How to plan good vacations?

[Phoenix84]

Now that I have the disposable income and annual leave to travel, I want to start planning yearly vacations.

The problem I have with trip planning is "how do you know what you don't know" in regards to what's out there? In other words, how can I find interesting vacation destinations I might not otherwise know about? How can I effectively research places to visit?

Any ideas on good places you've visited?  Or websites or other resources I can use to plan good trips?

I'd like to qualify that I'm single and have no kids.  Which appears to be a problem with some places, like cruises, because you have to book as a couple.  I can do it, but I'd be paying for another person who doesn't exist.

[Deleted]

Jun 28, 2015 7:25:42 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

Now that I have the disposable income and annual leave to travel, I want to start planning yearly vacations.

The problem I have with trip planning is "how do you know what you don't know" in regards to what's out there? In other words, how can I find interesting vacation destinations I might not otherwise know about? How can I effectively research places to visit?

Any ideas on good places you've visited?  Or websites or other resources I can use to plan good trips?

I'd like to qualify that I'm single and have no kids.  Which appears to be a problem with some places, like cruises, because you have to book as a couple.  I can do it, but I'd be paying for another person who doesn't exist.

Do you live near a college or university? Often, they have programs for traveling abroad as part of a group. Some of the participants will be students but a lot of adults go as well. These trips are usually planned well over a year in advance.

That still doesn't solve the problem of the supplement you have to pay for being a single, though.

[joemilitary]

don't they have singles cruises?

[zibazinski]

Single guy on a singles cruise? You'll be glad you paid extra for the single supplement!!

[justme]

To find new places follow travel sites or blogs. I'll often check out msn travel section to check out articles.

As for the single supplement, your only real option is to check around as some don't have as big as a single charge as others. There's cruise lines that charge you for a full other person, some only charge half. There's also a few boats that have single rooms. I've seen some group vacations where the single charge is only 100-300 more.

[Deleted]

Club Med singles vacations. Friends that did that enjoyed it.

Themed cruises. You like jazz or rock music, going on those cruises is fun & attended by both couples/singles so not 100% hookup focused. It gives you a common interest to start with. I don't worry about the up-charge on rooms, it is part of my 'single' vacation planning that the room is advertised as double occupancy, so I know that is not my rate. 

Friends in other countries - visit them & go to the local singles or club activities while you are there.

That's all I got.  I am sure there are books you can get for 'how to vacation as a single & have a good time & not overpay'.

[tcu2003]

Any idea where you might want to go? US, Europe, beach vacation, hiking, exploring, sightseeing, etc? Hot or cold or doesn't matter? That can help narrow down suggestions.

[NastyWoman]

I would start with a trip to the bookstore and look at a couple of travel books for destinations that look interesting. Choseba book, go home, book flight and first night(s) hotel. Then read up in depth on what I absolutely want to see. Fly there and see selected sites or not. I am easily distracted when people (especially local folks) tell me about something I should go see 

I tend to have a great time on vacation, but I suspect that the fact that I am a flexible traveller and a person who never expects perfection. Glass half full kind of traveller  

[weltschmerz]

Jun 28, 2015 7:25:42 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

Now that I have the disposable income and annual leave to travel, I want to start planning yearly vacations.

The problem I have with trip planning is "how do you know what you don't know" in regards to what's out there? In other words, how can I find interesting vacation destinations I might not otherwise know about? How can I effectively research places to visit?

Any ideas on good places you've visited?  Or websites or other resources I can use to plan good trips?

I'd like to qualify that I'm single and have no kids.  Which appears to be a problem with some places, like cruises, because you have to book as a couple.  I can do it, but I'd be paying for another person who doesn't exist.

Do you have friends in other countries? I know people in Greece, the UK, Jamaica, Russia, South Africa, etc. I could always stay with them. All I need is a place to crash at night, then go out exploring on my own. I like it a lot more than resorts or cruises.

[Phoenix84]

Jun 28, 2015 11:27:40 GMT -5 justme said:

To find new places follow travel sites or blogs. I'll often check out msn travel section to check out articles.

