Unfortunately the amount of time we spend at work often outweighs the amount of time we spend with our family. However, once or twice a year we can decide where we go on vacation and how to spend our leisure time. Deciding where to go on a family trip or couples retreat can be stressful and time consuming but it can also be fun and exciting. Going on vacation always turns out to be a positive experience so do not make planning a vacation a negative one. Vacation goals can help ease the pressure of planning vacations and give you and your family something to look forward too throughout the year.
Five years after meeting my future wife we began to struggle with where to go on vacation every year. Beach towns, cruises, and all-inclusive resorts were favorites early on but then we began to argue about where to go next. After discussing what we enjoyed we agreed visiting new places, staying domestic, and traveling on a budget were the most important aspects of our travel goals. Based on our metrics we decided we would try to see all fifty states together over the next fifty years. If we averaged at least one state per year we could be done by the time we reached our seventies. One caveat we added into our goal was we needed to visit the states together. If we visited a new state without the other it would not count toward the goal.
Since developing this idea about fifteen years ago we have shared it with friends, relatives and colleagues and they have all developed goals of their own. One friend of mine is trying to visit every continent before the age of 50. A former business partner of mine is attempting to visit all 30 major league baseball stadiums with his youngest son who loves baseball. My neighbor who recently retired is attempting to see all Seven Wonders of the World with her husband of thirty-eight years. It is important to find a goal that suits you and your family and then commit to accomplishing it in a reasonable amount of time.
In the beginning we went to easy states like Florida, Illinois, and Nevada. Next we challenged ourselves and went to South Carolina, New Hampshire and Wisconsin. Then we started having kids so we stayed local with stopovers in New Jersey, Massachusetts and Washington D.C. Setting goals or making a game of travel gives you something to look forward to every year. Each state or each adventure presents their own set of challenges but also result in unique memories. One day I hope to look back at all the places we visited and all the pictures we took and relive the experiences again.
Before we created our travel goal, and we were recent college graduates, we were big fans of all-inclusive resorts. When you are young and traveling on a budget all-inclusive resorts provide a tremendous amount of value and do not require a lot of planning. We would take a plane to our destination and a shuttle would pick us up at the airport and take us to the hotel. Then we would drink and eat all day and indulge in all the free activities the resort had to offer.
If you are traveling to an all-inclusive and you are under the age twenty-five a good all-inclusive is usually around one thousand dollars. Beautiful resorts in Mexico, Dominican Republic, and Antigua will have all-inclusive options which include flight, hotel, transportation, food, and drinks for under one thousand dollars.
Once you get married, buy a house and have children the game can change for you so it is important for you to create a travel goal which can stand the test of time. Work can get crazy, your schedule can become stressful but you still need to find time to escape your everyday life. Find a reason to get away and plan your next adventure.
