Would you rather...

[Indiana Rose Lee]

a budget vacation over no vacation, or more budget vacations over one nice expensive trip?

Lol, I will always go with vacation. I like fancy and we do fancy on occasion, but it is all about getting away and enjoying one another and seeing the world to me.

I hear people say they would never do a budget vacation, but as a kid we would not have traveled had we believed that. Instead, we cut corners and experienced so much of the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Great Britain.

 

[kbheap]

We would much rather do a budget vacation than no vacation. We would also rather take several budget trips rather than one grand expensive vacation. Because of this, our children get to experience several different places several times a year. We get to take at least 3 family vacations each year because we don't mind budget trips.

 

[punkin]

This year I planned a big vacation (it was very nice) but then I decided to throw in a mini-Disney budget vacation. I brought food down, we rented a condo and ate in for most meals. We only did 4 days of parks even though we were there for 8 days. We swam, drove to the beach (packed food to take with us). We had a blast.

 

[cheerforchelsea]

I will take a budget vacation over no vacation.....also more vacations than a really expensive one!!! I mean budget like a value resort - not sleeping in a tent on the ground (I am too old for that).

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

I so agree. We had to give up all but camping vacations the two years it took to pay off the medical bills, but they are so important to our family history. We dis a lot
of healing on those vacations.

Lol, cheer, I keep thinking I am too old too! We don't camp unless it is necessary!

 

[bettymae1121]

I'd take a budget vacation over no vacation. But I'd rather take fewer vacations and have more "upgrades" than to travel more frequently on a shoe string. Besides, it's amazing how much you can "upgrade" a trip and not spend that much more money. You just have to be flexable and willing to do some research, and stalk those great deals. Frequent flyer miles and hotel points earned from CC purchases also help big time, it's one of the reasons I don't think CC's are "evil" (as long as you don't carry a balance, of course).

 

[Indiana Rose Lee]

Youare so right about upgrades and really understanding the system. We will oftentimes rent condos and you soon figure out how to rent a 2 bedroom resort for the same price per night as a 2 star hotel room!

Lol, I really like nice, but if ok is all I can afford I am still going!

 

[NancyIL]

I love to travel, and I'd rather book the cheapest cruise ship cabin/hotel room and vacation twice than book an expensive one and vacation once.

 

[Sorsha]

I would rather have budget vacation over no vacation, but there are certain things I just will NOT scrimp on. I will find the money somehow, cause I know I will not enjoy myself otherwise.

Examples... when visiting family, unless there is ample room for my family to stay with them (meaning a bed for each person, a little private space, etc) I will NOT stay with family to save money. I will not enjoy my visit unless I have some space to relax.

At Disney, I will not stay off property, and I will not pack my own food into the park. For me and mine, NOTHING would spoil the magic more then hunkering down on a bench to eat our PB&J while everyone else was enjoying their meals at Crystal Palace and Ohana. That's just us though, to each their own.

Also, I will NOT tent-camp. Nothing against camping, I just can't do it. I am too old and out-of-shape to enjoy sleeping on the ground. I don't enjoy cold, or damp, or bugs, or any of the other joys of roughing-it. As Samantha Brown once said on the Travel Channel, "Some people hear the Call of the Wild, I hear the Call of the Flush Toilet."

So I guess I just have some limits. I don't need luxury resorts, first-class airline tickets, super-fancy meals, etc, but I also have a level of budget to which I will not sink. If I can't afford a certain amount of "un-budget", I'd rather not go.

