Returning to the same places over and over vs seeing the world

It is not an either/or question. For us it is the purpose of the trip. We do both. In January and early Feb we take Caribbean cruises because we have found it is cheaper to take a cruise than to rent a condo in southern Florida or Keys at that time of year. So we have been to many Caribbean ports several times but for us it is a relax, sun, sand, beach kind of trip. Sightseeing is not high on our list at that time.

For European trips we have limited gateway cities so we do repeat those cities. On arrive we will spend a couple, three days before moving on. It is relaxing to do our jet lag recover in familiar surroundings. And we tend to end trips the same way. In between we explore new ground.

We've had some similar discussions on the Forum in the past few months. We like to blend the familiar and the new, so our European trips include visits to old favorites (Venice annually if possible) and new-to-us spots.

If you never go anywhere new, how do you know what you like? But going back to a familiar haunt is like visiting an old friend. You may have the map in your head by the second or third visit, know the restaurants, etc., and can spend your time appreciating lesser known sites, museums, etc. For example, our first trip to Paris was 6 days of gorging on the usual first timer sights, Our second, third, and fourth trips allowed us to explore deeper, take our time, and savor the city.

Going somewhere new, though, is always exciting as we admire and wonder at a place we've never been before. I find it is good for our relationship to try new places, too.

Good points Laurel,

Probably seven or eight years ago we went to Mardi Gras with a group of five or six couples. I'm pretty sure we had a fantastic time as we did have some good pictures and from what I could remember......... i think we were having a great deal of fun!

A couple years ago we went back to Mardi Gras with my sister-in-law and didn't drink very much. We spent more time doing tours and enjoying the food. It was a much different experience each time! Haha

It does depend on what you want. I started a thread a couple of years ago on "why do we return?" and got some interesting responses.

For me, I travel to be in places. So I see some new places and return to others. I cannot imagine going to Europe and not going to Roma, Napoli, Matera, and several other places that are on a two or three year rotation. Most of my time is spent in Italy. I am watching a tv program on the Via di San Benedetto, a pilgrimage route through some beautiful places in central Italy. The list gets longer.

There are lots of other places that "call" people, but Italy is the country that calls me back. If that means I never get to Egypt or China, I will have to make peace with that.

We have several weeks of Marriott Timeshares, one in the US and the rest in Spain. Consequently we return frequently to Mallorca and Estepona every year typically during the Easter and October holidays and spend some time in the sun and in the fantastic villas there. We like the fact that we have separate bedrooms, lounge, full kitchen etc and we still haven't exhausted exploring the local area. During the summer we regularly trade into the Marriott's elsewhere, mainly in the US and have had some great holidays. The rest of the time we take long weekend breaks to various cities throughout Europe. I think we have the best of both worlds, relaxing beach and pool holidays and short, varied cultural breaks.

As they say, Variety is the Spice of Life. Sometime its nice to experience a completely new place, and sometimes it's more comfortable to go to a familiar location (and maybe do or see something new). For anyone who seeks a bit of adventure, then going the same exact place and doing the same exact thing would seem to be putting oneself in a bit of a rut, but if they just need some relaxation or aren't interested in expanding their view and experiences, then there are plenty of places to do just that.

I live in Europe so easy for me to travel within it, plus I get a lot of holidays(42 days per year)I travel to Prague several times a year,just back from 2 weeks there.There are many reasons I visit again and again but it is really the culture and lifestyle I love there suits me perfectly, I love travelling to various parts of the Czech Republic ,I have several friends in various parts of the country and usually meet up with them, I love seeing the changes in the country as it moved from the communist regimes into a more open market economy and see the changes in the people and it what the country has to offer, the food and beer scene is in a constant state of change and I love it. I love the seasons and the changes that go with it, love the outdoor that the Czech really love to embrace. As I head toward retirement I intend to spend longer periods in the country.
BUT!
I am open to other places as well and have travelled extensively all over Europe especially the former Soviet Bloc countries and in a few months make my first trip to Croatia and completely new place for me. A few years ago I made a first visit to the Canary Isles, not a favourite place for me but great for a nice winter sun break and a destination I can fly to from my home city of Edinburgh, I have visited every winter for the last 5 years though not sure if I will return next winter.

one of the things I have never understood is those that travel with multiple places in a very short time,one or two nights in each place.When I was young I spent my summers travelling Europe by bicycle staying in youth hostels and moving every 3 or 4days and that was great fun but nowadays I prefer to be in one place for a week so I can spend more time getting to know the place and the people.

I have a coworker who takes the same family trip to visit the same family members every summer. That's what the family likes, that's what they do. I assume it suits them.

I don't want to see everything. I realize the impossibility of that task given my finances and interests.

I used to want to see everything on the check list that seemed interesting and then I took a transformative trip to Sonoma, California, where we stayed in the same hotel for a week, and drove all over the valley and just took it slow with almost no goal. I had, in many ways, the best vacation ever, as I was completely relaxed, still learning, still engaged with the world, but just having an easy good time.

