Winter Break Category
We almost always seek out a place to take a break, get some sun, and relax, sometime between January and March. Here’s a small collection of wisdom gained over multiple years of winter/spring breaks.
With apologies for being Ugly Americans, our winter break vacations are not exercises in cultural appreciation. Barb (in particular) and I are not looking to expand horizons, but to bring our bubble of first world expectations to a warm, sunny location. I recognize it’s cultural imperialism at its worst, but it’s the bargain we’re looking to make. The ideal is to find a place where the resort/staff is willing to make the same bargain and indulge us for a few days.
Here are some of the key things we look for in a successful location/resort for a break:
- Beach and/or pool (preferably both) where Barb can get a lounge chair near the water and I can sit in the shade. Being able to reserve a shady spot, rather than rise early to claim one, is preferable.
- Consistent sunny weather is important. Barb is there for sun and has limited tolerance for cloudy days.
- Good quality food (don’t expect gourmet) and variety of choices. All-inclusive food (or at least included breakfast) and drinks preferred. Or have a good choice of restaurants and shops within walking distance.
- Clean, comfy rooms with decent TV choices. Room should have balcony with decent view and shade for Bill.
- Fast, free wifi in rooms and throughout resort, including beach areas.
- All-adult places are better than anywhere with families; kids are annoying and noisy.
- We don’t need loud shows/entertainment; the quieter, the better.
- Having some local excursions is a mild plus for Bill, but not necessary. Just relaxing at resort for 3 days is plenty. Longer than that is problematic.
- Travel time up to 4 hours is OK; longer than that is a problem, since you have to add 4+ hours to get to/from airports. Nonstop flights highly preferred to connections.
I find we go through the same cycle almost every all-inclusive or cruise we encounter:
- The arrival day and first full day we consume almost everything in sight, trying a bit of everything and getting very overstuffed.
- The second day we cut back a little, focusing on favorites, but still over-indulging.
- By the third day, we pare back even further to try to moderate ourselves and not feel so constantly full. At that point, it feels like it’s about time to go. If we stayed longer, it would seem like the house is winning and we’re not getting our money’s worth.
- Then on getaway day we usually have a burst of one-last-chance favorites, arriving home still stuffed and ready to get back into our regular home routines.
Similarly, Barb tends to get overly sunburned in the first two days, reading lots of junk magazines and romance books, pares back a bit on the third day, and we’re generally ready to go home or move on to another place after the fourth night. That’s why these four-night, five-day vacations are pretty much ideal for us right now. Barb gets some time off, but not too long, and we’re usually able to click off most of our wish list activities within three full days before getting bored or feel like we’re completely wasting money.
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