What matters to you on vacation?

Right now seeing some place new, being active, experiencing some culture and/or amazing really good food. An all inclusive where I just sit on a beach with mediocre food in a huge resort with 5 pools just doesn't appeal to me anymore.

This is why I love cruises--you each can make it the vacation of your choice.  I like to relax, read, sit outside, and nap.  Other family members prefer to do more, so there are lots of options.  Don't worry about what other people advise, you are more of an expert on what your family will enjoy than anyone else.

Our vacations are often to visit our faraway family, so on our "big" vacation to Europe, each kid gets a choice of what they want to do. Here at home, I try to be accommodating, like you, but it's harder. I usually give choices in my fiscal range and let them pick.

At the end of this year, we're going on a big trip and it's my choice (my first one) and I told my kids that I'd pay for them (three teens) if they went with their whole heart.

I'm a ride the teacup person, meaning, scratch a bucket list item off. Our trips are usually dictated by work (we go wherever the tool shows go), so picking our honeymoon spot was hard! I was in your predicament, this was a big trip for us. We wanted relaxing, I wanted food and lots of it so we went to Jamaica and stayed in an all inclusive. My bucket list item was getting a stamp in my passport.

So wherever we are, I try to find something that fits a bucket list type of item. Last month, I face timed my daughter from Mexico, that was pretty special (and expensive lol).

My youngest and I really want to do Disney someday. But mine is a difficult kid so I'm waiting to plan it when she's a little more mature. She's 13, for my family it would be a disaster.

Enjoy whatever you decide!!

For us vacations have changed as we do. One thing that I know for sure is we do what our hearts are leaning toward. We stay pretty true to that from start to finish. It is our vacation. So there is no wrong pick for us unless we did something we really didn't want to do. 

For us we do best with variety on our trips of relaxing, adventure and what is a good fit for our family. We love to see new things on our trips but sometimes the best things we discover happen over a conversation or something that only time away, room to breathe with hours on end together give space for. We go prepared with well scoped out things to do for the time away and more restaurants than we can possibly fit in our vacation! Knowing we won't aim to get it all in but we have a general idea of the key places we want to make happen. Pace is important to us. Once again there is no right or wrong but you feel like fits your family. Sometimes we pack things full and other days we don't and we like it that way. We see, do and go typically to all our key places but at a pace that is enjoyable. 

In one season for a couple of years we didn't want to put a lot of work into vacations so we did cruises that were out of a port in our state and booked about one or two excursions easily online before going. We had our plates full at home so a vacation with too much work wasn't what we were chasing. 

We did a family camp for 11 years so for a lot of years that was mostly it. Very great memories there and we loved it so much but the year came that we were ready to move on. We will still go back to that camp but not for week long family camps. 

When my kids were young we did Destin, FL beach trips. There wasn't anything dreamier to me than me and my kids at the ocean with all the white sand. Magical and I have the scrapbooks of all memories. I don't regret any of those trips and I think we went 5 times in 6 years. The day came we had our fill of the area and knew we wanted to visit some new places. 

Savannah, Charleston, St. Augustine were a flight and than part road trip another time. 

We have family in good towns so we have been able to see some things while visiting them. 

Maybe about 4 years ago we decided to do a cruise again. We had been to many of the ports that went out of Galveston so that time we picked a CA coastal cruise. I had never been to CA and my dh had maybe once for a short trip on business. That trip gave us a taste of CA and we fell in love with CA. We have done other trips since then but they were specific to Colorado for a short trip to visit family or a Disney cruise with our kids. We have been back 8-9 times and don't care what anyone thinks about it. It is a big state and there are many places to visit there. San Diego is our favorite and it is such a great place with things for just us or family that we often lean toward that if our kids are with us. We will do some of the other cities with them in the future. 

Well, no offense, but unless your mom is coming with you on the trip or funding the trip, then she really doesn't have a say. And so I obviously agree with you on this.


I agree again.  The point of a vacation is to enjoy yourselves.  


Whatever we feel like doing as a family.   We don't have any set rule or habit.    A beach for a week, a campsite for a weekend, a major city overnight, a historical site for a day trip, flying off to another country or "just" to ride the teacups----if that's what we decide to do at the time, then that's what we try to do.  

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We do different things at different times.

Right now we are in your boat, but we have 10 in our group ages 9-69.

We are talking about doing 5 days in Orlando and then going to the beach for 3.

Vacations to me are a time to explore.

It can be a road trip 2 hours away or cross country flight. I love to see new things. We usually throw in some history for the kids be it a museum, tour, etc for something specific to that area.

We are very blessed at this stage in our lives with lots of travel. Dh travels for work, so we get plenty of travel perks.

For fall break we do ocean and beach. Same place every year. Sleep in, take a walk or run on the beach, eat breakfast, beach it, shower, grill out and kick back. We are usually in bed by 10. So relaxing and fun.

For spring break we like to explore a city. NYC last year and San Francisco this year. These are major sightseeing trips. They are very tiring and busy, but so much fun.

We choose Disney. A lot! Last Summer we went out to LA/Beverly Hills/Hollywood/etc from NY, so that was a big trip for us. I am just not a relaxer. lol I don't know what to do with that down time. I like to take a lot of pictures, see a LOT of sights, always keep moving (but yes, pool time and adult drink time is always factored in too!) I just don't want to lay on a beach for 7 days. The thought of that makes me itchy!   



We also camp and go upstate yearly. I guess that is as relaxing as it gets for us. There is plenty of down time, enjoying the sights, sitting by a campfire/around the lake, etc, but there is a good amount of activity mixed in as well. Again, I just can't sit and do nothing. Different strokes for different folks I suppose!

In regards to memories....some of my best childhood memories are going to the same amusement parks, and going camping all the time. It doesn't matter where you go or what you do, it's sure to be remembered.

Vacation "Priorities"....

I prefer to eat out for lunch and/or dinner I don't mind staying in for breakfast. I wouldn't be interested in a big group, rental house, time-share type gathering where the majority of the cooking is done at home. I understand why families do it that way, as it's less expensive than restaurant meals., it's just not for me.

I don't like strict scheduling or itineraries. Hurry, rush, jam packed...is not for me.
I don't mind a couple scheduled things, or having a tentative list of "see this, do that, go here "but I really prefer to take each day as it comes, or formulate a rough plan the evening before. 

I also will not vacation with early risers, as I prefer to sleep in.

Bethany102399...
Sounds like your Mother won't be able to keep up on a Family trip. Sometimes that happens as the older generation ages. The Family has no desire to go to the places your Mother likes.
Perhaps you could do a family of four (hubby and kids)vacation, wherever the four of you(hubby and kids) want to go. Then you and your Mom do a separate Mother-Daughter long weekend (or week) to a couple mountain places, wherein you can cater to your Moms slower paced needs.

Sometimes in life, you can't please someone and/or everyone. Especially, trying to please everyone at the same time. Sometimes, it's best to please them separately. In the end, everyone ends up happy.

For us home is where we relax. We live 15-25 min from the beach and DL so those are day trips for us. Vacations are for exploring and new experiences OR family. We do a mountain/ski vacation 1-2x a year at a family cabin. We do relax there as it is more like a family home that we return to each year. But the *novelty* is having extended family together and local friend visiting. Well also the snow since we don't get any in So Cal. All other vacations are all aboit new experiences. We are planning a WDW trip for June 2018. Very excited! Overwhelmed, but excited! It's very different from our day trips to DL.