That trip changed my philosophy considerably. I still make lists, I still plan movement, but I want to take a recommendation for time to spend somewhere and add a day. Or three days. If Rick says three days, I want 4-5. I want to not just hit the highlights, but I want to wander around and take in the "no lights." I want to eat not just the top speciality of the place, but sample the fullness of the terroir. Sure, the peaks and pinnacles of art, cuisine, alcohol, scenery, architecture are wonderful. They are the peaks, are they not? But, walking around, seeing some kids play soccer, seeing that same old guy with the same kangol cap that seems to be in every Italian town walk to the market, trying out some different restaurants... that's more like what I want to do. Let a place that is worth unfolding around you unfold around you.

So, slower. And sometimes revisit. August-September trip will revisit two cities I hit ten years ago, Venice, which we didn't see any of the pinnacles, because we were exhausted, and Milan, because it had a flight and we loved the roof of the Duomo. I don't need to revisit everywhere I've been (like Amsterdam), but I do want to dig deeper on some places (Rome, Paris) and do different trips that build from those places (instead of Rome-Florence-Venice... Rome - Emilia Romagna or Rome and South... Paris and Bordeaux instead of Paris-Brugge-Amsterdam).

So, space between the extremes. New places, certainly (Venice-Turin-Le Langhe-VdA), revisit some old, but you can never really do the same trip twice.

There are lots of other places that "call" people, but Italy is the
country that calls me back. If that means I never get to Egypt or
China, I will have to make peace with that.

Makes sense. Favorite places are sort of like favorite people to me? There are those "besties" that I enjoy spending quality, quantity time with because we jell, and every occasion is interesting and/or fun. People - like some places - can also have many layers so it takes time to play human archeologist, to dig into them so you understand them better?

There's something comforting about landing into a favorite city, national park or other location and having your bearings from the get-go, too. You already know how to work the transport system, where your must-do-again cafe or museum is, the best route into that can't-miss canyon, etc. so you can dive right into the fun!

Different strokes for different folks. Those of us who like to travel need to be careful not to judge those who are content doing the same thing every year. It's also a matter of what you did as a child. My husband's family always went to the same beach they went to as children because it was near their hometown. Not us! However, there are places that speak to my heart that I will visit whenever its feasible-Florence, London and Charleston.

When telling my sister of my plans for last year's trip to Germany, she asked why I was going back to some of the same places. Then I reminded her that we have both been spending some vacation time at the same stretch of northern San Diego county beach for each of the past 52 years !

My next trip to Germany will include one place that we have visited 3 times in the last 6 years. We like the area, we like the place we stay, and there are still things in the area that we haven't done. We will also include some places that we haven't visited ( but still in Germany ). Before that we will make a trip to other countries that will include all new places for the wife and 5 places new to me.

We like to mix familiar with new each trip .

We however are not "box checkers" so running through ten new places in 15 days is not our style , I don't think a person can really say " oh we've been there " when they basically just passed through for a night . That's box checking to us .

We make a point of including new destinations / countries each trip ( we usually do 4-5 weeks in Europe every other year , sometimes more often ) , but we always take a week beach break on Mexican Mayan Riveria every year . We also like to return to some cities over and over because it's impossible to see everything in a week or two ( no , I don't think anyone can say they "know" Paris after a week ) so for us it's not either or .

I visited Budapest in 2014 as I have Hungarian heritage and within a couple hours of arriving the magic spell had been effectively cast--I returned in 2016 and again this past April, planning again for next May. I've been to the town of my ancestors and plan to get out and see more of Hungary, each time I save something for the next trip but also re-visit places I really enjoyed, like Margit sziget and Szentendre. Now that I know how to get to their flea market there's no stopping me. I like to end my trips in Budapest, perfect blend of peaceful and busy for me.

However, I also have many places I need to visit, so each trip is something old, something new, and with the cheap flights within Europe I don't even bother with what's geographically practical--Paris to Budapest, Amsterdam to Budapest, etc.

We always visit some favorites, places we wanted more time, and some new places each trip. I like a mix of those. I do however prefer Europe over other areas - sure there are some places in Asia I would like to see but not enough to devote an entire trip there. When I win the lotto maybe...

One of my favorite things to say is that travel is like picking out art. A painting may speak to you, but not me. Nothing wrong with that - just different things inspire each of us at different times and for different reasons. A piece of art may not appeal to me now, but in 10 years, who knows?

Travel is the same way.

With seven continents under our belts and repeats to several, last winter we booked a beach-front room at Caneel Bay. Each day we had a well-planned, packed agenda of: wake up each morning and decide right then and there what we wanted to do.....LOL. Every day was spent sitting in the exact same two lounge chairs on the very private, uncrowded beach, watching the sailboats, etc. go by, snorkeling a bit, breakfast, tea, early dinner. Next day: repeat, ditto, ditto, ditto. It was incredible. We loved it, and it was so very relaxing. I realized what a true vacation really could be.

