stressful vacation? Because of this I limit my travels to where english is the primary language.

 

[RobbieB]

I hate flying and airports so when I have to it's first class.

I like a Jacuzzi bath before bed so I'll have one in the room please.

I don't care about cars, so my rental is a cheapie.

Food? Yeah Baby, that's the reward!

I don't travel that much but when I do I'm spending a lotta dough -

 

[Nemo2]

For those that travel to countries and don't speak or understand the local language how do you find this fun and exciting?
I dealt with tons of people in my prior j*bs that didn't speak english and I don't speak any foreign language I found it to be stress inducing. So why would I wan't a stressful vacation? Because of this I limit my travels to where english is the primary language.

http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f46/anyone-got-any-travel-planned-51469-47.html Post #921.

 

[jjquantz]

Interesting thread. Hard to define a style for us. We take a weekend trip or two to NYC each year to see the opera, will stay in Boston for a couple of days to do museums or concerts on the way to/from Maine to see BIL. We're probably headed for Milan in January to see our foreign exchange "daughter" who just had a baby - that will involve a lot of museums. So it would seem like we are "cultural" travelers. But, we've also driven cross country, sleeping in cheap motels and/or camping out of the back of the car - hiking and playing municipal golf courses (you meet the most interesting people). We've also done a couple of short bicycle weekends to B&B's. A couple of weeks in Hawaii snorkeling, hiking, bicycling, etc. out of a tiny studio condo eating food from the farmer's market.

I think that the only thing that I can say about my traveling is that I don't like to be places where other people fuss over me. An example for you golfers out there - I LOVED Bandon Dunes, but really didn't like Whistling Straits/Kohler. At Bandon they are perfectly willing to leave you alone and let you play golf - at Kohler there is ALWAYS someone doing something for you, whether you want them to or not.

 

[COcheesehead]

For those that travel to countries and don't speak or understand the local language how do you find this fun and exciting?
I dealt with tons of people in my prior j*bs that didn't speak english and I don't speak any foreign language I found it to be stress inducing. So why would I wan't a stressful vacation? Because of this I limit my travels to where english is the primary language.

I find a smile and gesturing can get you pretty far. I also at least try and understand a few terms and definitely the numbers. You'd be surprised at how much English is also spoken around the world.

 

[Walt34]

For what very little travel we do we'll drive if possible and stay in medium-range hotels. My days of sleeping in a tent are long in the past.