One big annual trip or a few smaller ones

We are not of retirement age, but are very flexible. We usually only go for a maximum of 3 weeks as we have 2 Golden Retrievers that we miss too much, and we don't want to burden our kids too much with them. So we usually do one long trip a year, and then several week long trips. My preference would be to do all the trips for about 2 weeks. We come from SEA, so are like you in the long flights. The one week trips are too short for me, but my husband likes them. I often will do these with friends or our daughter, both of which are not as flexible. The longer trips are nice, but they just take more planning and my husband has to really make sure work is covered as I often times try to make our destinations off grid so that he can't work;)

The biggest thing for me with any trip is the flights. I will do most anything to avoid layovers, and if I can't avoid them then they have to be in airports that are easy and efficient, and the time can't be too short or too long.

Our Christmas Market trip flights got messed up beyond anything from Delta, and while our trip there is still convoluted, at least the return trip is nonstop. Unless Delta decides to muck that up too;) We had no intention of going to Paris for that trip, but finale the return trip home out of CDG, so that ended up on the itinerary. I think often times the flights are the hardest aspect.

Congratulations on your retirement and more time to travel! Being overseas for two months will give you a chance to assess what feels right for both of you. My husband liked a 2-week trip if he was coming with me during nice weather months (wanted to be home during our golf season), and three weeks or slightly longer for our trip in Jan/Feb to escape the snow or gray skies when we lived near Seattle.

I like a 3-5 week trip in the summer with five weeks pushing my limit.

We lived in the Seattle area for 30 years. Now that the airport is Spokane, it’s an even longer trip to arrive in Europe. I have started adding an extra day upfront at the first location (try to make it a less expensive hotel) in case our flights get delayed and we miss the first night as we did when we flew to Malaga, Spain in February.

Congrats rob!!! I’m still working and prefer multiple trips throughout the year so I get multiple breaks from work. This year I have 3 trips to Europe planned and next year I’m going to squeeze in 4.

I’m lucky departing from Chicago that I have many nonstop flight options so flying multiple times a year is not too bad, other than the additional cost of course.

Enjoy retirement and safe travels.

I generally do one long trip each year (overseas), ranging anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks. I think 6 weeks is about all I can handle without wanting to be home (mostly because I miss my grandkids) but as they get older, that may change. If I did stay longer, I would probably be inclined to stay longer in each place, rather than traveling around a lot. And the flying gets to me, as I usually get no sleep on the plane, which wipes me out.

But I balance that out with road trips around the US. A couple of years ago, I took my grandson out west, visiting family but also exploring some of the national parks and attractions. This year, I will be traveling through the UP, then down through Michigan, on to Pennsylvania (visiting family) then down to Ohio (again visiting family). But I will take my time and stop at various places. And I have many more road trips in mind; like to Nova Scotia and New England, and the Pacific Northwest.

Four , Carrie, impressive!

Congratulations on your retirement! My husband just retired too in March. Like others have mentioned, we hate the flying part. After too many years of shorter trips ( our longest 1 month, but mostly 2 weeks), we are excited to travel for longer periods. Our first longer trip will be 5-6 weeks in Asia. After that, well, Schengen is the limit!

I retire in 61 days and have been curious about this too. I like the idea of extended trips but we've never taken more than 2.5 weeks at a time and that seems right. I tend to get bored after that. I also like my creature comforts at home. I guess we won't know until we try and so at some point we'll try for a month and see how it goes, but I can't imagine longer than that.

One big annual trip to Europe or at most two, for various reasons. I THINK I would stay for two months, but one month or a month and a few days is what my husband prefers and he may be right that too many things in our lives make a month a more sensible amount of time.

We both have volunteer jobs that we love and that have to be done at certain times of the year, we have young grandchildren who now live in town whom we like to spend a lot of time with, my husband would miss our dog and I would miss my garden, we both would miss our cabin (especially in April/May and September/October), and we both hate heat and crowds so summer in Europe is off the table. So that leaves November/December/January and sometimes March/April as possible times to travel.