Vacation can be very different from touring and seeing the world. After a few more bucket-list trips, we will likely do many more trips like that vacation....it was relaxing and refreshing. The flights were not nearly as long, and we came home rested (not exhausted, as we typically do from our overseas travels).

I can't say "do as I say and not as I do," because we are still dragging ourselves around the globe, but when I look at photos, the ones of my husband with a sea turtle in the clear Caribbean water or his making friends with the semi-wild donkeys right outside our room are the ones that make me smile and that transport me to those special, relaxing days.

For travel to other continents, I feel a though I am racing time --- quick, do it all before you get too old to do it. But, for Caneel, I have a feeling (if we are still alive) we can enjoy that time and time again into our very old age. And the memories from BOTH types of travel are and will be dear!

Enjoy whatever type travel you choose and at whatever stage in life you are enjoying. It's all a matter of personal priorities. I wish we had a group of friends/family with whom we could share the built memories of repeating travel to the same place each year, but it has not worked out that way. But, I truly smile and am happy for those who look forward to and enjoy their special beach weeks with family and/or friends.

In the end, it's the experiences we have and the memories we create......and those are often just a matter of the choices we make........and great memories can be created right in your own backyard :)

I have long wondered this too, because traveling and seeing new things is such a passion for me. But then my family thinks it's as odd that I love to travel as I think it is that they don't! My parents have little-to-no interest in traveling at all. My in-laws live on the beach in Florida and every year use their vacation time to visit the beach in different Central American countries. Even though they listen to us talk about our trips with interest, they have absolutely no interest in visiting the mountains, or Europe, or really anywhere that isn't a beach resort. That boggles my mind, but everyone just has different interests I guess.
We really struggle with wanting to dedicate time to go back to places we've already been when there are so many more we want to see, even when the places we've been are calling us back. I keep hoping that after a certain amount of new places I will feel more open to dedicating a trip to places I've loved, but it hasn't happened yet. London was the first place we re-visited, and we did it as a 4 day extension to our Italy trip 12 years after we were first there. I sometimes wish we were only interested in Europe, like many people are, as it would cut down our wishlist. But alas, though I love Europe so, we also have a burning desire to visit Asia, Africa, Australia, South America - even Antarctica! Oh well, dreaming of future adventures is a fun way to pass the time!

I love seeing what interests others. My travel goals have changed as I have aged and as the world has evolved. I used to want to see the world but now, since "Uncle Rick" introduced me to Europe I'm stuck on seeing that!

"once I've seen an area I don't have a ton of desire to go back unless we just didn't get to do some of the things I wanted to see that are can't miss type things."

And I do have a desire to go back and see ~everything~ in some spots. I went to Paris for the first time in 1973, back again a couple of times in mid-70s and didn't like it much. Then I went on a RS tour in 2014 ( RS Guide Dimitri said he would make us love Paris, lol!!) and now have gone 2014, 2015, 2016 and spring of 2017. I'm going back again in the Fall. I'm not a big one for must do or can't miss things BUT I do wind up doing some of them because they are what I want to do. London has been a favorite since the first time on that 1973 trip and I have not seen all there is to see or do all there is to do there either!

I do usually add Paris or London on to another trip. I agree with being in a familiar city to recoup from jet lag!

Traveling in the US, my favorite spot in the Universe is Yellowstone. I go every year and as it is an ever-changing environment there is always something new to see. My last visit in June for 9.5 days I did not even go to some of the main sights! I do visit other places in the US but this is my restoration spot!

However, when I lived in FL for many years, I could never understand the return to the same beach/same hotel/sometimes the same room! for every vacation. I guess beaches just don't do it for me.

Some assumptions need to be (re)considered....

• Even the "same places" aren't static over time, they change...so you will not be looking at the same thing when you revisit. While places change and evolve, people do too, so again people may see the "same place" with different eyes (especially if a long time has passed since the last visit).

• It's not necessarily a waste or opportunity cost if someone wants to delve more deeply into a place, even if that means several visits. They may not have "seeing the world" as their end goal, but maybe more of a thorough understanding and appreciation of where they've been, what they learned there, and connecting whatever dots there are to their own life and outlook.

• "Seeing the world" sounds great in concept, but it's not feasible in any shape or form for any person. And to truly "see the world", you have to be willing to go way out of your comfort zone and be ready to have your heart broken and your belief systems challenged and shaken to the core. It's very emotionally difficult to travel to some places in the world that are suffering from extreme poverty, inequality, corruption and all sorts of injustices, never mind war-torn regions. I don't suppose you were speaking of Mogadishu when you said you wanted to see the world? In other words, the world is not Europe. Europe is one of the wealthiest places in the world, not representative at all. There are a lot of bad places in the world, bad people, and all-around inhumanity. Sorry to be a downer, but that's realistic...you can't talk about "the world" and just focus on "the best of...". I guess it depends how broadly you define "travel" and "seeing the world" in general. There are much more narrow definitions, of course, that focus just on the upside. If your thread title said "returning to the same places vs seeing new ones", then this paragraph would be totally moot.