As for the single supplement, your only real option is to check around as some don't have as big as a single charge as others. There's cruise lines that charge you for a full other person, some only charge half. There's also a few boats that have single rooms. I've seen some group vacations where the single charge is only 100-300 more.

But how do you find and book cruises with a low single cruise premium? I'm looking for specific sites to start with. MSN travel is a good suggestion.

[Phoenix84]

Jun 28, 2015 14:53:12 GMT -5 tcu2003 said:

Any idea where you might want to go? US, Europe, beach vacation, hiking, exploring, sightseeing, etc? Hot or cold or doesn't matter? That can help narrow down suggestions.

Well, in practice, I have money to spend but not TONS of money. Overseas travel can be rather expensive. So for the purposes of this thread, think the U.S, Canada, maybe Mexico, and the Carribean.

I am tentatively planning a trip to Canada to see the Yukon Mountains and possibly some of Alaska next year. But I'm still looking for ideas for following years.

I have gone on a couple of cruses in the past, and like them. But don't want to limit myself to just cruises. And as I said, there is usually a singles premium charge. 

[Phoenix84]

Jun 28, 2015 13:33:24 GMT -5 @sroo4 said:

I knew google wouldn't let me down...try this site to give ideas. www.bestsingletravel.com

Here's another: www.trekamerica.com/north-america-tours.html

I'll just keep adding here ...
solotravelerblog.com/solo-travel-deals/

dammit, it, now I want to go on vacation...
www.travelchannel.com/interests/outdoors-and-adventure/articles/top-tours-for-single-travelers


i hope MrSroo doesn't see by browsing history and wonder why I'm planning a vacation without him!....
www.travelagewest.com/Travel-News/Travel-Agent-Tools/Best-Companies-for-Solo-Travel/#.VZBHHGK9KSN

Thanks Sroo.

[MJ2.0]

I feel like us YM singles should go on a group vacation to one of those places that are like a kid's summer camp!

[saveinla]

I like trip advisor - they have trips that users have taken and I click on them to see if it's something that I would like to do. I browse through a lot of the attractions and have planned my trips to a couple of places from the recommendations.

[Tennesseer]

What interests you, Phoenix84?  History?  Geology?  Architecture"  Art?  Sports?  

Plan a trip on what interests you.   Do you subscribe to any magazines which focus particularly on an interest of yours? Often times, these magazines and publications advertise trips that might be of interest to their subscribers.

Don't be a tourist-be a traveler.

[tcu2003]

Do you get Groupon emails? In addition to local deals, they also send out a (weekly?) travel deals email. I know a few people who have booked tours through there, and also hotels - there is probably a single supplement for some things, but it might be less than you'll see on some other sites.

[justme]

Jun 28, 2015 16:32:43 GMT -5 MJ2.0 said:

I feel like us YM singles should go on a group vacation to one of those places that are like a kid's summer camp!

That's one of my goals for a summer trip next year.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jun 28, 2015 16:50:28 GMT -5 tcu2003 said:

Do you get Groupon emails? In addition to local deals, they also send out a (weekly?) travel deals email. I know a few people who have booked tours through there, and also hotels - there is probably a single supplement for some things, but it might be less than you'll see on some other sites.

There isn't.  

If you get a groupon deal for a room, it is for the room.....not the number in the party.  So I think it can handle up to 2 but no additional cost for 1. 

My sister went to CR for her 50th birthday last year with a friend.  The friend found the Groupon and it covered 2.  But it was so cheap that it really didn't matter - I think it was an AI for 5 days for about $600.  I've seen a lot of these.  Friend covered the cost of the Groupon, my sister just needed to get her tail to CR.

[Malarky]

In the past few years I've flown to Vegas and used it as a base to do some hiking in the Grand Canyon and a couple of other parks.

I've spent a week traveling around Texas because I have friends there and there's lots of cool stuff I can't find in New England.  

Spent a couple of days catching a ball game at Camden Yards in Baltimore followed by a trip to DC to visit some of the museums.  

