My style of vacation is… vacation. Meaning anything when Mr. B is not glued to his computer or work phone. 
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Active vacations for me too, although I don’t really want to a do a bike tour vacation. Even with the use of an ebike, it just doesn’t sound like a good way to really see an area. One day bike tour would be great, but not a week.
Love the beach and staying over for a few days is fantastic. Love the beach in those magic hours after the beach clears out and the sun is setting. But don’t want to sit on the beach all day for hours on end. Thus, we don’t tend to rent a beach house or go to an island resort for vacation.
We have spent some time in beautiful areas including national parks and other mountain/lake areas. Both rentals and camping. Lots of hiking, some beach time, some boating and usually with friends or extended family so cooking and eating too.
Have enjoyed exploring cities and walking or taking public transit. Not a big bus fan, although we did the hop on hop off in London as part of the London Pass which was fun.
I prefer to see as much as possible, figuring I may not be back to a particular place Museums, historic sites, parks, streets, etc. I am not as big on shopping but a bit of that.
We also have rented cars to explore areas outside of cities in both Europe and Asia.
My DH prefers AirBNB/VRBOs but I am OK with hotels. We don’t seem to end up using the kitchens and sometimes with the fees and cleaning costs the apartments are more expensive and less convenient. However, with the kids along definitely worth it.
We have also spent vacations visiting family and friends, especially on the west coast. We were fine with moving every few days. Definitely made the trips less expensive when kids were young and could bunk with their cousins or cousin-equivalent friends.
I do enjoy Disney/Universal but nobody else in the family or my friend group is interested. Had great fun when the kids were younger going to Williamsburg/Busch Gardens and Hershey which are a car ride away.
I have done several cross-country car trips (decades ago!) and want to do that again.
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Our vacations and what we like to do on them has changed over the years. We have been to Europe, the UK, Scotland and Ireland. We have also traveled to Singapore, Thailand and Hong Kong. H is from Bermuda and still has family there that we visit. D1 went to college in NYC so we had many trips there during her 4 years there to explore the city.
We live in San Diego a couple of miles from the beach. We walk 5 plus miles most night and see the ocean almost daily. We love to take our paddle boards out when the weather is nice. We also have many great hikes we love to do around the city or within a couple of hours of us. We go wine tasting at the Central Coast each year and spend long weekends in LA to see museums or exhibits or just try new restaurants.
Our biggest vacations for the past 4 years have been to ski in the west. H and I have always been big skiers and we decided to get Ikon passes 4 years ago and road trip around the west to ski at different places and visit National Parks along the way. We didn’t want to wait until we were retired to do this since you just don’t know if physically you can still do this. We have skied Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Montana, Wyoming and of course California. We just returned from our first ski road trip to Canada and skied at Revelstoke, Banff Sunshine and Lake Louise. We normally ski about 4-5 hours a day and like to stay at places near the slopes though not usually at expensive ski in/out places. We love ski towns with great restaurants and bars to grab dinner at night. We don’t need fancy accommodations since we are just sleeping in our room a few nights before going to the next place. H is a wonderful photographer and loves to stop and take pictures along the way. The Trans Canada Highway from BC to Banff was absolutely gorgeous this winter, but not for the faint of heart with all of the snow. Our Tundra with snow tires and 4WD has served us well on all of our trips.
Once H and I retire in the next couple of years and have more time to do things I’m sure we will go back to Europe and Asia again and we would both like to go to Africa. We would also like to do some longer ski trips where we stay in an area for a month. We just have to get someone to stay at our house with the cats. I don’t think it should be a problem to find a retired couple that would like to spend a month in San Diego in the winter especially if they live somewhere cold!
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Nature and history are our loves. Big water, big mountains, great views of nature all count. Cities we give little time to on most of our trips. We hike, kayak, snorkel, scuba, zipline, etc.
We stay where there’s a view. That can be camping or a condo/hotel on the beach.
Here in Puerto Rico we’ve been swapping between our son’s place in the mountains (aka camping with amenities) and a condo on the beach - balcony overlooking the beach. It’s perfect for us, but not on one single day have we just sat on the beach. That’s not us.
We’ve already spent a few days circling the mainland, swimming and kayaking in the Bio Bays, scuba diving and snorkeling, beach walking on multiple beaches, visiting El Yunque (Tropical Rainforest park), and a botanical garden, but have yet to do Old San Juan. We will spend a day there, but it’s hardly our priority.
Seeing the planet or as much of it as we can is my vacationing goal, but seeing it as it works with nature is how we prefer to do it. When we traveled to New Orleans, our focus was on the bayous and other nature stuff, not the city. When we traveled to San Francisco we took the Red Bus around the city, then focused in on the seaside part, including taking the ex America’s Cup sailboat “tour” offering.
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ps We do set out on a whim sometimes to travel - no or little pre-planning done. Once we even just decided to head north (from RI where we lived). It’s fun, but can be tricky if you don’t know where you’re spending the night and what nights are essentially unavailable due to local events. That’s what led to our famous story of a night at a Steak And Shake in FL. 
pps Jordan is awesome if you like Creeklander types of travel. Petra is amazing - be sure to take the donkeys or stairs to the Monastery among other things. There are several other ancient places to visit too - Jerash, etc - but it won’t appeal to all. We want to go back sometime.
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I’ll also add that our style of family vacation (H and I don’t take vacations alone - see above, "H is not a traveler except for one family vaca annually) is one where we don’t have to move as a unit for all activities. We all covet our together time AND our alone time. So while one person only comes to the beach to swim and then leaves for other things, another might spend 2 hours on the beach reading and swimming.
