Kavey

Thanks Julie!
I am really excited about it and, of course, having booked it 18 months in advance, now it's just such a long wait!
We had to book so far in advanccec as the lodges we're staying in are small - many only accommodate 10 guests max - and we already had to play around with itinerary order because some were fully booked on a number of dates in June 2004 by Xmas last year...!
You'd be more than welcome to find out more about the itinerary, email me on [email protected]

moschops

A couple of years ago I made the sensible decsision to give up on the corporate slog and pcked my IT job in. I spent about 6 months in Latin America and then about 3 months in India.
I now work in travel, which is superb and go away whenever possible. Mainly weekend breaks to places like Tallinn, Krakow (living in London helps) and one biggie a year. (working in travel i can get cheap rates which helps)

Kavey

moschops
What kind of job do you now do in travel?
Before I went self employed just under a year ago I worked (still as an IT Trainer) in the UK's biggest tour operator.
I loved being in an environment where talking about and being obsessed by travel was perfectly normal (even if more staff were mostly into beach holidays than what I like).
The travel part of my job was less enjoyable - and actually one of the reasons I left...
Would love to know what you're doing and how you find it.
Kavey

Mathieu

Kavey : Congratulations on hitting the 10 yr mark ! I was born and raised in Africa (East) and having family involved in the tourist industry there, am very familiar with all the Game lodges and Safari camps to be had in Eastern and Southern Africa. Some of them (actually most of them) are breathtaking, especially the 'boutique' type ones. I hope you have at least one of these kind booked for this special occasion.

Kavey

Thanks but we only reach 9 years this year. 10 year anniversary is in 2004 - same year as the return trip to Africa. Most of trip is in Botswana but vows to be renewed in Namibia.

To get back to the question... i think a lot of this revolves not around finance but around the number of days annual leave that one gets.

As we've read in various threads (I posted one here myself years ago)- the average in the UK is higher than in the US, the average in Aus and some of mainland Europe is higher again...

Kavey

PS Mathieu - we have mostly Wilderness Safari properties, plus Jack's Camp and a few others.

Lesli

I admit to being envious of those who are able to travel for so many days each year! As a resident of the U.S., working full-time, I get a pathetic 2 weeks (that's 10 days) of paid vacation annually, plus 3 "floating holidays". (Several national holidays, too, but of course one doesn't get to choose the dates for those.) Fortunately, my employer allows me to take additional time off without pay (about another 2 weeks).

I usually manage to take 2 trips to Europe each year, for a little over 2 weeks each - stretching them around weekends or holidays. And then maybe a couple of long weekends to places within a few hours' by car or plane.

We may be asked to take furlough time (unpaid) this coming fiscal year to avoid the need for layoffs, which is fine with me! I would love to have a solid month off for travel....

MyBelle

Julie:

I get 6 weeks plus vacation per year and I like to do long weekends here and there, but I generally like 2 Europe vacations per year and sometimes 3 if possible. Generally for 10 days to 2 weeks at a time. There is nothing like planning the trips and then experiencing them and realizing in a few months you can do it again either in the same place or somewhere new. I like island vacations for total relaxation and am considering a cruise to the Greek Islands in September. I leave for Italy in March for the first time there and I am looking forward to that. Lately my staples have been Austria, London, and France. I could go back to London and Paris every year! I am sure many people could. It must be nice to have such a long stretch of time to travel. Are you a student? If not, what sort of job affords you a month to 6 weeks off per Summer? I've been to Austria, London, and Paris twice each and I have been to the island of Jamaica 17 times. Haven't been in many years now, but loved it for many years with my family and friends after that. Europe is my new love and I really enjoy exploring all the new countries. Travel in general is such fun. I guess that applies to all of us or we wouldn't be on this site! It's nice to see so many people who can travel and enjoy it and share their experiences.

TravelerGina

I get four weeks annually. Last year, I spent two weeks in Europe (France, Italy & Greece), five days in Las Vegas, plus did several long week-end trips around Michigan (some to watch my grandson play travel hockey) and a four day camping trip. This year I have planned a four day trip to Toronto, a week in Italy, camping, and the usual long weekend trips. As long as I have some type of get-away to look forward to and plan for, I'm happy!

StCirq

I'm self-employed, so I take as much travel time as I can, albeit with a laptop (I have never taken a trip in the past 15 years during which I did no work at all).
I go to France 3-4 times a year, 2 or 3 trips for 10 days to 2 weeks, and one trip for at least a month. Every other year or so, we plan a family trip that involves another country AND France. This summer will be Ireland for 10 days, then 2-3 weeks in France. The long trip is a family one - the others are just me or I'm giving a tour.
In addition, we usually make 3-4 long weekend or 5-day to 1-week trips to domestic destinations each year. We go to Colorado to ski, to Florida to visit relatives, to NYC just for fun, and this year right before Christmas I had a mini nervous breakdown and decided if we didn't go to the Caribbean or someplace warm for a few days we wouldn't survive the holidays. We ended up bidding on, and winning, a Priceline vacation to the Bahamas for four days that was just perfect.
Short story - we travel as much as we can. It's in our blood. I grew up in a traveling family - albeit on a different scale - and if I don't get my travel regularly, I'm not me.

Blondie

Not enough apparently.
The amount of travel listed above is astonishing!

vcl

We try to do a major trip about every 18 months -- that means four weeks, usually at least three of them in the UK, the fourth on Continental Europe.

In between, we nourish ourselves with four-day weekends, usually at the Jersey shore. If we had more money, we'd travel more often.

Dolcevita

Sixteen years ago I traded my Tahari suits and company American Express card for a backpack, and travelled solo throughout Western Europe, Israel, and Egypt for 6 months. Been hooked, and obsessed ever since.

Before I got my dog, I took a 3 month trip in India and Nepal. During the 'doggy' years, with the exception of 4 years (looong dog-related story), I've been taking 2 overseas trips a year; 10 days - 3 weeks in Europe, and 3-4 weeks in Asia.

I'm planning on a 3 week trip to Italy this April. And now that I've had to say goodbye to beloved dog (I lost him to cancer 2 months ago), I'm planning a 6 month trip to Asia this fall/winter. Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Nepal.......at least 3-4 months my intention is to do volunteer work.

granny

We're retired and live on an island in the Northwest and have a small summer business, so we do most of our longer trips in the spring and fall. We try to take one long vacation every two years. Our last long trips were 6 weeks in Turkey and 4 in Scotland. We have 5 weeks planned in France this April and May.

Since we're close to British Columbia, we go up there for long weekends, recently to Whistler. I make at least 4 trips to California a year to see the kids and grandkids and we usually spend 2-4 weeks in Arizona to get some sun. Last fall we took a short cruise. Not as much our style, but it was fun.

Some of our interesting trips were camper trips from Seattle to Zihuatenejo, Mexico,scary driving with a big truck, but interesting. We didn't learn, we did it twice. We'll fly next ime.

We love traveling and all these great comments on Italy and Great Britain make it hard to choose for the next big vacation.