What Is Your Favorite Type Of Vacation?

[#borecore]

I am going to list everywhere I remember going on vacation in order of which places I liked most. I have a thirst for international travel that I have yet to slake beyond Central America, so my future vacations are my real "favorites," but only in my mind.

Costa Rica (all over, focus on rainforest)
New York City (Manhattan)
Grand Canyon/Southwest tour (Flagstaff, Sedona, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Carlsbad)
Los Cabos, Mexico
New Orleans, LA
Seattle, WA
Portland, ME
Rural Georgia/Atlanta
Marfa, TX
Philadelphia, PA, San Antonio, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth, TX, areas
Michigan lake camping
Sarasota and St. Petersburg, FL, Disney/Orlando (tie)
Detroit area, Chicago, St. Louis, Roanoke (tie, given that I have barely spent any time in these places)
South Texas Coast, Jacksonville, FL, Wide swath of West Texas (tie)

The main things I do like are lots of free time, good food, museums, some amazing sights, and something 'cool' to do in the evenings. Friendly people or something I cannot find at home really help!

I don't care for places with nothing but chain restaurants; I don't love camping; I really dislike theme parks. The more time I spend somewhere, the more I like it -- with the exception of the last-place places in my list. I think it might just be a bad cultural fit in some cases.

[kherbert05]

Going somewhere with interesting historical sites, museums, and outdoor activities.


I don't mind an amusement park/water park as a one day activity but the sole focus would send me around the bend.


My idea of vacation hell - cruises/all inclusive resorts.


For me part of it is the crowds and not getting away to near silence. The biggest part is food. I went on a cruise my Junior Year, with the drill team. It was in Greece. There was parts I love, especially the Captain telling off a bigoted Chaperon. But the food kept being served with different nuts mixed in. I couldn't eat dinner most nights because of the nut thing.  (In the US most packages of commercially preshelled nuts have peanut warnings because the same machines are used. I generally don't eat tree nuts unless my family shells them ourselves.)

[readingchick]

Northern Michigan is my favorite place to go. Make Mackinaw City your home base and do day trips to St. Ignace, Mackinac Island, Tahquamenon Falls (a one-day pass to the Falls costs $8, I think), and Whitefish Point. Be sure to try the fried pickles at the Seabiscuit Café and the Upper Tahquamenon Falls Brewery; they're both fantastic!

[katiescarlett]

I'll be honest.  I'm the one who started the Disney thread, but it is definitely not my idea of a great vacation.  This trip is for the kids.  (Niece and nephew).  MY idea of a great trip is on par with your son's.  Historical sites are the best!  My favorite place to go is Colorado and be in the mountains for awhile (I am seriously going to live there one day).  My father and I are planning a trip to Gettysburg next year to visit the battlefield (I am a history minor).  I am dying to go to England and Scotland.  Also, Washington, DC.  I tend to enjoy trips with lots to see, but enough downtime that I don't get overwhelmed.  I don't really like theme parks and def. no water parks.  I think that is why I am having such a hard time getting excited for this trip, although I know I will enjoy it.

[andi]

When we go alone, Hubby and I like to kick back and relax - no schedule.

We prefer to go to one place, usually rent a house or condo, and have things to do in the area. Hubby like to cook, so we'll eat dinner out a couple times but it's nice to be able to have our own food and eat when we want.

We love cruises, we can do as much or as little as we like each day. We have a "base" to come back to so we get to unpack and "settle in" right off. But there's still cool places to see and activities if we choose to do so. And there's lots of food

When we go with Boo, we usually have things planned for each day and make sue he has a "voice" in the planning. Trip to the coast - rented a condo and fished, hung out at the beach.  Our trip to Branson we stayed in one place and he got to fish, do a water park, a theme park, hang out at the pool.  He was thrilled there was a tv in his room!,

For the Ireland trip we were on the road part of each day - staying  in a different place each night and seeing a lot each day new know where we wNt to stay if there's ever a "next time" so we'd travel from our "base" for day trips.