One family member brings a bike and does early morning rides on his own.
A couple family members run but never together and at their leisure.
We also like cooking on vacation (with a few meals out) and some favorite times are playing music while we cook and then a long, leisurely time at the table to eat and chat.
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@showmom858, when our kids were of skiing age, we spent two weeks a year at Sunshine and Lake Louise for skiing. Great ski schools. They preferred Sunshine I think. We have stopped skiing due to knee problems, though both ShawWife and I have replaced the offending joints. Maybe again. We go up there every summer for hiking and see her relatives then. So probably not. But, our kids are both good and avid skiers as a result.
Since we moved into our new house, it feels much like a vacation every day. Beautiful river views. Lots of wildlife. Great bicycling and kayaking in season. Hiking so-so as we are on the east coast and it is just not the same as real mountains. But, overall, we feel much less like we need to get away.
We are doing workations at home.
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That’s the opposite of us. When I’m on vacation, I do not want to cook…except maybe warming up leftovers. Not interested in shopping for foods etc in places not at home…and not interested in cleaning up a cooking mess.
But everyone has different things they like.
We usually choose where we are going and then find local things to do there. It’s never been a problem!
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We aren’t really tour or cruise people. River cruises do look like fun, but they cost more then we like to pay and we tend to be more “do it on our own” type of people. Same with ocean cruises and going as part of a tour group, just not our thing. We don’t like being part of a mob. We don’t mind doing short day or half day tours though…for instance my H took a bike tour in Paris and we did a historical tour in New Orleans.
We do like to plan stuff ahead of time when we go on trips, but we also try not to overschedule ourselves either. For instance we always buy museum and sightseeing tickets ahead of time, so we can avoid wasting time waiting in line.
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Same here! In some places we may stock up the room with snacks and stuff for a light breakfast though, but we don’t cook any meals
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Is this post serving as a preliminary survey for CC-people organized excursions?!
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It at least lets me know who I want to pay attention to when they give trip reports and who I’ll just add my “Glad you had a good trip” response to. 
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6 years ago I planned a 50th wedding anniversary for my folks that turned into a family reunion. I am now from out of town as are many family members. My kids made core memories on that trip. It was then I realized I don’t have to go some place special and expensive to enjoy a vacation. It can be either.
It was a bit crazy because it turned into 90 family and friends celebrating. People from all over the country.
I can’t remember the last vacation we took as DH traveled 100% of the time for 17 years. The last thing he wanted to do was get on another plane or stay in another hotel, and I hate to travel. So, we’ve made our home our vacation spot.
However, the few times we have gone away (sans kid, of course), it was to relax totally, zero physical activity. I’m always amazed by the number of people who say they hike, kayak, climb, zipline, parasail, etc. on vacations. Sounds like work to me. But you guys go. I’ll just curl up with my book, take a nap, and share a cocktail with you when you get back, hopefully in one piece. 
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Yes, if we go, we will be there during Ramadan. At first I thought no, but I’ve read a lot about it and now the idea sounds great. Apparently every evening is like a party. They also are more forgiving of tourists eating, primarily at tourist sites, which is where we will be. Alcohol will definitely be off the table, but that’s fine. I’m willing to take the risk because Ramadan is such a huge cultural thing.
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Every evening is like a party, and it can be an amazing experience. I am sure you’ll have a wonderful time and I cannot wait to hear all about it if you end up going.
Unfortunately, I am someone who gets extremely ‘hangry’ and didn’t want to bring that energy to a trip like that which when we go will be fairly strenuous (we want to snorkel in Aqaba, hike in several Wadis, etc).
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For family trips, we do best going somewhere not one of us has ever been and exploring. That means hiking, swimming, cycling, skiing, driving to new places where we learn and see new things. H and the kids need the activity, I need the mental stimulation. We all like to eat!
The most successful recent trips have been to Iceland and the Galapagos Islands. I can geek out on the geology and the creatures and the history, the men can hike up volcanoes and dive down to see sharks and maneuver big four wheel drive vehicles over rocks and through rivers. Then we challenge each other to eat and drink weird foods. (I saw the first shark and my reaction was “eek!” Their reaction was “where??!!” At the end of the day, I would read and go to bed early while the kids would prowl around and meet new people.)
Trips for just H and me are similar. I love a museum, he loves to kayak. If someone can tell me about the water/town while we paddle, I’m happy. We both have lots of energy and can walk for miles. As we age I am a little braver and he is a little posher: I got down in the Vietcong tunnels and ate snails on the street, while H found the highest rated restaurants. Sometimes our preferences surprise us: he loved the winery trip even though he seldom drinks wine, and I thought it was too much wine and food.
If I ever went somewhere alone? I am not sure I remember how to do that. When H traveled for work, I used to explore places on foot and visit museums.
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I did Jordan like 25 years ago and had a great time. I spent several days in the Wadi Rum, and obviously Petra and Aqaba.
Ramadan in the Arab world is interesting. A lot of places will be closed during the day… so you might not be able to get what you want right when you want it, so plan ahead.
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I guess escapism is different things to different people. Some escape by doing nothing, others escape by immersing in a different life.
@DadBodThor thanks. From all I can gather, all the tourist sites will be open. I think they’re accepting these days of non-Muslim tourists eating and drinking as long as they are in restaurants and cafes in tourist areas. I’ve been in touch with an agent who hasn’t indicated we won’t be able to visit those places.
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Just adding…I know some folks here really like camping. I absolutely will not do any vacation that involves camping!
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