I love to travel, it is my favorite thing to do and it is my favorite topic of conversation.
I travel more than the average person, but I do not spend all of my time on the road like a traveling salesperson would.
I travel for vacation, for fun.
If I am traveling somewhere by plane I generally like to plan an extended stay because plane tickets are not cheap, and if I am going to spend a lot of money just to get somewhere I want to stay a while.
Have you ever spent two weeks in a motel room while on vacation? Me neither and I don't want to ever do so.
The longest I have spent in a motel room while on vacation was 10 days.
It was a pretty small room, but hey, I was on vacation and I did not spend a lot of time in my room anyway.
The one thing I hated above all others though was having to go out for my morning coffee.
Granted, all I had to do was go down to the lobby and pour myself a cup, but I still did not like doing that before I was even awake, let alone dressed and primped for the day.
These days most motels have an in room coffee pot, which is a vast improvement in my book.
But even aside from the coffee in the morning issue, after 10 days in a motel room and having to go out for every meal I was ready for my own cooking, or for something as simple as making a sandwich and grabbing a bag of chips and parking myself in front of the tv for a midday break.
Not to mention the expense of eating three meals a day out.
When I vacation I like to spend my money on what I want to, not what I have to.
So if I can spend $200 for a week feeding my husband and myself I like that much better than spending $200 for two days of eating out.
Now some people will argue with me here, because they feel that going on vacation is about eating out, not in.
And I do agree to a point.
I do not eat every meal in just because I can, but I really like having that option.
Here's one of my biggest reasons: My husband and I try to watch our weight and that is very hard to do when you are eating out three times a day.
We try to split meals when we go out, but there are times we just don't feel like eating the same thing.
And then we feel obligated to eat it all because we are paying for it and then we end up fat.
I have a hard enough time staying trim without gaining weight every time I go on vacation.
If you have food allergies that is an even more compelling reason to want to cook in more often.
Not only do I like the kitchen options that come with staying in a place other than a motel, I also like having a separate bedroom.
If there is more than one person in the room, chances are their sleeping habits are not exactly in sync.
With a house or condo, your roommate will not keep you up with the tv or stereo going or wake you up too early just because they are up.
And if you are vacationing with a family this is the only way to go in my opinion.
Kids can have their own bedroom and if they are still small you will have less of a disruption with their schedule if you can make things as much like home as possible.
When you factor in all of the cost associated with a motel versus a condo or private rental, the condo will usually win hands down.
Many people compare just the cost of the room without taking into consideration the amount you will be saving in food costs in which case the hotel option will make much more sense.
A lot of times if you are only going for a weekend or a long weekend, renting a house or condo may not make as much sense, but even then, I have come to prefer a condo over a hotel stay for even one night.
The exception for me is if I am on a road trip and I am checking into a hotel in the evening and checking out in the morning, I won't bother getting a condo or private rental.
In this instance, the cost outweighs the benefits.
The cost savings for a condo or private rental really come into play when you are staying a week or more.
How do you go about finding condo's or private rentals when you are going on vacation? Well, you could buy a timeshare, that will open a lot of options for you.
You will then have access to your own condo as well as the ability to trade with other condo owners.
There are also plenty of sites to check out for rentals of private homes as well as rentals of condos.
So if you have never thought of condo camping or private rentals you might want to do some research and see what you can come up with.
For me, I like condo camping better than any other form of travel accommodations.
Well, with the exception of totally luxurious with the inclusion of a butler, but, come to think of it, you can get that in a private rental too.
I travel more than the average person, but I do not spend all of my time on the road like a traveling salesperson would.
I travel for vacation, for fun.
If I am traveling somewhere by plane I generally like to plan an extended stay because plane tickets are not cheap, and if I am going to spend a lot of money just to get somewhere I want to stay a while.
Have you ever spent two weeks in a motel room while on vacation? Me neither and I don't want to ever do so.
The longest I have spent in a motel room while on vacation was 10 days.
It was a pretty small room, but hey, I was on vacation and I did not spend a lot of time in my room anyway.
The one thing I hated above all others though was having to go out for my morning coffee.
Granted, all I had to do was go down to the lobby and pour myself a cup, but I still did not like doing that before I was even awake, let alone dressed and primped for the day.
These days most motels have an in room coffee pot, which is a vast improvement in my book.
But even aside from the coffee in the morning issue, after 10 days in a motel room and having to go out for every meal I was ready for my own cooking, or for something as simple as making a sandwich and grabbing a bag of chips and parking myself in front of the tv for a midday break.
Not to mention the expense of eating three meals a day out.
When I vacation I like to spend my money on what I want to, not what I have to.
So if I can spend $200 for a week feeding my husband and myself I like that much better than spending $200 for two days of eating out.
Now some people will argue with me here, because they feel that going on vacation is about eating out, not in.
And I do agree to a point.
I do not eat every meal in just because I can, but I really like having that option.
Here's one of my biggest reasons: My husband and I try to watch our weight and that is very hard to do when you are eating out three times a day.
We try to split meals when we go out, but there are times we just don't feel like eating the same thing.
And then we feel obligated to eat it all because we are paying for it and then we end up fat.
I have a hard enough time staying trim without gaining weight every time I go on vacation.
If you have food allergies that is an even more compelling reason to want to cook in more often.
Not only do I like the kitchen options that come with staying in a place other than a motel, I also like having a separate bedroom.
If there is more than one person in the room, chances are their sleeping habits are not exactly in sync.
With a house or condo, your roommate will not keep you up with the tv or stereo going or wake you up too early just because they are up.
And if you are vacationing with a family this is the only way to go in my opinion.
Kids can have their own bedroom and if they are still small you will have less of a disruption with their schedule if you can make things as much like home as possible.
When you factor in all of the cost associated with a motel versus a condo or private rental, the condo will usually win hands down.
Many people compare just the cost of the room without taking into consideration the amount you will be saving in food costs in which case the hotel option will make much more sense.
A lot of times if you are only going for a weekend or a long weekend, renting a house or condo may not make as much sense, but even then, I have come to prefer a condo over a hotel stay for even one night.
The exception for me is if I am on a road trip and I am checking into a hotel in the evening and checking out in the morning, I won't bother getting a condo or private rental.
In this instance, the cost outweighs the benefits.
The cost savings for a condo or private rental really come into play when you are staying a week or more.
How do you go about finding condo's or private rentals when you are going on vacation? Well, you could buy a timeshare, that will open a lot of options for you.
You will then have access to your own condo as well as the ability to trade with other condo owners.
There are also plenty of sites to check out for rentals of private homes as well as rentals of condos.
So if you have never thought of condo camping or private rentals you might want to do some research and see what you can come up with.
For me, I like condo camping better than any other form of travel accommodations.
Well, with the exception of totally luxurious with the inclusion of a butler, but, come to think of it, you can get that in a private rental too.