Just made plans for Christmas -- not only returning to cities we have visited, but some places (Vienna, Budapest, Innsbruck, Munich) will be the same hotels. But there will also be shorter visits to five towns where we have not stayed before. And some of these five may be added to later trips for further exploration.

That is true about places changing over time. We first hit London in 72 - little ice, most soda was fairly warm, WWII bombing damage was still present, men wore a lot of wool suits to and from work, tourist population seem lite, the dollar would buy a lot, etc. Fast forward 44 year when we were there last summer, a very changed place. We have hit London on a fairly regular basis of every five years or so, we were saw the changes slowly. It is only when we compare pictures from 72 to 16 that the changes become real obvious. But that is part of the reason we go back to old places.

Vacation can be very different from touring and seeing the world. After a few more bucket-list trips, we will likely do many more trips like that vacation....it was relaxing and refreshing.

My wife is like that. She needs down time. She likes an occasional beach to sit by for 4 or 5 days or more. I can't always handle that unless we are with a group and are drinking. Otherwise, I get stir crazy.

So the compromise we are making is we are doing a European or Asia/Overseas trip once per year and a Caribbean type trip once per year. That way we tackle both of those "wants" each year. We then try to tack on a 3rd vacation somewhere in the states. Not to mention travel for our favorite college football team at least one road game per year.

We have a few couples that are fun to do the beach vacations with but we prefer the "travel" trips by ourselves.

Ha, it's funny you asked this, my husband and I were just in Athens/Agistri in June, and have already booked an even longer trip in late September. That's pretty unusual and I'm having some "travelers guilt" around it - our time in Europe is coming to a close, we've barely been to Italy, he hasn't been to Spain, there's so much to discover and uncover, and yet we've spent a lot of our time going back to a few big cities that we adore - Berlin, Paris, London. We've also gone back to some unusual places that most people only check off on a box once, like St. Malo - because we like it.

For us we've been given the gift of living in Europe so returning to a place you know isn't the same calculus you'd use coming from the U.S. Everything is at our fingertips so we don't think so much about "What if we never see 'X'" - because 'X' is always there. Again, that's soon to be over yet we still scheduled a trip in a place we were just at.

Maybe we've become a bit numb to "sightseeing" and museums (although I do love them) and all that but sometimes you just want a proper vacation where you're relaxed and you know your way around and yes, you're immersed in a different culture but you're familiar enough that it's "easy". My husband works hard, long hours and he just wanted to go back to a place that felt like paradise and I loved it too, so why not? We've done a lot of busy trips seeing as much as possible on a tight schedule - especially when we first moved to Europe. Now we just kind of want to relax and enjoy. The places we haven't been stresses me out a bit (OMG we have to go to Rome! Scotland! etc!) but we've really come to feel that we "know" certain places we've returned to and honestly those return visits are the least stressful and often the most fun.

Maybe it's a bit like quality gelato - you can have the same flavor, over and over again, or try something new occasionally (or every time), it's all good. Just don't try to get tiny spoonfuls of every flavor dumper together in one cup - you can't get enough of any one flavor to savor it at the moment. . . and don't wait until it's melted before you finally taste some!

We do a bit of everything now that we've been over a few times. Last trip in April, we went for the first time to NL and BE (loved Belgium!), but returned to Paris for the 4th time (for 2 nights) and London for the 6th (but we do mostly fly in and out of London). Been to Rome twice (5 nights each time), Venice 3 times (and planning a 4th), South of France a few times and I'd love to go back for a month.

For us, what's nice about returning somewhere is: the familiarity - especially with the public transport system - London and Paris are old hat now...and there are a few shops we enjoy in London, so we always make time to go to them while there. And the other thing: - not being in a rush to see it all. We did Paris for the 4th time - we had a whole afternoon where we just wandered - we've already done all the 'big' things...and we managed to see some of the things we've missed - the d'Orsay, Luxembourg Gardens, we returned to the Louvre and went to the less crazy areas...meandered thru the Tulleries...there isn't this constant hurry to see everything...eg...we spent 5 nights in Amsterdam in April and I don't even feel like we saw much of the city because 3 of our 4 days we daytripped, so when we return, we can spend more time exploring the city itself.

But I do always love doing a mix of old and new - the old is almost like...a vacation during your vacation - it's not so frantic, you can chill...

I always struggle with this. With limited budget, do we go back to (insert fabulous place here) for a few days or try all new? Sometimes the places we've repeated were better the second (or third) time, but sometimes that second visit took the shine off it a bit.

Sometimes this question becomes returning to Europe or going elsewhere. We are currently planning a "big" (for us) trip for September 2018. I have had a certain route in Europe planned in my mind for a long time but then got thinking about South Africa. A few posters on these boards led me to a few different options. So, do we want great food and wine, architecture, western history ? Or do we want an adventure? In a sense my European route is returning to my familiar even though all places along the way would be new to us.

Who cares..live your life..not someone's else's.....cheers!

