If I am by myself, I do like museums. And bookstores and tours.
With the rest of the family? Exploring a new place none of us has ever been, especially if there is hiking and nature involved. I do like there to be someone to explain stuff to us in some off these spots.
I would love to take a luxury bike tour, too. Ride hard all day, then shower and eat good food at night!
I like a mix of things. A place that combines history, scenery and outdoor activities.
I’d never do a vacation just to eat and drink, although I like going to wineries to learn about wine.
I don’t like mobs of people so the less crowded the place is the better. So no cruises where a thousand people disembark to push through a town full of shops. I also rarely shop on vacation.
I’ll do the beach if there is snorkeling.
Nightlife, no. I like to be pleasantly tired from my outdoor activities so that a quiet evening and bed are the plan.
My last real trip was last summer. I hiked the Camino de Santiago in Spain from one quaint town to the next (history and scenery) accomplished by walking (outdoor activity) followed by drinking wine with friends (perfect).
My biggest regret about myself is I don’t enjoy outdoor things. Hiking, snorkeling, all the things @Mommertons loves. My DH loves all that stuff and I just don’t. I don’t know why. It makes me feel bad he doesn’t have a wife who enjoys those things with him. He mentioned once he wishes there was some physical activity we could enjoy together.
My idea of a great vacation is throw all of my photography gear (camera, lenses, monopod, tripod, filters, etc.) in the back of my Cross Country and head out to Yellowstone in search for bears (first sighting of bears coming out of hibernation today), foxes, bison…
We live in a place that has almost everything I want in a vacation. Maine has the rest, so we escape to our friend’s cottage on an island in Maine whenever we can. I don’t care if I never leave home or go anywhere besides Maine.
Most men can come up with at least one thing that would fill that bill.
What a great topic. I have always loved vacations and traveling. My first choice would be a city that has a mix of museums, interesting architecture and vibrant feel. Like @abasket I like to sample local food but I like casual places. I like places where I can walk to sights and dining. I also enjoy looking in shops. I also like exploring European countries.I have Portugal, Italy and Ireland on my list.
I enjoy camping but I also love hotels. I like nice hotels but don’t need five stars. I’m happy parking my own car and bringing my bag to my room.
I like beach vacations and trips that are mainly for relaxing but I can only handle so much sun. My ideal trip is a mixture. I have always been an independent traveler but the last few trips we have also taken some guided tours. I’ve now changed my opinion on tours to that you can learn a lot from a tour guide. I don’t see myself on a guided bus tour over multiple days but who knows.
I’ve also learned to keep an open mind. I didn’t think I wanted to go to Africa for a safari but it ended up being a trip,of a lifetime. I also didn’t think I’d like a cruise but we did a river cruise with extended family and in that situation it worked out great. I’m still not sure I’d ever go on a large cruise ship.
My H and I don’t agree on our ideal vacations so we alternate. One year I plan the trip, the next year I also plan the trip but I plan something that he wants to do. His ideal trip is charter bareboat sailing all over the world. It’s not my first choice but I enjoy aspects of it. It does mean I have to cook and clean but we get to see beautiful places and beautiful water.
I can think of one trip which I strongly dislike and that is Vegas. I’m not a casino person. I also would not want to go on a extended bike or hike trip.
Thanks for playing along! I was gone all day and just caught up on all the posts - so interesting to see the variety!
A couple additional thoughts with my ideal vacation:
In a big city I don’t mind seeing significant sights, but I don’t need to dwell on it - “look! Notre Dame!” (in Paris) Ok, great I saw it but lets move on now! (the exception was the Eiffel Tower - we spend a LITTLE more time there but again not too long.
Also a favorite spot to check out in a big city - LIBRARIES. I do love to see the inside look of a new-to-me library. There are some beautiful ones! But I don’t want a tour or have to listen to someone telling me about the spot!
I agree about Maine! We recently had some friends from Massachusetts come up. They thought it was funny that we go up to our cabin when we already live in a place where a lot of people come for vacation.
Cabin on a mountain lake is all I need.
We do surf and turf kind of vacations.
We would do a completely mindless beach resort vacation where I would have breakfast, sit by the pool, have lunch, sit by the pool or do some mindless resort activity, take a nap, cocktail hour, dinner, and back to the room for early night. We have been known never to leave the resort for a week. The resort would generally need to be really nice and I would usually get the nice rooms possible.
