Holidays vs Adventures: What’s Best in Early Retirement?

[@SCOJO98765]

You can’t beat armchair adventures. Very cost effective and the remote arm gets a good workout . Enjoying the vlogs.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thank you - we are have been doing some arm chair adventuring watching Thailand videos this afternoon 😊

[@suemacfarlane7372]

I totally understand what you are saying about 'holidays' and 'travelling'. I'm currently 'travelling' in Scotland via The Lakes, staying near Ayr tonight. Last night I stayed on the top car park at The Falkirk Wheel, and watched the wheel operating as I made and ate my breakfast. When I'm travelling, I pretty much make all my own food in the van - partly because I like my own food, and partly to keep costs down. Thanks for taking the time to make these videos and share with us.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Sue. The Falkirk Wheel park up is on our list to do. I bet it looked fab over breakfast😉 We love our simple life in the van...so much so we are planning a little local get away before we go to Thailand. Our van is definitely one of our happy places❤️ Have a great trip. 👍

[@suemacfarlane7372]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust when you go to The Falkirk Wheel, get there before the visitor centre closes to book on for the night. It's £15 for the night and £20 returnable deposit for the toilets and showers. Once you have your overnight pass, you can go on over and see The Kelpies lit up at night, it's just a short ride away. Then back to the top car park, parking so that you can see the wheel, it's great!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

That's great to know as we want to stay there at some point so we can see the wheel in action and do a walk along the canal - a game changer that there is access to toilets 😊

[@sarahlynn9787]

my husband and i fired in 2020 and we also have found ourselves going on holidays or adventures. I do like this distinction. This year we spent 3 months in a camper van in NZ, 2 months in a campervan in Oz and then had 3 weeks 'holiday' in Bali. We also like to go spontaneously and rarely know where we'll be more than perhaps 3-7 days ahead (except if flights have been booked). Have now returned to Europe and am interested in the campervan adventuring here. However the campsites we have visited, in Germany at least, were hard to find a spot if not booked in advance. Luckily we were just camping with tents and a bicycle and found these sites could usually be booked for that night. not always tho, sometimes we had to find a new campsite. I would be interested in how you find spontaneous campsites in europe and what kind of facilites they have. Full kitchens or just room to wash up dishes or nothing? Toilets or showers or washing machines? TV rooms? Power sources? Fridges or grills for campers to use? Also what do they tend to cost? Did you find them with apps or by word of mouth? I think we may have been spoiled with the camping/holiday parks in NZ/AUS. :) Enjoying your videos!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Sounds like you have had a great year of both travel adventures and holidays so far 🚐 I bet NZ and OZ were fantastic places to explore in a van - its on our list for sometime in the distant future when we have saved up a bit and have a pension coming in!! We tend to travel in Europe in the lower season so have no problems apart from in the high tourist destinations like Lake Bled in finding places to stay. We use the ACSI camping card which has an App to find campsites - if there is not one in the area we have targeted I will look on google maps and go on the individual websites to see what facilities they have. We have used pitch up before now. More van specific - we use the P4N App which has details of lots of free park ups that people have added. A lot of the spots on the app are not great - some just a small lay-by by a busy road - and we do have to read the reviews carefully but generally manage to find somewhere suitable. Hope this helps a little x

[@christineomara4787]

We agree totally, when we travelling in our Camper, we are careful what we spend as like you we can be on our adventure for a few weeks so we can't eat out all the time, we enjoy our days walking in beautiful locations, then cook in the camper, and probably have early nights as we are usually shattered. But when we go on a Holiday for 2 weeks we would have more luxury regarding hotels and eating out. That's something we couldn't do for weeks, it's lovely to be retired early and have the energy to go on our adventures 😊

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Christine- like you, we really treasure our time in the van and really do enjoy the simple (predominately free) things. The days that you described are our perfect days in the van. We did however really enjoy the contrast with going away with the family- there was something really special about that. Thanks again for the comment. 👍

[@christineomara4787]

We will have our 2 week holiday in January in the Caribbean 😊

[@helenvwalker7919]

Couldn't agree more. Just winding down from a big adventure travel trip from Southern Spain where we live to Northern Norway. We had more of a holiday in Norway, did more expensive things like whale safaris, stayed in a nice hotel for a couple of nights, went out for a couple of meals and had coffee and cake out, even went on a mountain railway trip etc. We did manage to stay mostly at free or cheap parkups. But the rest of the trip was our more usual travelling: wildcamping, stopping on aires,cooking and making our own coffee, doing free things, walking etc. We're now stopping with family in France, which we did on the way up as well. I also agree that we live a much healthier lifestyle when we are adventure travelling than when we are on holiday. You are also right about having to learn to slow down.😊

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Helen...I think for us the health aspects are probably more important than the money aspects. The money is easier to monitor, but the long term effects of living an "excessive" lifestyle is much more worrying for us. As you can probably tell, we love the time catching up with family whenever we can, and that is a major plus of all the time we now find ourselves having in retirement. BTW- that sounds like a heck of a roadtrip you have just done. Kudos to you- what an experience! Have a good one👍

[@user-cw2dk5vb1d]

Enjoy your vids, but Park 4 night not Park for the night....

