The Cost of a Great Vacation

Good Morning DINKS.  Summer is now officially over, so let’s talk about our summer vacations.  I personally love to take time of during summer, but I hate taking summer vacations.  I enjoy being off work and enjoying the warm weather and sunshine.  However, I rarely travel during the summer.  So many people take vacations during the summer because the weather is (usually) nice, although this year has been an exception with the storms and the rain.  People like to be outdoors when the weather is nice and the sunshine usually makes people happy.  I personally would never travel in the winter because the cold weather makes me angry and extremely unpleasent to be around.  I like to take vacations in May or in September because the weather is still warm, but tourist season is over and prices are cheaper.  I don’t mind spending money on a really good vacation as long as my personal experience is worth the cost.

How much does it (or should it) cost to take a really good vacation?

Can we even put a price tag on taking a summer vacation? When I travel I like to find the best deal possible for my travel and accommodations, but I will definitely pay to have a great once in a lifetime experience.  I personally hate spending more than I have to on flights and hotels.  The actual experience of travelling is so similar among airlines that there is no need to have a personal preference, unless we are collecting reward miles. I definitely don’t mind paying for nice hotel accommodations because I don’t want to be sleeping with roaches and bed bugs.  However, extravagant hotels are never in my budget.  The actual amount of time that we  spend in our hotel room is so insignificant that it is not worth the cost.

What is Your Dream Vacation?

I would love to visit Africa from the North all the way down the West Coast to South Africa.  My favourite movie is Jaws, and I am totally obsessed with Sharks.  I would love to go Shark seeing in the Ivory Coast or South Africa.  I may even get into a cage in the water in order to get a closer look, but I probably don’t think that I will have the courage to do so.  I don’t know why, but I have always wanted to go to Morocco.  It looks beautiful on TV and I have several friends who are Moroccan.  My boyfriend Nick is actually from West Africa so we would also have to make a pit stop and spend some time with his family.

Other destinations that are on my list of places to travel are Portugal, Italy, and Greece.  I am happy to say that I have plans to travel to Italy next September.  My friends and I will be spending 10 days in Naples, and a day or two in Rome.

How Did You Book Your Last Vacation?

I have personally never used a Travel Agency to book any of my vacations.  With the growing popularity of online self booking websites such as Travelocity and Expedia, and the price incentive of discount websites such as Hotwire and Priceline, I do not see the added value in booking my vacations through a Travel Agency.  Travel Agents charge a booking fee or a commission, I would rather save that money and spend it on buying jewellery during my vacation.  Almost all of my jewellery has been purchased outside of Canada.  I love shopping in foreign countries because I know that no one else will have what I am wearing.

Before you start to book your vacation check to see if your employer has any discounts or privileges for travel.  I recently learned that my employer is a member of The Last Minute Club and this is how I will book my vacation to Italy next year.  I compared prices with Travelocity and I am going to save approximately $500 by booking my vacation to Italy with The Last Minute Club.  I know that many companies also receive preferred discounts through Club Quarters Hotels. We do need a password to log in; but hint…it is usually your employers name.

(Photo by pterantula)

Kristina Tahnyak

Tahnya is a Certified Financial Planner and former Investment Advisor turned marketing and communications professional She holds a degree from Concordia University, is debt free and currently works in the field of digital marketing.