How do you balance new destinations and familiar ones?
Apr 12th, 2013, 08:29 AM
#1
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How do you balance new destinations and familiar ones?
Like many travelers, I'm always faced with a dilemma in vacation planning: Go somewhere new, or return to a familiar place I've loved? We usually don't take more than one to two trips each year, so sometimes that makes it tougher to choose. How do you find a balance? Just curious to hear everyone's thoughts.
Apr 12th, 2013, 01:22 PM
#3
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Budget matters... I dearly want to go back to Antarctica but I really can't afford it so it's not an option for now. With that out of the options then it's easier to look at other places or new places. Frequent flier miles/cost of airfare is part of the decision. If I can fly somewhere for miles or for fairly cheap but I can only get to another option with an expensive ticket, that will impact my decision. Budget for the trip such as lodging, entertainment, food, transport, etc.
I like seeing new places but have returned to a few, it really just depends on what reaches out and grabs me when I'm starting to plan. I often use google to search for photos of an area and that's what grabs me. As much as I love London, I've been twice and it just didn't grab my attention as strongly as Russia did this time. It also depends on where I can go in one trip... a return visit to one city with a visit to a new city on the same trip vs entirely a return trip vs entirely new places.
I also consider how upset I would be if I never get to travel again. Which place would I regret missing more... a new city/country or a much loved area I've seen before?
I like seeing new places but have returned to a few, it really just depends on what reaches out and grabs me when I'm starting to plan. I often use google to search for photos of an area and that's what grabs me. As much as I love London, I've been twice and it just didn't grab my attention as strongly as Russia did this time. It also depends on where I can go in one trip... a return visit to one city with a visit to a new city on the same trip vs entirely a return trip vs entirely new places.
I also consider how upset I would be if I never get to travel again. Which place would I regret missing more... a new city/country or a much loved area I've seen before?
Apr 12th, 2013, 01:49 PM
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We like to mix it up too. There are some places we return to periodically, but even then we try to work in new stuff.
New Orleans is one of our favorite places and we spent our honeymoon there, so we go back every 5 years to celebrate our anniversary - this way we periodically get our "fix" but we visit other places in the mean time
and we mix in new stuff when we go. The last trip, we went during French Quarter Fest, which we hadn't been to before, so that was new. The year before we took a side trip through cajun country in addition to NOLA, which we hadn't done before. Next trip I want to take a music-themed road trip between NOLA and Memphis.
Our recent trip was to the Yucatan Peninsula (first trip to that area) - we had a great time and I can't wait to go back - but on a future trip we will have different stuff on the itinerary. Maybe beach time on Holbox rather than in Tulum, visit Campeche and spend more time in Valladolid - stop in Merida again, but only for a couple days. Or maybe I will find some great airfare and we will fly back down there and park ourselves on the beach in Tulum for a few days - we went on our last trip and loved it, so if the price is right...
The next big trip we are planning is walking the Camino de Santiago in nothern Spain. This is completely new territory for us. I have been to Spain once, but only to Madrid. DH has never been to Spain.
New Orleans is one of our favorite places and we spent our honeymoon there, so we go back every 5 years to celebrate our anniversary - this way we periodically get our "fix" but we visit other places in the mean time
and we mix in new stuff when we go. The last trip, we went during French Quarter Fest, which we hadn't been to before, so that was new. The year before we took a side trip through cajun country in addition to NOLA, which we hadn't done before. Next trip I want to take a music-themed road trip between NOLA and Memphis. Our recent trip was to the Yucatan Peninsula (first trip to that area) - we had a great time and I can't wait to go back - but on a future trip we will have different stuff on the itinerary. Maybe beach time on Holbox rather than in Tulum, visit Campeche and spend more time in Valladolid - stop in Merida again, but only for a couple days. Or maybe I will find some great airfare and we will fly back down there and park ourselves on the beach in Tulum for a few days - we went on our last trip and loved it, so if the price is right...
