What type of travel is best for me?

When choosing a vacation is it important to choose a style of vacation that is the right fit for you. There are numerous options which include: staying at an all-inclusive, taking a cruise, participating in an organized tour, using a flexible tour or itinerary or doing fully independent travel. There's no right or wrong choice, but rather it's personal preference and your choices may vary over time. For example, maybe you have young children and so the thought of taking a tour or even driving yourself from place to place sounds exhausting. The right choice might be an all-inclusive that includes different activities for the children and allows you to stay in one place for the duration of your vacation. Maybe you like the idea of sleeping in the same room each night, but you don't want to stay in one locale. In this case the best option is probably a cruise. I've created a list of scenarios and suggestions to help you understand your options and to also help you to determine the best option for you.

Scenario 1: You would like to travel abroad, but you have very limited experience or you feel nervous.

There are three travel options that will support a traveler who wants to travel abroad, but doesn't want to have to problem solve and figure things out for themselves. On of the easiest, and also one that is often chosen as a first introduction to traveling abroad is an ocean cruise. These are the cruises most people think about when they think about cruising. They'll leave from a port travel to several destinations where they stop for a number of hours and typically return back to the original port (it is important to point out that most Alaska cruises and some other cruises do not return to the original port). If the cruise begins and ends at the same U.S. port, then a U.S. citizen does not even have to have a passport (although I highly recommend having one, just in case). The advantages of ocean cruises are: You travel to several places, but don't have to pack and unpack at each destination. The cruise ships will provide dining options that are familiar to you and you don't have to do any significant planning. You pick your options and excursions and then everything else is taken care of for you. Additionally, ocean cruise ships have a wide array of shows and activities to provide something for every member of your family. The main disadvantage to ocean cruises is that you only get to visit each port for a limited number of hours, most large boats can only call on ports with deep harbors, and because these ships can be quite large, going ashore and re-boarding can be time-consuming processes.

Another cruising option that appeals to many travelers is the river cruise. With a river cruise you once again get to sleep in the same bed every night and do not have to pack and unpack all of the time. River cruises allow you to see in-land destinations that are not available to ocean cruises. Most river cruises stop for longer in each port of call and going ashore and reboarding are faster because river cruise ships cannot hold as many passengers as ocean cruise ships. However, river cruises are a very different type of cruising than ocean cruising. While you don't have long days out at see you also don't have the same level of entertainment on a river cruise and children, especially, may find the time on ship boring.

The final option for traveling with more support in a guided tour. Guided tours range in size from very small (around half a dozen) to about 60 passengers. Because the tours are much smaller than on a cruise they can be more intimate. You get to know your fellow passengers better and have a dedicated tour guide who explains cultures and customs. The tour guide can also help when things go wrong. Guided tours have the most variety because they are not limited to oceans or rivers (although there are some that are actually a hybrid of multiple forms of transportation). Unfortunately, while guided tours provide you with the most options and the most direct support they also involve changes locations every couple of days. Thus you must unpack and repack multiple times throughout the trip which can be really tiresome for some people.

Scenario 2: You're looking for entertainment and activities

The two best options for entertainment and activities are all-inclusive resorts and (ocean) cruises. All-inclusives come in a wide variety of offerings. Some are a for adults only and have adult oriented activities. Others are more family oriented and include kids clubs and special activities/locations for teenagers. All-inclusives provide amazing resorts and can arrange tours of the local areas if so desired.

Ocean cruises, as mentioned above, allow for the opportunity to visit exciting ports of call while also providing great entertainment. It is important to note that like All-inclusive properties, different cruises have different types of amenties aimed at different types of clients. It is important to choose the cruise that best fits what you are looking for in your vacation.

Scenario 3: You want to have control over your schedule and want to do your own thing.

If you do not want to be limited to a ship's or a tour's schedule and you don't want to stay in one location, than you are probably looking for fully independent travel (FIT). With FIT you can decide where you want to go and how long you want to stay in each location. Every choice is up to you. However, FIT travel is also much more planning intense and requires in-depth research of each locale you are planning to visit.

Not matter, which type of travel is the best choice for you, we at The Traveling Cannonball would love to have the pleasure of helping you turn your travel dreams into reality. If you'd like our help please schedule a complimentary consultation and we will help you decide what is the best type of travel for you and help you plan out your dream vacation.