We fly one grade above basic economy ("main cabin" on Delta) and I cannot sleep sitting up (he can and does), so that is another thing that keeps us to one trip a year --- I would probably sleep in one of those lie-flat beds, but the cost seems ridiculous. We do an anti-jetlag program that gets us four hours onto Europe time, so no jetlag at all during the trip until the coming-home jetlag (bad for about two weeks) --- however, the anti-jetlag schedule we stick to is pretty inconvenient for attending evening work meetings and social events. So doing that more than once or twice a year would not be fun.

It will be interesting to hear what you find out you like and don't like about a two-month trip when you get back!

We are in our early 60s and retired. We have four kids and three grandchildren and elderly parents with needs, and have a large yard that needs tending. We love international travel but other than Mexico and the Caribbean, we didn't do any until our mid 50s, and then there was COVID. We feel we have a lot of "catching up" to do. We find that a month plus a couple days is a sweet spot in terms of getting away without missing too much or getting too far behind. Yet, that time frame is not adequate in terms of satisfying our "wish list" of locations that we want to see. What we've landed on is two, month + trips a year. Plus, a few weeks in Hawaii to visit an adult daughter and shorter trips to visit a son in Seattle, and to travel around the country.

We have noticed that as much as we love to travel, anything more than four and a half weeks has us yearning for home. In terms of the economics of two trips vs. one really long one, call me lucky or crafty, but I am able to get what I consider good pricing for air fares. At this point, in spite of my husband's height and my knees, we can handle Delta economy plus seats vs. more expensive tickets. I don't despise layovers, would rather fly nonstop, but there are not many from Minnesota, and a layover does allow us to stretch our legs. We also do a lot of site seeing and do not feel a need to stay in fancier accommodations.

We do one of our long trips starting mid January. That one tends to be a bit more challenging in terms of destinations. Last year we went to New Zealand and this winter we will go to southern Italy. For the other time frame, we have not landed on the perfect time for a fall trip, This year we are going at the end of August for almost five weeks to Turkey, Greece, Adriatic countries and north east Italy. It will likely be a bit too hot for our tastes, but we are having to plan around our yard tending and my husband's solo fall camping/photography trip. November might be good for international travel but its hard to plan around family and holidays.

Our retirement came about a year before the pandemic, and of course that disrupted all of our plans in 2020 and beyond. At that time, we still intended to do trips in the range of 2 to 4 weeks, just multiple trips, and that is still our goal. We spent 3 weeks in France in 2023, our first trip abroad since late 2019, and it was an ideal length of time for us even though we could have supersized it.

We also have goals of other destinations than Europe, like Japan, SE Asia, and Australia / NZ. So our goal is multiple overseas trips, not one big one...

Good luck.

We live for our long annual trip, usually 8 weeks and in the fall. We stayed 10 weeks once, when travel resumed in 2021 to make up for a lost 2020, but that was too long. Since retirement our shortest trip was 4 weeks and given the itinerary and time of year, that was perfect. I have trouble flying all that way for less than 4 weeks since time is not problem. Even domestically we rarely fly anywhere for less than a week.

Like Mardee, we stay fewer places and for more days as the constant 2, 3, or 4 night stays are unfulfilling. We like to simply live in these lovely places and take advantage of what the community and area have to offer for hikes and tours whether by ourselves or guided.

Apartment stays keep us sane, too. More room to spread out, simple meals “At home” alleviate restaurant fatigue.

Go for as long as you can and as often as you can. Congratulations on your retirement. We put off travel because of work and aging parents and then the pandemic came and now my husband is in the sunset of 70. If he is physically going to enjoy the trip, it now needs to lay-flat bed from the west coast. To catch up on travel after the pandemic, we were doing trips between 25-28 days. This year we went for 28 days and that was too much for him, so we’ll knock off a few days for next year.

The lengthy flight is a consideration, but our ability to pivot takes more energy and makes more stress than it seemed to several years ago. We may need to adjust our style going forward as changing locations frequently isn’t as easy as it used to be. But, we are looking forward to our next trip, wherever that may be!

We also fully retired right before the pandemic and had big plans for the next few years. We were finally able to go to Europe this year, and made two 2-week trips. Next year we also hope to make two trips, and then after that we will probably make one trip a year. We would love to go for a month, but family reasons make it hard to go for more than two weeks. The flight from SFO in main cabin is long and tiring, so one longer trip would be much better for us than two or more shorter trips.

