Daydreaming on VRBO + Travel Planning
Where have I been for the last few days? Well, I've got lost on VRBO. My husband and I really need a getaway and I have been doing some planing. Travel planning takes me forever to find what I have in mind and I also get transported to this odd wanderlust vacuum that doesn't spit me out until the plans are confirmed. Does anyone else get that way?
With young children strategies are also paramount like do we take the kids, leave them, childcare options -- I could go on. Our original plan was to go to Hawaii but that isn't in the cards this time so I've bounced around on VRBO to destinations near and far. Although it takes some sifting, I found some amazing places that I have put on our future travel list. Through my searching I also decided that someday I want to design a really cool cabin in an interesting place. Like check out this one... wow so luxe.
Here are a few of my bookmarks for future VRBO trips, some would be great with a group:
1: Glamping in Yosemite
2: Rad Chalet in Tahoe
3. Modern Beach House on Oregon coast
4. Mountain Loft overlooking the coast
How do you travel plan? Do you have the luxury of a travel agent? Or do you get down and dirty doing the nitty gritty searching yourself? Do you shop for travel sales and deals? Pick a destination or budget first? I'm so curious would love to hear about your process!
9 comments:
I love to travel, and I also love to travel plan. I usually pick a time of year first, and then pick the destination based on the desirable season to be there. For example, I have no interest in being in Southeast Asia during monsoon season, or in Arizona when it is 110 degrees. I find trip advisor and the lonely planet travel forum (thorntree) to be indespensible. My favorite travel book line is the Rough Guide. Yay for Travel!
You can read about our recent trip to South Africa at: sensiblygourmet.blogspot.com
Best of luck!
Love these selections! Thanks so much for sharing
Great suggest for holiday villa. this place like a heaven. but i think staying pay is very expensive?
shot for slim
We just got from a VRBO vacation in South Dakota and it was great. We had a nice big house for my husband and I and our three kids. We took lots of day trips out for hiking and site seeing, but loved coming back to our own place at then end of the day - the boys could be as loud as they wanted!
I too get completely sucked into vacation planning. What I really hate is when I see a great travel deal from an airline or Groupon or something similar and just that gets me started looking around and I find my self planning a vacation that I honestly don't have the time or money for!
For domestic travel, the focus of my planning efforts is looking for the best FOOD and finding free walking tours :)
For international travel, it's much more about what to see and do. TripAdvisor forums are super helpful but the site feels so outdated and it seems like there should be a better way! Also, I've learned to skip over restaurant reviews written by Brits. Srsly, what they think tastes good simply does not! :)
I think once I have kids, staying in a nice place like the ones you've found will become an attractive option. Right now, I'm out and about and don't spend much time in the room. Yay for traveling!
My husband and I travel a lot (mostly in Southeast Asia, but we're off camping in France for 10 days on Sunday) and we plan almost nothing ahead. We research, and take notes, but we like the freedom of just buying a plane ticket and filling in our itinerary as we go - guest houses, street food, public transport. Only when I REALLY want to stay in a particular accommodation (like at the Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion in Penang a few years ago, and at the Jasmine Valley Eco Lodging in Kep, Cambodia this past January) do we vaguely work out where it could fit, and then we book it. I love travelling like this; I love being able to linger or escape at whim.
We use tripadvisor and travelfish en route - there is Wifi everywhere in that part of the world - and do not hesitate to phone/email a day ahead in some cases, especially when we fear the boat/bus might arrive quite late. We also note every single recommendation we receive from fellow travelers - and share our own!
I've just been going through exactly what you've described in your post. Now that my daughter is in school, it's more difficult to find the right timing of when to go. Let alone, how far I want to travel with her. I've looked into everything from Europe to Iceland to Mexico, Honduras and the Carribean. The airfare is insane. I usually use vayama.com and decide (based on cost and timing, cause let's face it, they go hand in hand) where to go. The other thing that is super important for me is to find a place to stay that feels like a home and that has a kitchen. I don't know how old your kids are, but my daughter is 4 and she won't sit still in a restaurant for any length of time. So when we vacation, we typically will eat lunch out, but breakfast and dinner are at the place we rent. The last house we rented was on Venice beach and it was so awesome. As much as I want to visit international locations, there's a ton to see in the US as well. I've wanted to explore the Pacific Northwest for some time now, so thanks for posting this. You've given me food for thought. And flying to Oregon is way cheaper than flying to any of those other places I mentioned.
I appreciate your aspirations but realistic, cou-ple accomadations would be more helpful. If your homework has such please post that instead.
Rachel, I am the same way! Sucked into the "wanderlust vacuum"... We're using points to go to Stockholm, Helsinki, and Paris next month, and I'm so excited! I've been planning it with every spare moment I could ever since January. These places you've picked out look dreamy.
Post a Comment
I really appreciate your thoughts and ideas, thanks for reading!