- Do I just want to relax and take it easy?
- Am I interested in seeing new sights?
- Do I want any adventure?
- Would I prefer cool, warm or hot weather?
- Would I like to unpack once and then relax or am I okay with moving to a new hotel once, twice or every night during my vacation?
- Do I need a kid friendly place?
- Do I want to wing it or have everything planned out?
Once you know the answers to most of these questions you are ready to start thinking about locations. I'll spend the next few weeks going over possibilities that might suit your needs depending on your answers to these questions. But first I think it is important to establish the difference between a "vacation" and a "trip". My travel buddy realized the distinction between the two several years ago after we had taken our first two "trips" together and pointed it out to me and I have thought a lot about it since.
You see, a vacation implies relaxation. During our first journey together we went to Europe and on a Mediterranean cruise. Now, you might think that since a cruise was involved, a lot of relaxation took place. But in this instance you would be incorrect. Our travels began with flying into Barcelona. We spent the first 4 days in Spain with two days on the Hop On Hop Off bus, or HOHO, continually hopping on and then hopping off at various sights. We would begin our days at 6 or 7 a.m. and finally make it back to our hotel room for the evening around 10 p.m. During the days we walked countless miles, traversing hills and such all in search of the next amazing sight.
On our final full day, we felt like we had seen quite a lot of Barcelona so we ventured outside of the city. But we didn't feel that just visiting one place was enough. So, we found a tour that took us to Montsserat, Sitges and the Torres Winery. We slept during the bus ride back to the city. Anytime that I sleep during a bus ride in a foreign country, I must be exhausted.
Once on the cruise, we had 5 stops in 7 days. This trip took place in November over Thanksgiving so, for the most part the temperatures were in the 50's and 60's so there was no relaxation time spent on the deck in lounge chairs. For this cruise, the ship was merely a form of transportation, albeit a lovely form of transportation. Most of our excursions required that we leave the ship at about 8 a.m. We were usually back just after dark and had to immediately begin dressing for dinner. We had one of the best dinner tables on this ship that I have ever been part of, so dinners would last until 10:30 or 11 p.m. when we would all go to the show together and then decided if we wanted to do anything after the show. What I am saying is that there were no early nights either.
When the ship returned us to Barcelona, we had one more day to cram in any sights that we felt we had missed during our first 4 days and believe it or not, there were places we still needed to visit. We wound up spending another exhausting day with HOHO passes hitting the last area of the city that we hadn't seen before leaving to come home. When we got home, and talked a few days later after recovering from our trip we found that we had each lost weight during this voyage. That is a sure sign that you have been on a "trip" and not a "vacation".
Once we knew that we traveled well together, we planned a trip to Seattle for the following spring. It turned out to be a "trip" as well. In less than a week we managed to see all the sights of Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Victoria B.C. and we went whale watching in the San Juan Islands. It was again, exhausting but wonderful.
Following that trip, Jenny pointed out that we seemed to be doing a lot of "trips" and not many "vacations" so we planned a Caribbean cruise. While planning our excursions for the first Caribbean cruise we would take together, we were somewhat successful in remembering the desire to relax except in Roatan, Honduras where we did what was called an Eco-Hike. I've written about the Eco-Hike to Hell before in my other blog, so I'll just post a link to that post in case you haven't read it previously and would like to. http://reallydontknow-gah.blogspot.com/2012/07/day-one-oh-four-getting-ready.html Suffice to say, that particular day of the Caribbean cruise was not so relaxing. On that day we were on a "trip". But re-boarding the ship it quickly turned back into a "vacation".
Tomorrow, we'll go over a few true "vacation" options for this spring and summer. Until then, have a great Wednesday!
You see, a vacation implies relaxation. During our first journey together we went to Europe and on a Mediterranean cruise. Now, you might think that since a cruise was involved, a lot of relaxation took place. But in this instance you would be incorrect. Our travels began with flying into Barcelona. We spent the first 4 days in Spain with two days on the Hop On Hop Off bus, or HOHO, continually hopping on and then hopping off at various sights. We would begin our days at 6 or 7 a.m. and finally make it back to our hotel room for the evening around 10 p.m. During the days we walked countless miles, traversing hills and such all in search of the next amazing sight.
On our final full day, we felt like we had seen quite a lot of Barcelona so we ventured outside of the city. But we didn't feel that just visiting one place was enough. So, we found a tour that took us to Montsserat, Sitges and the Torres Winery. We slept during the bus ride back to the city. Anytime that I sleep during a bus ride in a foreign country, I must be exhausted.
Once on the cruise, we had 5 stops in 7 days. This trip took place in November over Thanksgiving so, for the most part the temperatures were in the 50's and 60's so there was no relaxation time spent on the deck in lounge chairs. For this cruise, the ship was merely a form of transportation, albeit a lovely form of transportation. Most of our excursions required that we leave the ship at about 8 a.m. We were usually back just after dark and had to immediately begin dressing for dinner. We had one of the best dinner tables on this ship that I have ever been part of, so dinners would last until 10:30 or 11 p.m. when we would all go to the show together and then decided if we wanted to do anything after the show. What I am saying is that there were no early nights either.
When the ship returned us to Barcelona, we had one more day to cram in any sights that we felt we had missed during our first 4 days and believe it or not, there were places we still needed to visit. We wound up spending another exhausting day with HOHO passes hitting the last area of the city that we hadn't seen before leaving to come home. When we got home, and talked a few days later after recovering from our trip we found that we had each lost weight during this voyage. That is a sure sign that you have been on a "trip" and not a "vacation".
Once we knew that we traveled well together, we planned a trip to Seattle for the following spring. It turned out to be a "trip" as well. In less than a week we managed to see all the sights of Seattle, Bainbridge Island, Victoria B.C. and we went whale watching in the San Juan Islands. It was again, exhausting but wonderful.
Following that trip, Jenny pointed out that we seemed to be doing a lot of "trips" and not many "vacations" so we planned a Caribbean cruise. While planning our excursions for the first Caribbean cruise we would take together, we were somewhat successful in remembering the desire to relax except in Roatan, Honduras where we did what was called an Eco-Hike. I've written about the Eco-Hike to Hell before in my other blog, so I'll just post a link to that post in case you haven't read it previously and would like to. http://reallydontknow-gah.blogspot.com/2012/07/day-one-oh-four-getting-ready.html Suffice to say, that particular day of the Caribbean cruise was not so relaxing. On that day we were on a "trip". But re-boarding the ship it quickly turned back into a "vacation".
Tomorrow, we'll go over a few true "vacation" options for this spring and summer. Until then, have a great Wednesday!
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