Katie_H

According to an online survey that Expedia sponsored last summer, 35% of all U.S. employed adults do not take all of their allotted annual vacation days.

Do you take all of your vacation time? Have you already locked in your days off for '08 or does your job allow you more flexibility?

Do you have any strategies for saving and stretching those days to satisfy your yearnings to travel?

I vow in '08 to make better use of the three-day weekend for quick getaways; however, I'd also like to fit one sizable trip in of at least 7-9 days. I think in the past I've been guilty of taking trips that are just a little too short; by the time I feel "relaxed" it's almost time to go home...

And you?

gail

Between required trips to see family and deliver kids to college and fun trips, there were never enough vacation days. So I quit my job and am now a self-employed consultant.

Downside is that husband is workaholic; he will go on one real vacation a year if I plan it and he does not know how much it costs. So I extend trips to see our kids on my own, travel with my mother, and lan to accompany him on some of his business trips starting in fall when our second kid begins college - another reason I wanted a job where there is no limit on vacation days.

J_Correa

I generally use all my vacation time each year. In the past I didn't - didn't have the money to really travel much, so I would get by with long weekends distributed throughout the year

For 2008, I have my vacation plans pretty much set. My job allows plenty of flexibility though. We have a 4 night trip to Yosemite, a 2 week trip to SE Asia, and a 4 night trip to New Jersey planned this year.

Most long weekends, we stick close to home rather than fight the crowds, traffic, and pay higher lodging rates.

suze

My company allows me to take unpaid days (within reason) in addition to my paid vacation time.

Yes I use up everything I am allowed!

I don't care for 3-day weekends myself. I prefer to save the time and make 10-21 day major trips instead.

maria_so

My job is more flexible so have no issues and I do have alot of vacation time. We also can take over a certain amount of vacation over to the following year so why I've accrued alot. My husband, however, is the exact opposite so we plan our vacations according to how many days he can have off. We do take advantage of 3 day weekends and longish holidays alot but I do plan at least 1 fairly big trip for us per year - at least and yes, I book that way ahead of time so he knows how many "extra" days he has when friends come visit us. This year it's a 10 day trip to Wyoming/South Dakota! I can't wait!

TheWeasel

I take as many days off as they'll give me. I have to request time off at least 3 months in advance (for larger blocks of time, like 3 or more days I think), otherwise I can take a day here or there with a reasonable amount of notice.

The only stategy I have is to use the weekends and holidays to stretch out my time off. I used to try to fly mid-week to mid-week for cheaper airfare, but now I'd rather pay a little bit more and have 2 weekends plus a full week off. If I have to fly, I try to make it a long enough trip to justify the travel time.

starrs

I didn't take any because I was afraid of a buy-out and wanted to "bank" the days in case of a buy-out. Imagine my surprise when my company paid me for an unused week and allowed me to roll over another week if I used it in 1st quarter. SF GTG, here I come!

I take a day on either side of business trips to squeeze in more leisure vacation time. I try to "save" a block of 10 days to use as a chunk of time if I cross the pond.

tchoiniere

I definitely use all my vacation time. I get 2 weeks plus I buy an extra week. If I have any days left in December, I just tack them onto my paid week off b/w Christmas and NY. I have already accounted for most of my vacation this year. Next year, I finally get another week of vacation. Thankfully, we are allowed flex time where we can work extra hours to get another day off in the same week so I do that to get 3 day weekends occasionally. Besides with how much I travel for work, I do have a lot of time elsewhere - 1 week a month in San Diego for work. Tough job!!!

norrisken

I get 25 days a year and its rare for me to have more than 10 days built up. I take a wide variety of trips from long weekend trips within a few hours drive and up to 3 weeks (Cruise out of Italy). This year I have locked in 3 weeks in April, the week of Thanksgiving, and the 2 weeks around Christmas and New Year's. I get 11 holidays a year and try to use those to work in a vacation. Sometimes I work the holiday and take a day off later. I can also get comp time for when I put in a lot of hours. I'm also very fortunate that I can work from home when I'm sick and don't have to take off. My company is a firm believer in staying home when you're sick and not infecting everyone else. I live in the US, in Maryland.

ElendilPickle

Mr. Pickle gets three weeks' vacation a year, and we use it all. We usually take one trip that lasts around 10 days, and use the rest for long weekend trips or when he just feels like he needs an extra day off. He usually uses a vacation day to attend our state home school convention. Since his vacation time starts anew in August, last year we were able to use two weeks for England and Wales in May, and 10 days to see my dad in California in October.

I'm a full-time homemaker, so my time is more flexible. My son and I spent a week in Colorado last summer with friends while Mr. Pickle had to work. So we manage pretty well!

Lee Ann

dgassa

Being retired, I'm on vacation 365 days a year.

Don

Not being retired, I get 4 weeks vacation and 2 personal holidays a year. Plus I have 4 weeks banked that I carry over from year to year, waiting for the right opportunity to use them. So I can't complain about a lack of vacation time.

I tend to take lots of long weekend trips, with the very occasional trip of a week or longer. Once or twice a year, I'll go see family. Other trips usually revolve around an event (Masters swimming meet, wedding, reunion, etc.). Other times I'll wait for a great "Ding" fare on Southwest and use it as an excuse for a long weekend to see someplace I haven't been yet.

