My Continued Exploration of The Great American Vacation
In the past 18 months I’ve sprinted through all of the vacation stages that a typical American progresses through in, say, forty years. I started out in summer of 2010 with The Great Europe Trip, during which we carried only backpacks and tried to ‘immerse ourselves in local culture’–you know, like 20-something college students. Despite the fact that we did not start a family, we then started taking typical family vacations–Disney World (over and over) and this past summer’s Epic Road Trip. Then, despite the fact that I’m on a leave of absence (and not retired) I just returned from a cruise to Bermuda. (More posts on that trip coming soon!) A friend of mine also advised to go to Costa Rica, so this is also one of my destinations for the nearest future (learn more at JungleVistaInn.com if you are looking for family fun).
I’m not sure where Vegas fits in to all of that, but we did that too–twice. I think I’m out of Great American Vacation destinations.
Having done all of these things, I now understand what is appealing about each and every type of trip (yes, even Europe!) And so I bring to you, dear reader, what I view as the pros and cons of each trip type. I honestly believe that no matter what your age-or what stage of life you are currently in–each one of these Great American Vacations has something wonderful to offer you (yes, even Europe!) Of course, your opinions may vary–so please do chime in with your own pros and cons.
A European ‘Backpacking’ Trip
Pros:
-You learn a lot, from art appreciation to geography to how to read a train schedule (or book train tickets using a website that’s in French!)
-The architecture and public spaces in Europe are typically far more impressive than anything we have in the states.
-Train travel is fast and efficient.
Cons:
-If only due to airfare, a Europe trip is typically a bit more expensive than a domestic trip.
-There is typically a language barrier.
-If you’ve never traveled abroad before you may be in for a bit of culture shock–trust me!
A Vegas Vacation
Pros:
-There’s lots to do, even if you don’t gamble.
-There are many, many great restaurants.
-There’s really nothing very culturally significant anywhere within a reasonable distance, so it is ok to just sit by the pool and relax.
Cons:
-The casinos are loud and smokey. If you prefer a quieter and smoke-free experience, you might enjoy เล่นเกม บาคาร่า ตอนนี้.
-All of the ‘things to do’ and ‘great restaurants’ cost a lot of money.
-Las Vegas is definitely not child-friendly. Obviously this is only a con if you have a family–we don’t.
Walt Disney World
Pros:
-It is a completely controlled environment, complete with ample, clean public rest rooms.
-It is super-easy to plan a Disney vacation–and there’s so much planning information available (for free!)
-If you are staying on-site you don’t even have to worry about transportation.
Cons:
-Of course, it is filled with screaming children. And lines. And crowds.
-It can be very expensive.
-It’s really, really hot for half of the year.
Road Tripping
Pros:
-You are completely in charge of your trip–you can go wherever you want and stay for as long or as little as you want.
-You can take your time and stop at little ‘off the beaten path’ places.
-If you have a fuel efficient car and stay at reasonably priced motels and inns, it can be less expensive than some other travel options. But do remember to work out your MPG before your start planning.
Cons:
-You are completely in charge of your trip–which means there’s no one to blame if something goes wrong!
-You will be driving. A lot. And sometimes it will rain while you are driving. Sometimes it will rain hard.
-You will be living out of a suitcase and checking into and out of places very frequently.
A Cruise Vacation
Pros:
-Everything (except alcohol) is included in the price of the trip.
-A cruise vacation is easy–you don’t have to think about getting from place to place yet you still get to see several ports.
-Cruise excursions make planning almost unnecessary (though of course I still plan–because I love planning! And, for the record, did not do one single cruise line excursion on this last trip. More on that later!)
Cons:
-Your destinations are limited by the itineraries offered and by geography (you simply can’t cruise to Denver!)
-Wherever you go you bring thousands of people with you. This will result in lines and crowds.
-You don’t get to experience the cuisine of your destination–the food on the ship is often too temptingly free.
So–there you have it. The pros and cons of almost every type of Great American Vacation. Am I leaving out any important points? And, more importantly, have I forgotten any types of Great American Vacations? Because I really hope I did–it will give me an excuse to take another trip!
I think you make interesting and valid points… Ive never done a cruise but am considering one to Europe because the prices are really cheap compared to doing it by yourself. There are issues you didn’t have to deal with so much in Bermuda because you stayed over night but the majority of the times you leave port by 6. Im having a hard time with the fact that I will have to give up delicious European food and wine to go back and have American banquet hall style food. Also giving up the nightlife, Venice at night is a 180 from Venice during the day and Spain doesn’t get going until 9 or so.
I think I may try a Caribbean cruise first to see how I like it before splurging on airfare and wishing I had gone back to Paris. I am interested to see how you enjoyed your cruise
I completely agree with you on the cons related to a European cruise. I think that’s why we’ve not taken one yet–and likely won’t take one! The other issue is that most European cities are not on the coast…so you end up wasting lots of time on trains and buses. Now, a European river cruise–that I’d do (but don’t know that I’ll ever be able to afford it!)
