Vacation. Time spent away from home in a far away place for the purpose of resting, relaxation and doing things you enjoy. It’s a time to get away from it all. Where should you go on vacation? Well, it depends on the type of person you are. Some people vacation at the beach and some go to big bustling cities, while others prefer to go on the road less traveled.

Here are some popular vacation destinations and some great things to do there:

Paris, France: Eiffel Tower, Louvre and Notre Dame, alluring cafes, vibrant markets and trendy shopping districts.

New York City: Central Park, the Met, Broadway shows, SoHo’s stylish boutiques, trendy restaurants, and diverse neighborhoods.

Rome, Italy: Monuments, churches, and restored ruins. Food: pasta and gelato.

Cancun, Mexico: Miles of beaches, endless luxury accommodations and resorts, and a party atmosphere.

London, England: Tower of London, the British Museum, historical landmarks, Portobello Road, Borough Market. Food: High Tea

Orlando, Florida: Theme Parks, Disney, Universal, City Walk, Downtown Disney, Water Parks, and Sea World.

San Francisco, California: Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Wine Country, Cable Cars, Fisherman’s Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, Golden Gate Park and China Town.

U.S. Virgin Islands: Carnival season, hear reggae music, snorkeling, surfing and other water sports on beaches with clear Caribbean water.

Other noteworthy destinations: Beijing, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C., Bora Bora, Maui, Puerto Rico, Sydney, Vancouver, Zurich, Montreal, Budapest, Maldives, Rio De Janeiro, Crete, Barcelona, and wherever your heart desires.

Personally, I don’t go on vacation very often. It can be expensive and my husband and I are currently saving up money to buy a house. But everyone needs a break from work sometimes. But when we go on vacation, it’s usually a big trip. Like Hawaii on our honeymoon, a cruise to the Bahamas, a road trip from Los Angeles to San Francisco, etc. I am lucky that I get about a week off in the summer and almost two weeks around the Christmas holidays in addition to the three weeks of vacation I can roll over at the end of each fiscal year. In addition to summer and winter break time off, I usually take a week here and a long weekend there to go out of town on vacation when I can. I usually don’t use all of my vacation time each year. Sometimes when I’m off in the summer and don’t have any place to travel to, I just relax at home and catch up on things.

This year in September is our first anniversary, and to celebrate, we are going on a road trip. The destination was sort of chosen for us already because my entire family is traveling to San Francisco for my cousin’s Bar Mitzvah. We will leave from San Fran after the weekend celebration and go on a trip of our own. We decided to take a road trip from San Fran up the PCH to Vancouver, BC. I have never been to Canada and I’m really excited to see the beautiful scenery of Oregon, visit Seattle and other cities in Washington as well. We probably wouldn’t have picked this vacation if we hadn’t have already been in the city by the bay, but I’m sure glad we get the opportunity to go on this fabulous vacation!

Planning our anniversary trip:
Here are some of the Places we want to go in Northern California, Oregon, Washington and Vancouver:

• Wine Country: Tastings in Napa Valley, California. Artesa Winery
• Redwood Forest: Drive through a redwood tree called Chandelier Tree in Leggett California
• Portland: Lan Su Chinese Garden, Powell’s City of Books, Washington Park: Japanese Garden and International Rose Test Garden, Eat at food carts.
• Seattle: Pike Place Market, Olympic Sculpture Park, Space Needle, Seattle Center, Chihuly Garden and Glass.
• Hiking on the coast of the Olympic peninsula
• Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada): Grouse Mountain, Capilano Suspension Bridge, Stanley Park, possibly take a ferry to Victoria Island.
• Back to Portland and then back to San Francisco

We bought these books to help us with planning our vacation:

 

 

 

 

If any of my readers have suggestions of other things to do in Portland, Seattle or Vancouver, please comment on this post!

Helpful tips in planning vacations:
• Budgeting: Decide how much you are going to spend BEFORE you go
• Save money on flights: use airline miles or a companion ticket if you have one.
• Flight Prices: Begin checking flight prices as soon as you begin the planning process. Try to make the purchase at least thirty days out for the best price. Airlines change their prices daily, but major price changes occur weekly.
• Be sure to pick the right place: where you really want to go, a place you can afford. If you have children, decide if it is kid friendly.
• Plan ahead: Do all these things before you go and do your research- Make an itinerary, book rental cars and hotel rooms, decide what activities you will do and sometimes where you will go out to eat.
• Trip Advisor: Check this site for other traveler’s reviews on hotel rooms, tourist attractions and other things to do. Read the reviews but keep in mind that all reviews aren’t the gospel.
• Discount hotel websites: Use these common sites- Expedia.com, Hotels.com, Booking.com, Kayak.com, etc.

NOTE: I was recently doing some research on those discount hotel sites and I found that Booking.com was actually more expensive than the hotel’s own website. Imagine that. Not every deal you find online is necessarily the best or the cheapest.

All the places I have traveled to in my life:
California (born there)
Georgia (Grew up and currently live here)
Tennessee: Nashville, Chattanooga, Oak Ridge and Kingston
Charleston SC
Washington DC
Virginia
Baltimore MD
Houston TX
New York City
Chicago
Israel
North Carolina
Bahamas
Kentucky
Alabama
All over Florida
Key West
Cancun, Mexico
Caribbean Cruise: Cozumel Mexico, Belize, Grand Cayman and Costamaya
Mexican Riviera Cruise: Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas and Mazatlan
Hawaii

Future vacation spots:
There are plenty of places I’d like to travel to, but next on the list is a visit across the pond to the UK. We would want to travel to London and then over to Paris, France on the same trip. We will probably go next year. That will be the first trip to Europe for my husband and me. We’d also like to go to New York during Christmas time and travel on a road trip to the Grand Canyon. On that trip, we’d probably stay over in Ft. Worth Texas, where my parents currently live. So many places to go, and so much to plan for in the future!

Here is a link to my travel bucket list that I posted in August of 2012. So far the only place I’ve been to is Kauai, Hawaii, but there’s plenty of time to check the others off my list.

Where are you traveling to this year? Let me know in the comments section.