People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

I'm not a lounge on the beach kind of vacation person; I am more of an explorer and activity person, and for this reason, I have generally ruled out tropical vacations and cruises.

However, am I missing out? Should I try it? Anyone else like me and then cross over to other side? How'd it turn out?

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

I used to feel the same way... I kinda thought it was a waste of money to go somewhere and then just lounge around. But, a few years ago, DH and I went to Key West and all we did was lounge around and I loved it. I don't think I have ever been so relaxed on vacation. I've haven't done a vacation like that since and I'm still looking forward to when we can do it again.

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

DH and I were never into them, then we went to Aruba on our HM. We loved it! However we don't totally lounge the whole vacation. We find a few other activities that we can do. In Aruba we drove around the island and pulled over and snorkelled. We went to Dubrovnik in the summer and stayed in a resort and we made the time to do some other things like explore the old city a few days. We find a place that has relaxation and other things we can do.

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

I can only lounge around for 3 days at the most.

I wouldn't rule out tropical locations for that reason though, since there is almost always something to do. Snorkeling, diving, surfing, kayaking- there are usually a lot of excursions available.

DH and I usually split the time between relaxing and activities, it works out pretty well.

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

I'm interested in this too.. I am yet to crossover. But I must say, the one R&R vacation I did take, was awesome..

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

we always go to beach paraidises and then do tons of stuff. that way we can take 1 day out of every 3 to rest at the beach or the pool. We've gone swimming with dolphins, white water rafting, zip lining, tours to hot springs, tons of amazing stuff!

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

I definitely think you should try it! If you like being active, plan a bunch of day trips and activities. After hiking a rainforest, kayaking, scuba diving, snorkeling, or sailing you'll love getting to crash by a pool or beach at then end of a busy day!

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

I try to mix my cruises with adventure and relaxation... For most ports, I think you can find something adventurous and out of the norm... Kayaking/hiking through rainforests/ziplining etc ... but then I can also go to a beach and snorkle and get 1 hell of a tan doing it ... For our HM, we went to Aruba, of course sat on a beach, but we also went ATVing out in the desert!

Any vacation is what you make of it...

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

There are plenty of things to do on a cruise that do not involve sitting on the beach. But you need to do your research - some lines are more active than others. For example - Royal Caribbean has rock climbing, and many other activities on board.

As far as the islands - a lot of it is the itinerary - you can really make a cruise as active or relaxing as you want to be. I never go and sit on the beach but I don't know exactly how active you are looking for. I usually take a catamaran trip - which involves a sail with some music, then they take you to 1-3 different spots for snorkeling.

Depending on the islands you pick - I have seen anything from kayaking, to zip line trips, hiking trips, scuba trips, snorkeling trips, jet boating, horseback riding etc. Those are the ship sponsored trips - but then you can always arrange your own tours if you don't see something that you like that the ship offers. There are also sightseeing tours offered if you want something less active but not a beach.

I would suggest if you think you might want to take a cruise or go to a tropical island (I think a cruise might be your better bet b.c you will have a different island a different day so you will have more options open to you than if you stay on one island) I would go to cruisecritic.com - it is a posting board for cruising - they have areas for each cruiseline, for each island etc. This way you can do some research ahead of time.

You will probably also want to pick a cruise with more island days than see days.

For example - if you go take something that goes to cancun for 1 stop and you can do anything from snorkeling trips, scuba diving, to a sightseeing trip to Tulum. Of course you can always find a beach or lay by the pool, go to a bar if that is what you want to do - but it isn't your thing there are so many other opportunities.

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

I don't think I will ever crossover. It's my desire to see the world and experience many cultures. Dh desperately wants to go to the Caribbean and golf, but I always have other plans.



With that said, We do visit MIL in AZ each year and often visit our beach house in mexico from there and I love sitting there doing nothing - but I'm not paying for it, so I guess that's why it is OK.

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

As a kid growing up my parents always took us on educational/sightseeing trips. Washington DC, Amish Country, Gettysburg. When DH and I started dating I took advantage of the tropical/relaxing vacations. I was suprise how we did end up making the trip "busy." Then we did Montreal which was a lot of walking around/running around, sight-seeing etc. Both were great in there own way. For me honestly just not being home/working is a vacation for me.

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

DH didn't ever go on a beachy/relaxing vacation until our honeymoon. He is just so not a sit-still kind of guy. He LOVED it, we were both shocked! we did do activities as well (snorkeling, jetskiing, ziplining, adventure cruise).

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

I am like you but every once in a while, I can do a beachy thing. for like 2-3 days MAX.

it's wonderful in small doses. but I am too antsy to want to spend that much time on the beach.

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

I'm with you. I'm not a huge fan of beach vacations, but DH is. So when we travel, I try to strike a balance between active and beachy stuff. I'm starting to have more of an appreciation for it...staying in top resorts and having nice dinners every night helps; although I can still only do it for maybe 2-3 days tops.

I try to plan vacations to places that have a little of both...Costa Rica, Hawaii, Florida, etc. That way we're both happy.

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

I always do a mix. I just can't sit on the beach for days on end, throw in a snorkeling session and go back and sit on my rear again... DH and I have definitely found a mix now but I used to come home from vacations EXHAUSTED. When we went to Italy I felt like I was on the Amazing Race. Same thing when we did our California Coast trip... but when we went to Ireland and Thailand we did a mix. We relaxed but made sure we saw a lot. I don't want to miss out on other cultures, especially since you never know when you'll be back!

We did do a cruise recently and we were not fans... we did book excursions for every port but we were disappointed that you don't really get to "SEE" the countries you are stopping in and then time on the ship was like torture, we felt "trapped"

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

I would recommend a cruise - maybe try a 4 day one. DH and I are NOT lay on the beach people, I have no attention span for that and I also don't tan, which is why we love to cruise.

We love the water activities, snorkeling, Snuba, jetski, parasailing etc. Also, we have done the quad excursions as well. We are crusing in March and had wanted to do the zip line excursion but won't be able to due to DH's surgery this week, he won't be cleared for that kind of thing.

THere are also lots of other kind of excursions on cruises, you can go on Royal Caribbean's website and check out the excursions for each island if you are unsure. I'm unsure about the other cruise lines, but you can check.

If you think these kinds of things would interest you, give it a try!

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

This was DH and I. Until we did our first cruise. It's perfect because it forces you to slow down and relax during your sea days. And yet you can still get off the ship all day for excursions. We love cruising. We have done an Alaskan cruise and a Western Caribbean cruise.

Message edited 1/17/2011 11:23:16 AM.

Re: People who aren't into relaxing vacations?

Whenever we've gone on cruises, I've never felt I was just lounging around. I love the beach, but I can't just sit there and bake all day in the sun. We always do a lot of different activities when we're on cruises or tropical resorts.