[Piratelvr1121]

I do intend to take a trip to Ireland with the family (meaning Dh, our 3 boys, my best friend, and myself) when the youngest is old enough to really appreciate it, sometime before my friend's passport expires though, as she got it renewed in 2012 and I think they're good for 10 years so we have a couple more years. 

Bff has already been twice with her sister but I'd love for us to go together.

[Klein Bottle]

I'll be honest.  I'm the one who started the Disney thread, but it is definitely not my idea of a great vacation.  This trip is for the kids.  (Niece and nephew).  MY idea of a great trip is on par with your son's.  Historical sites are the best!  My favorite place to go is Colorado and be in the mountains for awhile (I am seriously going to live there one day).  My father and I are planning a trip to Gettysburg next year to visit the battlefield (I am a history minor).  I am dying to go to England and Scotland.  Also, Washington, DC.  I tend to enjoy trips with lots to see, but enough downtime that I don't get overwhelmed.  I don't really like theme parks and def. no water parks.  I think that is why I am having such a hard time getting excited for this trip, although I know I will enjoy it.

You will probably wind up having a blast!  My bestie is a scientist and an introvert, and her idea of a great vacation is the opposite of what a theme park represents.  However, she is the one who does Disney every year, and she always comes home raving about it!  It helps that her younger child just turned five, as I think seeing it through the eyes of a child adds some kind of special dimension to it.  There were special circumstances as to why I was so miserable at Disney in Orlando, but my son, who had just turned three, still has some great memories of that day, and he is 17 now.  The only thing I remember that might be of interest to you is that, at least in 2000, we were able to get Son a PB&J at the restaurant at the front of Tomorrowland.  (I think that's what it's called?  The space-age retro theme part?)  I was also struck at how child-friendly and family accommodating the workers were throughout the entire park.  I realize it's known for that, but still...very impressed.  My friend tells me that, if a worker sees a little girl dressed up as one of the princesses, they will excitedly ask for "Cinderella's" or "Ariel's" or whichever character's "autograph", and treat her like she is the real deal.  Her little girl Chloe was pretty jazzed about that, and I think it's very sweet.

We have been by Gettysburg and Antietam many times, but have never gone, not from lack of interest, but lack of time.  My son's area of interest is more 18th century European history, but he often talks about how he would like to see the American battlefields.  We took a day trip to Montgomery, Alabama when we were still living in Mississippi, and we got to see a lot of the places associated with the Civil Rights Movement, and we both dug that.  Montgomery is a lovely city, too.

Montana is another place I need to see.  It has been way too long since I have been out west, and I love the mountains, the forests, that pine scent.  Son would love it as it's sort of on the way to Portland.   

[Klein Bottle]

I do intend to take a trip to Ireland with the family (meaning Dh, our 3 boys, my best friend, and myself) when the youngest is old enough to really appreciate it, sometime before my friend's passport expires though, as she got it renewed in 2012 and I think they're good for 10 years so we have a couple more years. 

Bff has already been twice with her sister but I'd love for us to go together.

I am Italian and Irish, and I am hoping that Ireland be one of the places we see in Europe, but I don't know if that will happen.  Italy is a foregone conclusion, (ya know, history and all!)      I'll be interested to hear about your Ireland trip, so I can live vicariously through you!

For some reason, I also really want to see Prague.  There is absolutely no reason other than I love the pictures of the beautiful architecture, those red roofs.  (I believe Vienna has some similar, and we will definitely go there.)

Amara, the Eurail pass is most likely how we are going to travel!  I like the idea of the freedom just to zip around wherever we want to go.  I have not gotten so far as to look too deeply into it, but it makes the most sense.  The only place we "need" to be is in Spain when my parents get there.

jmarvellous, did you love Costa Rica?  My nephew has gone both there and Honduras with his Church youth group.  I have only ever been to Mexico as far as going south of our border.  And then, only as far south as Ensenada.  (I made the mistake of drinking too many Coronas and felt like dookie all the way back home to Pasadena the next day!)

[jaxsue]

I'm a history geek. Most of my vacations are centered around historical sites like Williamsburg, Gettysburg, St. Augustine, etc. My poor kids; they were dragged to museum houses, museums, and old cemeteries. Fortunately, my younger son loves this stuff as much as I do! 

