30 Day Vacation Ideas?


 

GrantT

TVWBB Pro
So, I am taking a somewhat early retirement and to celebrate (and just get in a good break for once in our lives!) we would really like to get out on a 30 day vacation somewhere. In my life, I've never been anywhere more than 14 days in a row. I've been working since I was 14 years old without any break (though sometimes part-time when I was at school etc), so in my life, I have never not had a job in 41 years (I'm 55 now) - You know what...life is kinda stupid!! We are just a bunch of trained monkeys.)

Anyways...so what we are really looking for is ideas on where to go for 1 month. We were actually planning on taking a longer cargo/container ship cruise to hit numerous destinations (lots of travel on a reasonable budget), but they are mostly shut down now due to Covid. We are somewhat budget conscious, maybe trying to keep it under $10,000 total. We are really open to anything and everything....any interesting ideas?

Know anyone with a nice vacation home they want to rent for a month? Need a house-sitter somewhere warm? Nothing is too crazy for us not to consider...

Grant
 
Sailboat trip in the Croatian thousand islands.

Get your captains license, rent a boat...

Edit... Congrats on your early retirement.
 
Maybe travel around Europe. I can't wait to go back again. I just love the history and cultures
 
When I retired at 62, I rented a house in a 55+ community in Florida that had golf courses, tennis, clubhouse etc. Lots to do there and in Fl. Started going there a couple months every winter. Met a lot of good friends down there-a lot of them from Canada.
 
It rather depends on what you like to do. I enjoy driving and seeing various scenery, so I'm planning a long trip driving the full length of highway US 1, all the way from Fort Kent, Maine to Key West, Florida. Not sure at this point if it will ever actually happen, but it's on the list of things to do. Taking your time, making lots of stops and layovers in places of some interest I figure that will take at least a month.

@JSaus' suggestion of renting a house in Florida was something I thought of as well. When I moved from Florida I sold my patio set to a guy from England who owned a house a bit south of Orlando. His family used it a few weeks a year and he rented it out the rest of the time. I'm sure there are lots of other people just like that who'll rent their homes for a week or a month. Florida is usually quite nice in the winter time.

Congratulations on the retirement.
 
Congrats!

I'm one for driving and seeing scenery too. I'd rent a bad azz car/jeep/SUV/motor-home and just go where life takes you.

(although now is not really "driving season" for most of the country"
 
Congrats on your early retirement!

+1 on renting an RV. Though I'd wait until spring. By then the days are longer, warmer temps, more places accessible, etc.

Do the RV thing & you won't have to pay for any hotel rooms, etc. Just go wherever you like.
 
Another one for the renting a RV and just seeing where life takes you. No schedules, you have your kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom right there with you. Head south if you don’t like the cold, west if you want to see the ocean, east to see the other ocean, or north if you want some snow.
 
30 days for $10K puts you at approx $300 a day. Mexico is out because the inmates are running the asylum however Costa Rica is doable for < $300 a day. The link below lists some really good adults only resorts. You could probably hit four, maybe five of them and it would be a wonderful vacation

 
Congrats on your early retirement!

+1 on renting an RV. Though I'd wait until spring. By then the days are longer, warmer temps, more places accessible, etc.

Do the RV thing & you won't have to pay for any hotel rooms, etc. Just go wherever you like.
RV parks will probably cost you an average of $50 a day to hook up. Still cheaper than hotel/motel.
 
+1 on renting an RV. Though I'd wait until spring. By then the days are longer, warmer temps, more places accessible, etc.
I had a great uncle and great aunt who lived in an Airstream. They'd winter in Yuma and summer in the Midwest where most of the family was. They apparently really liked the winters in Yuma.
 
So, I am taking a somewhat early retirement and to celebrate (and just get in a good break for once in our lives!) we would really like to get out on a 30 day vacation somewhere. In my life, I've never been anywhere more than 14 days in a row. I've been working since I was 14 years old without any break (though sometimes part-time when I was at school etc), so in my life, I have never not had a job in 41 years (I'm 55 now) - You know what...life is kinda stupid!! We are just a bunch of trained monkeys.)

Anyways...so what we are really looking for is ideas on where to go for 1 month. We were actually planning on taking a longer cargo/container ship cruise to hit numerous destinations (lots of travel on a reasonable budget), but they are mostly shut down now due to Covid. We are somewhat budget conscious, maybe trying to keep it under $10,000 total. We are really open to anything and everything....any interesting ideas?

Know anyone with a nice vacation home they want to rent for a month? Need a house-sitter somewhere warm? Nothing is too crazy for us not to consider...

Grant
Grant, you could drive to Fairbanks and watch the northern lights, when you get home, fly to Hawaii for the rest of the 30 days.
Enjoy your retirement!
 
Grant, you could drive to Fairbanks and watch the northern lights, when you get home, fly to Hawaii for the rest of the 30 days.
Enjoy your retirement!

Not sure I can afford 30 days in Hawaii...but we are certainly searching for something there as one of our possible destinations.

Being in Edmonton, we are being bombarded with Northern Light shows daily recently....and it gets cold enough here as is....Fairbanks is too chilly even for me!
 
Lots of great ideas here. Watching this as well for when wife retires. Though I will never venture south of the US border
 
Grant - I can see you're a midwesterner, just like me. I'm sort of in love with the Western US, especially Rockies/Wasatch and American Southwest (4 corners area of CO, AZ, NM and UT especially) You should check it out if you haven't seen it yet. I could spend 30 days in that area pretty easy.
 
Grant - I can see you're a midwesterner, just like me. I'm sort of in love with the Western US, especially Rockies/Wasatch and American Southwest (4 corners area of CO, AZ, NM and UT especially) You should check it out if you haven't seen it yet. I could spend 30 days in that area pretty easy.
Utah is vastly underrated as far as scenery goes. Canyonlands National Park takes my breath away. I could spend two or three days at Grand View Point and not get bored. I'd probably run out of memory cards for the camera though. Arches National Park is very close. Bryce and Zion are in the southwest corner of the state.

The Grand Canyon is not too far away. And if you get to the Grand Canyon, you should swing by Monument Valley. If you go off-season the rates at The View hotel aren't too bad and the view is absolutely stunning. Sadly, it rained the morning I stayed there and my plans to get sunrise photos of the valley were dashed. Got hundreds of sunset photos the night before though.

And there are more places of interest in Colorado than you could visit in several months.
 
When I retired February, 2020 the wife and I spent a week in Phoenix and just loved it. The weather is great this time of year and there's so much to do. We rented an Air B&B and car and just had a great time. We're planning to do it again next Feb.
Congratulations on your retirement, you're going to enjoy it.
 
A barnstorm around the 4 corners would be great. We go there often -- Moab, Telluride, Santa Fe, Taos, Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Cactus League etc. etc. etc.

Sometimes we'll go by RV. More often, we just go by SUV, but will rent a cabin in a campground or RV park. Much less expensive than hotels, much easier and comfortable than camping. Many of those places are quite nice, scenic and fun. And you can grill dinner every night.

Depending on exactly when and where you go, the weather could be hot, warm, cool or cold. You could go snow skiing and also water skiing on the same trip.
 

 

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