Posted by Frank
Tresana, Highlands Ranch, CO, USA
07/14/17 04:22 PM

We first hit London in 72 - little ice, most soda was fairly warm,

Haha. Good one!

Posted by James
Poughkeepsie, NY, USA
07/14/17 06:44 PM
14 posts
Report
Who cares.

Apparently quite a few people

I found a place where I am very comfortable. You wouldn’t know it to read my posts as I am pretty low key about it. Still, that place is only 50% of my travel. It’s almost always something new plus the familiar place. It gives me the best of both worlds.

What Andrea said about going somewhere for the second time and the place losing its shine...definitely happened the second time we visited cinque terre. Went in '08 and back in '12. Had the first visit been anything like the second, we'd never have returned. And probably won't go back unless it's early spring. Both visits were almost to the same date, so it wasn't like one was July and one was September. First time was a Monday-Wednesday or something like that. Second time was a weekend. Just...ugh. Crowded trains and platforms, town centres overrun...what a difference 4 yrs made.

We went back because of the devastating floods the year before in Vernazza, and wanted spend some tourist dollars. We weren't the only ones with that idea, I guess. And sounds worse now that it's really been discovered by cruise ship crowd.

Agnes,

Disagree with you about seeing the World. I have been to 70 countries, while not the entire World, I most of the countries that I have not seen are either those like Iraq, Afghanistan and Yemen, not viable tourist countries, or sub-Saharan African countries.

I have been to places in Europe separated by decades and found very little changes to most cities. Berlin was one notable exception, since it changed dramatically after the Wall came down. Also, Eastern Europe has changed since the degradation of communism. However, Florence has not changed since I visited first in 1983, nor has Venice.

As for seeing misery in the third world, yes there is extreme poverty, but starvation is not the general rule. Egypt is very poor and I was told half its people live in a house with a dirt floor, but my trip there was one of my favorite. Peru had a lot of poor, but from what our tour guide said, people there don't starve. Peru was great.

Some people just want to relax on their vacation and going to the same place every year is not intended for sightseeing, but relaxing. We are retired and can relax at home, so we go places to see the World and we have done a pretty good job of that so far. Life is great.

Posted by James E.
USA
07/14/17 07:13 PM
6381 posts
Report
I found a place where I am very comfortable. You wouldn’t know it to read my posts as I am pretty low key about it. Still, that place is only 50% of my travel. It’s almost always something new plus the familiar place. It gives me the best of both worlds

No fair hiding places from us.....

Good one, James E!

I've found places that were subsequently ruined by getting famous on the tourist track - first Playa Del Carmen in the Yucatan in the late 90s, then Tulum in the early 2000s. Both are unrecognizable now. They were once budget destinations with a local feel and now they're full of giant resorts, prices have increased 300%, it's a shame. I mean, great for the locals! Shame for the tourist.

I never experienced Rothenberg ob der Tauber before the tourism boom but I honestly recommend people go to any Romantic Road town but that. I don't feel like my experience is heightened by overpriced hotels, mediocre restaurants, and throngs of tourists. I'm not trying to sound snobby - I know many people love it, including good friends of mine. I just don't see the point where there are, in my mind, better options nearby that haven't been ruined by mass tourism.

I really feel that with Agistri I've found exactly what matches both my and my husband's idea of a perfect "relaxing" vacation and we seriously plan on returning at least once very two years even when we're in the U.S. If you have a limited travel budget I totally get the idea seeing something new every time - there's always so much to explore - but at this point we've hit dozens of cities in dozens of countries and for now, returning to a place that feels like paradise has a bit of a higher value than seeing something new. It's nice to go on a vacation where you don't need a vacation from your vacation at the end! There is the argument "you can relax at home" but I can't relax at home on a sunbed jumping into the crystal waters of the Aegan every 30 minutes before having a bit of ouzo and mezze before strolling into a beachfront village to enjoy some truly amazing regional specialties at home, y'know?

This sort of veers off topic a bit, but it builds on what Sarah commented on. I think everyone should see Rome, Paris and London first. Sort of the Mirepoix of travel. Then you have to make a big decision; continue on to wonderful places that are what they are and will never change, or look for those places that represent something unique and see them before they get swallowed up in 21 century mediocrity. Both concepts very valid and you don't have to be exclusive with one or the other. Just recognizing it opens new doors.

Then back to the main theme. An advantage to returning to one place often is that you can build a life there; a life that can be leveraged to make seeing more of the world more practical. Its what i have done with my undisclosed, rarely mentioned, location. If it were not for my home base i would not have been able to so much of what i have seen.

Do what you want to do. You don't need our approval. There are arguments for either option.

As for me, I go mostly to Germany. I enjoy it. I feel comfortable there, although I have visited nearby countries (Czechia, Austria, Switzerland). It's a big country; I'm never going to see it all in my lifetime.

Just start traveling, here or abroad. Over time you will figure out what places you like, and you will come back to them.

