What Is An Extended Vacation Like?

[marko]

YMMV, but to me the word "vacation" implies a work context; the need to escape from the daily grind for a bit, usually for as many days as your employer will allow.

If you're retired, you're typically not trying to escape (except the weather) but to maybe see or do something different and have experiences.

We winter for four months in Florida every year. We don't consider it 'vacation' but rather just the way we live.

We spend a month or so in France or Italy every summer; not to escape anything or do the tourist thing but more a matter of enjoying the lifestyle those places provide.

In fact, we avoid the cathedrals, museums, excursions and such and--as best as we can-- just live as locals and broaden our horizons. We find that 'doing nothing' often provides more insight to a culture than being a tourist. As a tourist all you meet are other tourists!

But to do that you sometimes have to take your eye off of 'home' and just 'be' there, in the moment and take it all in, not as a vacationer, but just living your life right there and now.

DW and I had the best day of our lives -literaly-on Oct 13, 2005: We sat at a sidewalk cafe in Paris for 5 full hours with plates cheese, charcuteries and a few bottles of wine. We watched the world go by, chatted about my upcoming (involuntary) ER, chatted with the people at the next table and what the future held for us. Cost us less than $60 bucks.

But as always, to each his own.

 

[Midpack]

We always do long vacations and use Airbnb or Booking.com. Currently we are in Valencia staying in an apartment for 5 weeks and it's about $80/night. Even on shorter stays we use these 2 options. With an apartment you don't need to always go out to eat so that's nice as well.

We’re going to have to reevaluate. Most of the places we want to go are much more expensive than that even looking at AirBnB, vrbo, etc. More often than not we’re going to resort areas, usually on/near the water.

 

[Sunset]

While everyone has different ideas of a vacation, just the posting of it with some details, allows the opportunity for someone else to consider something new/different from what they normally think about.

 

[gattara]

While everyone has different ideas of a vacation, just the posting of it with some details, allows the opportunity for someone else to consider something new/different from what they normally think about.

Absolutely. And that's a good thing.

 

[wearefinishedworking]

Oh this is wonderful reading about all the possibilities! I am newly retired and DH is going to be in 2022. Our longest trip EVER was 12 days. So exciting to NOT plan around an employer!

 

[skyking1]

Our retirement will coincide with building a new home. That does not sound too relaxing, but I see a chance here. Maybe sell and put stuff in storage as others have done., then come back to build the new place.
Maybe get the new place built and put a friend there to watch it, and do a long getaway. It will not have the same pull as the old comfortable digs of 27 plus years. It will have a different tug for sure.

 

[brett]

Several times we have left on a one way ticket. A good idea of where we planned to go, the potential travel options, and when we might to return. All subject to change based on spontaneous decisions. Europe and Asia/Australia but more often Europe.

 

[brett]

After retiring early we spent 7 months travelling internationally. Then another three months in a furnished apt. downtown.

Since then, 12 years, we have spent winters doing independent travel in various warm countries. Usually 2-3 months. Thailand & SE Asia, Australia, and Mexico, Central America. This winter will probably be our last in Thailand.....long flight. Or....we might swap it for somewhere in Africa in a future snowbird trip. So many options.

We typically do either a spring or a fall Europe trip each year. Usually 6-8 weeks of independent travel. We sometimes pick up last minute cruises if the value is attractive.

I could easily travel for 5 or 6 months at a time. DW prefers 2-3 months so that is what we do.

What is it like? For us....WONDERFUL. We are spontaneous travelers. We typically only book a few days in advance, sometime less with the exception of air. If we like a place we stay, if not we move on.

Prior to retirement, the longest was about three weeks.

 

[Chuckanut]

I also like your type of vacantion, but sometimes I need to rest, so after the active part of my vacancy, I usually take 3-5 days in the hotel where I can chill after my other vacantion activities.

If possible I like to schedule an extra day or two of doing nothing at some nice place where doing nothing is enjoyable. OK, sometimes doing nothing means finding a laundromat and getting everything washed after a few weeks on the road with nightly sink washings. But, no time limits, eat when I want, spend a few hours in a caffè reading and people watching, take a walk down a random street that looks interesting, go back an re-photgraph a site in better light conditions, etc.

Il Dolce Far Niente - The sweetness of doing nothing.

 

[W2R]

I have always been afraid I'd miss something when visiting on vacation, afraid I'd get back and someone would say 'did you see or do XYZ, it was our favorite!' - and I'd have missed it.

Sounds like you are going on vacation to please others, rather than to please yourselves, perhaps? Bear in mind that we are INTJ's, and so we don't spend much time talking to other people or finding out what they think about what we've been doing. Actually we don't give a hoot.

Most people have pretty strange ideas of what we might like to do. For some reason it doesn't occur to them that one or the other of us have already BTDT at some time in the past. Oddly enough, we don't have any trouble finding fun or staving off boredom wherever we may be. Most suggestions from other people are for things THEY enjoy doing, not things WE enjoy doing.

