We were talking about travel styles today and I am a self-described MART. That's Mother Against Road Trips.
It's true I don't enjoy road trips with my whole family. There's a couple good reasons.
First of all, we fight on who's going to drive. I have a big, spacious, gas guzzling quad cab truck. It's awsome. Like super awesome and I love it. But... I don't let anyone else drive it. So, gas mileage and the fact that I would have to do all the driving makes me reluctant to take it. But it sure would be comfortable and safe.
Then, if we took my husband's wagon, he would do all the driving. Ugh. He never stops. "Get in and shut up. We'll stop when we get there" best describes his driving style. And since we live in the middle of nowhere road trips take at least 15 hours to get anywhere good.
My kids don't do well in confined spaces. They argue and fight and in general cause a ruckus.
I've tried road trip games, including custom bingo games. I've tried music, dvds and ipods. They work for a bit, but not long enough. They're active boys and need to run. I prefer to run them through airports on vacation, not gas stations and highway rest stops. I think it's great exercise to run from Terminal A to Terminal E in order to catch a connector flight. Keeps the heart racing and strong.
And with fly away vacations you can't just yell at everybody, toss them back in the car and drive home in a huff, cutting the trip short. Plane reservations and fees for changing flights help you resist the temptation to just throw your hands up and end the vacation.
I love my family and I love exploring new destinations. I just don't have the time, energy or interest in doing it Griswold-style like in the classic movie, "Vacation."
So I'm a MART. So what!
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label vacation. Show all posts
Monday, December 10, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
Vacation Bargains Abound
I've been looking around at all my favourite discount travel sites lately. Not for myself, but for any friend who asks. I'm happy to do this. I'm certainly not a travel agent, but I have had a pretty wide variety of travel experiences and adventures in the last 10 years.
We have managed to tote our kids to Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Minnesota, North Dakota, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, The Turks & Caicos, The Bahamas and Hawaii. We've travelled by passenger train, car, plane and cruise ship.
We've gone hiking, skiing, swimming, surfing, shopping, to amusement parks and more. It's felt a little crazy at times, but it's been good. I have no regrets at all.
My hubby and I also do the classic couples' getaway to Vegas every now and again. Personally, I love Vegas. I'd go anytime. I think one of the things I like so much about Vegas is the nightlife. It's the opposite of my hometown. My hometown exists, Monday to Friday, from 9AM -9PM. After that, the place shuts down and seems like a sleepy hollow. So, to have concerts and plays and people out enjoying life after dark seems exciting. I like the change of pace.
But I'm not ready or able to plan another family vacation. Not yet anyway. As I stated last week, I seem to have lost my spark. Though, I am genuinely ok with researching on behalf of friends.
There are lots of amazing bargains out there right now. 5* golf vacations to california for about $700 including taxes, hotel and airfare. Cheap jaunts to Cuba at under $1000. Luxury caribbean cruises around $800 (Airfare extra). Lots of bargains to Florida & Arizona. Vegas is always cheap in the first part of December & the last part of January.
I priced out one golf vacation during the 3rd week of January at $800. The identical trip in late February is sitting around $1700. So yeah, that's what I consider a bargain. 5* trip, at 3* price. But truly, it's about getting the type of vacation that works for your family, at a time that's convenient, at a price you can afford. I would caution to never ever take a vacation that the only thing that interests you is the price. If you go somewhere you hate, it's truly no bargain.
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Travel sites I like:
www.itravel2000.com
www.redtag.ca
www.yqrdeals.ca www.yegdeals.ca www.ywgdeals.ca (Deals specific to your local airport)
www.aircanadavacations.com (Check out their last minute specials.)
Both Redtag and Itravel2000 will chart the vacations days before and after your selected date and show you a grid of the varied prices. This is an amazing feature, as sometimes a day can make a $500 difference, and you'd never know unless you see this comparison. Each site also searches all the package providers for you. It will show you if Westjet has a better price than Air Canada on the nearly identical vacation.
We have managed to tote our kids to Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Minnesota, North Dakota, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, The Turks & Caicos, The Bahamas and Hawaii. We've travelled by passenger train, car, plane and cruise ship.
We've gone hiking, skiing, swimming, surfing, shopping, to amusement parks and more. It's felt a little crazy at times, but it's been good. I have no regrets at all.
My hubby and I also do the classic couples' getaway to Vegas every now and again. Personally, I love Vegas. I'd go anytime. I think one of the things I like so much about Vegas is the nightlife. It's the opposite of my hometown. My hometown exists, Monday to Friday, from 9AM -9PM. After that, the place shuts down and seems like a sleepy hollow. So, to have concerts and plays and people out enjoying life after dark seems exciting. I like the change of pace.
But I'm not ready or able to plan another family vacation. Not yet anyway. As I stated last week, I seem to have lost my spark. Though, I am genuinely ok with researching on behalf of friends.
There are lots of amazing bargains out there right now. 5* golf vacations to california for about $700 including taxes, hotel and airfare. Cheap jaunts to Cuba at under $1000. Luxury caribbean cruises around $800 (Airfare extra). Lots of bargains to Florida & Arizona. Vegas is always cheap in the first part of December & the last part of January.
I priced out one golf vacation during the 3rd week of January at $800. The identical trip in late February is sitting around $1700. So yeah, that's what I consider a bargain. 5* trip, at 3* price. But truly, it's about getting the type of vacation that works for your family, at a time that's convenient, at a price you can afford. I would caution to never ever take a vacation that the only thing that interests you is the price. If you go somewhere you hate, it's truly no bargain.
--------------
Travel sites I like:
www.itravel2000.com
www.redtag.ca
www.yqrdeals.ca www.yegdeals.ca www.ywgdeals.ca (Deals specific to your local airport)
www.aircanadavacations.com (Check out their last minute specials.)
Both Redtag and Itravel2000 will chart the vacations days before and after your selected date and show you a grid of the varied prices. This is an amazing feature, as sometimes a day can make a $500 difference, and you'd never know unless you see this comparison. Each site also searches all the package providers for you. It will show you if Westjet has a better price than Air Canada on the nearly identical vacation.
Fast 5 Travel Tips: Is it your vacation?
Finding the vacation that suits you is almost as hard as finding the right shoes to go to a high school reunion. You need to have some patience and be really honest with yourself about what you want and what your goals are. If you can't walk in your shoes, even though they are pretty... are they the right choice?
It IS your vacation when:
1) All members of the travel party have something they are looking forward to
2) You choose activities you are genuinely excited about
3) You can't wait to write in your travel journal/blog/tell your friends
4) You are living within your budget and not stressing about money
5) You are NOT doing things out of obligation, guilt or because somewhere you read you HAVE TO visit/see/do a particular monument/activity that you're not actually interested in.
It IS your vacation when:
1) All members of the travel party have something they are looking forward to
2) You choose activities you are genuinely excited about
3) You can't wait to write in your travel journal/blog/tell your friends
4) You are living within your budget and not stressing about money
5) You are NOT doing things out of obligation, guilt or because somewhere you read you HAVE TO visit/see/do a particular monument/activity that you're not actually interested in.
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