 

[luvmy3]

I would takemany budget trips over one expensive vacation. For us its not the amount of money we spend, its the time we spend together thats important. If that means fishing for the cost of bait or swimming with the dolphins it doesn't matter, but if we could only afford to swim with the dolphins once, and fish 10 times we would always pick fishing

 

[Acklander]

Like others, I don't mind a budget vacation over no vacation but have my own limitations. I'll stay at a cheap hotel, I'll drive instead of fly, we don't spend more than $50 in the gift shops (usually just post cards, and maybe a T-shirt for DS). I guess my limitation is the food thing. I don't mind snacks and drinks in the room, but I like to go out to eat. It doesn't have to be fancy, and I'm fine with just a couple of sit down meals with the rest being fast food - but I'm not cooking in a room, and I'm not packing picnic foods. To me, eating out is part of the vacation experience.
The other thing is staying with family. To me that's visiting, not a vacation.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

This is actually the first time we're going to do non-budget and stay at the Poly (40% off PIN of course), but we always do POP with something like Free Dining or 4/3. That lets us go every year and still do little things like the Great Wolf Lodge, etc.

 

[cluvsdisney]

I would say I am in the middle. I don't need first class, top notch travel & hotel accomodations but I don't want to stay in motels and cart dry foods to my destination either. If the latter was the only option, I'd rather stay at home and wait until we could afford something more to our liking.

 

[Sorsha]

I would takemany budget trips over one expensive vacation. For us its not the amount of money we spend, its the time we spend together thats important. If that means fishing for the cost of bait or swimming with the dolphins it doesn't matter, but if we could only afford to swim with the dolphins once, and fish 10 times we would always pick fishing

DISCLAIMER: I am not picking on you, and how you and your family view/feel about things/do things. You do what's right for you and I'm cool with that. Its all good.

BUT. Just theoretically, I feel like, if I were to vacation that way, eventually I would be older and my kids would be all grown and gone, and yeah we would have great memories of fishing for free, but 1) I would eventually be really really tired of fishing and 2) I would always regret that we hadn't, just once, chosen to swim with the dolphins so we had that experience together as well.

I believe you only go through life once, and part of what makes life great is the experiences you have. Part of that, for me, is trying new things and having new experiences and trying something I might never have the chance to try again. I know, personally, that if swimming with the dolphins was within my grasp, and I really wanted to do it, and I didn't sacrifice to make it a reality, I would miss having had that experience for the rest of my life. I would also, eventually, be really really resentful while I was sitting there fishing for free.

Just me though! YMMV!

 

[Marionnette]

We own a small business. So we cant take frequent vacations. Even a weekend away from home can be a challenge. We love to travel and would do it more if we had the time. Maybe when we retire and the kids take over the business. Sigh. But in the meantime we take nice vacations. Unfortunately that has spoiled the kids. Our daughter just came back from Japan and she stayed at a youth hostel in Tokyo. She had fun but its definitely not the traveling style that she is accustomed to.

 

[Mrs. Charming]

I would rather have budget vacation over no vacation, but there are certain things I just will NOT scrimp on. I will find the money somehow, cause I know I will not enjoy myself otherwise.

Examples... when visiting family, unless there is ample room for my family to stay with them (meaning a bed for each person, a little private space, etc) I will NOT stay with family to save money. I will not enjoy my visit unless I have some space to relax.

At Disney, I will not stay off property, and I will not pack my own food into the park. For me and mine, NOTHING would spoil the magic more then hunkering down on a bench to eat our PB&J while everyone else was enjoying their meals at Crystal Palace and Ohana. That's just us though, to each their own.

Also, I will NOT tent-camp. Nothing against camping, I just can't do it. I am too old and out-of-shape to enjoy sleeping on the ground. I don't enjoy cold, or damp, or bugs, or any of the other joys of roughing-it. As Samantha Brown once said on the Travel Channel, "Some people hear the Call of the Wild, I hear the Call of the Flush Toilet."

So I guess I just have some limits. I don't need luxury resorts, first-class airline tickets, super-fancy meals, etc, but I also have a level of budget to which I will not sink. If I can't afford a certain amount of "un-budget", I'd rather not go.

I couldn't agree with you more on the camping. I need clean showers and clean toilets. I think I'd "camp" in one of those hotel-on-wheels RV's though! Definitely takes away the 'budget' aspect of it, lol.

