how many days was your longest vacation and...

[lynn]

What is the maximum number of days do you think you would do away from home.

 

We have done 10 day cross country. With 4 children 4-15. This time it will just be my my 10 and 16 year old. We will have a dependable house and cat sitter

 

Am I crazy to think we do 3-4 week cross country?

Edited April 10, 2016 by lynn

[SparklyUnicorn]

That's not crazy. 

 

Two weeks is generally our max, but not because we wouldn't want to do more.  We just can't afford to do more than that. 

[StephanieZ]

I did a 6 week cross country road trip with the kids in 2011. It was awesome. We saw Dh around days 3-6 when we met him at a conference he was attending and then for 8-9 days around week 5 for our "family part" of the trip. Of course, we missed being with dh. Other than that, though, it was awesome. 

 

I did a 3.5 week road trip (not quite x-country, but from WV to MT, so pretty far) last summer, which was planned so tight because at the time I planned it, my mom was living with us and I couldn't leave her for too long, and it was do-able but tight. Really only enough time to drive straight both ways in 4-5 days each way and then have the 2 week MT vacation. 

 

I'd suggest more like 5 weeks if you can possibly manage it. 500 miles/day driving means no time to do anything other than drive. If you can get your drive days down to 300 (on average) it allows MUCH more time to sight see and have fun on the way.

[Azalea]

42 days, six weeks in the Caribbean, five islands. Glorious. Kids were about 8, 10 and 12. They got bored of beaches occasionally. 

[Mama Geek]

We did over 40 days in between jobs without kids.  We had never been out west and spent a lot of time there.  Can you leave yourself down time where you have a couple of days off with little to no travel and take time to stop and smell the roses per say.  One thing is it does get pretty expensive too so take that into consideration.  Would I do it again, in a heartbeat and my dd travels well enough that it wouldn't be torture for her now.

[creekland]

Not crazy at all.  Our longest single trip was a little over two months (not sure of the specific number of days as it was 10 years ago).  We meandered out west visiting and revisiting many national parks & more.

 

None of us ever got bored.  We often wish we could redo the trip and talk about it (and our other long trips) often.

 

If we could somehow afford it, we'd live on the road 24/7 going wherever our whims desired.

[Cinder]

10 days for us; our Grand Canyon tour. That's with 3 dc aged 6-16yo. We had planned 11 but after 9 everyone was just done so we headed home a day early. Four out of 5 of us are homebodies. :D

[Tap]

Actual vacation I have taken, would be about a week.  I could easily do more though.  Budget and work are the limiting factors for us. 

Edited April 10, 2016 by Tap

[Wheres Toto]

We did two weeks in Florida two months ago.  We did it once before for two weeks. 

 

I would LOVE to take a month long trip out west visiting all the National Parks and big natural attractions.  I've never been to most of them.

 

[whitestavern]

We did a 5 week cross country trip 3 years ago. We would've been happy to go longer if we had more time and money 😄

[AK_Mom4]

We have done three week trips twice over the years. That's slightly longer than I like to be away from home. But we are so far away from family that it makes sense to stay longer when we travel.

 

We did 10 days in January and that was perfect.

[Chris in VA]

We did a 3month sabbatical in Israel (visiting Jordan, too).

I'd do it again in a heartbeat and plan to.

 

The hardest part of the leaving was setting up pet stuff. That, and we had an unknown flea infestation that our house sitter stumbled upon...

 

Go, and have a blast!! You aren't crazy at all.

[Annie G]

We've done 2 weeks but I'd love to do longer- months would be fine. I figure, I live with these people, and vacationing is more fun than just everyday life, so sure I'd extend my vacation!

[Pawz4me]

Our longest was a three week RV trip to Nova Scotia.  It was nice, but I prefer shorter (no more than a week) vacations.  I always feel my best at home.

[SKL]

With the kids?  About 2.5 weeks in Europe, with many stops from Athens to Dublin.  :)  My kids were 7 at the time.

 

A long trip is hard on me, only because of job demands.  I have to bring work with me and meet deadlines throughout the trip.  One gets tired.  :)

[Critterfixer]

Longest? 1 week.

I wouldn't do it again, and that was before kids. I really like to be home. :leaving:

[catz]

We've done 3 weeks on the road with younger kids than that and it was great fun!  It takes me like a few days to get into vacation mode and mind set so a week always feels to short to me.

