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I research ahead of time for interesting things to see and do then I plan one or two things to do each day and the rest of the day is free time. My husband and I like to usually spend the morning exploring, sight seeing, going to a museum, tour or public garden then relax in the afternoon with a bit of a nap and nice lunch then out for the evening to dinner and a concert or some other special program. We both are happier not having every single minute planned out - sometimes we like to just take a drive or a hike.
We are a mixture of the attraction and relaxation types. We used to go all out...and come home from vacation more tired than when we left!!! a few years ago, i told my husband that I wasn't getting up at 6 a.m. to get in line first at the amusement park. Everyone was much happier. we are starting to plan our trip to florida for june and want to have a mixture of attractions, shopping and shows and relaxing by the pool with a good book!
I usually have a itinerary filled with things to do and see. I'll relax when I get back home for it is nothing here to see
LOL....there's no such thing as relaxing back home. You'd just start finding things to do around the house.
Since having kids, I've begun really to appreciate a do-nothing vacation at the beach. Several years ago for our 10th anniversary, we went to Mexico to a beach resort. For five days, we sat on the beach, read books, and marveled at the waiter's ability to appear at our beach chair the moment our drinks were empty. We passed up the opportunity to go sailing and tour Mayan ruins, and don't regret it one bit. I remember one day in particular, we got up at 7 a.m., at breakfast at the buffet, didn't say one word to one another until 1 p.m., at lunch, went back to our chairs, and didn't stir until 6 p.m. that night. No, we weren't mad at each other. We were just decompressing from the rigors of running a business and having a 4, 2, and 1 year old.
However, with the kids, we try to have 2 vacations out of 3 be a more active one.
I loved the topic of this thread. I used to take family vacations when the kids were little and planned out every single moment. So much so that when I came home, I needed a vacation from my vacation! I've come a long way now that the kids are grown. I take a vacation and there is no cell phone, no television, nothing but the fresh air and a drink with an umbrella in it. LOL No more planning outings, excursions, etc,.. no more waking up early and running around like Im in a marathon and that's how I like to take a vacation these days - doing absolutely nothing other than unpacking and finding a spot to plant myself.
On occasion, I want absolutely nothing to do, and will carry a stack of books with me to a cabin in the mountains or a place on the beach. Meals might be a bowl of cereal in the morning, a peanut butter sandwich for lunch, and I may or may not cook come dinner time. If you can't fix yourself something to eat or drink, don't bother accompanying me, because once my behind hits the chair, it'll be there, save trips to the bathroom, or going to bed.
At the other end of the spectrum, I will travel somewhere and just about kill myself trying to see everything, eat new food items, and do things never before attempted. Disney World in FLA, with daughter in-tow, or accompanying my spouse to Washington, DC fall into those categories. I come home exhilarated, or exhausted, needing a vacation from vacation, though, just like some of you have expressed.
I suppose it has much to do with what I crave from a vacation, at the time, and where I choose to go.
I guess it depends on where your travel plans will be. If we are down at the shore for a week, most of it is spent on the beach, out for dinner, maybe a little golf or arcades for the kids, and then relaxing. On the other hand, Disney World this past November was non-stop from morning till night and we loved it!
We love to travel for six to eight weeks at a time. We go to different parts of the country where we have not visited before. We took a trip around the
great lakes a few years back and it was awesome. We enjoy wildlife, mountains, streams, lakes and seeing new things.
Dh says I enjoy planning the vacation more than I enjoy taking it. I research the area for free activities. Plan one or two spending days. I spend months reading books written about the area, both fact and fiction. The result of this is that we once rode 4 hours to see the sun rise at Key West, Florida because a romance book had mentioned how beautiful the sunrise was there and then ate breakfast, turned around and came home. Dh was allergic to something in Florida and was having life threatening choking spells at about 4 in the morning every night we had been in Florida. Although he has woken up with one of his "spells" he wanted me to be able to see the sun rise on Key West and we were on Key Largo when he woke up choking. His favorite phrase is "I haven't lost a thing in Florida."
We are resort vacationers but we like to sight see too. Sometimes we do the activities with the resort people and sometimes they don't see us except when we check in and out. It all depends on the particular vacation.
I love feeling more like a local than a tourist. I have been doing home exchanges for almost 20 years now and have just returned from 2 weeks in Prague. You get to meet the locals, eat at local restaurants, shop at local shops and still get the pleasure and interest of visiting sites. I hate organised travel and a cruise or resort would be my idea of hell on earth as a vacation.
I want to come back feeling I have a better grasp of a different culture, different mores and I love preparing for it by learning a modicum of the language too. I like feeling that I have put the country in context culturally and historically and vis a vis its neighbours for example.
I also love wildlife watching, and scenic drives. Being disabled means that active sports are sadly now out of the question but I still will manage to do a lot whilst on vacation. To me travel is about learning, experiencing new sensations and meeting different people.
As a "culture vulture" and an archaeologist I find myself trying to see as many sites as possible but love doing it all independently with a good guide book such as the "rough guides". Nothing would bore me more than lying on a beach or by a pool.
Travel to me is the last great form of escapism and the world is so big and so varied. If you don't pay attention you'll just miss it.
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All over the spectrum, sometimes
On the other hand, Disney World this past November was non-stop from morning till night and we loved it!