And you are also right–cruising to Bermuda is different because you are there for three solid days–the ship doesn’t move. I really liked that about it–particularly because I was mainly ‘using’ the cruise as a way to get to (and stay in) Bermuda. I’ll have to try a Caribbean cruise, too, before I commit to anything more (though I do have my eye on this one Panama canal cruise–the nerd in me SO wants to do that!)
Because it may take me a little while to get to an actual cruise post, I’ll let you know right now–I REALLY enjoyed the Bermuda cruise! More than I thought I would, actually.
I think you missed 2 Great Vacations- beach (espeically “southern” beaches like Myrtle Beach or Hilton Head,SC or Daytona Fla., etc.) and moutain (like Asheville NC or Adorondacks NY). LOTS of people (esp families), at least in this area, will rent a beach house for 1 or 2 weeks or longer in the summer. It’s considered a ‘cheaper’ trip. Often extended familes or neighbors will share a larger house. Similar things are done for moutain trips, though not always renting a house. Also both destinations are also used for short breaks- mostly in spring or fall. With your focus on suitcase scholar / educaitonal opportunites in travel, I think you MUST experience both of these.
Ah yes–beach and mountain! You are absolutely correct! I will need to do both of those. Hmm. Maybe a short southern road trip is in order. Now if only I knew someone down south that I could have lunch with…?
😉
As I’ve said before- Charlotte is a great location. Only a few hours to Myrtle Beach and less than that to the moutains! Come any time.
Hi Tracy,
I have a comment about your “Pros in Vegas – There’s really nothing very culturally significant anywhere within a reasonable distance, so it is ok to just sit by the pool and relax.”
We found TONS to do outside of Vegas proper! We went abotu 5 yrs ago (just hubby & I) – it was the first time for both of us. While we DO like to gamble…we found a LOT to do.
We had rented a car. We went to Hoover Dam – checked out the building of the new bridge, took a tour there, wandered back and forth across the DAM. Then we went on into Arizona to find an old desserted mining town called Chloride – found it accidently while looking for something else on the internet. I took TONS of photos. The sky out there was awesome! It would have been MUCH easier if we had the GPS that we now have in our car. On the way back we drove through Red Rock Canyon.
Another day we took a small plane tour of the Grand Canyon! That was the single most awesome thing I have ever experienced on any vacation – to date.
And then we took a day and went to California and drove the entire length of Death Valley – and walked around the salt flats. That was also incredible. We were at the spot of lowest altitude (sea level) there.
So I just had to let you know that there are other things to do there…for your next trip, of course! 🙂
Pam (pcreek on CC)
I absolutely agree that all of those things ARE culturally significant–and would love to some day do a trip like that (though not in July–I fear ‘Death Valley’ would be come quite literal if we tried to walk around! 😉 ) However, I guess I was thinking about IN Vegas–like without a rental car. We did, in fact, rent a car for one day on our first trip and we went out to Red Rock Canyon. It was great–if SO INSANELY HOT!
I guess what I mean by ‘nothing significant’ is this: I’d have a hard time lying on the beach in, say, Mexico if there were, say, ruins somewhere near by. And I’d never fly to Europe to sit in the sand on the Riviera. But I’m ok with ‘wasting’ a day by the pool in Vegas. 😉
The old deserted mining town sounds AMAZING! I’d love to visit there! Yet another reason for a return trip! And yes, the plane tour of the Grand Canyon is actually on my travel bucket list–but for the two of us, it’s just WAY too much money. Perhaps I’ll have to do a solo return trip! Leaving my husband at home more than cuts the cost in half (he sure can ring up a huge bar tab!)
And, to be fair, there almost are some remotely educational things to do in Vegas proper, too. On our last trip we visited–and very much enjoyed–the aquarium at Mandalay Bay. And I could write a whole book about ways to MAKE Vegas educational–but I won’t, because it really isn’t (or shouldn’t be) a kid-friendly place. Call me old fashioned if you will!
Gotcha! In fact, I thought I had ended with “but..It is totally okay to lay by the pool on any given afternoon in Vegas!”
My hubby would say “there you go, thinking again!” Guess I’ll never learn. LOL
And I agree with you. There are sooo many other places that are kid friendly, Vegas should not be one of them. While we have 5 kids, 11 grands – we are now ’empty-nesters’ and while it’s nice to spend time w/family & kids…we also REALLY enjoy spending time without them. Travel is one of those times. Gambling is another. I cannot tell you how many casino ‘resorts’ we often find children in the public areas (lobby, entryway, some restaurants) and think and SAY “WHY??” This is supposed to be an ADULT place! Yeah.. we sometimes get really irritated with that.
So if that makes you ‘old fashioned’ well, me too! 🙂
The last time we were in Vegas, I saw a family pushing a stroller with a baby in it and walking around with a toddler. The dad was holding the toddler’s hand in one hand…and taking those ‘professional lady’ cards in the other (there’s another name for what they are,–and for what the cards qualify as–but I’m not going to type it here for fear that people will find my blog by googling bad things!)
So I guess we can just be ‘old fashioned’ together, eh? 😉