is vacation better solo, or with one or more other people?

[brianmanahan]

i've always gone on vacations alone. in some ways it's nice because i can just do what i want, and stuff isn't as expensive. but sometimes it gets weird not saying anything besides "hi" to people for a week or two.

so what does ATOT think?

 

[Skyclad1uhm1]

Differs per person.

 

[lxskllr]

Either by myself, or with a child. Both versions I get to do what I want, but with a kid you also get to to see the world through their eyes, and everything's a little more spectacular. The downside is you have to account for a kid where you travel.

 

[tynopik]

totally depends on the other people

with the right people, going on a vacation is a blast, far greater than any solo option

with the wrong people, well, you go on vacation to get away from them

 

[shortylickens]

I know one thing: Dont vacation with Selena Gomez!

 

[DietDrThunder]

totally depends on the other people

with the right people, going on a vacation is a blast, far greater than any solo option

with the wrong people, well, you go on vacation to get away from them

I know what you mean. Many years ago my wife thought it would be a fun idea to go on vacation with her parents. Seesh! That was an epic fail. We spent most of the trip trying to avoid them, and believe me, that wasn't easy.

 

[Exterous]

Depends on how 'Vacation Compatible' you are with those people. Fortunately my wife and I are into the same things and almost always have the same ideas for how we want a particular vacation to work regardless of whether its a city trip, hiking trip or cruise. We have some friends who we would absolutely not want to go on a city trip with but have done beach trips with them and have had a great time. We have other friends who we've had a great time visiting cities together but would absolutely suck to take on a trip where we do a lot of hiking.

While its not as much as I used to I still travel alone enough for work that I like vacationing with someone else.

 

[TXHokie]

It depends...we've gone thru a few stages:

Before SO, it was fun with friends (what happened in Vegas never happened)
Before kids but hitched, it was enjoyable with just the SO since we liked the same things (camping, hiking, sightseeing, beer...)
When kids were little, it was fun with just the kids since they depended on you and you can see them enjoy (beach, water park, amusement parks, camping etc)
When kids are older tweens and they don't want to hang with just you anymore, it's fun with other families that has kids same age that get along with your kids (beach house, cruise, all inclusives)
I expect when kids are gone, we'll move to friend adult couples only vacation, sprinkle in a few mancations with old buddies

 

[Red Storm]

With SO or friends. Vacationing alone is an alien idea to me, like going to the movies alone.

 

[dullard]

Depends on how 'Vacation Compatible' you are with those people.

Exactly. Group vacations are the best when they work, but they only work if the people are compatible. Eating every meal at McDonalds while you are in an exotic culture is quite a bummer for a foodie. Similarly, the concept of not eating at McDonalds is terrifying for a large subset of people. Those two groups shouldn't vacation together.

Same goes with active/relaxation people. Or city vs. scenery. Or clubbing vs. culture. Or night owl vs those god-forsaken idiots who think 4 am is a great time to be awake.

I just got back from hiking in the mountains with some relatives. Three days were with just active, fit people and it was a blast. Two days had additional relatives that were easily the weight of 3 normal people each. Those two days with the bigger group was spend staring at the great viewpoints, from far below, in the car or at a picnic table. It just wasn't the same. We were incompatible and honestly I wasted two days of my vacation.

Vacationing alone is okay but I think it misses out on far too much. There is no one to share the memories with.

 

[zinfamous]

right, it depends on the people and how well you travel together. I definitely like traveling with people, but not if they are schedule Nazis. If there is an upcoming vacation and I'm considering joining some people or person, and they send out some daily schedule for the entire trip, timed to the hour each day, I will stop talking to these people. I can't stand such insanity.

When I vacation, I wake up each day with a couple of goals, but the day is never ruined if some, or all of them, are not met. Such people can't handle when their precious little schedule deviates from event to event, due to "unforeseen circumstances" (this is called "life"), and they are intolerable to be around--always rushing you around from place to place, regardless of you actually enjoying your time, because "The Schedule must be honored!"

