Nice to go....better to get back.

I’d rather not go. Every meal costs money. Hotel costs rental car costs.

When I DO go, I want to go to a beach place, drink till 2am sleep till noon. Sit on beach till dinner time, shower, rinse repeat.

Wife vacation is more organized than a military invasion with strict time schedules. Like we need to be dressed and in the lobby at 7am to catch a shuttle bus. To go see some tourist attraction. That is not fun to me.

I’d rather stay home and send the family away. I can sleep and do nothing and not be harangued

Not generally, no. The two that actually did, were both to Alaska. I've never been real fond of traveling, and with no wife/kids I don't have to. My favorite ones are usually finding a quiet clearing next to a small river and just camping there for a few days.

We go to Ocean City MD every year. I love it from day one up to the end. We were there in June and the day after we get home I’m already looking forward to next year. If it wasn’t the Republic of MD, I could live there all year.

I'm retired and sitting around not doing anything is actually a little stressful, I like doing things, especially when it is fun like on vacations. Love vacations- no meals to cook, no grocery shopping, fun new and old things to do and see, etc. Yes, there are logistics involved to make things go smoother, but I also love the planning process too. So yes, vacations are relaxing for me and my wife.

I still have kids in the house, so I don't take vacations, I take trips. There's a difference. Kinda looking forward to the wife and I getting to take a vacation at some points.

If you take road trips for your vacations - some of my most memorable ones have been this - end them a day early. This is to give you time to get your act together in preparation for going back to work. Don't get in late the night before you have to go to work.

Some vacations are busy and are enjoyable but not relaxing. Sightseeing, hikes, schedules and such.

Other vacations are relaxing. No schedules, just do minor things (visit a museum or other easy stuff on a whim if one feels like it). But mainly just eat, take strolls, relax on the beach / poolside.

The former is usually 1-2 weeks in duration. The latter is usually a few days up to 1 week. I found I can't take the latter much more than several days - I need to start doing things.

Both types are necessary and vital. For me, taking a trip to someplace like Yellowstone / Teton or Zion/Bryce is the former. A trip to Pismo or AK (to see the Aurora) is more of the latter.

Generally I think the tourism industry has settled on, if your job/career is a blue collar job, you're on your feet daily, either running around in a warehouse or, you're outside most of the time you're probably are more attracted to a vacation where you do NOTHING. Sitting around, enjoying the surroundings, perhaps next to a lake, maybe sticking your toes in the sand with an adult beverage with the waves crashing nearby, anything remotely structured around a schedule or constantly moving about you have zero interest in. A very unstructured getaway is very attractive, sailing on a cruise is about as adventurous as you'll get since somebody else is doing the driving, and you only have to pack/unpack once.

If you work a white-collar job, a career where you're not outside on your feet all the time, your work involves analytics or staring at a screen, you're likely to enjoy a vacation where there's some exploring and moving about. Discovering new places, creating itineraries and doing a lot of planning, visiting museums, experiencing new environments likely appeals to you and you have zero issue following an itinerary.

Obviously these are generalities but, I'm a big believer in going on vacation is good for the soul. Even if it's a handful of long weekend getaways per year or a 2-3 week international trip, take some time off and do something that's not in your routine.

Not relaxing at all. It's just busy, tired and stress in another part of the world.

Not 100% relaxed. I only get relaxed when we get to the destination and started seeing new places, eating new food we haven't tried before.

Planning stage and the travel going to/coming from stress me out. But it/s part of the vacation experience.

I have been able to relax on vacation, but for me it is much easier to relax at home.

At home I have what I need and know where to go should I run out of an essential item.

We were a couple hours away when my glucose sensor failed, and I had to jump through hoops to be able to get a replacement sensor, but I couldn't get just one sensor I had to get the three pack, and I had to have the prescription transferred to a pharmacy where I was as I can't just buy the sensors out of pocket due to no pharmacies selling them that way (even if Amazon and other places do; even if they are expensive).

The young people that I know that plan 6 or 8 day
visits to far off locations to
see stuff, experience stuff, buy stuff, eat stuff almost always
require two days of r&r upon their return.

Pretty close to exhausted.

Work hard ,play hard is the motto.

absolutely. some are better than others, of course, but I do a good job of leaving everything behind.

quote:

Originally posted by ador:
Planning stage and the travel going to/coming from stress me out. But it/s part of the vacation experience.

I enjoy the planning part.
The transit doesn't necessarily stress me out other than if the surrounding people are idiots.
First time I traveled using points (long ago) I ended up on my own 24hr Odyssey SFO > Seattle > MSP > JFK > Milan, then a 2.5 train ride to my first overnight. The 6-hr layover at JFK was made easier by purchasing a day-pass at the Delta lounge, first time I'd ever been in an airport lounge.

My most relaxing "vacation" was when I got covid. Wife was out of town visiting her family with the dogs when I got it, so she just stayed an extra week. Got three days off of work and the weekend was right behind that. I felt bad for about 24 hours then I was mostly fine. I had the house to myself and didn't have to do ANYTHING for five whole days. It was amazing. I don't think I even spoke other then to check in with the wife occasionally. I've been chasing that high since.

Usually relaxed right about the time it's time to return home and return to the chaos.

Retired and on vacation for six weeks in a rental house. Ideal. Helping the kids with their new daughter.

Yes but I have to do 2 weeks off. 1 week only I’d rather just stay home and do a staycation. Travel kills a full day each way so it’s too much effort for 5 days off. Two weeks off I can unplug and rest. And that means NOT traveling with others. They tend to run themselves ragged, pre-plan shit 6 months or longer in advance. They cannot relax and just be. They have to be constantly doing shit and remind me of a child. They are up at the crack and when they go to sleep they are near dead. Not how I want to spend my time off. Learned that the hard way many years ago. They’ll ruin your vacation if you let them.

Not expensive for me either. When I do it, my all-in cost is $100 a day. And 1/4 of that is kenneling my k9. Same as at home, I go buy groceries for my vacation and make my own meals. I do not waste my money or time at restaurants. I enjoy it because I avoid tourist anything like the bubonic plague. I sleep in. I do not get in a hurry for anything. And half my time on vacation I do nothing but relax, chill out. Get in the water. I lock the dumb phone in the safe and spend very little time on the internet. I go hangout with my friends who are like family on vacation when I want, and the rest of the time I do what I want. And most of that is relaxing and unplugging from life.

Now that the kids are grown, the wife and I have had some good ones. The best several were at The Dells in Wisconsin. We'd go right at the end of the tourist season. Some of the attractions were closed or closing, but most were still operational. The food is good (not great) there's a lot to do if you want, or you can just relax. There is a company that runs restored WWII amphibious vehicles (Ducks.) There a lot of fun, of course, if the capsize you're pretty much dead. There's also a HUGE eclectic museum called The House on the Rock, built by an insane genius, that's fun.