[Heatherwith4]

We did a week last year. It's the longest we've ever done. I would love to do two weeks and really relax. Budget would be an issue there, but we could do it if we saved for a bit. However, I'm not sure it's feasible without a pet/housesitter. We have a meanagerie of animals. :lol:

[maize]

We've done three weeks cross country with five kids :)

[creekland]

a week always feels to short to me.

 

One week always feels short to me too, esp if any travel days are tucked into that week.

 

When we go someplace for a shorter period of time (a long weekend or similar) it doesn't really feel like traveling.  It feels more just like an activity we're doing that happens to be farther from home.

 

One month (or longer) is my ideal time.  Three weeks can do if that's all we can get.

 

We like to meander on the way and really relax and/or explore while there.

[MotherGoose]

My parents did 3 weeks cross country when we were 12 and 14. It was a relaxed, wandering pace, and we had plenty of time to see things.

 

We are about to do 10 days in Europe, 2 kids and one infant. We are possibly insane!

Edited April 10, 2016 by MotherGoose

[nd293]

We've done a month in one place, and will be doing a month of moving from place to place in the future. The former is easy, as you pretty much set up home in a new place. I think a month of the other type will be exhausting but distance and cost make this the best way to do it - it wouldn't be my first choice. But that's also because international travel is stressful and managing everything falls to me.

 

Still, the biggest issue is leaving the house for that long, finding a house sitter etc.

[Butter]

We spent 30 days in Ireland three years ago.  It was wonderful.

[Tsuga]

What is the maximum number of days do you think you would do away from home.

 

We have done 10 day cross country. With 4 children 4-15. This time it will just be my my 10 and 16 year old. We will have a dependable house and cat sitter

 

Am I crazy to think we do 3-4 week cross country?

 

Not crazy. We did 3.5 weeks along the Pacific Northwest and NorCal with four children 6-14. Camping, of course, for most of it. We couldn't afford more in hotels.

[J-rap]

In normal times, when the kids were all home, etc., we did several 3-week vacations.  One was to the East coast, another to the West coast, and yet another to Eastern Europe.  I love having three weeks.  I think it's the perfect amount of time for a vacation!

 

ETA:  Wanted to clarify.  I definitely think longer than 3 weeks is even better under certain circumstances.  But as a family with youngish children and doing kind of typical touristy type stuff, then 3 weeks feels about right.  

Edited April 11, 2016 by J-rap

[Lady Florida.]

As a single person alone, I went to England for 3 weeks. I was staying with friends though, so it's not as though I was alone in another country for that amount of time. I was teaching then and had summers off, so I went in June.

 

With both dss and ds a week and a half was, IIRC, the longest we ever went anywhere. It had more to do with everyone's schedules and money though than whether or not the kid could handle the trip.

Edited April 11, 2016 by Lady Florida

[creekland]

Not crazy. We did 3.5 weeks along the Pacific Northwest and NorCal with four children 6-14. Camping, of course, for most of it. We couldn't afford more in hotels.

 

We camp on most of our long trips too.  I can only imagine the cost if we didn't.  Then too, we love being in nature, so it's a win-win.

[Joyofsixreboot]

Our max is three piddly days. I could do more but dh can't. Those were on a boat where he couldn't get home. 😜 We've been married 30 years. We've probably vacationed 45 days in all that time.

Edited April 11, 2016 by joyofsix

[Guest]

A week is the longest we have gone, with or without kids. With the nature of DH's businesses, he has never felt he could be away for longer. I still have dreams of traveling for several months in an RV, but we would have to figure out some way of doing the businesses differently.

[G5052]

We've done almost three weeks twice, but both involved visiting family on the way to two weeks in a single location. It would difficult for DH to get off any more than that.

 

When DH and I were newly married, I took three weeks between jobs as a "staycation" and explored the area and got the house organized. I was in my mid-30's and hadn't been off work with no schedule since I was 13!

[Zinnia]

The longest we've taken is a week.  I'd love, love, love to do more, but work schedules and finances have prevented it.  I would love a big 2 or 3 week trip.  We've started talking about doing a trip like that to DC when our youngest is 7 or 8 (she is 3 now).

[luuknam]

When I was a kid, we'd usually go on a three week vacation every summer, typically staying a week in one place before moving on to the next.