I actually voted the "comedy option" because I have done that a couple of times and I have had a blast.

 

[dasherHampton]

You vacation alone? I could never do that.

I'm too shy.

 

[justoh]

Maybe add "yes" to the poll, so more people could vote.

 

[NetWareHead]

Exactly. Group vacations are the best when they work, but they only work if the people are compatible. Eating every meal at McDonalds while you are in an exotic culture is quite a bummer for a foodie. Similarly, the concept of not eating at McDonalds is terrifying for a large subset of people. Those two groups shouldn't vacation together.

I remember going to puerto rico with some buddies in our early twenties. Iv always been an adventurous eater; I'm the "try anything twice type". I can read & speak spanish and when we were out in san juan, I wanted to stop at a good restaurant and try some local food. The menu was posted outside the restaurant, prices were reasonable and I told the guys they had nothig to worry about with me as the translator. Everybody was hemming and hawing about entering until one dumbass friend of ours spots a McDonalds and convinces the group to eat there. I was pretty pissed that there we were in a foreign country and you make us eat a McDonalds. Like I dont get enough of that back in the states.

Same goes with active/relaxation people. Or city vs. scenery. Or clubbing vs. culture. Or night owl vs those god-forsaken idiots who think 4 am is a great time to be awake.

I just got back from hiking in the mountains with some relatives. Three days were with just active, fit people and it was a blast. Two days had additional relatives that were easily the weight of 3 normal people each. Those two days with the bigger group was spend staring at the great viewpoints, from far below, in the car or at a picnic table. It just wasn't the same. We were incompatible and honestly I wasted two days of my vacation.

Vacationing alone is okay but I think it misses out on far too much. There is no one to share the memories with.

Ugh I'd be pissed

right, it depends on the people and how well you travel together. I definitely like traveling with people, but not if they are schedule Nazis. If there is an upcoming vacation and I'm considering joining some people or person, and they send out some daily schedule for the entire trip, timed to the hour each day, I will stop talking to these people. I can't stand such insanity.

When I vacation, I wake up each day with a couple of goals, but the day is never ruined if some, or all of them, are not met. Such people can't handle when their precious little schedule deviates from event to event, due to "unforeseen circumstances" (this is called "life"), and they are intolerable to be around--always rushing you around from place to place, regardless of you actually enjoying your time, because "The Schedule must be honored!"

I actually voted the "comedy option" because I have done that a couple of times and I have had a blast.

My dad is the same way and when we vacation with him, I try to acomodate him. I actually like doing what he plans and being that I dont get to spend much time with my dad, its nice to be on his schedule and do activities together. My dad has a girlfriend, she has 2 sons in their early 20s. Dad took them on a vacation and he was pissed the entire time. He and his gf woke up early, worked out, went to get breakfast and had all of these plans to go touring but her two sons wanted nothing to do with it. They slept in until 2 PM. He was pissy that he had basically paid for them to come along and they slept for most of the day. Last time he ever took the boys on a trip.

 

[lxskllr]

I remember going to puerto rico with some buddies in our early twenties. Iv always been an adventurous eater; I'm the "try anything twice type". I can read & speak spanish and when we were out in san juan, I wanted to stop at a good restaurant and try some local food. The menu was posted outside the restaurant, prices were reasonable and I told the guys they had nothig to worry about with me as the translator. Everybody was hemming and hawing about entering until one dumbass friend of ours spots a McDonalds and convinces the group to eat there. I was pretty pissed that there we were in a foreign country and you make us eat a McDonalds. Like I dont get enough of that back in the states.

I'm *not* a particularly adventurous eater, but If I'm some place interesting, damned if I'm gonna eat what I can get at home. I'd have been pissed too, and I wouldn't have gone. I'd have gone in the local place, and those boneheads could do whatever stupid shit they wanted to do.

