I just need an affirmation that I'm not the only one who can't make up her mind about where to go. We're planning a trip for late spring 2009, and we've already changed our minds, in the span of, I don't know, a month and a half, fifty thousand times (rough estimate). Here's a flow chart of sorts tracing our journey, which is as exhausting as doing the real thing!

1. We'll tackle South America since the dollar is so strong there--maybe Peru; I've always wanted to see Macchu Picchu.Get guidebooks from the library and read them.
---Nope. Guidebooks dissuade us. We'd need more help in planning this kind of trip, and maybe we're not ready to take the kids to South America yet. They always whine abut having to get shots...

2. Belize? Costa Rica. Yes.Research a bit online...
---Nope. Airfare is just as expensive as getting to Europe, and we wanted a month away...we're not really beach people anyway.

3. What about North America? Out West? We had actually begun intensely planning a road trip to see the country, but the National Parks' lodging became dissapointing since you have to book so far ahead in advance. Plus, we don't want to drive every day like we'd have to...Atlanta up to Glacier National Park? Going up will be interesting, but coming home will stink!

4. Okay--we're excited about this one: Yosemite for a week; then, since we're on the West Coast, go to Hawaii for a week. The Big Island, volcanoes. Go to library, check out books, get a video. Looks great! Research online, find hotels in Hawaii, expand our budget to stay in really nice places for a change. Talk to friends, they suggest Kauai instead, so we research it and change to there...
---Nope...We're not beach people, remember? We always get bored when we're at the beach for more than five days, and anyway, for two weeks in Yosemite and Hawaii, we could spend three weeks in England...

5. Three weeks in England.
6. Four weeks in England.
7. What about Italy?
8. Three weeks in Italy: the Amalfi Coast, Rome, Tuscany.
9. But we're so close to the Alps...
10. Two weeks in Italy, one in the Alps.
11. I love England, though...
12. Two weeks in England (Cornwall and York), one week in Alsace, and one in Chamonix. This would cover the places we had wanted to cover on our first trip to Europe as a family.
13. Last night: four weeks in the UK: Cornwall, London,Cotswolds, Northumberland/Scotland.

The problem is, we won't make a final decision until August or September! And everytime I tell myself we'll think about it later, when I have time, I start reading again....Is there medication for this disorder?!!?

On the positive side, I'm learning a lot about a lot of different places!

Tara, one thing that helped me in the past was to have sort of a five year plan for these major trips. That way you have a sense that you will be going to several of the places that interest you. And with kids, sometimes their ages might help you think about the timing and where to go when.

It is great that you are able to pursue options for two-four weeks!

All of these sound like wonderful vacations-- but then, that's the problem, isn't it?

Kathy

quote:

Tara, one thing that helped me in the past was to have sort of a five year plan for these major trips.

Yep--we've sort of cobbled that out, too. Problem is, no doubt it will change! From the start we've thought we would do an American trip one year and then a European one; this year it's DC and Williamsburg; next year, well, you know. Our 20th anniversary will be in 2011, so we thought we would do Italy without the kids, and for their high school graduations we are hoping we could have them choose any destination for a senior trip. Hopefully they'll get scholarships so we can use the money we've saved up for their college funds for travel!!!!!!!

Hi TaraF,
You didn't mention your kids age but in any case any of European destinations can be great. My advice is to chose 1 country or two neighbor regions. The idea is to condition yourself by saying it is not my last trip.
Involve your kids too. For example, when I was 13-15 years old, I literally got addicted to Spain. That remained after for many years: Spain became THE only possible option for family vacations. My parents even bought an apartment there close to Barcelona. It was just so cool there, so many parties in the Summer, I just loved that weird Gaudi architechture, we also could swim (just love the sea).

Just see with them, what attracts them. For example in Italy, there are numerous archaelogical sites not only museums. In each country there are tons of things to do and to see for everyone.

Ahhh, Tara, I can so identify.

If you read my posts about our june/july trip this year, you would swear I'm just an outright lier.

I've planned so many different versions of our trip, I can't even keep it straight myself.

The only constant seems to be Montenegro.