When doing a city sightseeing trip, we would usually do one activity in the morning (museum, tour, shopping), long lunch, nap, a walk around the city, cocktail/dinner, back to the room.
In general, I do not like to rush around when I am on vacation. I would make few dinner reservations ahead or some must see places. My favorite thing to do is just sit by a cafe and watch people go by.
For me, a perfect vacation depends on the occasion, the budget, the length of time I can take off of work. Probably sounds corny, but every vacation I’ve taken has been perfect for me. A milestone anniversary was spent at an all inclusive and we loved it (relaxing and romantic). Another vacation was in NYC which was packed with sights, food, shows (fun!) Camping in Joshua Tree was refreshing and adventurous (we went bouldering). My most recent trip was first time to two different countries so it was a lot of sightseeing which I loved. Should I visit those same countries again I’d do it at a slower pace and eat more, haha!
I like active vacations, and I like nature. We once took a hike, bike and helicopter trip in the Canadian Rockies. It was pretty amazing. I like the beach fine, but I want clear water and nice sand to walk on for miles (and if I can see whales breaching while doing so, that’s about as good as it gets). We like visiting national parks at off peak times. We like time to do activities, but also time to relax. I used to be a more aggressive tourist and feel like I had to get as much in as possible. Now we give ourselves some down time.
I’ll add I love seeing flowers on my vacation. I love wildflowers and fall leaves. One of my favorite trips as Amsterdam during tulip season.
We are going to Amsterdam in June. I guess we’ll be missing it.
Life is interesting - I never thought I’d be vacationing in Beirut! It will be worth it to see our son, though. I will have to post a report about the American University of Beirut - it looks beautiful, right on the ocean.
@oldfort - come to Seattle in April. You will see giant fields of tulips!!!
As a child, we did enough camping every year to last me a lifetime. While I enjoyed those vacations, I do find I want a clean bed and hot shower, and since the hotels we stay at almost always have breakfast - I don’t want to do dishes while I am on vacation.
But, we have rented houses that have had daily maid service - and DH loves to grill more than eating out.
Renting a house with its own pool / hot tub, where we can enjoy it after a day of sightseeing or light walking/beachcombing/hiking, or Disney Parks, is terrific. I am happy when we can pack light, and when there are no other guests right above us,
I like the outdoors, but want an option for something different if it rains, and I want to be able to choose something different each day. I like to read, so I like a free library swap
I like to find a different spot every year, but there are several we have enjoyed a few times
We thoroughly enjoyed Scotland for the Fringe in Edinborough - since we could combine it with drives of the rest of the beautiful country. We may go back soon.
Nature in pretty much all its forms. We love Big Water (Oceans, Great Lakes, etc) and beach walking, scuba/snorkeling, or kayaking (NOT beach lounging). National/State Parks of all types, complete with hiking and camping.
Those are our “go tos,” however, with our youngest son doing a Study Abroad in Jordan this past fall and our trip to visit him there seeing Petra, Jerash, the Citadel, Ajloun, and various other historic sites - very historic compared to anything in the US/Canada - we’ve found we enjoy that too.
We try to avoid cities except to perhaps see a museum, aquarium, or site. Our version of nightlife is fireflies, stars, and chirping insects - or perhaps a night scuba dive. Even when in a city, we avoid typical nightlife.
Occasionally we do theme parks, esp when the kids were with us.
We always pick somewhere to eat that we can’t eat at while home. Often these places are smaller and at a few we’ve been the first tourists they’ve had (according to the locals there). It helps that we try to drive back roads rather than interstates when we can meander. We’re in firm agreement with Charles Kuralt when he said:
“Thanks to the Interstate Highway System, it is now possible to travel across the country from coast to coast without seeing anything.”
We like seeing things and filling in our mental map. I like my avatar… it fits our family well.
My ideal vacation is anything that avoids this: https://www.theonion.com/mom-spends-beach-vacation-assuming-all-household-duties-1819575406
I’ve had way too many vacations like that in my life. Currently fighting the “rent a cabin in the woods” plan for this summer because I know it will involve grocery store trips, cooking and dishes. I know this because we’ve been down that “vacation” road before and I really, really, really don’t want to go back.
I like family vacations where my kids plan the activities. They enjoy historical and cultural sites but do not care for planned tourist tours. We take public transportation (sometimes we have been the only Americans) and do our own tours. They also include some sort of fitness activity ( hiking,kayaking). Oh, but we do love food and wine tours. We will do those