 

[zinfamous]

My dad is the same way and when we vacation with him, I try to acomodate him. I actually like doing what he plans and being that I dont get to spend much time with my dad, its nice to be on his schedule and do activities together. My dad has a girlfriend, she has 2 sons in their early 20s. Dad took them on a vacation and he was pissed the entire time. He and his gf woke up early, worked out, went to get breakfast and had all of these plans to go touring but her two sons wanted nothing to do with it. They slept in until 2 PM. He was pissy that he had basically paid for them to come along and they slept for most of the day. Last time he ever took the boys on a trip.

Heh, it's not that I intend to sleep in and do nothing, it's that with some of these people, the schedule must be honored to the hour! I like a daily plan when you wake up. I intend to be active and see all sorts of shit. Thing is, I am the type that has an idea of where I want to be and what I want to do, at certain times, and when that falls apart for other reasons, I do get frustrated....and I realize that. So my vacation time that rejects rote scheduling is a defense against my own worst self, because I end up having less fun when I leave no room for improvisation.

 

[Exterous]

Eating every meal at McDonalds while you are in an exotic culture is quite a bummer for a foodie.

When we were in Australia over Easter the only place we could find open on Easter in the small town we were in was Hungry Jacks (Burger King) so we ended up having to eat there twice. In NZ we drove and walked around for 35min during a holiday before I finally accepted we would have to eat at either KFC or McDonalds as everywhere else was closed. I chose McDonalds because they at least had something called a Kiwi burger but that was just a Big Mac some beets on it. Regardless I pretty sad that I had to 'resort' to those options

right, it depends on the people and how well you travel together. I definitely like traveling with people, but not if they are schedule Nazis. If there is an upcoming vacation and I'm considering joining some people or person, and they send out some daily schedule for the entire trip, timed to the hour each day, I will stop talking to these people. I can't stand such insanity.

When I vacation, I wake up each day with a couple of goals, but the day is never ruined if some, or all of them, are not met. Such people can't handle when their precious little schedule deviates from event to event, due to "unforeseen circumstances" (this is called "life"), and they are intolerable to be around--always rushing you around from place to place, regardless of you actually enjoying your time, because "The Schedule must be honored!"

At first I thought this was about me since I have an excel spreadsheet for all our trips with tabs for each day containing what times we should leave the hotel by, estimated drive times, estimated times at a site\trail, train times, flight info, hotel address etc. But I don't think The Schedule must be honored at all times. We've stayed at places longer because they were way cooler than we thought meaning we missed out on something else on The Schedule, skipped out on things because it wasn't nearly as cool as we thought or the day was too ambitious. And delayed flights, traffic jams and whatnot happens so we treat it more of a General Guide than Rule of Law.

 

[JulesMaximus]

My wife and I went to Maui for a week last summer. We brought our son and one of his good friends which worked out quite well, they kept each other busy which allowed my wife and I to go off and do a few things by ourselves.

 

[zinfamous]

At first I thought this was about me since I have an excel spreadsheet for all our trips with tabs for each day containing what times we should leave the hotel by, estimated drive times, estimated times at a site\trail, train times, flight info, hotel address etc. But I don't think The Schedule must be honored at all times. We've stayed at places longer because they were way cooler than we thought meaning we missed out on something else on The Schedule, skipped out on things because it wasn't nearly as cool as we thought or the day was too ambitious. And delayed flights, traffic jams and whatnot happens so we treat it more of a General Guide than Rule of Law.

You lost me at spreadsheet. The rest is some Peanuts adult talking.

 

[AznAnarchy99]

Depends. I travel a lot. My best friends that I get along with at home might be horribly incompatible travel buddies. I've learned that after living abroad pretty quickly. I always say big travel trips are like living with someone. You truly know if you are able to handle them when you live with them.

Party trips I would rather go with the guys. Travel trips I'd prefer with the SO.

 

[Exterous]

You lost me at spreadsheet. The rest is some Peanuts adult talking.