But, finally, I picked two cities that we really wanted to see; made them the fly in & fly out cities with Montenegro as the two weeks wedged in the middle. (Flying into Budapest and out of Bucarest)

Then we bought our airline tickets so we couldn't change our minds --- AGAIN.

Now all we have to do is plan what we want to do with each of the four weeks.

Yup.
Very similar to my Travel Hyper Activity Attention Deficit Disorder. I posted this on my Web site while planning our Great 10 Year Anniversary Trip:


Have you heard the joke something like "I don't have attention deficit dis -look! There's a butterfly!"?

That is me with travel. It's more than a little ridiculous how I change my mind and bounce around the globe when deciding on a trip destination. It goes something like this:

I want to do a Mediterranean cruise for our 10-year wedding anniversary in June 2007.

No, I want adventure. I want to go on the Trans-Siberian railway trip across Russia and Mongolia and China.

Ooh, if we're going to do that we should do an Around-the-World . where else should we stop? Definitely SE Asia.

Oh, airfare is too much. Let's just do SE Asia. Group tour? What about a river cruise in China?

I like this 16-day Princess cruise from Bangkok to Beijing.

Hmm, maybe an Intrepid Travel tour of Cambodia. Oh, look at this other tour in their catalogue. Transylvania sounds really cool!

I bet we could use Marriot points in China.

Oh, they're not doing that cruise in June of 07. I think we could do Bangkok on our own, and look it's only a 4-5 hour flight back to China or Japan. (Visit Amazon, buy two books on SE Asia)

FriendlyPlanet has some cheap deals to Asia. We could ditch the bus tour and do our own thing.

Ooooh, Holland America prices have dome down on their Greece, Turkey, Israel, Egypt and Libya cruise. Let's do that. Yes, for sure. (Go to Amazon. Cancel other order. Order Mediterranean cruise and Holy Land books). Read up on Libya and Israel safety sheets.

Tally up cost of cruise plus excursions plus tips plus airfare plus plus plus .. Ok, maybe we shouldn't spend 10 percent of our annual income on this trip.

A rainy Sunday at home all day. I could write up my trip report from Italy, or I could surf around and find a more affordable Mediterranean cruise. Jeez, they all go to places we've already been. What about a week in Provence? I haven't looked at Untours in a while.

Ooh, wait, look at this Celebrity Med cruise. $1000+ less than the Holland America one and it overnights in Istanbul, and goes to all new places for us.

Yeah, I like that one. Yep, definitely. Email from Amazon - my order has shipped. Well, at least one of the books is still applicable. Anyone need a Holy Land guidebook?

After all this, we've come full circle, back to the cruise I bookmarked 6 months ago in my Celebrity catalogue at home.


Now we need to decide where to go before and after the 11 day cruise. Guess that will depend on where Delta can get us with our miles in June. Maybe Dubrovnik . ? Or Switzerland - I'd love to go back. Hey, doesn't Delta fly to Kiev now... ?

Tara, Not really,although I can be researching trips years out as many as 3 at a time. Simultaneously thinking about tiny details and the whole picture.
If you are interested In Peru the company we went with is fabulous. Normally we would never sign with a group but for Patagonia we used
Andes Adventures. We have 10 friends that did machu Pichu with him and all say it was great. RR

On the way home from Paris last week, I tore out the route map from the CO magazine and began circling all of the places we have talked about taking the kids. It came to something like 15 or 16. While sitting there, we talked about those we want to do when the kids are young and those we would like to put off until they are a little older. We also divided the list into those where we would go for long weekends and those that would be week long trips or longer. Right now, we are talking about a road trip to Atalanta next spring, Provence next summer, NYC and Chicago in 2010, New England and Williamsburg in 2011, Disney in 2012, and then it gets a little hazy. Between the national parks out west, trips to D.C., San Francisco, and a fex vacations spent on beaches or in the mountains, we are set for several years to come. This does not even include our ezcapes to Paris. Winning the lottery sure would help.

quote:

Winning the lottery sure would help.

I told my kids that if we ever won the lottery, they'd be home-schooled as we tour around the world for a few years. Sigh. I tried for the big $270 million jackpot last week, but alas, a guy who will buy trucks with it won.