[rj700]

This is not a bone of contention in our marriage, but it definitely shows how different we are. I am a planner. I spend a few weeks researching different destinations, reading reviews, comparing prices and travel times. I look for activities/day trips that would be fun & interesting for all of us. Make sure the kids will be entertained. There a plenty of times where we already know where we want to go, so that makes it easier.

My DW, just points the car in a general direction, has a destination in mind and will just go. No reservations - "we'll find a place when we get there". Needless to say, I do most of the vacations. To be honest, we have always had a good time either way.

So how do you do vacations?

 

[Dollystanford]

I spend hours looking at customer reviews, they tell you what the hotel website doesn't...
My biggest concern is transfers, other than I'm pretty free and easy
I'm going on holiday to relax, eat some food, see some sights, have some experiences NOT to be beholden to an itinerary worthy of a military operation
Posted via Mobile Device

 

[rj700]

I don't plan it out at that level. I have a list of activities we could do, but none are requirements, so there is no itinerary to follow. Just the destination, travel arrangement, hotel and what activities are available.

My family (mother & older sister anyway) would plan their vacations and family get togethers around meals. Where we were going for lunch, dinner, sometimes breakfast. I always found that funny.

 

[Thewife]

Before we had kids, we'll just decide today and pack up tomorrow but with kids I do all the things you have mentioned and a little more than that and leave room for changes.

H will never finalize on his own when we travel with kids as he knows he will fail to look into the details but when we go on our own, we like to take things as it comes.

 

[Mistys dad]

I used to be a Quartemaster (navigation) in the Navy.

My job was to plan weeks and months in advance for ship's movement. So much so that it became ingrained into me.

Now, when I ride, I just roll and stop worrying about it. I go a direction, rather that a route. No Gps, just a mapbook to check my overall plan.

I have found the most incredible things when I had no idea where I was.

 

[southern wife]

I do most of our vacation planning, but Hubs likes to participate as well. We usually vacation at the beach, rent a beach house and just become beach bums for the week.

We both take part in finding the best beach house on the beach that fits our needs and our budget. We usually have the week picked out, that my daughter is tracked out from school. It the same week every year, when the rates drop from the high summer rates. Once our house is picked out and booked, it's wait time.

When it comes time for our trip, I print my "Beach List" and a packing we go!

 

[In_The_Wind]

very little my wife makes some plans like where we are staying and maybe a couple of i would like to do this or see that the rest of time is just relaxing and taking it easy this next summer we are having a family reunion at the beach Galveston Island and we have already found a house and everyone is pitching in to rent the house for a week its like 150.00 per family which is really cool almost what you pay for a family at one night in any of the big towns so each night one family will prepare the meals for example i will grill for everybody as that is my speciality, Uncle Alan will make his world famous waffles etc etc

 

[southern wife]

very little my wife makes some plans like where we are staying and maybe a couple of i would like to do this or see that the rest of time is just relaxing and taking it easy this next summer we are having a family reunion at the beach Galveston Island and we have already found a house and everyone is pitching in to rent the house for a week its like 150.00 per family which is really cool almost what you pay for a family at one night in any of the big towns so each night one family will prepare the meals for example i will grill for everybody as that is my speciality, Uncle Alan will make his world famous waffles etc etc

I love those types of family reunions! Sounds like fun! But I think you should make everyone your fish tacos!

 

[Hope1964]

This is not a bone of contention in our marriage, but it definitely shows how different we are. I am a planner. I spend a few weeks researching different destinations, reading reviews, comparing prices and travel times. I look for activities/day trips that would be fun & interesting for all of us. Make sure the kids will be entertained. There a plenty of times where we already know where we want to go, so that makes it easier.

My DW, just points the car in a general direction, has a destination in mind and will just go. No reservations - "we'll find a place when we get there". Needless to say, I do most of the vacations. To be honest, we have always had a good time either way.

So how do you do vacations?

You are exactly like my husband and I am exactly like your wife

 

[rj700]

You are exactly like my husband and I am exactly like your wife

Thanks. Suddenly I don't feel so "different".

 

[wiigirl]

Very little....except with the kids. Then I over plan.

Posted via Mobile Device

 

[fortheloveofit2]

I do most of our vacation planning, but Hubs likes to participate as well. We usually vacation at the beach, rent a beach house and just become beach bums for the week.

