Obviously if you planned on vacationing for a month, that might not be possible, but what business owner has time for that anyway?

The best idea is to go for luxury as well as value, that will be the most relaxing vacation you can possibly get. Too budgeted and you risk a stressful time.

Julie
http://www.jadcc.com/blog

I had two weeks vacation when I worked at a company in USA. I think that they had a policy to add one additional week if you had worked there for 5 - 10 years. I didn’t mind to have two weeks vacation and then having a break during some of the holidays. If you add up all the “bank holidays” (as they say in England) and public holiday celebrations (red-letter days) you have enough time to recharge your batteries.

I think that Americans could be more efficient with their vacations and I believe that idea in the 4 Hour Work Week regarding “mini-retirements” is a good way of thinking out of the box. The Europeans have to start rethinking their long vacation time during the summer. Plenty of companies are totally shut down during July - August and it is hard for purchasers and other members of the supply chain to plan accordingly.

Shirley George Frazier: I agree with you on the hassle part of taking a vacation. It has to be more simply to travel around so you could use your time off in a good way. The travel industry has to start to think about the logistics and how to serve the customers in a better way, otherwise you will see a trend of less moving from A to B…

I am interested to discuss your solo business marketing business. I am starting up a new site for sole traders (sole proprietorships) in the near future at http://www.EgoSoleTrader.com and I would be interestd in talking with you regarding some stuff. I am curious to learn more about your participation at the World Tea Expo, Las Vegas, NV.

Bianca: How are things in your part of the world? Has the recession hit your area hard? What’s your favorite tourist place you want to visit?

I will not travel by plane to my vacation spot simply because it’s a hassle. If I’m speaking out of town and must take a plane, I’ll piggyback some days to enjoy the area, but that time is not my official vacation.

My husband and I plan to travel by car up to 6 hours to enjoy Maine or Rhode Island or the tip of New Jersey (Cape May). The scenery is gorgeous along the way, and we enjoy stopping every 2-3 hours to stretch and explore.

Controlling my time during the entire trip has become a very-important part of the experience.

I will most likely take a full week and maybe a couple long weekends over the rest of the year. I wish Americans would learn to relax a little more. It will be hard for me to get my husband to even agree to taking one week off.

I am curious how many weeks you are taking vacation? Here in Sweden it is common to take five weeks if you are employed by a company. As a small business owner (sole trader / proprietorship) I haven’t had any “real” long vacation for some time. But it try to take mini-holidays now and then. Have you read about Tim Ferriss’ idea about mini-holidays a couple of times per year? It is my goal to be able to take a break whenever I feel for it. It is a long journey toward this scenario, but it will happen!