The next big trip we are planning is walking the Camino de Santiago in nothern Spain. This is completely new territory for us. I have been to Spain once, but only to Madrid. DH has never been to Spain.
Apr 12th, 2013, 01:57 PM
#7
I travel around California all the time on various road trips which by definition are return strips since I've traveled around CA all my life.
And I try to return to the UK every year (lived there for 5 years) - the vast majority are to places I've been before and love.
In between I try to get to one new destination every year or so.
And I try to return to the UK every year (lived there for 5 years) - the vast majority are to places I've been before and love.
In between I try to get to one new destination every year or so.
Apr 14th, 2013, 01:00 PM
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There are certain places I really enjoy returning to, and the pace ends up being slower on those trips. Sometimes that's a good thing. Basically, for overseas trips, I mix it up about 50-50 between new destinations and old. For the limited amount of travel I have time to I do within the U.S., I end up at old destinations much more frequently.
Apr 17th, 2013, 05:18 AM
#12
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Very interesting to hear the responses. Suze, I agree with you about the feeling of living in rather than traveling to a place. Yet I also agree with abram that I'll never live long enough to visit every destination on my list. It's a quandary!
Right now we're limited somewhat by school schedules since we have a 7-year-old, so our windows of vacation are basically spring break, Christmas break and summer. That makes it easier to postpone certain destinations (for example, I'd love to go to Venice, but not during those times of year). Like Iowa_Redhead, miles and points make a difference too.
Right now we're limited somewhat by school schedules since we have a 7-year-old, so our windows of vacation are basically spring break, Christmas break and summer. That makes it easier to postpone certain destinations (for example, I'd love to go to Venice, but not during those times of year). Like Iowa_Redhead, miles and points make a difference too.
Apr 22nd, 2013, 11:42 PM
#13
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Make Bucket list and set priorities.
Adventure (new) or comfort (re-visit)
Budget
We try to take 2 trips every year and alternate between new and old.
Cruise gives opportunity to sample new places yet offer comfort in familiarity (ship).
We have re-visited many places that we have "sampled" on a cruise. In that case, both new and old in a way.
Adventure (new) or comfort (re-visit)
Budget
We try to take 2 trips every year and alternate between new and old.
Cruise gives opportunity to sample new places yet offer comfort in familiarity (ship).
We have re-visited many places that we have "sampled" on a cruise. In that case, both new and old in a way.
May 24th, 2013, 11:58 AM
#14
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We usually return to Italy and usually hit at least 2 if not 3 places, one of which we generally will have been before. I have the comfort of being in a country that I know (after 5 trips) and love, but the adventure of seeing new places and meeting new people.
May 25th, 2013, 05:12 PM
#15
We have a strong affinity for the South Island of New Zealand and Switzerland; the beauty of both keeps calling us back. We've been told that we've seen more of the SI than most people who live there.
No matter how often we visit, we always manage to find something we've not seen/done before; we intentionally seek out areas off-the-beaten path.
On our next trip to Switzerland we plan to visit the Engadine, an area we've heard a lot about, but never visited, and also the Berner Oberland, one of our all time favorites. We also plan to put Germany into the mix, as we've not visited there for years.
We've traveled a lot, we know what we like, so we no longer feel compelled to visit completely new areas on every trip.
New can be exciting and different, no doubt about it, but there are also distinct advantages to being comfortable and familiar with a specific country/area.
No matter how often we visit, we always manage to find something we've not seen/done before; we intentionally seek out areas off-the-beaten path.
On our next trip to Switzerland we plan to visit the Engadine, an area we've heard a lot about, but never visited, and also the Berner Oberland, one of our all time favorites. We also plan to put Germany into the mix, as we've not visited there for years.
We've traveled a lot, we know what we like, so we no longer feel compelled to visit completely new areas on every trip.
New can be exciting and different, no doubt about it, but there are also distinct advantages to being comfortable and familiar with a specific country/area.