I've gone to Maine for a week on a lake with friends every summer for the past 15 years.  

I'm planning on going to Texas next spring and driving back up to Utah to the national parks I missed on the last trip.  

I'm hoping to get DH to Ireland for his 50th in two years.  I don't really think that's going to work, he doesn't have my travel bug.

I haven't been back in years, but Nova Scotia is an awesome place.

I go to places that intrigue me.  I have a plan of sorts...but I leave the door open to any possibility that presents itself.  Sometimes it's as simple as a picture that catches my eye.  

It all depends on how much structure you need to have.  I went to New Zealand by heading west on the Mass Pike.  The entire plan involved getting to Portland, Oregon, stopping in Hawaii and bungy jumping.  The rest was all serendipitous.  If it interested me, I did it.  

Are you the type who can just hop in the car and go? 

[simser]

I travel solo a lot. Your choices are suck it up and pay a single supplement (I do this on the family cruises, because I do not want to share with my aunt). Or make your own itinerary and know you're paying for your own hotel room (or go hostel and just pay for a bed).

I looooooove traveling solo.

Where do you want to go? I start with wiki travel when I'm trying to figure out what I want to do in the area I want to go. And then I check out books from the library.

[souldoubt]

It really depends on how much time you have off, how much your travel budget is and how adventurous you are.  If you're comfortable going somewhere on your own, can take at least a few weeks off work and have your passport I'd say get a global eurail pass, fly into country a, plan to fly out of country b and get from one country to the other via the eurail while stopping off in between.  You can do it for much less than you would think if you're willing to fly coach, aren't picky about where you fly into/out of and stay in hostels or cheap hotels.  If you want to a find a singles cruise that goes to Alaska, Mexico or somewhere else just use google and check the closest port to you or the one that's cheapest for you to get to.  If you want to go on a more structured international trip and are in the 18-35 age range then google contiki vacations.  If you want to go all inclusive to a Mexico resort for a reasonable price then check groupon for deals in Cabo or Puerto Vallarta and grab a 3-4 night all inclusive package.  You can do that for about a grand or so depending on where you've flying from.  I've been multiple times in the last decade and have never had any safety concerns.  If you know have a specific place you want to go to then find travel boards and talk to people who live there or have traveled there for tips.     

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

I just checked my Living Social Travel and there is a 6 night trip at an AI for up to 2 for $569 in DR.  Air normally isn't included in this.

Hell, I'd be tempted to snag this if we didn't already have plans for a big trip in the works.

[Opti]

Jun 28, 2015 7:25:42 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

Now that I have the disposable income and annual leave to travel, I want to start planning yearly vacations.

The problem I have with trip planning is "how do you know what you don't know" in regards to what's out there? In other words, how can I find interesting vacation destinations I might not otherwise know about? How can I effectively research places to visit?

Any ideas on good places you've visited?  Or websites or other resources I can use to plan good trips?

I'd like to qualify that I'm single and have no kids.  Which appears to be a problem with some places, like cruises, because you have to book as a couple.  I can do it, but I'd be paying for another person who doesn't exist.

Phoenix, when you didn't state your requirements for interesting destinations I automatically started thinking of cool places out of the country I'd like to visit such as Wales and Thailand.

First I'd start with what kind of vacation you are looking for. Relaxation? History? Learning? Eating good foods?

[Opti]

Jun 28, 2015 21:28:43 GMT -5 simser said:

I travel solo a lot. Your choices are suck it up and pay a single supplement (I do this on the family cruises, because I do not want to share with my aunt). Or make your own itinerary and know you're paying for your own hotel room (or go hostel and just pay for a bed).

I looooooove traveling solo.

Where do you want to go? I start with wiki travel when I'm trying to figure out what I want to do in the area I want to go. And then I check out books from the library.

I'm impressed. I prefer traveling with an SO, my Mom, or people I know. "Here, taste this excellent salsa" really sucks, when you only have the wait staff to express your glee to. (YMMV obviously.) My solo vacations were time off, but learning vacations. I went away for a week, two different years, to learn a martial art.