 

We haven't really gone on vacation with our kids yet. We were poor for a long time. I'm thinking of taking the kids to Europe for 1-2 months after I renew my passport and get the kids passports though.

[3 ladybugs]

When my oldest was 9-10 months old I took him from NJ to WA to see family. We went by train and left July 18 (funny as that is the day his younger brother was born on) and returned August 11 (not the best day for me as I lost a child on that day, and a year later that would become my cancer remission day). DS and I went out with my mom who spent a week with her mom and us before flying back to Florida, and then DH flew out 2 days before we went up to Seattle to see his family for a couple of days then we boarded a train and went to Wisconsin to see his extended family (his parents flew out to WI) then we boarded the train for the last part of our journey home. 

 

DH could only really take off 2 weeks, but we obviously had more time and my family is HUGE compared to DH's so I took the time I needed to see everyone. It was also the first time I met one of my siblings. 

 

It wasn't a cheap trip even with staying with family, but if you can afford it, more power to you! I hope to do it again one day. 

[*lifeoftheparty*]

...

Edited December 18, 2016 by *lifeoftheparty*

[Critterfixer]

 

 

Our max is three piddly days. I could do more but dh can't. Those were on a boat where he couldn't get home. 😜 We've been married 30 years. We've probably vacationed 45 days in all that time. 

 

This would be me. Honestly, I want to have a vacation cabin up in a very secluded part of the national forest land up in the mountains, so that I can have "home" with me when I'm not at home. I'm that bad. :laugh:

[Serenade]

 

 

If we could somehow afford it, we'd live on the road 24/7 going wherever our whims desired.

 

 

You'd probably enjoy a couple of years full-timing it in an RV.  :-)

[Serenade]

The max we've done was 2 1/2 weeks, a couple of years ago when we went out west.   At the time, DH had the kind of job where he was pushing it to even ask for that much time off at one time, even though he had 5 weeks of vacation.  (He just wasn't suppose to take it, don'tcha know?!)  

 

Now he is consulting full time, and we recently took a 2 week vacation and are hoping to maybe do two long trips per year.   One of the biggest things to hold us back from longer trips is the lawn!  We know no neighbors, and we don't have a yard service.  When we went away in May for 2 1/2 weeks two years ago, the grass was, um, noticeably longer than our neighbors' lawns when we returned, although not as bad as it could have been.  We had a witchy woman in charge of the Homeowners Review Board, but luckily she did not say anything.  She is gone now, but I worry about uncut lawns screaming, "We're not home.  Come rob us."  We've thought about using a lawn service, but a lawn service for only a couple of weeks is also an invitation to be robbed, IMO.  (I wish I could feel better about trusting contract employees, but we had a bad experience a few years ago with something, so I do not.)  Anyhow, our 2 week trip this year was before the grass grew, so that helped a lot. 

[Serenade]

 

 

I'd suggest more like 5 weeks if you can possibly manage it. 500 miles/day driving means no time to do anything other than drive. If you can get your drive days down to 300 (on average) it allows MUCH more time to sight see and have fun on the way.

 

 

Seconding this.  When we did our cross country trip a few years ago, we had to do 400 - 500 miles a day just to get out West -- it essentially meant 3 1/2 long driving days to get out there, and 3 1/2 long days home.  However, we had to be on a tight schedule to see anything, because DH had really pushed things to ask for 2 1/2 weeks off, which we thought was the minimum amount of time we could take for a trip out west.  Once we were out there, we never spent more than 1 night per location, except at the Grand Canyon, where we had allocated 4 precious nights.  I was so glad we did -- it was nice to stay put for a few days in the middle of our otherwise go-go-go vacation. 

Edited April 11, 2016 by Serenade

[creekland]

You'd probably enjoy a couple of years full-timing it in an RV.  :-)

 

We've contemplated a small RV (Class B size) fairly often.

 

Right now, hubby is pushing for a boat instead.  He loves sailing.  I've always wanted to see the entire Intercoastal Waterway.  That might be first on our list if we can ever get back to normal financially after colleges and med school are finished (with my guys).

 

I also love islands... a boat makes sense, but I'm not as keen on the idea as hubby is.  I envision storms occasionally and shudder.  

 

But for now... we're still paying for college (2 more years) and potentially med school for middle son.

