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If I have to fly more than an hour or drive more than 4 to get to my destination, then, yes, I consider visiting the family a vacation!
I agree with you. When we visit family or when we did years ago family would have special meals for us, kids would get a chance to see cousins or grandparents and we always had a good time. No, of course it isn't like a cruise or a trip to a resort, but it is still vacation to us.
A vacation means you visit a difference place where a difference language is spoken and a different culture is observed.
I am visiting my family in 4 days (14 hours flight), and I consider it an obligation, not a vacation.
I live on the southwest coast of Florida, and my family lives in New England. It's a vacation when we go up to visit. We usually combine it with spending a few days in another city. This year it will be Boston. Last year we spent 5 days in New England and then another 5 days in Washington DC. One year we spent most of the time with family, but then went to Maine for three days to visit friends.
I have other family (my brother and some other family members) living overseas, so visiting them is definitely a vacation!
My definition of vacation: sitting by the pool/on the beach with a frosty drink, a good book, and delicious food. No phone calls, no emails, and most importantly, no schedule. Pure relaxation.
My definition of a trip: sight seeing, various outings and activities, BBQs, socializing (being on a schedule).
AFAIC, visiting family would be a trip, not a vacation.
Not at the current time. Everyone lives within an hour, so visiting happens usually at holidays for dinner.
Family visits are more obligations, although when I've visited my kids at their universities, I'd turn that into a vacation, simply because in addition to visiting them, I'd also incorporate doing other activities or seeing sights that were in their areas.
A vacation means you visit a difference place where a difference language is spoken and a different culture is observed.
I am visiting my family in 4 days (14 hours flight), and I consider it an obligation, not a vacation.
Thanks for clarifying the official definition of a vacation for the rest of us to live by I personally have no desire whatsoever to visit a different culture with different languages, so I guess I'll never experience a true "vacation" in my life
I have grandparents who live in FL, and my wife and I try to get down there every year and have been doing so since 2008, with the exception of 2010 when our son was born. They own a nice home with a pool, and are only 10-15 minutes from the beach. We go in the summer when it's nice and hot, being from upstate NY we don't typically get that kind of tropical weather so it's a change for us. We pay essentially nothing to stay there and it only costs us airfare plus maybe a shopping trip to buy whatever we want to eat during our stay, outside of their normal food stock. We go down for about a week and for us it's all about relaxation and away from the stresses of every day life back home, spending time with family we only see once a year, and enjoying the pool and weather. And also letting our son visit with his great grandparents. In fact we're going in 2.5 weeks for a week, and we're both looking forward to our VACATION and can't wait to get down there. By no means is it ever an obligation, as I am not forced to go down there.
To me, if you're going somewhere away from home for 4+ days and you're enjoying yourself and not working or dealing with whatever every day life throws at you, then it's a vacation regardless of what the exact details are of your trip
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I personally have no desire whatsoever to visit a different culture with different languages, so I guess I'll never experience a true "vacation" in my life 
