timfountain

Personally, with the amount of travel I do, the last thing I want to do when I am on down time is to get on a plane or stay in a hotel. For me it's the Oregon coast in a nice rental home and long walks, rockpooling, hiking, cooking and doing stuff with the kids.

365RoadWarrior

Ah, how different life would be if I had a family. Sure, it's a tradeoff, but, on balance, I'm envious. (Not really the right word.)

The_Bouncer

This. I enjoy a very wide range of travel experiences, from city breaks, to coastal or mountain road trips to day trips walking by the lakes in Central Europe.

Freedom is the key, and as varied as my travel experiences are, they nearly all have one thing in common. I travel alone. No bickering, no compromising, no having to find common ground. No arguments over bill splitting or whose turn it is to drive. Nobody to nag me if I drink too much, smoke, oversleep or drive too fast (not all at the same time of course!).

Travelling alone is the definition of freedom, and I love it.

pinniped

I don't mind a guided tour as long as I control the itinerary and pace. For example, there are some parts of the world only accessible by car where I have no desire whatsoever to drive myself (or it is not legal for a foreigner to do so). In those cases, a private driver and guide can actually be the most optimal way to go "free range", as following a train timetable + taxis is either highly inefficient or simply not available for certain sites.

I'm on the fence about hiring a guide for an upcoming trip to Rome. I don't feel like I need one in Rome, but I've read that in some places a guide is the best way to skip all lines including priority lines (as those can be long too). I need to do more research to find if there are other queue-avoidance techniques that don't require guides.

darthbimmer

I like a lot of different things so I take trips of varying styles. Some are slow-paced and relaxing, others are fast-paced and exciting. Some are long, others are short. Family oriented or not. Big city or great outdoors. Expensive or cheap. Luxurious or "roughing it". Often I combine different kinds of activities in the same trip. For example, I've literally rolled up to four-star hotels with a tent and sleeping bag in the back of the truck for some other night the same week and cleaned mud off my boots in the marble bath.

Jeannietx

I used to love camping when I was quite a bit younger, especially in state and national parks plus anywhere in Colorado. That was during the time I was raising my children. I was very fortunate to have a job that gave me 4 weeks vacation.

We would have a route to our final destination, say Yellowstone, and camp along the way. If there was something of interest off our route that wasn't more than a 100 miles or so deviation, we would do a swing by to check it out. then on our way again. I had one of those pop-up tent trailers and all the equipment.

Looking ahead now to our next trip, it begins December 4, and we should be back home the middle of May.

aquamarinesteph

Hmmm. I had to think about this question before I could answer it.

My travel style varies depending on where I am. Here in the States, I've done some amazing road trips with minimal planning. I just have a good map and a cooler of water and snacks. Somehow it seems to work out okay.

When I travel in other countries, I often do guided tours that I select based on my interest. For example, I love art museums. I also know that I know just enough about art to know that I need someone to help me understand what I am seeing to properly appreciate it. I also will do guided tours if they can help me bypass long lines or huge crowds (example - the Sistine Chapel).

But I like to think that my travel style is a combination of what works at the moment + a little planning. For me, research before I arrive can save me a world of misery when I arrive at a new location. BUT I don't want to be so strictly planned to the minute that I can't kick back and enjoy the odd - wow - moment.

stut

There are tradeoffs, sure, but you can easily find something for everyone.

Last year, we took the ferry over to the Netherlands (with the car and its roofbox packed impressively tight and a bike on the roof, putting us in with the trucks, which was rather intimidating) and headed off to an island. Child seat on the front of the bike (which he absolutely loves) and you're in the perfect spot for some laid-back, low-key exploring. It's such a lovely country for things like that.

rosensfole

Solo works for me; I like to walk and walk, investigate the side streets, go to where people live, discover what makes a place and its people tick. Generally visit a place 2 or 3 times; get all the wondrous sights done on trip one then subsequent visits I get into the heart. I drive my partner mad with all the walking so we have local breaks in her camper, 15 miles in one day in Paris did it for her

I'm an airline seat snob too... any flight over 4 hours HAS to be in business or first. Shuffling in a Y seat is something my mid 50's tush won't stand for. Comfort is king. Mrs. Rosensfole says I just like throwing money away. Perhaps... but the champagne works.

Accommodation isn't something I'm generally particular about as long as it's clean and comfy. I've stayed with families on recent trips (including an amazing wooden house in Singapore) and find that I quite like the experience. Maybe I've been lucky...



My room was on the left

TomMM

I like short but frequent trips. Fly across an ocean on Thursday, come back on Monday.

365RoadWarrior

You sound like a believer in the old expression "getting there is half the fun". ;-)

pinniped

I did those all the time in the early days of AA's weekly email deals. Back when they were legitimate deals....

1 - Receive email on Tuesday.
2 - A buddy and I, living near ORD, would pick a European city from the deal list.
3 - Go to Schaumburg CTO, pay with bump vouchers, the deal got *even better* because bump vouchers caused some of the taxes to zero out.
4 - Fly out of ORD Thursday night, back Monday.

We hit most of AA's ORD-Europe nonstops at least once, some of them like Paris and London multiple times. Birmingham? Who wants to go to Birmingham? It's $279 R/T...ok, Birmingham it is!

Of course as a Plat the mileage earning on these were fantastic. Flew most of 'em in coach because we were 25 and could sleep anywhere, but occasionally would upgrade one for 25k and no co-pay.

TomMM

Absolutely!

I used to track UA's last minute deals but they were always for domestic routes.

pinniped

I forget if AA had one email or if you had to sign up for two - one domestic and one international. The domestic ones were always late Friday night to Monday night...I hit a couple ORD-SFO's but that was about it. Int'l was almost always Thurs-Mon and may have even allowed Tuesday (although I seem to recall flying Monday).

Annalisa12

Anyone done what was in that movie Yes Man. Front up to airport and go where the next flight takes you?