How do you vacation...

[Greg]

What's your favorite way to take a vacation? Where's your favorite destination? Cruise? All Inclusive? Adults only?

We're overdue for a vacation, thinking about Costa Rice or possibly the Yucatan, visiting Mayan ruins. Personally, I don't like the idea of a cruise.... but I think we'll try it eventually. Possibly a Caribbean cruise.... or Alaska. I just want to get away later this year, many of our 'vacations' involve driving long distances (Baja, Canada, etc) and while I love that, I really want to fly to a foreign country and see something totally new.

I found a Costa Rica vacation package that's 11 nights with a self-drive tour around the country in a rented 4x4. I love the idea of being able to drive around a foreign country, exploring the backroads. They have places reserved for each evening and plans along the way. That really appeals to me.... the wife wants time lounging on the beach, doing nothing. This vacation package has beach time as well, but plenty of exploring and various activities, hiking, surfing, zip lines, exploring the jungle canopy, etc.

 

[Kiel]

We enjoyed costa rica when we went

 

[TRD270]

Yucatan is awesome, I'm a big fan of the all inclusive adults only resorts for "vacations". Literally the most relaxing time off you'll have, you don't have to worry about anything. I haven't been, but I really want to go to Belize

 

[Caleb]

I loved Costa Rica. It was different but fun. We stayed out of the tourist zone at a resort that was literally in the middle of the jungle. Downside was dealing with creepy crawly things non-stop, but the upside was pristine beaches to ourselves, exploring jungle roads, etc. We still made it down to the mountains where all the zip lines are for a couple days as well.

To answer your question, I love traveling, I hate driving...St. George (3.5 hours) is pretty much my max. So we fly every where and rent whatever kind of vehicle we want when we get there. In Costa Rica we had a Toyota Prado which was great for everything we wanted to do. I hate the idea of a cruise but we too have discussed trying it. Cramming as many people possible on to a boat and setting sail sounds like the opposite of what I want in a vacation. I also loved my visits to Ethiopia. Granted we weren't there for vacation, we certainly were able to explore much of the country. My favorite vacations are ones that I don't plan a thing (no itinerary, no need to be at place X by a certain time), we do what we want when we want, relax on beaches, and have no stress. The foreign countries are amazing and we will continue to visit them, but you always have a certain level of stress due to various things (is the food safe to eat, water safe to drink, are the locals friendly towards Americans, etc). For that reason, my absolute favorite destination is always Hawaii. I get the warm tropical beaches, no stress, and we do what we want, when we want.

We're actually planning a trip right now for a month or two out. It'll be a beach somewhere, not sure where yet though. We've been looking at Fiji, Hawaii (of course), and Atlantis.

 

[Noahfecks]

I liked Costa Rica as well

I am really stressed by time changes and it makes it difficult to enjoy my time off. CR is in the same time zone and that was great

Also it is a puppet government of the US and folks there were friendly and many/most spoke english

I hear the gulf side is far less touristy than the pacific, but we didn't feel like we were in a tourist trap on the southern coast on the pacific side

 

[Caleb]

We were clear north in CR, a little outside of La Cruz just south of Nicaragua on the pacific side. We were stopped many times by the police and wanted to see ID, passports, etc. Luckily I speak some spanish and after I'm in an area that it's primarily used most comes back and my dad is fluent in spanish so we were able to communicate so we didn't have any major issues. It was quite nerve racking every time you're randomly stopped by them in the middle of BFE nowhere. I've heard the horror stories about corrupt cops in those areas. In fact one of the SVPs at my office was there recently and was basically robbed by them during one of the random stops. He had to go to the embassy and get a new passport and ids. It was his last day in CR.

 

[benjy]

Cruising has a place for me... If we truly need a break from life, to just not think of anything and to not care what time of day you wake up, a cruise is a great way to accomplish that. Our other favorite for relaxation is the outer banks in NC. Great non commercialized beaches.

One of my favorite parts of the vacation is the prep and planning. Our last 2 big vacations required tons of planning (2 weeks in Europe and 6 months on the east coast in an RV), and I really enjoyed the build up and anticipation to both. I'm not one that plans an itinerary for every minute, but I love knowing all that there is to see and do, then staying flexible based on local recommendations

 

[clfrnacwby]

I've been to Ireland twice. It is awesome! Lots of driving to be able to get around and see the entire country, but totally worth it! We use Groupon to find the best deal. We are heading out on a Royal Caribbean cruise next month and will hit Roatan, Cozumel, and Costa Maya. Cruises are very rare for us - we prefer more scenic/historic trips like Ireland.

 

[mesha]

We have done Costa Rica a few times and really liked it. The area around La Fortuna is fun and so is the coast. If you get a chance to raft the Pacuare river then you should take it. This past summer we did Nicaragua and we actually liked it better than Costa Rica. It is a throw back to what Costa Rica was like 20 years ago.

Cruises are fun, and they have their place. We like to be on the go while on vacation. Seeing and doing stuff. Hanging out at the beach sipping drinks is not our style. That can be relaxing, but it usually only lasts for us for about 1/2 day of the whole trip and then it is time to get seeing stuff.