ITA also on the staying off-site and bringing my own sandwiches into the parks. POP (or other Value) with free dining IMHO is a steal! I'd be sitting there at the window of CP with my nose pressed up against the glass like a sad puppy waiting to be adopted.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Sometimes there is no choice.

So, yes, I'd rather do a budget vacation over no vacation.

 

[MagicalMawMaw]

Is there really a different kind of vacation than a "budget" vacation? lol

Really, I love to travel & love vacations. Overnight trips to anywhere are my idea of fun. But priceline, restaurant.com, coupons & discounts are half the fun of planning to me.

We camp alot but we also take nice vacations...but I do it as much on the cheap as possible. I'd rather take several cheaper trips than one huge expensive one.

 

[Liberty Belle]

I would rather have budget vacation over no vacation, but there are certain things I just will NOT scrimp on. I will find the money somehow, cause I know I will not enjoy myself otherwise.

Examples... when visiting family, unless there is ample room for my family to stay with them (meaning a bed for each person, a little private space, etc) I will NOT stay with family to save money. I will not enjoy my visit unless I have some space to relax.

At Disney, I will not stay off property, and I will not pack my own food into the park. For me and mine, NOTHING would spoil the magic more then hunkering down on a bench to eat our PB&J while everyone else was enjoying their meals at Crystal Palace and Ohana. That's just us though, to each their own.

Also, I will NOT tent-camp. Nothing against camping, I just can't do it. I am too old and out-of-shape to enjoy sleeping on the ground. I don't enjoy cold, or damp, or bugs, or any of the other joys of roughing-it. As Samantha Brown once said on the Travel Channel, "Some people hear the Call of the Wild, I hear the Call of the Flush Toilet."

So I guess I just have some limits. I don't need luxury resorts, first-class airline tickets, super-fancy meals, etc, but I also have a level of budget to which I will not sink. If I can't afford a certain amount of "un-budget", I'd rather not go.

I don't really like tent camping, either, but it's a sacrifice I have make for our kids. I'm pretty much miserable the whole time, though, unless I'm hiking or in the hammock off the ground.

Not saying YOU should make that sacrifice - it's just why I end up tent camping even when I don't like it.

 

[NancyIL]

I would rather have budget vacation over no vacation, but there are certain things I just will NOT scrimp on. I will find the money somehow, cause I know I will not enjoy myself otherwise.

Examples... when visiting family, unless there is ample room for my family to stay with them (meaning a bed for each person, a little private space, etc) I will NOT stay with family to save money. I will not enjoy my visit unless I have some space to relax.

At Disney, I will not stay off property, and I will not pack my own food into the park. For me and mine, NOTHING would spoil the magic more then hunkering down on a bench to eat our PB&J while everyone else was enjoying their meals at Crystal Palace and Ohana. That's just us though, to each their own.

Also, I will NOT tent-camp. Nothing against camping, I just can't do it. I am too old and out-of-shape to enjoy sleeping on the ground. I don't enjoy cold, or damp, or bugs, or any of the other joys of roughing-it. As Samantha Brown once said on the Travel Channel, "Some people hear the Call of the Wild, I hear the Call of the Flush Toilet."

So I guess I just have some limits. I don't need luxury resorts, first-class airline tickets, super-fancy meals, etc, but I also have a level of budget to which I will not sink. If I can't afford a certain amount of "un-budget", I'd rather not go.

I SO agree about camping, as my idea of "roughing it" is a Fairfield Inn! I don't enjoy cooking at home, so there is NO WAY I would do so on vacation.

The last time my family of 5 (3 adult kids) visited my mom in Cocoa, FL - we stayed in a 2-bedroom suite at the Residence Inn in Cape Canaveral (about 15 minutes away) instead of staying at her small, 2-bedroom home. It was wonderful to have the space, instead of the kids sleeping on my mom's living room floor! The hotel wasnt cheap, but I had a $100 (I think) Marriott gift certificate from My Points that made the price easier to justify.