Vacation Inflation

[shelivesthedream]

I'm in my twenties and when I was little, my family alternated between a week somewhere in Europe (eg. Rome, Barcelona) where we would museum in the morning and then swim all afternoon, and renting a cottage somewhere in England for a week. I preferred the cottages. Anyway, it means that I've never been outside Europe - I mentioned that to a colleague in conversation once (who has recently had to move back in with her parents) and she looked at me like I'd just crawled out from under her shoe. We also live opposite someone who thinks that her travel in Africa makes her supreme authority on all issues.

Edited to add: I haven't been on holiday since university, but I got my husband to promise we could go camping because I never went as a child (my mother hates the outdoors) and it seems really exciting to me!

[Neustache]

Vacations as a kid:  Flying to California staying with grandparents for two weeks....later on staying in a hotel.  A couple trips to Disneyland, but mostly relaxed around the house. Meals were mostly take out, but aside from Disneyland we didn't do much else but enjoy the cooler than KC temps and play outside.

Vacations now with kids:  Road trips in our Versa.  We try to find places with kitchenettes and only eat out (cheaply) for one meal a day.  We have taken 3 KC-CO-UT-CA trips with my daughter, two with the boy.  We just got back from a Chicago trip that was designed around some company paid training for my husband.  The hotel was paid for, our gas would get taken care of, plus the per-diem food allowance would cover our entire family.  So we took the kids and while my husband was in training the kids and I explored different parks, nature reserves, the Brookfield zoo.  We managed to squeeze in two museums (free with our KC Science City pass!) with the husband on Sunday and Saturday before/after his training.   I must say, I did get extremely tired of chocolate (nutella) sandwiches on this last trip, but the kids loved them!  We are hopeful to get approved for more training in Seattle later this year, and we'll plan another road trip around it and reuse our Nat'l Park pass that will still be good from our last CA trip and hit up three more parks we haven't seen yet. 


So while our trips are inflated in some ways (more activities, more sights, more overall hotel stays) they are different, too, in that we aren't flying everywhere.  It's kind of hard to compare. While I have very fond memories of my vacations growing up, I do prefer how we travel now and stay busy.  I'm a SAHM, so travel is more about seeing new things, doing things with the kids and the hubby, and I get my break from not having to meal plan (too much) and clean/do dishes.  Plus it's an adult/kid ration of 1:1 so that's easier for me. 

[MrsPete]

My childhood vacations were similar to that of the OP's:  That is, we typically rented a house at the beach with extended family.  It wasn't a fancy house by any means:  In fact, it was kind of run-down, but it had LOTS of space for everyone.  We girls and grandma shared a room with two double beds and one twin.  I have no memory of the bathrooms or showers.  Most nights the dads grilled out -- my own dad was a grilling fiend -- but we went out to dinner ONCE during the whole week.  My mom always baked several cakes and made disposable pans of Rice Krispie treats so we'd have plenty of snacks for the week. 

We also had camping trips. 

Aside from those trips, we went to Disney ONCE.  My parents attended several timeshare presentations to get free tickets for a part of the family, and we went to the parks only one day. 

Then when my dad abandoned us, even those modest vacations stopped. 

Fast-forward to today: 

Our kids have been on MANY more vacations than most of their friends.  We've done lots of camping trips, lots of weekends at the beach or lakes (and while we don't rent expensive places, they are nicer than the places I stayed as a kid -- and we have more space to spread out).  Many of the places we've visited have been educational.  We've done a couple cruises and have flown as a family 2-3 times.  However, my husband and I also have quite a bit more money than my parents did. 

[retired?]

Our vacations consisted almost solely of visiting my dad's parents for 2 weeks in Florida, every June, almost every year.....in the house where he grew up.  Drove the 1k miles straight...no stops, with a thin mattress stuck in the back of the station wagon.....seat belts?  What?

And, occasional visits to my mom's mom.  But, that was in Arlington, VA and not very interesting.

No renting of beach houses at all.