I want to visit all of the places I studied about like bath. Stonehenge. london. Buckingham palace. Churchill war rooms. Victoria and Albert museum. and so on for France. german. italy. etc. i spend twice as much time as Rick recommends. what I don't understand are the people who blitz keeig through Europe to say they've seen 26 countries in 3 weeks.

We began our fist Europe exploration with a week in Amsterdam and two days in Haarlem before embarking on the RS 21 day tour. Maybe it was because we were in Amsterdam the longest and became comfortable there, or maybe it was that we really like the culture and people of the Netherlands, but we opted to go back there for five weeks this past winter. We loved it. We did day trips to multiple cities visiting friends, museums and Christmas markets.

I do want to explore other places though, so this year we are visiting London for the first time, Paris (was on our tour but only two days) and since my sister is traveling with us we will travel to Amsterdam last. It didn't make sense for us to be so close and not take her to see the Netherlands.

We didn't get enough time in Rome to really mesh with the city so I want to go back there. Hubby wants to visit Spain. Haven't started planning for 2018 trip yet but suspect those two will be on the list.

I do prefer longer visits of at least ten days in a major city as I not only want to visit monuments, museums, etc, but also have time to relax and experience the culture.

I focus on visiting new places, something I haven't seen before. There are a ton of places I'd love to return to, and I plan to - just as soon as I've seen everything once.

Unfortunately, I'll run out of life and/or health long before I run out of places I haven't seen.

We all travel differently. That is the beauty of individualism and travel put together. For some of us, our past shaped our present and future. I was very lucky growing up. My parents took us all across the US which is why I probably have the traveling bug. However, the rest of my siblings do not. In my twenties, my first trip overseas was to Germany for 2 weeks. Since then I have been back 5 times. We also have been to other European countries, New Zealand, and Australia. As we get older, my wife and I find that we are interested in finding our roots so our next few trip ideas are to travel to the countries our ancestors came from to see where they have lived. There are parts of the world I have no interest in seeing and I am okay with that. Luckily for me, my daughter now travels the world and she goes to some of the places I have no desire to visit so I get to see them through her eyes which is a bonus for me. We do go back to some areas on a regular basis. One is Hawaii. My wife dragged me there kicking and screaming some years back. I fell in love with the place. We now go every couple of years for a break from winter. As long as money, time, and health permits, we shall continue to travel. For those that don't, that is okay.

Interesting interview (audio, 26 minutes) with 'travel addict' Tom Lutz. He says he's visited 127 countries.

In his solitary travels, Tom Lutz seeks out places where he doesn’t know anyone, or speak the language. His latest book, “Drinking Mare’s Milk on the Roof of the World,” depicts encounters with people across the globe, from a casino in Tanzania to disputed parts of Ukraine. Along the way, Lutz tries to understand his compulsion to travel down the unfamiliar path. Lutz, also the founder and editor-in-chief of the Los Angeles Review of Books, joins us in studio.

‘Travel Addict’ Tom Lutz on the Draw of Remote Places

On my trips I always go back to Paris or Berlin, or Vienna or London, sort of a pilgrimage to at least one or more. The last few trips have focused a lot on Berlin and Vienna (14 nights in Berlin and 13 nights in Vienna) and the environs, some of which are obviously new to me, such as Jena. This last trip I went back to Paris and London, the first time doing that since 2012, very, very glad I did...more pilgrimage to these two places, which also allowed to get to Meaux, an eye opener and interesting place. The day trip from Paris Est to Troyes I had to cancel...bad planning on my part. But, still, close to five weeks in Germany alone.

I saw a number of new places this time plus some places I had not been back to in forty years, such as Eutin/Holstein when I was in Kiel and Hamburg. The new places are usually now small places such as one town (basically a pin head on the map south of Stuttgart near Hechingen.

It dépends on the area if I want to go back or not. The day trip Eutin was good but still missed seeing the main site I wanted to, saw other things instead, so that means the next trip back to Kiel will include returning to Eutin, likewise with Jena, in France the trips to Troyes and Soissons.

Fred, its a shame so many people do it wrong; isn't it ...

Right or wrong, sometimes you have to just flip a coin to decide, BUT, I will choose Gyor over Bratislava....that is for sure!

I am lucky enough to have enough vacation time to do both each year: return to a favorite spot and seeing new parts of the world. And I try and do both every year.

I take at least one RS tour (or similar), sometimes 2, each year to someplace I have never been before. These trips are enjoyable but high energy and many of them I am ready to take time off work to recover from when they are over. So yeah, I like to go back to places I have been before where I know I can just relax and do as close to nothing as I might want. But I will never buy a time share or similar product where I must go to the same location every year no matter what. Just because I like Hawaii and have been there a lot, doesn't mean I go there every vacation.

Every thing in moderation, all in balance.
.

Fred, did you make it to Gyor? Its not Cesky K. in its impact, but i really enjoy it. The Archabbey isnt as grand as Melk, but its more "real" and human and you can feel as though you are something other than a tourist. Its pretty much low impact tourism.