With a longer trip we could have fewer 2 and 3 night stays and stay in apartments more often. I almost always want more time in each place we visit, but since we have not been to Europe that often, I balance that against seeing a variety of places that interest us and a range of sights from cities to villages and naturally beautiful settings. I am usually much happier and more comfortable in an apartment or cottage than in a hotel room, even in a really nice hotel.

Congrats from me too on your retirement! It's the best, lol! My brother, SIL and I all agree we don't know how we got anything done before retirement.

I plunged from retirement directly into parent care which evolved into providing 24/7 live in care. When they were gone (both well into their 90's having lived wonderful lives) I did what you are doing and did a 2-month trip to Europe. I had sustained myself on long caregiving nights by nearly memorizing Rick's Tour brochure, lol, so I'd already decided to do all the tours that interested me. I did the 21 day Best of Europe, Best of Paris and Village Italy along with a week in London first and an extra week in Paris. It was WONDERFUL! And no, I was not ready to come home except I was not quite the light packer I am now and my suitcase was too heavy, hahaha!

Now I like to do 2 month-long trips a year. This year I'm only doing one in the Fall (a month in France with a 2-week Seymour Travels tour bookended by weeks in Paris, lol) but it just turned out that way. I have 2 big trips planned for next year - Orkney and Shetland in July with time ahead in Edinburgh and a trip in October to Southwest France for 2 weeks, probably with Paris on either end.

Like Jean, I fly from Spokane which adds a few hours on to the international flight from Seattle so my flight day is longer. I had good luck with that jet lag app last time so I'm not concerned about losing time for that but with a month in Europe I can also not over schedule myself for the first few days.

BTW, if you like cooler temps for summer (and I know what you all are looking at this week!) consider Orkney and Shetland....nice and chilly!

What an awesome time you will have!

Congratulations on your retirement!

My first trip in retirement was 5 weeks. That was a little bit too long for me, but it was my first post-pandemic trip so that may have factored into my perception. I definitely felt a bit of sensory-overload in crowded Portugal. I’d always thought that I would like to take a 2 or 3 month trip but now I am not sure. I found that towards the end of my trip I was really looking forward to getting home and sleeping in my own bed and eating home-cooked meals.

In the last year, I’ve taken two 4 week trips (one to Europe in September/October and one to New Zealand in February). I’ve really enjoyed both and the time away seemed just right. I also enjoyed going somewhere warm in the winter. My strategy going forward will be 2 trips to different regions of the world, each for about a month.

Congratuations on your retirement! My husband is retiring in four months. I have at least ten more years to go.

I have a lot of flexibility in my job, but I get paid by the hour - it's a tradeoff. I can up and fly to Europe when I want, but if I'm not working, I'm not getting paid.

So my strategy is to take several 5-6 day trips throughout the year. I usually do those solo though my husband went to Amsterdam with me in March. He has not been in favor of traveling to Europe for such a short trip, but he really had a good time. I know short trips like that are probably not for most people, but I love them. Traveling solo I do only what I want, I get started as early as I want, I am not slowed down by anyone else's needs or schedule, so I can pack in as much as I want in my time there. Plus, I am on the east coast, so flying to, say, London, is no worse than flying to the west coast for me, and I don't mind (and often even enjoy) flying.

My husband & I could travel together once he's retired, but we have a senior dog who he really hates to leave. We might go to Europe for a week at the most.

When I'm not traveling, I am very much a homebody, so two weeks might be my max anyway, even if we didn't have a dog and had total flexibility to stay as long as we want. We downsized in 2021 to a small house which I love, and I have a garden and many houseplants that I enjoy tending to, so I wouldn't want to be gone from them for too long.

You will love retirement!
It’s true that you will be busier than ever…..!
How did we ever fit in full time work?!
As we live on the West coast of Canada, airfares are too prohibitively high to take more than one trip a year for me.
If I lived back East it would be a different story.
I did take two last year, more to get the value out of a year’s travel insurance!…also expensive for us.
I look forward all year to my one trip to Europe…..packing and planning in the back of my mind now for the one in September.

Agree with Patty who said "Go for as long as you can and as often as you can." A good two month trip will help you decide about future trips. You may find you like doing long trips, or you may find just the opposite. After the long trip, you might want to do a shorter one of three weeks or so. That should really point you in the direction that most appeals to you. Regarless, just remember, a bad day in retirement is still better than a good day while working.

