That gives me the info that I needed to move forward. Maybe now I can convince mom that she *can* afford to visit the Southwest U.S. and Europe, and maybe I can convince Dad to go snorkeling in Costa Rica.

Seriously, for 55-year olds, they haven’t seen the world at ALL. I plan to spend the next 20 years avoiding their fates!

Thank you!

Mostly, these are week long trips, although there are times when I take a four or five day weekend — esp. when I can throw in a holiday like Labor day where SO’s vacation time doesn’t have to be used. I’m fortunate to be self employed so I can vacation when I want as long as the work gets done and my SO gets four weeks of time each year with “carryover” that has now accumulated to about seven weeks per year.

We drive for most trips, although I wouldn’t say many destinations are “driving distance” — we go upwards of 1,000 miles from home when we drive at times. But we enjoy driving and stopping along the way more than the hassle of airports. But we do fly when necessary, but on budget airlines and only when there’s an airfare deal.

As to where we go, it depends. I’ll usually start out with a general area in mind and then look for deals on places within that area. Where I can match the best deal with activities we enjoy is where we go. We go to amusement parks, national parks, big cities with lots to do, resorts, and driving vacations where we just “look around” with no real plans in mind. We also do cruises, although not as often, and international trips, again, not as often esp. since the dollar has tanked and it’s a lot more expensive.

Rarely does a vacation (week long) cost more than $1,000, although I usually aim much lower but the cost of gas is making that harder to hit. If we do a cruise or international trip, I try to stay under $2,000-2,500 for a week, although I’m usually far below that once I get discounts factored in.

I realize that our travel methods are somewhat unconventional and that we’re fortunate to have more vacation time than most and a smaller travel party which equals reduced expenses. However, the point of the article was that, no matter your situation, if travel’s your thing, it’s still possible to do quite a bit of it on limited funds as long as you’re willing to give up some other things and hunt for deals.

No idea why you even bothered asking the question to me above, but the answer is that my mom has never been anywhere, and neither has my dad. This would be great to send to them if I had more info as to the types of vacations these are (like, are these road trips? If so, my mom does NOT do well with driving, and there would be different budgetary concerns)

Also, it would be nice if they took care of their finances to the point where they could come visit ME and I don’t have to spend all my travel money visiting them.

Still waiting for responses on my original question.

We travelled to Yellowstone last summer for 6 days and it cost us (family of 5) about $3k (includes air fare). We are going to Florida later this month, and my estimate is somewhere from $6 to $7k.

There’s got to be a catch that is not disclosed in this article.

Note that if you have school age kids, you can go on the “off” season low price like prior to December 15, most travel packages are cheaper than after December 15.

I went to France as a teenager on a school trip. I did buy an obligatory mini Eiffel tower, but one day in Paris we strolled past a record store. I went in and bought a 45 (if I just say “single,” will anyone know what I’m talking about? Heh. This was a 45 rpm record, actual black vinyl) and a music magazine. I knew nothing about the musician on the single - Francis Lalanne - but it turned out I REALLY liked it once I had a chance to listen to it. And the music magazine has been full of wonderful memories - it’s been a way to practice my French, and it features reviews of American albums among all the French artists that remind me of that time in my life.

Including the little Eiffel tower, I doubt I spent more than $10 on those souvenirs. I still enjoy the single and the magazine.

Teri: Well, when you’re in that much debt, you need the 5-star spa treatment to relieve some of the stress of being in debt… *rolls eyes*

My other favorite thing to do is stay with friends. I’ve got a friend that lives in Honduras and a friend that lives in Vermont — in the first part of next year I’ll get to visit them both. Vermont to see the snow I miss living in south Texas, and then a weekend in Honduras for some good latin american food. My friends are all old enough to have guest bedrooms now — so there’s no couch surfing stigma — and we all host each other whenever we can.

Unfortunately, the only thing I can offer when people visit me in south-central Texas is lots of free beer and scantily clad young college women…