And no one is wrong....... misguided maybe...... naaaaaaaaaaa

@ James....I was only at Gyor when the train stopped there (the last time end of May 2015) en route to Budapest from Vienna. It looks interesting because it is rustic, more natural, not artificial. I'm not interested in CK at all, would spend that time in Gyor.

You have to get off next time. Like most of Hungary, it is still pretty "real". Then grab a taxi to Pannonhalma....

I tend to mix both types of travel. There is really no right way to do it. The reason I keep going back to a few places in between new discoveries, in my case, is that cities like Berlin or London are global centers of arts, food and what not, while being places developed enough that I don't need to be extra vigilant or have guides. I don't want to deal with any official bureaucracy that normalizes bribes as the "privilege tax" people from wealthier countries are expected to pay for them just doing their job. I would never take a multi-day guided tour myself, if a country is too difficult or dangerous (for public safety reasons) to visit on my own, I just won't go. I also, having lived for a while in a thrid-World country, have absolutely no intention of traveling to places that are way far behind in terms of infrastructure, basic tenets of modern life, or where a Western tourist is seen as an ultra-rich subject to be milked, begged, scammed at every possible opportunity. Finally, I have limits on how much I'd like to adapt to local way of life in order to be at least an acceptable visitors. For instance, I'd never go on my own money for leisure/holiday to a place where a girlfriend would have to cover her hair or hide every inch of her 30's skin lets men living under obsolete cultural norms think she is inviting them to harass her, or, worse, deal with a religious official police - I feel I have nothing to learn from such a place and if they ever bring art, archaeological stuff or else to a nice exhibition in Paris, great, I'll surely check it out then.

Andre, were you describing any place in particular in Europe? Amsterdam?

The "thought process" for me is I once left behind a career I wasn't especially enamoured with and took a full year off to live out of a backpack and do a round the world. Did I see all of the world in a single year? Hardly. There are people who describe themselves as "vagabonds" who have been doing what I did for 6, 8, even 10 years and still haven't seen it all. There are also some countries I have zero interest in ever going to. And, now that I have another career and am a good 25+ years away from retiring, there are others I'd love to go to, but the distance to get there for a short 2-3 week trip just makes it a little less appealing to go there right now.

Of the countries I have visited multiple times in Europe, the rationale behind most of the repeat visits is a really easy one. I've got a large family that lives in those places. As the younger ones turn into adults, they often depart for a time to live in other European countries. Yes, they try to come to the US once or twice a year if time and money permit, but if not, I go there. Even though some of their countries are not nearly as vast as the US, and I've been to a few dozens of times, there are still a few regions in those countries I haven't visited yet and I make it a point to fit 1-2 of those regions into any trip I make to visit family. It's the same for my European relatives. They may be able to superficially check off a box and say "I've been to the US", but the reality is they've really only fully explored the Northeast and the West Coast and a small portion of the American Southwest. That's a whole lot of unexplored territory for them just in this country.

I fall more into the return to old places, although the idea of sitting around on a beach or a cruise, clapping my hands for cocktails, and doing nothing repels me. I've been reading books about the UK almost as long as I've been able to read, so it is no surprise that I spend a lot of time there. The sights are wonderful in the UK, but the friends I've made there are priceless. It's wonderful to see sights on a check box, but it is life changing to text a foreign friend and exchange thoughts about current events.

I'm a pretty good tour guide for Chicago, but I also gave another friend, who had never been to London, a quick tour of the highlights of London. I can give a tour of Liverpool that would impress all but a handful of serious Beatles fans and most of them have written lengthy Beatles biographies.

I do try to discourage people from overdoing it on their travels. Sometimes, just sitting down and having a coffee or a beer is more enjoyable than yet one more sight. Rick's philosophy of becoming a temporary local is a good one. For sure, do the highlights of a city. But, also seek out places that don't get a lot of tourists. That's easier to do in a more familiar place. I know I can make a left turn instead of a right in a more familiar city. Sometimes that means I'll end up eating some of the worst Chinese food I've ever had. Sometimes that means I'll discover a local pub with beer so good, I'm still craving it.

I go back to the same places/towns because I did not see everything I wanted to the first time around. I start reading my guide book and end up with about 30 things in 3-5 days to see, not going to happen. I pair it down to 3-6 things for my "A" List , and everything else goes on my "B" list, which will probably take 4-5 more trips to see. Our usual conversation on the train to the next destination: I look at the husband and say "Well we never did get over to see XYZ" and he looks at me and we both say "Next trip".

We don't want to see the world...We want to see places that makes us happy and enriches our lives.

Fun thread, you can really get a sense of everybody's different styles of travel. I have a foot in both camps. I absolutely fell in love with Amsterdam my first time to Europe. I'll be beginning my trip (full day layover) in Amsterdam and ending my trip (1.5 days) in Amsterdam when I head over to the Czech Republic next month. It's not so much the sights or tourists attractions that sold me on Amsterdam, but the people and the energy of the city is what keeps me coming back. I'd still love to see as much of Europe/the world as possible, but when AMS is one of the easy airport to fly into, coupled with the fact that it's such a great city, it's hard to picture myself travelling to Europe without a stop in Amsterdam.

