How often do you go on a vacation?

[sksjasams]

DH and I have been married almost 15 years and together for 19 years. We have had 1 vacation ever. We went to WDW for a week with DS11 Thanksgiving 08. That trip was a dream come true. And all the planning has left me addicted to disboards! Vacations are just not in our budget. I hope to get one more in before DS11 leaves for college.

 

[Swimalie]

I think it depends on what people define as a "vacation". For me I take trips more than vacations throughout the year. We travel a lot as a family for swim meets. A weekend here a weekend there so I can swim and then we also take in the sights of where the meet is, too. So we'll do a few of those each year. Plus we'll do small trips like skiing or sightseeing. About every 2 years we'll do a big 7-10 day trip. Our son is 4. Once he gets older, we'll take longer trips.

 

[lspst8]

I really like vacationing, so I plan lots of shorter weekend trips. My DH and I are also fairly new to our jobs, so we don't have a lot of vacation time built up yet.

Since we met in 2007, we have been to North Carolina to visit my college roommate, Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge for 4 nights, DC twice for long weekends, Vegas for our wedding last August, and we are going to the Outer Banks this May for an entire week. We also do a lot of one night stays really close to home just to get away and relax. We usually stay in a hotel once a month just for fun (I use Priceline for this, so it is inexpensive.) I also went to North Carolina for a long weekend by myself last July for my bachelorette party weekend with my friends from college.

I would really like to make a 4 or 5 night trip to WDW this December before Christmas to see the decorations, and we are taking about doing a California tour down the coast in 2011.

 

[lisaross]

We take a "big" Vacation every 2-3 years such as Disney or a Cruise etc.

Every year we also take about 2-3 weekend getaways and the years we don't take a "big" vacation we will take a week and drive someplace - this year we'll be going to North Carolina and Virginia!

Partly inspired by the How soon is too soon to plan a Disney trip? thread and by a conversation I had with my hairdresser last night - who was telling me about the trip she's taking to Playa Del Carmen this summer and their spring break cruise - and about the fact that her best friend never vacations because it's too much work .

I got to wonder how often do most people actually go on vacation? Not just Disney but any vacation - a week in Mexico or a cruise or a week at the beach, or where-ever.

We go on vacation at least two weeks every year - sometimes something amazing sometimes just a week of camping at the beach. We have to use our vacation time and DH doesn't feel like staying home is a good break.

 

[Grayce]

We try and do one big vacation a year. Usually a cruise, but this year we are doing a cruise and Disney. I also always visit my sister in Texas for at least a week.

 

[hsmamato2]

I hit other- b/c we take one BIG vacation in the winter,between 1-15 days,usually Florida and Disney- then we camp for long weekends thru the summer with friends and family,or go on short 2-4 day trips to pretty local places to enjoy the outdoors- plus every other year or so we travel across the country to visit family in various places, so sometimes twice a year,but I don't count the camping as vacations,it's more like outdoor time with the kids less than an hour from home........and the BIG one in winter is what costs the $$$

 

[delmar411]

well it depends on what you consider a vacation. We do a WDW trip each year for around 10days then also go see my parents for a week and then try to get up to see the IL's for a few days (maybe a week if we can tolerate it that long LOL).

 

[fortheluvofpooh]

not often enough!!!

 

[AntePrincess]

I voted "other." We've had a few vacations per year in the last two years, but not enough to call it a trend. All our trips are working vacations, our relaxation time is actually a two week down time at home. We also visit friends and family a lot, then host in our turn. Starting in 2011, we'll be taking annual week long trips for a family language immersion camp. It's a cheap vacation, but there's that ulterior motive again!

 

[jodifla]

I answered the two weeklong trips, but we also do several weekend trips a year.

 

[shalom]

We didn't vacation for years, although we did plan local and weekend trips pretty often. When I was a kid, we took three family vacations by the time I'd moved out and none of them were great experiences. Hubby wasn't raised vacationing either, so neither one of us really saw the point to them. Then hubby's boss gave us a week's reservation at a nearby resort he couldn't use himself, and we discovered the existence of points-based timeshares, where you can have your own unit and your very own kitchen. Soooo different from the vacations of my childhood. Now we vacation the three weeks hubby gets off every other year, and two weeks every other year (because we visit my parents for a week every other year), and sometimes we squeeze in a "working vacation" as well.

As has been said, there are some terrific deals out there. We've got five kids and aren't that into eating out on trips anyhow (we'd rather go and do), so the kitchen makes a huge difference in our interest in vacationing. Now we've been vacationing for a few years, I highly recommend that anyone who can afford it, go for it. There are times in your life when it isn't practical, either because it doesn't make financial sense or because you have enough little ones vacations are more stressful than relaxing or whatever, but if you find a way to vacation that you can afford and that works for you, it's amazing how much positive impact it can have on your life as a whole. I had no idea!

 

[Jareds_mommy]

I think it depends on what people define as a "vacation".