 

It'll be awhile yet.  In the meantime, we travel (and feel fortunate that hubby's job is mostly portable so the away time bit isn't really a big consideration for us).  Paychecks still are waiting for us when we return.

[Pam in CT]

We spent 10 months wandering the world a few years ago.  My husband was working remotely for much of that time, and I was homeschooling the kids for all of it, so it wasn't "vacation" per se-- we stayed put for 1-2 weeks at a time, and spent lots of days mostly in our temporary "home" working/studying -- but we were living out of one suitcase each (and a whole lot of books and school cr@p), away from real home and out of our comfort zones.

 

I'd do it again in a heartbeat if we could work out how.  My son and I spent a month last summer in Guatemala and it was divine.

[Farrar]

We've done a month more or less a few times. That was my first trip to China, years ago. Most recently, we took the kids to southern Africa for a month a few years ago. A month was no big deal. We hired someone to check in on the cat every few days. No big.

[MarinesWife]

12 days last summer. At day 10 or so I kids crying to go home.

[Baile]

Our longest trip with kids was 6 weeks, last summer when our boys were 3, 5, 6 and 11. We spent most of our time in Germany and Poland, with 2-3 day stops in Vienna, Prague, Budapest and London. They loved every minute of the trip and we're planning a similar length trip to France, Switzerland and Italy for next spring.

 

Our kids don't do well with driving (but they love trains and planes), so the longest driving vacation we've done was 10 days. Never again. 

[Donna]

We did 5 weeks cross country when the kids were 5, 9, and 11. We drove from NJ to NC to visit family for a few days then drove to TX, up through CO, then UT and WY…then drove back home through SD. We visited National Parks, had planned stops, and some days we just stopped when we saw something that looked cool. We camped most nights. I think we stayed in a hotel three nights total.

 

It was wonderful! 

 

If I wasn't spending weeks every summer listening to my kids play Irish music all over the place now, I'd do that trip again in a heartbeat!!

[HS Mom in NC]

3 weeks.

I don't have a maximum number of days away in mind.  Travel is based on my husband's work-he owns the business, has one other employee and 2 interns.  Travel is harder to do when you're the guy in charge.

[Suzanne in ABQ]

Last summer, I did a 3 week road trip, just me and my girls (age 10 and 19).  We had a wonderful time!  I figured out I really like peanut butter on french bread chased with chocolate milk.  I never would have figured that out otherwise!  We also ate sushi (two of us for the first time), and found a gelato place with 218 flavors.  We saw lots of family and friends along the way, and got to do whatever we wanted, with only two set dates for structure.  It was a great experience.  You should go for it.

[StaceyinLA]

Idk if it would be technically called a vacation, but I was in Hawaii for 6 weeks when my dd had my first grandbaby. It was a vacation in the sense that I was away from home (and that it was Hawaii). Of course my dh was home, so I never really had to worry about things being done/taken care of.

Edited April 13, 2016 by StaceyinLA

[ScoutTN]

When I was a child, we went to the beach for a month every summer. Glorious! I also went to camp for two weeks every summer, also big fun!

 

I have taken several long vacations like that as an adult, but not since I got married.

 

Not sure DH would be comfortable being gone longer than a week from work that long. This year we are recovering financially from Dh's brain surgery and will likely only get a long weekend or two, staying with friends. I would love, love to do some longer trips! Cost is a huge factor, more so than Dh's work. We got a new dog in Oct. and dog-sitter costs add up quickly into the cost of a vacation!

[Isabella]

We did just over 7 weeks to Europe with our girls, 13, 15, 16 at the time (NEVER again with a 15yo girl in a Campervan!).  

We had my parents in law (who had sold their house, and hadn't quite bought their new one) housesit for us to look after house, dogs and farm.  It was perfect (apart from aforementioned 15yo!).

Edited April 13, 2016 by Isabella

[FaithManor]

Our longest has been two weeks because that is all DH can get off at one time from his employer.

 

We did take a three week (24 day) trip back in December. It wasn't a vacation. DH did IT work for a hospital in Egypt. He used two weeks paid vacation to go with a week of holiday pay he gets from Christmas Eve day through New Years. It had to be approved rather high up the chain, so it will be a long time before we can do a trip that long again.

 

I prefer a longer trip to a shorter one and especially if there is going to be a lot of sight seeing so that we can have rest days here and there.