We both take part in finding the best beach house on the beach that fits our needs and our budget. We usually have the week picked out, that my daughter is tracked out from school. It the same week every year, when the rates drop from the high summer rates. Once our house is picked out and booked, it's wait time.

When it comes time for our trip, I print my "Beach List" and a packing we go!

Whats a good website to rent a beach house?

 

[SimplyAmorous]

So how do you do vacations?

If I waited for my husband to plan a Vacation

... we'd never take one. Love the man, but a vacation planner he is not... but maybe that is my fault... I've always taken those reigns...

I am like Dollystanford --I spend oodles of time reading reviews, I google "Family Vacation" ideas & couple/Romantic Getaway links .....

I use Travel forums to see how these places rate with visiters....( TripAdvisor- my favorite).... I've left reviews myself ~asked posters questions.

I will call places & ask about the smallest details, visit their websites, print coupons, ask about other activities in that area so I can plan more to do while we are there...always the detailed information gatherer -with my notes handy. I generally have our days planned out. This can be changed but I know the hours/ costs of every family member before we leave the house.

I have "vacation packing lists" documents on my computer.

I MAP QUEST every destination in addition to using the GPS - .....We've had our GPS tell us to turn off a bridge before & not work at all out in the country.

With as large of a family as we have....I need to be prepared ... Too many surprises along the way can upset the apple cart & cause us some distress....whiny bored hungry kids...not a joy!!

Our last BIG vacation was Disney -last year .... 7 of us....7 days, 4 monster parks, the Beach, Gatorland & Ripleys.... WE don't stay on Property (too costly).... ...it flowed so very smoothly ...even driving 18 hrs straight to get there....we also stayed near to closing each night to get our $$'s worth (over $300 a day)...

At Magic Kingdom standing in line...we heard Sea World was offering BOGO tickets if you paid online & printed them out...so off to Walmart we ran late that night... bought a $30 printer ....this saved us HUNDREDS (getting 3 kids in free)- we added a park at the last minute.

I use AAA too... we had Universal tickets bought & paid before we left, this was the cheapest way to go....I had the directions to the nearest grocery store, we cooked in our cottage to save $$ & brought food into the parks. This all kept the kids happy.

 

[Bellavista]

I plan our longer holidays with precision. The last one was a 2 week, 5000km road trip across outback Australia. I had to plan fuel stops so that I would not leave us stranded in the outback without enough fuel to get to the next servo. To do this, I had to compute the distance between each town & the average L/100km for the car.
I researched & booked all of the accomodation before we left & printed off flyers for places we could go while in each town.
I did a spreadsheet for costs, fuel, food, accom, entertainement & spending money.
I put all of the information in a ring binder in plastic sleeves, with dividers for each town we were staying in as well as an overview sheet on the front.
We had 3 of the kids with us & we had a ball. We could relax & enjoy ourselves because we knew everything was taken care of. We did not have to worry about overspending on something, because we knew how much money we needed for each leg of the journey and I thoroughly enjoyed the planning & research project.

 

[rj700]

My DW says that the research & planning takes out all the adventure & surprise. But then we'll do one of those all-inclusives and she says she loves not having to worry about anything (e.g. where to eat, how to keep the kids entertained). Just one of the many contradictions that keep me guessing.

 

[southern wife]

Whats a good website to rent a beach house?

VRBO® is Vacation Rentals By Owner

 

[sunshinetoday]

My secret is we use a great travel agent. I call her, tell her what Im thinking, what I want to spend....and she calls me back w.ideas and advice.

 

[EnjoliWoman]

My boyfriend and I are BOTH planners. I don't always have to have a hotel booked but I do plan everything pretty well depending on the location. Camping = spreadsheet of equipment and meal requirements. Hotel = planning wardrobe, will we have a mini kitchen for breakfast and only dinner out, etc. Last vacation w/ daughter I used a friend's beach house but planned every day and necessary attire and recreation.

That being said I don't freak out if someone takes a detour that looks fun or the days are rearranged or even if something is skipped because of being tired or sunburned, etc. I plan but am flexible.

 

[Jellybeans]

I am a master vacation planner.

In fact, every year, I am deemed the Vacation Coordinator that puts together our annual family vacations.

My family is one loud, crazy, funky bunch so we always have a good time!

It's fun!!!!!



********************** | ***************************************** | ***************************************

 

[Jellybeans]

Fothelove: try Craigslist too. Just double-check the postings are legit.



********************** | ***************************************** | ***************************************