🙁

 

[BudAshes]

I've never even thought of taking a vacation by myself. I mean I do travel for work by myself, but I've never just gone on vacation by myself where I wasn't visiting someone.

 

[NetWareHead]

Heh, it's not that I intend to sleep in and do nothing, it's that with some of these people, the schedule must be honored to the hour! I like a daily plan when you wake up. I intend to be active and see all sorts of shit. Thing is, I am the type that has an idea of where I want to be and what I want to do, at certain times, and when that falls apart for other reasons, I do get frustrated....and I realize that. So my vacation time that rejects rote scheduling is a defense against my own worst self, because I end up having less fun when I leave no room for improvisation.

Vacation is supposed to be fun and a time to let go. But also a time to see/experience things you dont normally get to see back home. A rigid adherence to a fixed schedulng with minutes allotted to waking up, bathroom time etc... is not fun. Improvisation is fun and as long as you accomplish some or most goals, Im fine with that. The spirit of my dad's vacation with his girlfriend's sons was that he felt insulted by the boys. Why should he have paid for them and then barely see him? Live and learn...

 

[purbeast0]

There really is no "best" for me personally. I've gone on vacations just my wife and myself, then my wife and myself and a group of friends, and then just my wife and my son. Then I've gone on trips with must my boys. They all are great in their own ways.

When going by ourself, we don't have to worry about anyone elses schedule. My wife is pretty laid back and I pretty much run things on vacation as far as what we do and stuff. She likes to snorkel and hang at the beach with some drinks, but then if we want to go out on an excursion as well like rent ATV's or what not, she is cool with that too.

With friends, it's fun to hang with more people at the beach and just basically have a party atmosphere for a week with good friends. Going out to party at night is more fun when you can go with a group of people, although my wife and I still go out when it's just us 2.

With our son, it's a different kind of fun. I love that he loves being in the ocean and hanging out at the beach. Our vacation days when we've gone with him are basically hanging out at a beach in the morning, coming back and he naps, then we go back out and do something else, then come home and have a nice dinner at a restaurant, then come home and relax. I also love seeing my son experiencing new places and things, and seeing how excited he is about all of it. Typically the vacations with my son are a lot more relaxing than when it's without him.

When I've gone with just my boys, it's typically because we all want to do a bunch of shit that we wouldn't do with our wives around, which includes going fishing for a day, snorkeling, and scuba diving, etc. I've also gone on golfing trips where it's basically 3 days of golfing/drinking during the day then strip clubs at night. It's been a while since I've done those, but I prefer the ones that involve water activities way more.

 

[purbeast0]

right, it depends on the people and how well you travel together. I definitely like traveling with people, but not if they are schedule Nazis. If there is an upcoming vacation and I'm considering joining some people or person, and they send out some daily schedule for the entire trip, timed to the hour each day, I will stop talking to these people. I can't stand such insanity.

When I vacation, I wake up each day with a couple of goals, but the day is never ruined if some, or all of them, are not met. Such people can't handle when their precious little schedule deviates from event to event, due to "unforeseen circumstances" (this is called "life"), and they are intolerable to be around--always rushing you around from place to place, regardless of you actually enjoying your time, because "The Schedule must be honored!"

I actually voted the "comedy option" because I have done that a couple of times and I have had a blast.

I like to have "somewhat" of a schedule. And by that I mean, if we go on a week vacation to Aruba, I want to have 1 day we rent ATV's and explore, and I want to do a snorkel trip one morning. Which days that happens, I don't really give a shit.

But when we went on the boys fishing/snorkel/scuba trip, we were on a pretty tight schedule in the sense that we were arriving there on a Saturday and leaving Wednesday, wanted to snorkel on the drive down to the Keys, which meant we had Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday to do a full day of fishing and basically a full day of SCUBA since we were doing the "discover SCUBA" course, which basically took the whole day. So we did SCUBA Sunday, Monday was a chill day, and Tuesday was fishing. But everyone went on this trip knowing the plan before hand. It ended up working out great.