I remember we were at a luxury 5-star All-Inclusive in Puerto Vallarta and on the surface, everything was fine. The food was underwhelming, but it was free! The drinks were terrible but were free! The lounge chairs were all taken by 6:30am, but they had lounge chairs! The people were quite social, but most were drunk MAGA folk who were partying in Mexico which is fascinating in its own right. We left spending a lot of money and realizing the only reason we were even staying in an All-Inclusive in Mexico was because everyone else does it.

It got us to reflect on our travels over the years. At that point, our two favorite vacations were to Tuscany and Madeira (Island off Portugal/Northern Africa). Now is it completely fair to compare a North American destination to two oversea ones? Maybe, not, although I love Mexico, the food, the culture, and the people. My issues with the all-inclusive had nothing to do with Mexico. My issues were the food in the factory (err hotel) was meh, the people were irritating, the drinks were terrible, and we spent a lot of money to stay at this ‘Luxury Resort.’ To put it in perspective, our Portugal and Italy trips were marginally more expensive (thanks to airline miles) yet DRAMATICALLY better.

So why were our two favorite destinations rural Tuscany and an Island off Portugal. What did those two have in common compared to an all-inclusive or a cruise (which we also liked but did not love). Both trips as as do all our vacations now have these four commonalities,

• Less People: We are both introverts (me more) and we both relax better in quieter settings. Being crammed onto a cruise or a mega resort doesn’t do that.

• Excellent Food and Wine: We do write a cooking blog too…. this one is a no brainer for us.

• Unplug: We find going far overseas makes it easier to get off our phones and ignore work.

• Flexible: When we landed in Madeira, we literally had nothing planned. We figured it out as we went, but it was wonderful not rushing to get to dinner in time, or to save a lounge chair or to fight crowds.

• Minimal Children: 😊

We only get so much PTO a year and only have so much money to spend. Why waste it on destinations that doesn’t fit your needs. Going to Disney World, or to a hotel in P-Town or on a cruise would be very expensive and we would return home more exhausted because we like quieter locations. Please don’t choose your destinations because everyone else goes there or all my friends love cruises. Think about what you value or need on a vacation and find a destination that provides that to you. You work hard for your vacations, go somewhere that relaxes you and that provides you what you need to fully escape! Where will you be going next?

 

Bon Voyage,

Andrew