To each their own, but I like to scatter 7-10 day trips throughout the year. If I used my vacation days in one fell swoop, that would be depressing as I'd have nearly a year to go until my next vacation. Taking shorter breaks means there is always something to look forward to not long into the future. That's my preference. Plus, we have animals so being gone longer than that isn't a great idea for us, plus the stuff at work piles up and it is quite unpleasant to deal with after, say, two weeks off.

I assumed I would be doing more long tours in retirement. There are too many other factors that get in the way: family, health, pets, property. I find two weeks is about the maximum I can do without being exhausted. If you plan around travel, and make lifestyle choices to support it, I think longer trips make sense. I realize now, that, for me, I should have done that when younger (, not older.

Congrats and two months will be fantastic. My only advice is to schedule in every 14 days at least 2 days of low key, low energy days to have some R&R type days. Plan a place in a mountain, on a lake, at the shore where you can veg. Otherwise, you will tire out and begin to feel exhausted after about 3 weeks. I learned the hard way that you need to recharge if you want to do more than 3 weeks.
Enjoy.

In the last year, I’ve taken two 4 week trips (one to Europe in September/October and one to New Zealand in February). I’ve really enjoyed both and the time away seemed just right. I also enjoyed going somewhere warm in the winter. My strategy going forward will be 2 trips to different regions of the world, each for about a month.

Laura, I like your thinking and strategy. Our travel strategy going forward: 3 to 4 weeks per trip, at least 2 (maybe 3) trips per year to different regions of the world. Through trial and error dating back to pre pandemic, we found our sweet spot trip length is at least 3 weeks, but no more than four.

Threadwear - that is such a good point. There was a discussion recently on the thread about wearing yourself out in London that was similar. As a solo traveler I can easily take an afternoon or heck, an entire day if I want, and do nothing but sit in a park and read (or the hotel room if it's raining). I'm guessing that with a couple you really need to make an effort to pencil these into your schedule. And a transit day does not count because that is hard work!

It is hard for me to be gone from home for longer periods, but I like to travel more than the 3-4 weeks that I could otherwise be away. So I've been adjusting my travels to space several trips throughout the year, finding interesting places to go outside of my usual spring and fall timeframes.

With several trips in play, I've had to get even more organized with my trip planning, with evolving decisions such as whether to keep 1 "todo" list or several separate ones.

I agree with JoJo Rabbit and others, our sweet spot is 3 weeks. We travelled 3 weeks to Spain; Egyot/Jordan//Israel; Paris/London recently. We’ll be traveling to Japan next March for 22 days.

But, this August we will be gone almost 8 weeks in Croatia, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. The time we are in Croatia we will stay in our own apartment. I don’t think I could be gone that long if we didn’t have a place to settle in. I prefer to take 2-3 trips for 3 weeks at a time.

We have done trips every timeframe from a week to 10 weeks. We always aim for longer trips because as others have mentioned, flying from here can be exhausting and expensive. I prefer the longer trips and the shorter trips have been because we didn’t have more time. I was a little concerned about how we would feel at the end of the 10 weeks, but I honestly could have stayed longer. Our children and grandchildren do not live close to us, we don’t have any animals since our senior dog passed 5 years ago, and as of this month we don’t even have any grass that has to stay mowed. As you know I trimmed back the 11 week trip I had planned for this fall and we will now be gone just over 6 weeks. It was disappointing, but the right thing to do. We will add the places we cancelled to our agenda next year. I know you guys are going to have a great time on your trip and I look forward to hearing about it.

stan, yes to all of that. In addition to pets, we have family who are in poor health or are getting there. Some are probably close to passing, like in months or perhaps a year or two. It absolutely affects your decision making as the future is quite uncertain.

I think it's great that retired folks can spend a month or months in Europe if it works for them, or you're a trust fund baby. Go for it. For others there are personal preferences and extenuating circumstances. When asked about this, I say, "You do you." Don't worry about what others think, do what suits you. Maybe you're young and can fly to London for a weekend and then return home in time for work on Monday. Have fun.

Maybe it's a two-hour drive to Virginia Beach. The antithesis of adventure. If that's your thing, fine.