The only relaxing vacation I can recall was when the kids were young and money was a lot tighter, the wife and I would drive up to Door County Wisconsin for a few nights during the off season. We would stay in a hotel where I could stare at a cold Lake Michigan and read all day long. It was dirt cheap and quiet with most places shut down for the winter. That is my idea of a vacation.

My wife enjoys going someplace where there is tons of things to do and see and she likes making a schedule to do all of it. That is not my idea of a vacation, that is not stress free, and that is not relaxing. I’d rather stare at a cold lake and read.

No. They are busy and stressful. Staying at home on a day off is far more relaxing. The best part of a vacation is seeing the kids enjoy themselves.

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No. They are busy and stressful. Staying at home on a day off is far more relaxing.

Yep, relaxing at home is my vacation.

Yes.
My wife and I like to go on cruise. We live in Central Florida and are about 1.5 hours away from Port Canaveral.
My reasoning, once you are on the ship and in your cabin you un pack and someone else gets you to where you are going.
I don't even drive to the port anymore. I have a friend who will bring my wife and I out and will pick us up.
The other thing, your restaurants,the bar and all the eminitys travel will you.
Over the last 21 years we have been on 17, seven day cruises and over time we have made friends on some of the islands.
For us we consider it a very relaxing vacation.

I’ve had fun on pretty much all of them, but few have been relaxing. We usually don’t have enough time, so we try to cram too much in.

When I worked, it took a full week to start to relax. Work and real-world worries become daily thoughts, really a habit. A 2 week or longer vacation is required to allow the new fun environment to become the central focus.

Of course it was rarely possible to get more than a week off at a time, so most vacations ended just as relaxation was starting to set in.

Now that I'm retired, vacations are relaxing from the start. The stress is the pressure from family and friends to travel more. I'd rather be home more than travel more.

Yes. Getting to explore Barcelona, Costa Brava, Rome, Capri and Florence was the highlight of my year so far.

Nope, all I think about just a pile of work waiting for me when I get back.

Couldn't say, never been on one as an adult. Closest thing was PCS transfers with en route visits to various family members.

Never been a huge fan of traveling and traveling on a schedule (and a tight budget) while living out of suitcases is about as far from "relaxing" as I can imagine.

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Originally posted by flesheatingvirus:
No. They are busy and stressful. Staying at home on a day off is far more relaxing. The best part of a vacation is seeing the kids enjoy themselves.

Same for me. I kind of loathe travel anymore, if I'm being honest.

For the most part yes. Only thing is the potential travel disruption worry, but I always have a 2 or 3 day buffer from when I get home till I have to go to work again. Also make sure when traveling that half the time is spent just doing nothing planned. For the last trip, we were busy in rome, but the second half of the trip in matera was just wandering around, eating, relaxing.

When I was working, I traveled incessantly. The job required 150-175 nights a year in hotels. That included the mandatory dashing through the airport to catch the next flight. Vacations to me were staying home in my pajamas. I retired in 2011. Have not been on a plane or in a hotel since. In fact, I haven't been more than 30 miles from the house since I retired and only then for doctors' visits.

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Yes. My wife and I like to go on cruise.

Same here, we go on small ship cruises. I like being on the water, even if a bit rough. However, I don't think I could relax on a ship with 2,000-6,000 of my newest best friends.

Previously? No. I'd still have my caseload looming over me, a bunch of plates spinning in the air that I was still thinking about, and often have some folks from work hitting me up with questions.

But that was one of the best parts about changing agencies and positions - being able to leave work at work and not really have to think about it until I got back. Made my days off and vacations actually restful.

We are retired, so already relaxed. Cruises, trips to the beach, weekend getaways are fun.

When working we were stressed and relaxation was a goal (usually achieved).

Yes, and no.

We went to Rome this month, 5 of us. Me, my wife, and 3 kids [14, 11 & 5]

I don't regret going at all, but it was definitely tough with 3 kids in tow, especially with the travel delays we had.
Odds are, we won't do another trip of that scale again, with all of us, until they're all older.

The 5 yr old was a trooper though, some complaining, but we were walking 5-10 miles/day, and waited in some decent lines a few times.

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Originally posted by pace40:
When I was working, I traveled incessantly. The job required 150-175 nights a year in hotels. That included the mandatory dashing through the airport to catch the next flight. Vacations to me were staying home in my pajamas. I retired in 2011. Have not been on a plane or in a hotel since. In fact, I haven't been more than 30 miles from the house since I retired and only then for doctors' visits.

That was my Dad when I was growing up. He was gone on long trips, sometimes up to 6 months to places like Europe, Japan and the Philippines.
We bought a little cabin on Merrymeeting Lake in NH and his idea of vacationing was to sit in a lawn chair on the beach with a cold one watching us kids play in the water. No traveling for him (or us).

I guess that’s why now that I’m retired I enjoy traveling…just catching up.

Yes. I’m permanently on vacation here in San Diego. Very relaxing.

For me the best vacations are the ones where nothing was planned. We’ve been to several all inclusive resorts and these have been the best vacations.

For Mrs. A. and myself, the vacation is a week at a beach town. I find it very relaxing, probably not in small part because she does all the prepping and packing, etc. We don't even sun and swim all that much, mostly it is being able to enjoy casual eating out and entertainment, and just being together as a family without home and work obligations to worry about. I have no problem putting these on the back burner while I am away from home, her a little less so (I'm retired, her not).

We pick a week when the kids are in school, and the beach town is moving from high season to off season, usually in early-mid September. This reduces lines and crowds significantly, and the whole town seems to relax a bit. I am less fond of the frenetic atmosphere in high season, but this allows a more relaxed life style and the weather is usually still good.