 

[N-Smooth]

Going on our first cruise next month- 7 day Caribbean. I’ve always avoided cruises because we have Hawaii trips dialed but I’m excited for the change of pace. I’ll report back

 

[Skylinerider]

Been on a few cruises. I like them, but get a little stir crazy if there are too many sea days. Love the ports though.
I don't mind lots of driving if that's what I'm after, but sometimes it's nice to fly into a place, stay at an all inclusive, and rent a vehicle and explore that way.

 

[mbryson]

I think we’ve been on 5 cruises? Three western Caribbean, an eastern Caribbean and a 4 day out of Long Beach. LEAST favorite was the 4 day. Not long enough time get used to the ship. Not my favorite locales either?

Good thing about cruises is that you get to hit a port for about 10-16 hours. Bad thing about cruise is that you’re only in a port for 10-16 hours. You do get to decide where you’d like go back to but we have yet to go back anywhere for a week or longer.

The most relaxing thing is you’ve already paid for base entertainment, lodging and solid food. By the time you vacation, you just take spending $. If cash flow is an issue, this is very relaxing. Then you just have spending $ and excursions to worry about. In some ways it’s really nice not to be concerned about where/how you’ll get somewhere. They’ll take good care of you no matter what happens.

We have three (maybe four) more cruises to try. We’d like to do a 2 week out of Long Beach to Hawaii. 3.5 days there and back, a couple days at Oahu, Hilo, Kona, Maui, Kuwai and then back home for 3.5 days. We’ve never been to Hawaii. I’ve heard Oahu isn’t all that and the other islands are better. This gives a quick flavor of a few islands.

Want to do an Alaskan, Southern Caribbean, and possibly an Italy/Greece tour.

 

[gahi]

Motorcycles Trips!

The trip your talking about sounds good though.

 

[TRD270]

We have three (maybe four) more cruises to try. We’d like to do a 2 week out of Long Beach to Hawaii. 3.5 days there and back, a couple days at Oahu, Hilo, Kona, Maui, Kuwai and then back home for 3.5 days. We’ve never been to Hawaii. I’ve heard Oahu isn’t all that and the other islands are better. This gives a quick flavor of a few islands.

I don't think the cruises stop in Kauai I think that actually Kauai prohibits it. Oahu is a cool place very scenic just waaaaaaay to many people for this guy. Kauai, is my favorite island. I haven't been to Maui. The big island is nice as well, Kona side is way better than Hilo side. Hawaii is my favorite place to visit, just not as affordable as mexico so I don't get to go as often

 

[mbryson]

Ah, they do not have (at least Carnival does not have) Kauai any longer. They added Ensenada.... probably to make it "international" or something? Ensenada is pretty meh from the cruise ship

 

[Caleb]

There are still several that do Kauai. Grand Princess 15 day cruise goes to each island (including Kauai) and Ensenada. We’ve kind of been looking at Hawaii cruises.

Kauai is also our favorite island, Maui is a close second.

 

[RockChucker]

Haven't done much traveling, but Iceland is on my short list. And the British Isles would be sweet as long as it is timed to see the madness unfold for the Isle of Mann TT.

 

[zmotorsports]

My wife and I are not the world travelers that some are, nor do we like to fly, I despise flying more precisely. We did go to Hawaii once about 20 years ago and I didn't care for it. The only way I like to vacation is by traveling in our coach. We generally go to places where we can find off road trails but not always and I don't care if they are technical trails or merely fire roads. I really don't even care where we go, as soon as I start the coach and the tires are rolling away from the curb, I am on vacation.

A few of our favorite places are Ouray, CO, Black Hills, SD, Yellowstone NP, Glacier NP, Capitol Reef NP, Bryce NP and Moab but I'll go anywhere and find something to like about it as long as we are in our coach with the Jeep hooked up and my wife is with me.

Mike

 

[BlueWolfFab]

I went on my first cruise about exactly one year ago. 7 day cruise, went to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. It was a good experience to do once, and I loved the Mexico cities each for their own reasons, however because of the cruise schedule we only got to spend about 7 hours on shore in Cabo San Lucas which sucked because it was my favorite of the 3 stops. I don't think I would ever care to do a cruise again but instead I would rather fly to the destination and spend all 7 days there.

11 years ago my family went to Hawaii for two weeks, was a great experience and had loads of fun, but the family had a lot of bickering and small fights and the drama was definitely unwelcomed.

In 2 months I'm headed to Jamaica for a week. Will just be staying at a 18+ resort and doing some snorkeling and light drinking and relaxing

I usually prefer destinations that are close enough to drive to in a single commute; Moab, New Mexico, Vegas etc... I actually prefer to do my driving at night, but that's just me.

My future destinations I want to see include Australia, Tahiti, Cabo again, and probably a general Europe tour (Italy, France, Germany, Spain?)

 

[Houndoc]

We have enjoyed mixing tours with time in less touristy settings. Seems to get a great blend of the local feel and getting more to know the people with the benefit of tours with knowledgeable guides and ability to see the great things different countries have to offer.

We have done this the last couple years in the Philippines, Morocco and on our more recent swing through southern Africa. Other places (Ireland, Spain) we have done totally on our own.

I am very glad we did the tours we did, but feel we would have really missed out if that is all we did as they tend to isolate you from the real world.. Time more or less away from large number of tourists is when you really get to know the people.