The local libraries here also sponsor various day trips or weekend trips. I think about them time to time. Especially the one that includes the Culinary Institute (of America?) in NYC.

[simser]

Jun 29, 2015 0:04:51 GMT -5 Opti said:

Jun 28, 2015 21:28:43 GMT -5 simser said:

I travel solo a lot. Your choices are suck it up and pay a single supplement (I do this on the family cruises, because I do not want to share with my aunt). Or make your own itinerary and know you're paying for your own hotel room (or go hostel and just pay for a bed).

I looooooove traveling solo.

Where do you want to go? I start with wiki travel when I'm trying to figure out what I want to do in the area I want to go. And then I check out books from the library.

I'm impressed. I prefer traveling with an SO, my Mom, or people I know. "Here, taste this excellent salsa" really sucks, when you only have the wait staff to express your glee to. (YMMV obviously.) My solo vacations were time off, but learning vacations. I went away for a week, two different years to learn a martial art.

The local libraries here also sponsor various day trips or weekend trips. I think about them time to time. Especially the one that includes the Culinary Institute (of America?) in NYC.

Really? Wow we've had different experiences. My "omg this is soooo good" to the waitstaff usually gets me a free drink. I actually find I meet more people solo traveling because I'm an extrovert and I have to talk to people and so I make random conversations. It's going to take a rare person for me to give up that freedom to travel with. I have no schedule, no nothing, and I only have to do what I want to do!!

[bobosensei]

First make a general decision about the type of trip you want to do- city, country, beach, lake etc.  Make a budget which will help determine your location- do you have enough money to fly, do you need to drive and limit the distance you can go, is there a sale going on at a particular location etc. Then start googling and find information to narrow things down further.  Use something like TripAdvisor to help figure out hotels.  Ask friends and family if they have any tips for where you are going, ask on here, look it up on travel blogs. People love to talk about their vacations whether they are good or bad.

[Apple]

Jun 28, 2015 16:21:54 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

Jun 28, 2015 14:53:12 GMT -5 tcu2003 said:

Any idea where you might want to go? US, Europe, beach vacation, hiking, exploring, sightseeing, etc? Hot or cold or doesn't matter? That can help narrow down suggestions.

Well, in practice, I have money to spend but not TONS of money. Overseas travel can be rather expensive. So for the purposes of this thread, think the U.S, Canada, maybe Mexico, and the Carribean.

I am tentatively planning a trip to Canada to see the Yukon Mountains and possibly some of Alaska next year. But I'm still looking for ideas for following years.

I have gone on a couple of cruses in the past, and like them. But don't want to limit myself to just cruises. And as I said, there is usually a singles premium charge. 

Don't rule out Europe!  Not including flight and train, we're averaging under $200/day (includes all food, hotels, museums, metro, bus tickets, etc).  And single bed rooms (twin or double) are much cheaper than rooms with two beds.  So, since Europe travel is what I've done rather than what you mentioned, I'll still input a little.

First, figure out what you like and want to do.  What do you not want?  For my first trip, I wanted someplace that spoke English, so I wouldn't have a language barrier.  I like history, castles, and pretty scenic areas.  I love accents.  

Austrailia was way too expensive.  I had no clue what I was doing, so wanted to go with a group.  I found a tour with Collette and went. (ETA: England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales).  That has been my most expensive trip so far, and it was two weeks.  The trip I'm on now, where I get my own place, see more countries, and am spending five weeks, may still be cheaper than with a company for two weeks.  Just something to consider.

Now that I'm more comfortable, I seek out my interests and just go.  At first it was one hotel room and do day trips from there, or just see the local sites.  Now it's a big trip around several countries.

If you want to stay in a small apartment in a large city, check out VRBO.  They have some great deals (we had a two bed apartment, right in London, near a bus stop and underground station, with stove, refrigerator, etc, for $90/night.)

For this trip, I'm using booking.com.  I can book rooms the night before, or a few nights before.  