My wife went on much more exotic vacations.  To Europe, on cruises, etc.  She recently commented that we don't spend nearly as much on vacations as "our friends".  Regardless, I think our slate of vacations is just fine.

[rocketpj]

My entire childhood (both parents teachers) was spent on camping trips, basically all over BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan.  When I got older (and my folks were more liquid) we did some winter trips to the ski hills, but always on the cheap (stayed at my uncle's place in Calgary, drove to Banff for the day of skiing, drove back at night, bag lunches).  Neither of my parents chose to travel anywhere until after they had retired (and so far they have mostly gone to Hawaii).

As a young adult I did a lot of backpacking and shoestring travel.

Now our holidays are much the same, except when we are gifted trips further afield - my MIL works for an airline and sometimes takes us to visit the extended family in Greece.  Next spring we are going to Disneyland because we have a friend who is working on a Disney movie and can get us into the park for free (and we will stay at their house).

Even at my most profligate, I could never spend thousands on a short trip to anything.  It just isn't in my DNA.  I'd happily camp for 2 months straight, but I just don't see ever staying in a 5 star somewhere and 'living it up'.

[amyable]

My parents aren't very frugal, but we had great, inexpensive vacations when I was a kid.  We never flew anywhere, and I hadn't been on a plane until I was 18.  We took road trips to Arkansas, Louisiana, and Colorado, but we mainly just visited other parts of Texas:  South Padre, Big Bend National Park, the Hill Country, San Antonio, etc. 

I'm not a very well-traveled person, but I tend to prefer outdoorsy vacations, so I don't really crave long trips to Europe, etc.  Although, once I'm out of debt, I'd like to travel a little more.

[Argyle]

One thing about those frugal vacations where everyone stayed in a cabin and the moms/grandmoms did all the cooking?  Not so much of a vacation for the moms/grandmoms.  Just intensive housework in different scenery.

Similarly the cruise with the toddler twins sounds extravagant, but the nanny part of it the least so.  Toddlers are exhausting; I don't even want to think about how exhausting toddler twins are.  Going on a cruise with them would not be relaxing in any way, shape, or form without a babysitter.  Now, the whole cruise sounds laughably expensive, but the nanny is maybe the most essential thing to making it a "vacation."  With a nanny, the parents can go in the pool at the same time, can go out to dinner without having to leave after 5 minutes because a kid is screaming, can leave their cabin after 7 pm when the kids are sleeping.  It's not the nanny that's the frivolous part, it's the cruise. 

[Fodder]

I had some pretty extravagant vacations as a child - Europe for two weeks, Hawaii for a week, Florida several times, as well as a camping trip across Canada, and many trips to the Maritimes.  My parents placed a high value on travel.

I value it too and have traveled a decent amount on my own.

We haven't done any big vacations with the kids, because frankly.....they aren't old enough to remember it, so for now, we just have fun family stay-cations or rent a cottage for a week.  They have a blast.

Eventually, I would like to take them to Disney, but I'll wait until the littlest one is old enough to remember and tall enough to go on rides....because it sure as hell won't be an annual thing.  I'd also like to take them to Europe, across Canada and to some locations in the US.

That said, travel is one of the things I save for.  I place a lot of value on it and I don't mind saving up for it.  But we don't do it all the time or every year.  This year for our anniversary, we are going winter glamping (in a yurt). 

And regarding stay-cation, my kids had SO much fun on ours this year.  I took them to local museums, rode them around in the bike trailer, went to wading pools, splurged on the trampoline gym, and they had an absolute blast.  I don't think they are missing out on anything at this stage! (they are 6 and 2)

[RFAAOATB]

Eventually, I would like to take them to Disney, but I'll wait until the littlest one is old enough to remember and tall enough to go on rides....because it sure as hell won't be an annual thing.  I'd also like to take them to Europe, across Canada and to some locations in the US.

My first Disney trip was right before kindergarten.  I'll be aiming my next Disney trip right before future kid is ready for kindergarten.