How Do You Decide Where To Vacation

[kilee]

Wondering who in your family decides when and where to vacation. Do you do the same thing year after year-- as a tradition? Do you do a lot of research and then present it to the family? Do you have to "beg" your spouse/partner to go somewhere? Do you have nothing to do w/ the planning of vacations?

In our family it's all up to me for the most part. I figure out which weeks work best and 90% of the time I pick the destination. I have control of the finances so dh says it's easier for me to know what and when vacation is possible. I find it to be stressful sometimes having all this pressure.

 

[GarrettJD]

I say, "Let's go to Walt Disney World this year." Nikkie says, "Sounds great!"

That's about it.

Actually, we haven't done much vacationing, save for our three (soon to be four) WDW trips, plus an occasional weekend in Nashville (about twice a year.) We already know our budget beforehand, and I do 99.9% of the planning... Nikkie just shows up and enjoys it. I don't really mind though, because a.) I love planning, and b.) I get to talk to all of you lovely people.

 

[Pugdog007]

I plan all vacations. I like to see new places, so I try to choose somewhere I've never been. Last Summer it was Alaska, this Summer will be Scandanavia. Planning is half the fun!

 

[daisyduck123]

We don't need to decide...the only place we've gone in the past year & a half is Disney....going back again for 8 days in May.

 

[Planogirl]

I do all of the planning too however I try to find a place that everyone will enjoy in some way. I do my research and plan out the days so everyone has something fun to look forward to.

The Florida themeparks are more for me and DS so if DH goes I have to work in something else for him. The last time it was a resort type place that he enjoyed hanging out at and the time before we visited St Augustine for several days and we ALL loved it there!

 

[bord1niowa]

We have wanted to go to Disney for many years, but with 5 kids and rooms holding only 4 each, it was pretty cost prohibitive. Now that the admission tickets are less and less for each additional day, it makes it more affordable to take a longer vacation by camping in our camper. It didn't seem worth the time, money and trouble to go for 4 days before, since we live 1300 miles away, so now we're doing 10, mainly because of the admission prices and the camping (with an air conditioner) haha.

 

[dixipixi]

I was raised in a family that always took vacations. DH was not. For our first trip, I planned something not very far from home, with a scenic drive to get there, and that didn't cost much money.

After that, DH was hooked!! Prior to that, he didn't view vacation as a "necessity" like I did.

Usually, we get together around Christmas and discuss where we'll vacation the next summer. After the decision is made about where and when, I do all the planning.

DH and I have the "final say" because we pay, but the kids get a vote and a chance to say where they want to go (I'll give you 3 guesses as to their choice!).

 

[FroggyinArk]

we have a system,, we take darts and a map that we circle the areas we caan afford to travel too.. then take turns throwing the darts at the map,, the area witht he most darts win

 

[rt2dz]

DH will tell me if there is something he wants to do, but I pretty much make the final decision on when and where and how. I'm much better at the planning and am more well traveled, so I have a better idea of how things will work out.

 

[tubachick]

oh...

I didn't realize that DH got a choice!!!






no really, DH just says, what ever, you do the money and planning.... I'll show up.

 

[caitycaity]

dh and i brainstorm all the places we'd like to go and then we do a little research on the popular choices to see what fits into our budget the best. we always decide together. there are a few place i really want to go that he has no interest in (and vice versa), so those get taken off the list. we only go to places we are both interested in.

 

[SC Minnie]

One of use will suggest something and we talk about it. We typically use our DVC points. We are taking 3 week long Disney vacations this year using our points, WDW and Vero in April, Hilton Head in June, and DCL in October.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

How do we decide? Well, it's up to me to nag everyone to get them to think about. Then it's up to me to propose different things and try to get input. Then it's up to me to make the decision because nobody else wants to be bothered. Then it's up to me to make all the arrangements, including the route, hotels, what we do, etc, etc. I can ask my family their opinion on certain things--ie, which hotel should we stay at, A or B? Then I get my packing done, along with my youngest son. I give packing lists to the older kids and make sure my DH's clothes are all washed. Then I arrange for the pet care. Then we go on the trip and if everyone isn't totally happy all the time they complain to me that they didn't want to do whatever we are doing at the time. And you wonder why I'm before if not during and after every trip...

Oh, and my DH doesn't like to repeat trips, for the most part. And he's not too interested in theme/amusement parks even though the rest of us love them and he enjoys himself once he's there.

