Our family of four usually takes one big two week summer trip every year. I have a list of places I want to take the kids before they graduate from college, so we have about 8-10 years of vacations left. Do you repeat large vacations? Or do you wait until you've been to all the places you want to go before you start repeating?

We went to the Flathead Lake Lodge (in 2016) and my kids really want to go back. And I want to go back to Yellowstone (went in 2015). I'm really torn between what to plan for next year. The alternative is going to Colorado (RMNP, Mesa Verde) and South Dakota. If we're going to Yellowstone I need to make my reservations NOW!!!

Thanks for your opinions!!

We go back to some places multiple times, but not many. There are tons of places I'd like to go back to but we just never have because there are so many other places to go. And when we do go back to places, we try to mix it up with a combination of new and familiar. Like we've been to Munich a few times, and each time paired different places with Munich. We're going to Costa Rica this September - I've been there before and DH hasn't, so we are going to different places than I went to on my previous trip. New Orleans is one place we go back to multiple times.

I travel with a friend who does not like change, so our group of friends goes to Mexico every year. He is perfectly content going to Cabo San Lucas every year (he will mix it up occasionally with a trip to Puerto Vallarta instead). If that was my only vacation every year, I'd balk. For the most part, I like to see new places. Like november_moon, I like to mix a combination of new and familiar. Nashville, New Orleans, New York City, San Diego, and Washington, DC, are places I've been to multiple time, and I'd still return.

Maybe you could spend a week at Flathead Lake Lodge and another week somewhere else within a day's driving distance, such as Coeur d'Alene or Calgary?

As the old girl scout song goes:

Make new friends but keep the old,
One is silver and the other gold.

If there’s something I didn’t get to do last time, or I’m adding on like Novembermoon said, then yes. I enjoy seeing places in different seasons, and new things open- for example, I repeated DC because a few museums hadn’t been open on my first visit.

Otherwise generally not, but I think you should do the vacation that calls to you!

Yes, I go to the same place over and over again (Puerto Vallarta Mexico). It's my home away from home. But I'm all grown up and it's just me. I work full-time so any traveling I do at this time is for R&R more than adventure or exploring or seeing new things.

I would feel differently planning family vacations with kids. Or once I'm "retired" and have more time, and less need to de-stress.

Well--We have had years where we couldn't afford a big trip somewhere for the whole family. We did a lot of camping in the Northwest and we did repeat. But the point was to play on the beach or ride bikes or raft or have a campfire, etc. It wasn't really to "see" new things.

I just looked up that Flathead Lake Lodge and it's pretty awesome that your kids want to go back and experience that unplugged kind of vacation. There's a YMCA family camp at Rocky Mountain National Park that might give you a very similar experience. But then again, there's something cool about going back somewhere and riding the same horses again, etc.

One thought about Yellowstone, funny-we also went in 2015--is that it really was pretty magical the first time. Will you, or your kids, feel that magic again seeing a geyser or a bison quite so soon? And if you were lucky enough to see a bear (we did) or a moose (we didn't), there's nothing saying you will see them this time. So... no, I wouldn't go back this soon. I would look for another great national park or trip that I haven't done yet: Colorado (as you mentioned). Grand Canyon and the Four Corners. Utah. Alaska.

Hope this helps!

Yes. Usually a mix of returning to a previous favorite and going to a new place. I enjoy both.

The YMCA of the Rockies is a really great location!

We often do go back to the same areas but always find something we haven't seen or been to before. I'd love to go back to Yellowstone, it is so big I know there is plenty we haven't seen there.

That said I do like visiting new places too. Finding a museum, historic site, hiking trail, etc even close to home is fun too.

Part of me wants to capitalize on the fact that my kids still want to spend time with us (although that could change by next summer). I’ve heard lots of good stuff about the YMCA of the Rockies but I am concerned it is too big. Flathead Lake Lodge has about 80-100 people - all there for one week.

I love Yellowstone and have been there three times so I know the magic will be there for me!

Another factor is cost. Going to Colorado and Mt Rushmore will cost about 1/2 as much as going back to Flathead Lake Lodge.

"We have had years where we couldn't afford a big trip somewhere for the whole family. We did a lot of camping in the Northwest and we did repeat."

That's one of the reasons we go different places now - because we can, but I dont know if we will always be able to - whether we'll always have the money, the time, the health. Earlier in our lives we didn't have the funds to travel so we did a lot of local camping, and that was great.

Interesting question. And I will admit that I have not read carefully through everybody's responses, except that I was struck by Nikki's.

Yes. DH is fond of saying that the first visit is "reconnoitering," and then we plan to return. However, at this time in our lives, we have identified those places we wish to return to more than that. Life is too short to go everywhere and then return time and time again. So we normally plan on one initial trip and 1 more comprehensive return, depending on our interests.

That being said, we have focused now on our favorite places and plan to explore those, just enjoy them in the time that we can. We won't live forever, and a sampler lifestyle is now unsatisfying for us. It takes a while to get to that tipping point, though.

The short answer: yes.

The longer answer. When we lived in the U.S. we would spend the last week of summer holiday in the same house on Cape Cod, and with pretty much the same routine (beach and seafood); we started this holiday when the children were 4 and 9. In those years when extra resources were available we would take our spring break to a city in Europe, depending on where points and miles could take us.

We moved overseas when the children were 11 and 16. What was the first vacation they requested? The beach. Our oldest child has since returned to the U.S. for university, and you might accurately guess what was his first "Spring Break" (it was March) destination. Cape Cod.

Both, it is both comforting and relaxing to go back to a familiar place. But I also like to visit new places as well. Not as relaxing but more exciting. I guess it depends on what kind of vacation I am looking for. Relaxing or exciting.

Another thought. Sometimes we return to a place that we love to bring other people (friends, family) to see what we find awesome. That brings the "old" place to a new level and we find things we never would have had we not got back.

Do I repeat vacations? Yes. But I still go to new places - variety is good and you never know what you'll learn from a new adventure.

For your situation, I wouldn't really consider repeating a trip yet. Expose your kids to something new. Based on your timeline of 8-10 before they graduate college, the youngest is somewhere in the 6-8th grade range...how would they even know what's out there if you start repeating stuff already?

Yes, I do repeat vacations but I also sprinkle in new places too. I like the comfort and ease of going back to places that I know and love. But it's also exciting to discover new places.

For me, familiar places can be exciting too. I can not foresee a time when I would not find it exciting to go to New York, although I grew up there. Or Paris, which I have visited many times.

And new places can be relaxing, especially if they involve beautiful natural settings.

Both. I like new places but some places are so great that I want to keep coming back!

I grew up near Yellowstone, and never enjoyed it as a kid. It seemed like too much driving and too many buffalo. We took our daughter when she was six, and she had the same impression, "When are we going back to the hotel to swim?" I still feel the same about Yellowstone: too much driving and too many buffalo.

I like Glacier, though!

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It surely depends upon one's desires/needs, doesn't it.

We fell in love with Italy. We tended to return to Rome, Pisa or Venice but incorporated other cities within our trips. We almost always flew into one city and out of another, and visited 3 to 4 places.

After we "graduated" to France, Paris and Nice became our go to's with other towns as bases.