Some people go back to the same locations over and over. Now, this does have some advantages. You don’t have to plan as much because you already know what you like to do there. No need to look up hotels, restaurants or activities. There can be some disadvantages to this type of travel as well. Here are some small and some big things you experience when you keep traveling to the same place.
You’re constantly confused because you keep remembering rooms you previously stayed in.
We suffered this problem when staying at our favorite Candlewood Suites in New Braunfels, TX. We’ve stayed here over a half dozen times and every time we’ve been on the side of the hotel facing the Country Inn across the parking lot. This time, we had a room on the other side of the hotel, facing the Holiday Inn Express. Yay for a change in scenery. A bigger problem was that we needed to make a right when leaving the room to get to the elevator. Every single time, Sharon made a left when leaving the room because that was how we always leave the room at this hotel. I know, not the biggest problem but after 4 or 5 times it does start to get funny.
I’ve heard of people having the same problem when they go on the same cruise ship multiple times and keep going back to where their old stateroom was.
You stop looking for alternate options
If you go to the same location because of your love of a hotel, you stop looking at prices and reviews of surrounding options. If you really like where you are staying, this may not be a problem as you’re willing to pay extra because you know and like what you’re getting. However, new hotels open all the time. Other ones get refurbished. Fees get added. Management changes. It’s easy to get blinders on and keep going to the same place because it’s comfortable. So are those sneakers but eventually the soles will fall off and you’ll need a new pair.
There’s no place like home
I know people who visit Disney often regularly refer going on vacation there as “going home.” No group of guests has more of a sense of that than owners of Disney Vacation Club. Everyone from the guard gate to the front desk wishes you a hearty “Welcome Home” when you arrive. I used to feel this way whenever we went to stay at Old Key West, our “home” resort (“home” in this case = that’s the resort we paid to be a member of). While it’s now relegated to the back burner of DVC properties with the newer, flashier hotels with prime locations getting all the attention, OKW will always be home to me.
I also feel the same about our trips to Texas. Admittedly. I don’t price shop for our trips there. For us, saving $10 on a hotel room isn’t worth the smile and hugs we get when we return to the same hotel. I’ve heard the same from people who visit places in the Caribbean and Hawaii as reasons they stay at the same place over and over and over again.
You have a whole world out there to explore
The one thing we all have a limited amount of is time. In the grand sense of our lifetimes and the smaller sense of either vacation time or time away from home, most people can’t spend unlimited time going around exploring. That means we have to make choices. For every time you go back to the same place, that’s a time you could be seeing something new.
While going back to somewhere you know feels comfortable, so does sitting in your own home. You could just as easily have taken some vacation time, sat on the couch and caught up on some Netflix shows you’ve been meaning to watch. That would surely cost less than airfare, rental car, restaurant meals and a hotel bill just to go back to somewhere you’ve been already.
You get to see things change (for good and bad)
Have you ever been somewhere that you loved because of how quaint and charming it is? So how do you feel when you go back a year or two or ten later and see the whole area developed? By returning to a place, you get to see change happening. We got to see Key West change from a town of quirky shops and tourist locations to a street full of department store shops and restaurants catering to tourists and cruise ship passengers. Some of the old spirit is still there but many of the people who made the island special have been forced out, no longer able to afford living there anymore.
And as guests who knew what it was, it hurts a little to see what it’s become.
Final Thoughts
Sharon and I try to mix a combination of return locations and new places each year when we plan out our trips. We have a list of places we want to go and we’re getting to them, slowly. Last year we finally made it to New Orleans and had a parade to celebrate the occasion. We’re also going to Germany this winter, even though we hate the cold weather but love Christmas celebrations. We also went back to New York City twice this year and are making two trips to Texas this summer.
We try to take the Chinese restaurant approach to our travels. Something from column A and something from column B. Some new places mixed with some return trips and an occasional egg roll thrown in for good measure.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