Have only been to Europe once in the last 18 years, and I'd like to go back--so that would be the exceptional longer-than-a-week trip. Maybe this year, maybe next...

HotWheels

We are self-employed (own a business in the construction trades), which presents it's own set of problems. If we take a vacation in our "slow" time, we need to line up jobs to keep our employees busy. If we go during a more active period, we also need to schedule jobs so everything goes smoothly. We usually have a lot of "catch-up" to do when we return, which can be daunting. But we usually try to take at least a 7-10 day vacation once a year, with long weekends scattered throughout. We're looking forward to the day we can take more!

lisa

I absolutely use all of my vacation time, but very few of my colleagues do, even though we are not allowed to carry over our vacation time from one year to the next. (That I do not understand.) I get 20 vacation days a year in addition to comp days I earn for working certain weekends, which average 3-5 additional days per year. I would much rather "use it" than "lose it" -- I would no sooner lose vacation time than I would forgo salary. I carefully stretch my vacation time by trying to use it in combination with federal holidays so that it goes farther. E.g., if I take off Memorial Day week, I can use only 4 vacation days but have a 9-day vacation. Same with Labor Day week, Columbus Day week, Veterans Day week, etc.

My husband and I try to take at least one domestic trip together each year -- usually 9-10 days, and then one longer international trip, usually 2 weeks or more, preferably to someplace where our Blackberries and cell phones don't work. He does not get as much vacation time as I do, so I usually squeeze in one more trip of a week or so either on my own or with friends or family, in addition to some 3-day weekends here and there.

In our travels we have met people from around the world who can't believe how little time most Americans take off. While waiting for a ferry on the Greek island of Folegandros one August, we met a Swedish family -- Mom, Dad, and two boys -- who had been sailing around the Greek islands on a little sailboat by themselves for 5 weeks. They couldn't believe we had bothered to fly all the way to Greece for only 10 days, and said they would go crazy if they got as little time off as Americans do. That Mom and Dad told me they each get 6 weeks a year in addition to holidays -- plus they get additional time off to spend with their children.

I actually think vacation time makes us more productive when we return, and part of the reason we try to take longer vacations now is that it takes a while for us to "decompress" from work when we are on vacation. For the first few days of vacation, thoughts of work often seep in. After several days, that stops, and relaxation finally begins to REALLY set in.

It is not even necessarily about going away. Sometimes people just need time off, and I wish more people would take it -- to go for a walk in the park, see a movie, read a book, or even just think about anything other than work for a while.

iamq

As a teacher I get the standard holiday breaks off plus a week in February. My partner is retired. We usually take a two week trip in the summer, plus another week's trip to see my folks in Seattle in the summer. I like to plan the big summer trip so we depart right after I get out of school, so that when we come home I have several weeks of time off to enjoy being at home.

We usually don't go anywhere over the Christmas holiday, but we usually plan trips for the February week and/or Easter week.

This is the first year in 4 or 5 that we have not traveled in February and I am looking forward to hanging out at home.

nytraveler

When I was working full time I never got all my vacation days. Or all my summer Friday afternoons off. And the supposed holiday closing between Christmas and New Years always ended up being used to put together a major report or maarketing plan.

Just one of the reasons I'm consulting now instead of doing the 85/90 hour weeks.

Vacation is still limited since my beau is a company partner - and his schedule is at least as bad as mine was. But at least this way one of us has a fairly flexible schedule.

ellenem

I have the luxury of being the one "in charge" at my office so I can take as much vacation as I want as long as it doesn't get in the way of my work. I might plan a trip months in advance or quite close to departure. I once decided to go to Italy on a Monday and left two days later for a 10-day visit. (I managed to score a really cheap flight!)

In recent years I got into the habit of taking a number of 5-day weekends instead of one big 3-week trip to Europe. It all depends on what i can fit around my work.

One strategy of which I am very fond: Thanksgiving in Europe. I depart on Tuesday night and return the following Monday. Since I live in NYC, I can go to work for most or all of Tuesday and then head to the airport for my departure. I get five full days (Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday) in one European city, and only lose two work days, Wednesday and Monday. And those two days usually wouldn't be too busy anyway since they are right up against the holiday weekend.

L84SKY

I've already locked in 2 weeks of my vacation time for M8's 50th birthday. The other 2 weeks I haven't applied for yet.

I generally use up all my vacation time in the year. I like my job and all but I'm not crazy.

dwooddon

What dgassa said.

I retired in June 2004 (the second time) and have been on perpetual vacation ever since.

lifelist

At my last job, I got 25 days of vacation a year, and I used them all. I would usually do a one-week trip in the spring and one in the fall; and a 3-week vacation during the summer. Some years, I would do a 4-5 week trip.

I find that long trips end up being cheaper than lots of short trips. If you plan to travel during shoulder season and plan far enough in advance, you can really control the budget. Also, your per-day costs are lower since you have time to really explore an area rather than always traveling.

My current job only affords me 3 weeks of vacation a year, and I've actually gone negative in my vacation balance. It's definitely been an adjustment to lose so much time off. I've been stretching my time by scheduling my vacations around holidays. I also find myself spending more money to save time - shorter flghts, lodgings more central, etc...

One advantage I have over most people is that all of my family lives nearby. I don't have to use vacation time to go visit family.