[@helenvwalker7919]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust it was a very special trip. Thank you. Keep loving the early retirement. I know I am.🙂

[@susanharkema2888]

This is a genius topic and just what we needed to hear. We are dealing with this just now around balancing the types of activities we do on our trips-- relaxation, seeing things, physical activities, and shopping. For me, I realized that just seeing museums and sights and certain categories (like historical markers, old places, and military stuff) will seem boring if there isn't something special like a dessert/coffee or a meal and hanging out in a town to soak up the vibe or a little shopping. My husband was raised to not spend much and see lots of things in a short period of time without hanging out. My family never travelled and his European family traveled a lot. We are learning how to mesh our styles even after 14 years of marriage in our new early retirement lifestyle. In fact, we're meeting family for our first trip to Disney and for us that's a big "adventure" taking us out of our comfort zone and very expensive for just a 4-day holiday but it's about being together and stretching ourselves, right?

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Hi Susan, We hope you have both enjoyed your first couple of months of early retirement after counting down for so long. We are just about getting the hang of travelling more slowly and exploring an area more thoroughly and finding all the activities that are free or really cheap in that area. If we want a treat we tend to have a coffee and sit and watch the world go by or have a picnic/meal in the van then go out for a glass or bottle of wine later and still enjoy soaking the atmosphere up 😊 However of we are on 'holiday' then we will not feel guilty spending more on going out as we have taken more spending money with us. Hope you all have a great time at Disney, there is nothing better than making memories with the family - we loved going to the parks in Florida with our children. We were firmly Universal fans as we loved the Harry Potter experiences 😂

[@Bracebarian]

I love the idea of categorising as holidays and adventures.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

It definitely helps us categorise a budget!!!

[@LynnButler023]

Totally agree with the definition travel adventures and holiday we also do both and our travel adventures are just a way of life’s path for early retirement love your vlogs we are living a very similar life and similar mid sets keep enjoying life ❤

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for these kind words Lynn. Glad that there are others out there that believe the same as us. Always nice to have company😉 Have a great weekend👍

[@hattyflame3889]

Absolutely love you guys!! You have a great,grounded attitude to living and life.Well done!! Such a lovely couple,really enjoy your videos. 💛🌻

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks Patty- much appreciated! Glad that you are enjoying what we do, as we are loving doing it. Have a good one👍

[@clareboylan6741]

Great guys. Can’t wait for the next video. 😊 We do a lot of travelling! Not so much abroad, just one trip this year to Ibiza. We usually have one a year. Then we stay in the Uk, we just got back from the Lake District. We went to Keswick and camped. Like you we find it hard to slow down we walked up cat bells! Which was lovely. We always need a holiday to get over a holiday 😂

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for the lovely comment Clare- much appreciated! Adventures are pretty adictive aren't they? We love our UK based adventures as there is so much of our home country that we have no idea about. Catbells is a lovely climb with amazing views from the summit if we recall? So much to see and so much to do...but it is nice to slow down....something that we are only just realising after 2 years of early retirement. Have a good one👍

[@jonathanmchugh5978]

Glad you had a great time in Florida. It’s an amazing place.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

It really is, however looking at the latest news forecasts- the island is getting hammered by a storm surge from a hurricane in the gulf. We left just in time, but we really feel for the residents who have a lot of rebuilding to do. Thanking our lucky stars we are home safely. 🙏

[@SharonMcMillan]

Your Florida trip with your family looked like a dream! Today's video gave me some hope as I've been computing endless scenarios on how we can maintain our love of travel once our income changes to "pension level" in a few years.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

We had such a lovely time and nice to have all of us together in the same place for an extended time, including mum and my sisters family. You must be on the countdown to your trip to the Dales 😊 🥾 ⛰️

[@SharonMcMillan]

@@earlyretirementwanderlust I am so excited - prepping our gear and digesting online all things Yorkshire Dales!