I agree for us Vacation means get on a plane and no cooking for 2 weeks,We camp almost everyweekend all summer long, I don't count that as vacation
those are getaways, and I don't count seening family either
This last 18 months we did Disney 3 times for 12 to 15 days
normally we try to go to an cuba or dominican
But for something vacation meand totally different, So to me it really means what ever you can do to get away de-stress and spend time as a family with out outside influences
our rule on vacation is no crackberry and no laptop

 

[swilshire]

We always do a week for Spring break and a week for Fall break. We take a longer vacation in June/July (typically around three weeks). Sometimes we go away at Christmas as well.

I get 26 days of paid vacation and have a few extra weeks banked from years ago. My bank goes down a day or two every year.

Sheila

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

I had to vote 'other' because it just depends on the year. Some years we take a whole week, but last year we spent 5 nights at WDW two different times. We also try to do long weekends (3 nights) to see my husband's parents a couple of times a year. We've did a Memorial Day weekend trip to a different amusement park a couple of years ago, and planned to stay 3 nights but only stayed 2. We live near the beach, so we can go there for just the day or even just the afternoon anytime we want.

This year I'm planning a week-long trip with my kids to see my brother's family across the country, so that will probably be our only real vacation. We might run up to Atlanta for a long weekend during Spring Break (my husband is on TDY in Georgia, so he can't get much time off).

I'm a big fan of lots of shorter trips during the year to places we can drive to. I like to have things to look forward to all during the year, not just a one-time shot. If we only went one place for 2 weeks all year long, I'd go cabin crazy.

 

[StephMK]

We always take 1 one week trip a year and sometimes long weekends or other getaways. It is always 1 week at the beach & then usually I stay another week to visit my family w/the kids. We will take short trips to see the in-laws & usually do a Chicago trip for a family reunion w/DH's side once a yr or two.

Last year, we did the Black Hills for a long weekend and next year hope to do Disney. Due to my school schedule, we won't go anywhere other than the beach & maybe road trip to my parents for the holidays this year.

I love to travel & hope to do more as the kids get older & finances allow, there are so many places we want to see.

 

[pyrxtc]

We go to the beach for a week each summer and have been to Disney quite a bit in the last few years but I don't consider them vacations, they take too much planning and a vacation is someplace you go to relax. The beach is our yearly vacation, we go for a week and I just grocery shop like I would for home and we spend every day on the beach from a house that is rented that is steps from the water. No planning, just relaxing and letting the kids play.

 

[lisabarr]

We take a lot of weekend trips because of my sons chess tournaments. This year, so far, we will be in Miami next week, Atlanta in May, Palm Beach in May and Disney in Dec for Nationals. I am sure there will be more during the summer, I just haven't decided which ones.
I will also be leading my DD Girl Scout troop on a trip to Savannah, GA to the home of Julliette Lowe. Thats in June.
This summer will probably be a chess camp, looking at one in Minnesota, where I go with him.
We also take at least one family trip, usually a cruise, for a week.

 

[sau418]

I voted other, for the same reason as others...it depends on what you classify as vacation.

Since having kids we do one full week with DH banned from doing work (although last year we were in the midst of closing on our new house and spending time working on that while at the Wilderness Lodge).

We also do multiple weekend trips with both kids and just DH and I. Sometimes we vacation alone, I am doing Disney with my sister in April and DH will be doing a golf trip this summer with his buddies.

How do we do it? The full vacation is usually somewhere nice and we pay what we have to for it, deals are great, but will not deter us from going where we want to go. Weekends and shorter trips tend to be more budget, we either go with a great deal, stay with family, camp. DH also travels ALOT for work and stays at nicer hotels so he accumulates alot of points/rewards. We redeem them many times for a weekend away. When we fly we almost exclusively use airline miles. If it is 6 hours or less of a drive then we drive, further than that is a toss up, if we have time we drive, if not we fly.

 

[disykat]

I have to say, this is the first time I've ever heard anyone say they don't consider going to Disney a vacation!

 

[Goofy'slady]

Well we go to Disney for over a week every year and it's usually in the late spring although we're switching it up and going early spring this year. This year 9nights/10days

However, we still do other trips throughout the summer. Last year we did a trip every month starting with May. May '09 Disney, June '09 for 1 week Williamsburg, VA, July '09 to Lancaster, PA for a long weekend; August '09 Cape Cod, MA for a long weekend, October '09 Dayton, MD and then nothing til December '09 Washington, D.C. NYE weekend.

This year we've already been skiing in Feb in Aspen, CO; Disney in April 10-20; we've got another trip to Lancaster, PA in July; Cape Cod, MA for another long beach weekend and last night we just found out my husband won a trip for us(he and I minus the kids) to the Marlboro Ranch in Montana. So psyched about the trip - it's totally paid for and worth almost 5,000.00.

I come from a traveling family and since I've married and started my own we've continue to pass the gift of travel to our kids.

T.