And this is only a slight exaggeration... Fun, huh? And no, I'm not resentful at all....

 

[Tink33]

We have a list of places we would like to visit. Some places on the list are where friends and family have vacationed, some are places we have seen on television (the travel channel), some are places my kids have learned about in social studies/history and some are places my DH and I went with our families and want to share with our kids.

We traditionally take one family vacation per year and the time period varies based on work schedules and projects for that year. Once we have determined a time, we decide which destination would be best for that time of year. We always go somewhere different. I do most of the research, but everyone is encouraged to help with the planning. I buy a couple of travel guides and have them in the family room for reading. I also bookmark sites for my kids to read while they are IMing or surfing the web.

Our trip last year was to Costa Rica. Everyone had at least one thing they wanted to do, so we planned around those wishes. I also threw in a few surprises. We don't have detailed itineraries because we always talk to locals and they give us great advice.

My best advice is to let everyone in the family be involved in the planning. No one can complain if they are the ones making the decisions.

 

[Claire L]

Its just DH and I and we have very similar holiday interests and being as I ahve travelled more before we met he leaves it up to me to do the booking once we decide where we want to go. Even for my 29th birthday DH suggested he took me to NY for 4 nights and left it to me to book the whole thing which worked out very well

We have a list of places to visit for the next 6 years or so, and will slowly work our way through them

Claire

 

[mickeyboat]

How do we decide? Well, it's up to me to nag everyone to get them to think about. Then it's up to me to propose different things and try to get input. Then it's up to me to make the decision because nobody else wants to be bothered. Then it's up to me to make all the arrangements, including the route, hotels, what we do, etc, etc. I can ask my family their opinion on certain things--ie, which hotel should we stay at, A or B? Then I get my packing done, along with my youngest son. I give packing lists to the older kids and make sure my DH's clothes are all washed. Then I arrange for the pet care. Then we go on the trip and if everyone isn't totally happy all the time they complain to me that they didn't want to do whatever we are doing at the time. And you wonder why I'm before if not during and after every trip...

It's the same way in my family. I am basically in charge, although I ask for imput from DH. He just wants to know when to show up. But I don't really enjoy planning (will I get banned for saying that?), and neither does DH. I think he leaves it up to me so he doesn't take the blame if something goes wrong.

Denae

 

[MUFFYCAT]

We don't have much planning to do. The last 5 years we've gone to WDW in August, and we go to Lake George every July.
I do all the Disney planning.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

It's the same way in my family. I am basically in charge, although I ask for imput from DH. He just wants to know when to show up. But I don't really enjoy planning (will I get banned for saying that?), and neither does DH. I think he leaves it up to me so he doesn't take the blame if something goes wrong.

Denae

That might be ban worthy!!!


I like doing the planning if my family doesn't then complain about what we are doing. I welcome and encourage input and always consider what others would like to do. Last spring vacation we went to NYC--all 6 of us. My 11yo son and 17yo DD took part in the planning, along with my DH (the most that any of my family had EVER helped plan a trip). My 6yo was along for the ride and did ok, but got tuckered out, but my then 14yo son was a PITA, complaining about what we were doing, but he gave us NO input into the trip. Nada! For the first time his brother and sister got to see the frustration of planning a trip only to have someone complain.

My DD likes to vacation with me because I do plan things, but then gets frustrated because I plan.

I'm just really getting tired of it, thoug, mainly frustrated with my DH. I've recently suggested to him that we make a list of places that we'd like to vacation in the next few years so that we can figure out when they would work out and plan for the bigger trips. He looked at me like I was from Mars. But he's always been the list maker so I didn't understand his reaction.

I just don't like the blame when everything doesn't go well. At least I generally get the credit when things go well. There is a flip side I suppose.

Anyway, this wasn't supposed to be a Tigger&Belle vent.

 

[mickeyboat]

He looked at me like I was from Mars.

Maybe that would be a good location for your next vacation.!

Denae

 

[chasbos]

We do 2 major vacations a year. 1 with kids and the other without.

The kids get to pick where we go for the family vacation - so this year we are heading to Vancouver and driving to Calgary for the Stampede. Last year it was a Disney Cruise.

I really, really hate winter so DH and I go to an island for our vacation.

We have a been there done that policy in our household! So we do not usually travel to the same place more than a couple of times.

It is a big world out there and we plan on seeing most of it!