[@allisonbennett641]

Great video guys, love your thinking. It made me think of how we spend our 'travel time' and to categorise it seperately is a good idea. An affordable way to get the bedt of both 👍 Budgeting is the answer for sure 😂

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

It definitely does come down to budget - we couldn't afford to travel and eat and drink out all of the time when we are in the van and go for as long as we do. 🚐 I would also be the size of a house if we did not moderate our lifestyle when travelling which is always a good incentive 😂 It does also make a 'holiday' feel like a treat and something different x

[@highwayman1769]

I’ve no idea whether Holiday v Adventure is a thing ……. But I’m looking forward to finding out next year!

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Trust us...it's a great thing to have to wrangle with😉 On a serious note, labelling the experiences has really helped us keep things on track- both in terms of budget and also our health. Thanks for the comment👍

[@jeffnewbery9414]

In my early retirement, I am fortunate to be financially independent for the first time in my life and am enjoying the chance to travel as I had never had the ability previously. Our travel is perhaps a mix, so an adventure holiday? We are not really the type to go sit on a beach for a week but rather like to take in the sights. Our two week trip to Iceland would be an example of this. We have an upcoming trip on the Danube which will include some relaxing on the boat but a lot of learning and taking in the architecture and history of the land. Newfoundland and then Boston last year included day hikes and wandering and historical and geological education as well. Great fun.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Great plans Jeff- we are quite jealous😉 We find just thinking about what we want to get out of each trip helps with our mindset. We don't think that there is ever a correct answer...but one that works for us as individuals is fine! I have never been one for relaxing on a beach, but after a hectic summer of travel adventures, I have to admit I quite enjoyed slowing down. My kindle was never far away, and I just enjoyed the time with family. Have an amazing year of adventures. Thanks for the comment👍

[@janetbowen7854]

Thank you, that's so helpful, given our impending retirment next year - we do love our holidays, but I understand that we can travel more on our adventures but stick to a budget and not the well-earned frivolity of a holiday on all trips xx

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Don't get us wrong we love the frivolous holidays - and Florida felt like just that and it was lovely to spend that time with the family and not be thinking about keeping to a strict budget or healthy lifestyle!! But it was nice that it also felt like a treat and a proper holiday. We also like the routine of keeping to a budget and active on our van life travels and we know the cheaper we can do the trip the longer we can go away for 🚐

[@motorroamingaround]

Hi guys glad you got home safe and well from your holiday to Florida. Yes we agree that holidays are different to our motorhome travels. We do love to go on holiday which does come at a cost but also try to keep to a tighter budget when travelling in Nessie. Keep safe. Irvine & Karen.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks you two. We had an absolute blast, but we are enjoying being home. The temperature difference was a bit of a shock, but we are pleased to avoid the storm surge that is currently hitting the island this week😬 Hope you are both well? 👍

[@lenafietst8237]

Sensibul & wise. It's not spending a lot that makes one happy...😊

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks Lena- keeping things simple is one of our mantras...as well as "less is more". Have a good one👍

[@gillianhann2282]

That makes a lot of sense, even if funds allow it, spending many weeks of travel overindulging may not be great health wise. We aren’t retired yet so all our breaks are “holidays”. Even so we think what we want to get from them and enjoy variety. So for us there are categories of holiday.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this Gillian. When we were working, all our adventures were holidays and we didn't hold back😂...but we did have the salary to support it! It was a really important way for us to switch off and decompress. It's just a new challenge in early retirement that we are loving getting to grips with! Thanks for the comment👍

[@dieselbushcraft1299]

Wellfor us the adventure travel in our van are our holidays, hopefully one day we can have both. Our last trip was a big trip for us at least up to the Orkneys and we did push the boat out and ate out more than we would normally but looking at the costs afterwards we have both said we need to economise more on our trips away. Main thing is that we have been enjoying the trips away. We are almost on the cusp of pushing the button for retirement next year, just waiting for employers to come back to us with some information which will hopefully mean by this time next year we will have the seven day weekends.

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks for this and a spot on observation that we think that we all share. Once time is freed up in retirement it is a lovely problem to have to grapple with. We have genuinely found that we enjoy keeping it simple when on the road in terms of costs. Time in the van just seems to simplify everything- which we really enjoy. Hope that your plans are coming together and the figures come through soon for you. It's a really exciting time- enjoy the planing! Have a good one👍

[@jasonthomas5925]

Great honest Vid as always 😀🇬🇧❤👍

[@earlyretirementwanderlust]

Thanks Jason- much appreciated! Glad that you enjoyed it👍