We have found that there is enough to see and do here in New Orleans to take an entire lifetime and more. We see or do whatever we want to see or do, and have a great time. We don't see much reason to travel in order to find interesting, enjoyable things to see or do.

 

[audreyh1]

Our longest “vacation” was 5 years. We enjoyed traveling the country in our RV at an easy relaxed pace with little advanced planning, and no home to return to as the RV was our home. It was a wonderful wandering adventure.

 

[Midpack]

Sounds like you are going on vacation to please others, rather than to please yourselves, perhaps? Bear in mind that we are INTJ's, and so we don't spend much time talking to other people or finding out what they think about what we've been doing. Actually we don't give a hoot.

Not at all. Just wondering if WE missing something not taking longer, slower, less structured vacations —- something we’ve never done.

 

[Teacher Terry]

Even when I was married and we took the dogs a month was all I cared to be away from home. I missed my kids, friends, etc.

 

[martyp]

I used to do exactly as you did. After my first month of ER I realized that I had never been away from work for as long as a month. To answer your question, my first 30 day “vacation” was 5 years into my retirement and it was a trip to Bangkok, Thailand. I stayed in Bangkok the whole month where I had a friend living here after he recently moved here. I would plan one tourist destination in the morning and hang out at the hotel pool in the afternoon because it was too hot to do anything in the afternoon. Then I would go out in the evening. I was traveling alone so I did not have to discuss the day’s agenda with anyone. Travel in Thailand is so cheap that I never thought about the cost of not doing a lot each day. The joy of slow travel was a revelation. I did two more trips like this to Thailand with side trips to Myanmar and Malaysia. I have now lived in Bangkok for 5 years.

 

[Scuba]

Not at all. Just wondering if WE missing something not taking longer, slower, less structured vacations —- something we’ve never done.

Having done many two week vacations as well as several 6-12 week trips, I think the main things you may be missing are:
- Serendipitous moments that are memorable but less likely to happen when most of your time is spent on planned activities.
- Experiencing life more like a local vs a tourist.
- Going to more “off the beaten path” places.

If these benefits don’t appeal to you, you’re probably fine sticking with shorter vacations. I’ve really enjoyed the “slow travel” we’ve done, and now that we no longer have a pet, I’m looking forward to even longer trips than we’ve been taking once we get through our health issues.

 

[brett]

We purposely organized our post retirement life for travel.

No pets, no plants. Moved into a HOA that does all gardening and snow removal. Essentially lock and leave.

 

[skyking1]

we are going to try that. Last time our old pup expired I made a lot of tough talk and then adopted this pair almost immediately

 

[MC Rider]

We're working on retiring to a vacation destination.
Surrounded by other vacation destinations.

 

[audreyh1]

We purposely organized our post retirement life for travel.

No pets, no plants. Moved into a HOA that does all gardening and snow removal. Essentially lock and leave.

Once we finished nursing our 21 year old cat, we decided that was it for pets. We loved her, but pets and long travel don’t mix. It’s been a long time now.

No indoor plants either. We have lots outside planted in the ground and a automatic landscape watering system and yard maintenance taken care of by HOA.

When we went fill time in the RV I never saw DH so happy to say bye-bye to the lawnmower, so for the new house yard maintenance was essential.

We also got rid of an amazing amount of stuff when we switched to full-time RVing. It was wonderful being that lean.

 

[vafoodie]

We thought such vacations would be our retirement norm, but after 21 days on thw road, we may need to rethink this. Or maybe I’m still just adapting. I miss my dogs and get tired of eating out after awhile.

 

[brett]

Once we finished nursing our 21 year old cat, we decided that was it for pets. We loved her, but pets and long travel don’t mix. It’s been a long time now.

No indoor plants either. We have lots outside planted in the ground and a automatic landscape watering system and yard maintenance taken care of by HOA.

When we went fill time in the RV I never saw DH so happy to say bye-bye to the lawnmower, so for the new house yard maintenance was essential.

We also got rid of an amazing amount of stuff when we switched to full-time RVing. It was wonderful being that lean.

We did the same. After doing 3 renos and ending up with a just the 2 of us rattling around a 3700 sq ft. home on three levels that required lots indoor and outdoor mtce work I said enough already. I happily gave the lawnmover, garden tools, electric tools and tile cutter to friends and neighbours.

We also got rid of an amazing amount of things. Out of five bedrooms, four bathrooms, two family rooms, office, etc we only kept what could be stored in an 8X8X16 Pods storage container. Best thing we ever did. Ten years later we still have several unopened boxes of china, etc that we should not have bothered keeping.

The entire process was so liberating. Doing this, and traveling extensively, changed our lives and made the transition to retirement quite seamless. We did exactly the same with our finances prior to early retirement. Consolidated, etc and made them easier to manage.

Another benefit was travel was that it changed our eating habits for the better. We eat much more fresh and healthier food than we did when we were rushing about, and traveling for work. No longer interested in fast food or prepared foods.