There are pros and cons for both group and solo travel.  If you're with a group, you are stuck on their time schedule.  But, you're with a group and have company.  If you go solo, you can do what you want when you want, and spend that extra hour in a museum or sitting at a cafe at an outside table watching the people go by.

Vacationstogo.com is how I found the tour for my first trip, but it looks like they just do cruises now.  It was a good way to search-- select length of stay, countries you wanted to see, how many people, etc.  It shows the different tour groups and different interests.  I did find this though www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/solo-travel/10604222/Solo-travel-the-best-tour-operators-for-singles.html it's a UK site, but lists all kinds of companies.
I know when I went, you could book as a single, but say you would be willing to share a room to avoid the single fee.  Of course, that would mean you would be sharing a room with a stranger...

Some things to think about...  Would you mind not knowing the language?  Would you be comfortable having to learn new customs?  Are you willing to try new things-- buses, metro, trains (you may have already done this, we never had before our first trip).  Would you be willing to drive in a new country?  Do you like museums, beaches, scenery, cities...?

As for what I've found on this trip...  Switzerland is insanely expensive.  We haven't made it there yet, but Poland and Czech Republic are very inexpensive.  Since you don't have kids, you can go any time of year and not get stuck with high summer costs.  You can be flexible with your flight, so just look at price histories and find a good time of year (two days difference can mean a $500 increase in ticket costs between seasons).

[Deleted]

I start with guidebooks from the library to see what looks interesting and narrow down the general destination. Guidebooks give you a good feel for the balance of natural beauty, history, cathedrals, etc. so you know if it's a place you'd like. Lonely Planet guides are particularly good for intangibles such as how friendly the locals are and how likely you are to be pickpocketed.  They also tell you how to use the public transportation systems.

I always prefer to have hotels booked. Haven't tried VRBO but I may sometime. I prefer to chose activities the morning we get up, based on weather, interests, and maybe even new things we found out about after we got there.

Even in Europe you can save money by getting food and snacks at the grocery store for many meals, and choosing low-cost or free activities such as hiking, museums in some countries (the British Museum is free) and minimizing tourist traps such as the giant Ferris wheels.  I used to have a book of walking tours of major cities, but if you did a search on "Walking Tours of ---" I'm sure you'd find some.  Great way to o at your own pace but not miss anything important.

[Phoenix84]

Jun 28, 2015 16:37:26 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

What interests you, Phoenix84?  History?  Geology?  Architecture"  Art?  Sports?  

Plan a trip on what interests you.   Do you subscribe to any magazines which focus particularly on an interest of yours? Often times, these magazines and publications advertise trips that might be of interest to their subscribers.

Don't be a tourist-be a traveler.

Hiking and parks, but nothing extreme like mountain climbing. I like spending a few hours hiking. I loved hiking around Aspin, Co last year.

I like history and museums.

To a certain extent, art and architecture, but not quite as much as above.

Don't mind sailing or flying.

[Tennesseer]

Jun 29, 2015 7:43:50 GMT -5 Phoenix84 said:

Jun 28, 2015 16:37:26 GMT -5 Tennesseer said:

What interests you, Phoenix84?  History?  Geology?  Architecture"  Art?  Sports?  

Plan a trip on what interests you.   Do you subscribe to any magazines which focus particularly on an interest of yours? Often times, these magazines and publications advertise trips that might be of interest to their subscribers.

Don't be a tourist-be a traveler.

Hiking and parks, but nothing extreme like mountain climbing. I like spending a few hours hiking. I loved hiking around Aspin, Co last year.

I like history and museums.

To a certain extent, art and architecture, but not quite as much as above.

Don't mind sailing or flying.

How about something unusual like a guided hiking tour of Camino de Santiago in Spain? You get the hiking, the history, art, architecture, fresh air, local food, etc. You don't have to be Roman Catholic or even spiritual to enjoy a unique hike and walk. And you do not have to complete the whole walk. Start any where on the trail to where you will have enough time to end up in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

Walk of a lifetime: Why the epic Camino trail across Spain is a route to true happiness