We don't want to see the world...We want to see places that makes us
happy and enriches our lives.

The most brilliant statement in the thread.

I was bored so I was visiting some of the threads that I've participated in and came across this one. It isn't quite as interesting as the ice versus no ice in your drink thread that I started last year but still pretty good one in my opinion. Unfortunately the ice versus no ice thread was closed due to inactivity as I was going to revive that one.

Some interesting views and comments on this one. I did take some of these comments to heart and have kind of rethought my thinking a little bit then agree that seeing the world isn't necessarily what's important but I still want to try and see it all haha

Hi,

No ice, not needed, not necessary.

What I don't see on one trip, regardless of the reason, then I include the place on the next trip, depending how desperate I am, and I've been pretty desperate on seeing certain places, assuming I don't lazy out.

For the same reason I am reading this thread on my lunch break — I love to plan travel. It gets me through the grey Seattle days of winter as I plan our Spring trip each year. We have been fortunate to have amazing trips on less than many spend on Disneyland through a lot of planning. It absorbs me — a new city/country is like a puzzle to figure out — the people, culture, history...
I read once before you plan your next trip, ask yourself, “what is truly missing in my life?” Make a list of the words that come to mind. For me I’ve lived in the Puget Sound my entire life (I love it by the way...when the weathers nice it is one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen) and have worked for the same place for 24 years. I need “different”, I need to be challenged, to explore and yet at the same time decompress and relax a bit. Paris is my gateway city (non stop polar route from Seattle). We usually start or end a trip there. This year Amersterdam is our entry and Paris is our exit. Just a few of my thoughts.

In the Caribbean we repeat St John and Virgin Gorda every 2-3 years. Living on the west coast we repeat Hawaii pretty regularly - even though every time we do I think "that's it we've been here enough time to move on" - we don't.
Europe - for me seems like I should chose a new place each time we visit even new places in a repeat country. Last year we spent 4 days in Bellagio and I think now that might be a place I could return to or at least switch up the Lake we chose. I would really like to repeat New Zealand but can't seem to pull the trigger for fear of getting addicted to NZ and always wanting to return. I do feel like I "should" try new places but I think I might need to come to terms with liking the places we like and revisiting until something pulls us in a new direction. This year we will spend a week cycling in Belgium (new place) and those Lakes in Italy are calling to me for the second week. Thankfully I have a couple months before we have to decide. Whew!

For the same reason I am reading this thread on my lunch break — I love to plan travel. It gets me through the grey Seattle days of winter as I plan our Spring trip each year. We have been fortunate to have amazing trips on less than many spend on Disneyland through a lot of planning. It absorbs me — a new city/country is like a puzzle to figure out — the people, culture, history...
I read once before you plan your next trip, ask yourself, “what is truly missing in my life?” Make a list of the words that come to mind. For me I’ve lived in the Puget Sound my entire life (I love it by the way...when the weathers nice it is one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen) and have worked for the same place for 24 years. I need “different”, I need to be challenged, to explore and yet at the same time decompress and relax a bit. Paris is my gateway city (non stop polar route from Seattle). We usually start or end a trip there. This year Amersterdam is our entry and Paris is our exit. Just a few of my thoughts.

If it were up to my husband we would travel to Asia periodically, but I personally can't get enough of Europe:). There are two places that we have included every trip (save a December Christmas Market Trip) and that is London and the Berner Oberland in Switzerland. I could never tire of either of those places and to not include them would make me very sad indeed!

Return to the same places over and over or see the world? For me, the answer is clear: ... it depends!

When I'm completely exhausted from work and everything, I may need a relaxing vacation in a spot that I know in advance I'll feel comfortable in.

When I've had a lot of routine stuff going on, I may be in a more exploring mood and want to see the world!

We have made the mistake not to listen to those needs. We took a long vacation, doing a great deal of traveling, moving on almost every day, did a lot of exploring and hat a lot of great experiences. However, when we got back home, we were almost more exhausted than when we left off.

So, while it was in fact a fantastic vacation and nothing to complain about, it wasn't what we would have needed at the time.

I like to mix new places with some stays at cities I'm already familiar with. In Europe, that is quite easy to set up as transportation options are plenty and distances relatively short.

Two of the places I routinely try to pack within a larger trip are Amsterdam and Berlin. Having 'covered' all major and minor sights of each city of "touristic interest", I feel like going back to try out new restaurants, visiting temporary exhibitions at museums (which I scout in advance) knowing I have already seen the highlights of the permanent collection on display, checking out rapidly changing areas that are progressing from undescriptive to trendy, shopping etc.

What I could not do myself would be to go back to the same hotel in the same small city all the time, to eat at the same places which never change the menu. That is something I cannot stand myself, but I understand the appeal for people who love the familiarity of traditional menus that never change, towns frozen in time where ice-cream, coffee and bakery are all at the same places etc.