[lisat]

Camping-primitive camping. My family has camped forever. We have camped in Spain (but we were stationed there and in Portugal) But our most favorite is in Maine. I am now 62-no longer so young. I use an air mattress . but hubby making pancakes over a fire and coffee is absolutely the best thing. Now we take our grandson who is 4 camping with us. It is just so very relaxing and peaceful.  I hate crowds and standing in lines, so doing the tourist thing is definitely out.

[Klein Bottle]

Camping-primitive camping. My family has camped forever. We have camped in Spain (but we were stationed there and in Portugal) But our most favorite is in Maine. I am now 62-no longer so young. I use an air mattress . but hubby making pancakes over a fire and coffee is absolutely the best thing. Now we take our grandson who is 4 camping with us. It is just so very relaxing and peaceful.  I hate crowds and standing in lines, so doing the tourist thing is definitely out.

I want to come camping in Maine with you!      I love camping and I love Maine.  Where in Maine do you go?

[andi]

I do intend to take a trip to Ireland with the family (meaning Dh, our 3 boys, my best friend, and myself) when the youngest is old enough to really appreciate it, sometime before my friend's passport expires though, as she got it renewed in 2012 and I think they're good for 10 years so we have a couple more years. 

Bff has already been twice with her sister but I'd love for us to go together.

When you start planning I have an awesome travel agent for you - I've never had such a great experience with a company. we had a major mishap with one of the hotels and the agency was beyond wonderful.

[Lynn2000]

I actually don't like traveling much at all because of logistical issues--airports and getting from A to B and where to eat. I kind of have this dream of just going away by myself to a nice hotel, where I would stay in the room a lot with a book or some writing that I haven't had time to focus on until now. A suite would be nice. And I would mostly eat in the hotel restaurant, or get room service/food delivery.

And, it would be cool if the hotel was connected to a shopping mall. I stayed in a hotel in Boston once that opened onto a mall, and there were skywalks connecting it to yet more malls and buildings. It gave me several places to go for shopping and eating and even a movie theater, I felt safe and didn't worry about getting lost, and I didn't have to deal with cabs or other transportation.

I do also like aquariums, zoos, and science/history museums, but I need to explore them at my own pace, and NOT be go-go-go all the time. So I don't like having 8 things planned for one day and we have to be HERE and then THERE and then OVER THERE or we're just wasting our time (vacationing with my friend Amy). But at the same time I hate that "dead zone" where you're hungry but you have no idea where to have lunch and everywhere is a hassle to get to so you end up just grabbing McDonald's or something (vacationing with my parents). Some kind of balance between "zero planning" and "over-packed schedule."

One vacation I look back on positively is when my mom and I went to the Mall of America a couple years ago. They have a wonderful aquarium there and some fun restaurants (like Rainforest Cafe) that we don't have in our area. Plus, shopping! And we liked the Lego and American Girl stores. We stayed at the mall 7 or 8 hours each day. It was a lot of walking, though. I think they should have some kind of train or people-mover that gets you from one end to the other faster.

Maybe I would like some kind of all-inclusive resort, if it had things I actually liked--shopping and aquariums and so forth. It always seems like those focus a lot on beaches/pools and athletic or nature activities, none of which I like. I thought I would like a cruise, but my mom went on a couple and hated all the sitting around, forced camaraderie, and tiny rooms, so that kind of discouraged me.

[mbbored]

I've got two kinds, in no particular order:

There's the beach vacation, laying by the water with a book, long walks on the sand.

There's also the exploring an interesting place vacation, with history, museums, architecture and good restaurants. This includes cities in the US, like DC, NYC, Chicago, San Diego, San Francisco, and abroad, like Europe, Asian and Northern Africa.

I'm way more likely to plan and save for the latter, while the former is reserved for last minute getaways or trips with extended families.

[stargazer]

I love Disney, water parks, laying on the beach doing nothing but reading and sipping a fruity drink, and camping and doing adventure type vacations.  MY idea of vacation hell is historical sites.  I am on vacation to have fun and those are not my idea of fun.  That just seems like the type of trip my elementary school used to take us on (our elementary school did a LOT of trips).