Monday, January 26, 2009

Vacation Request

Help!! I have a dilemma, a good dilemma, but a dilemma nonetheless. This is the first year that I have included a "vacation" line item in my budget. Honestly, I am a little "discouraged" about the budgeted amount, which is only $1,200 (i.e. $100 a month). I say "only $1,200" because it my brief search, there does not seem to be much that I can do with that amount. Unfortunately I have no idea how much I paid for vacations in the past because (1) I really didn't take formal vacations and (2) when a trip of some sort came up and I wanted to go, I did ... no planning and no budgeting.

So my dear blog friends, can you please give me some suggestions. I have a passport that has absolutely no stamps on it yet;-). So that I won't lead you on a wild goose chase, here are a few things to note:
  • No trips to Disney World, Disney Land, any other amusement park, or the Bahamas
  • I prefer to fly or cruise rather than drive because driving takes up a lot of vacation time
  • Good food is very important to me. I would travel for good food;-)
  • I'm pretty open to most things

Sooo...any suggestions, websites, vacation tips or other resources that you can share will be greatly appreciated.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

You can take a one week vacation practically anywhere with a budget of $1200. The first step is to figure out what you want to do (i.e. beach vacation, ski vacation, cultural vacation) then start looking for deals to those areas.

Anonymous said...

I wish I could help, but I have just started a 'vacation' slot in my budget, too. So, I can't wait to hear what some travlers have to say. ;)

Anonymous said...

good point savvy, but if you're not sure what you want to do, why not take a look at some travel sites like travelocity, or expedia, and see what kind of package deals they have?

you could always stay in the states but pick a city you've never been to. the flight cost will be cheaper so you can indulge in a nicer hotel and better restaurants! i had a great time in austin in the fall...

or, if you want to go to europe, pick a country with a lower flight cost, so experiment - and then stay in hostels and live cheaply.

Anonymous said...

@ saver - That's a good idea. I'm always using FF miles, hotel points or some combination of the two so I rarely consider 'packages' when traveling.

jpkittie said...

I am a disney fan - so that shoots my idea ;)

but we also love beach trips & ski trips!!! What do you do enjoy? You could always take a trip to somewhere that you can hit a bunch of museums if that is your thing? Or a bunch of parks if you enjoy hiking or natural beauty?

Shtinkykat said...

The cruise lines are hurting right now and are offering great deals.
Check out this article in the LA Times. And this article for tips on booking your cruise. Happy hunting!

Sharon S said...

Hi there-its a nice dilemma to have, LOL, hope you can get some real good suggestions coming!

Anonymous said...

I suggest you pick 5 or so places that you always wanted to go and look for fare deals or have someone who always is looking at fares do it for you. :-)

Ms. MoneyChat said...

thanks for all of the comments. i'm pretty much opened to anything but i feel so limited only having $1,200 to spend. i'll check out the sites that saver queen suggested and i plan on reading the articles that shtinky recommended. i'll be sure to let everyone know what i decide. i'd love a really great deal somewhere, wouldn't that be nice!