Believe it or not, as much as I love to travel, there are places and trips that I don't dream about. Such trips that I would sometimes rather refrain from than go on. Many of my fellow travel bloggers (see below) have summed up trips they don't dream of, which also got me thinking a bit.
My list doesn't look at all the same today as it would have six months ago and certainly not the same as it did when I was young. Politics, budgets, epidemics and the state of the world affect me and will continue to do so. Besides, I'm undeniably getting more comfortable the older I get. Quality becomes more important than quantity.
So what am I dreaming about? not if for travel? Here is my list – with a twinkle in my eye and maybe a little spice too. :)
And you - of course there are ALWAYS exceptions and no right or wrong. Just because I don't dream about these trips right now, doesn't mean I will never go on such trips.
Bathing holidays
Over time, I've realized that I probably don't really like swimming. Don't get me wrong, I can think it's great to slip into a pool with 30 degree water for a while, but I don't see any enjoyment in swimming unless the water is really warm. If I swam in the sea last summer? Not once in either Sweden or Bali - it was far too cold in the water. Thanks, I know Persian vikens body-temperature sea in the month of July, where the water is so warm that you don't even feel that you are going into the water.
Lying under a parasol is nice, but pressing in the sun to get a tan feels a bit 80s to me. Nowadays, we all know that the sun is not good for us, especially for me with non-existent pigment. A tan is enough for a week, experiences are enough for a lifetime. Just going to a place to sunbathe and swim for a few weeks, that doesn't appeal to me. If I'm not looking to just take it easy and relax, there has to be something more to see and do for me to dream of going there.
Cruises
I hate going by boat. Boats are scary and feel unsafe, regardless of the size of the boat. Also, riding in a huge boat with lots of people packed in is a real nightmare. I'd rather opt out of that beautiful little paradise island than get into a rickety speedboat without a life jacket or on an overcrowded rusty ferry. I'd rather go to one genuine island in the Caribbean than visit ten islands with artificial beaches on one cruise.
Large cruise ships generally give me major shivers, especially Finland cruises. For the sake of the environment, I don't understand why people continue to be allowed to go back and forth by ferry between Sweden and Finland just to drink alcohol and shop tax free and never get off. Something is wrong with the system itself if this is allowed to continue. It should be a requirement that you must be at least 24 hours ashore before you can take the ferry back. Then we would probably get both faster ferry lines to Finland and less focus on alcohol on the trips.
Is there a cruise I could dream of? Well, a private yacht with its own crew in the Caribbean would probably work.
Charter hotel
A large charter hotel with organized water games with loud music, a loud children's club and paxing of sunbeds at dawn. Where people want to be served the same food as they eat at home in Sweden and where the most exciting excursion is to go on a boat trip with sun deck and free bar. I'm sorry, but it's not my dream trip. Rather, it feels like the ultimate stress reliever. It would probably require me to take a vacation to recover from such a trip. I like small, quiet hotels where there is no crowding of sunbeds, mini discos or Swedish coffee. Then I don't think it's attractive to stay in the same hotel for several weeks, isn't it so much nicer to change hotels after 4-5 nights?
Tent holiday
I want my own toilet, my own shower and a comfortable bed. Tents and primitive camping are going away. It should be comfortable, regardless of hiking trails or adventures, the night should be spent in a comfortable bed. My saying is: "If there is to be camping, then it must be glamping”! One of my old bosses had a good laugh about the fact that I only went along to conferences when castle hotels were wanted and always refused when it came to multi-bed rooms and outhouses. Feel free to call me the princess on the pea, but I don't dream of a primitive holiday.
We have thought about trying a motorhome several times, but a motorhome with all the amenities I need would probably be as big as a coach?
Budget trips with rotten accommodations
I lived in really rotten hotels in my youth, where the rats ran under the carpets and the smell of mold was heavy. Back then, the accommodation was something of an unnecessary pain, which you only visited when you were going to sleep (shortly sometime between the wee hours and lunch).
Today, I would rather stay at home than live rotten when I travel. If I can't afford good accommodation where I want to spend time, then I can simply stay at home and save more money before going on my dream trip.
Countries with worrying development
There are countries that are governed politically and religiously in a worrying direction that does not feel good in the pit of the stomach. Terrorist groups and criminality are allowed to thrive and untruths are passed off as truths. I don't dream of going to these countries, no matter how nice the beaches are on the paradise islands, how much exciting wildlife there is to see on safari or how many historical world heritage sites there are. I am simply waiting for better times or dreaming of other countries.
Party trips that start with a beer at Arlanda before breakfast
How is it that there are people sitting and drinking beer at Arlanda before I myself have barely had time to stick my eyelids open with matches and eat breakfast? I completely understand if at transit airports on the other side of the globe you have the wrong time zone in your body and happen to order a beer before breakfast, but at Arlanda? I think I sum it all up by saying that all trips that start with a beer at Arlanda before breakfast do not have a purpose and goal for the trip that I would appreciate. A party trip is not a dream trip for me.
Football trip
I am totally uninterested in sports. Name an athlete and I have no idea if it's a skier or soccer player. We all have our interests in this world, mine is definitely not sports. Therefore, I can't for all the world understand how you can pay so much money to travel and watch a football match. You also see better what happens in the match at home in front of the TV? Just not a dream trip for me.
Countries with substandard healthcare
In these corona times, I don't dream at all of going to countries with substandard healthcare. If I'm going to travel now, I want to travel to countries with good healthcare and control over the situation. As long as I travel with children, I will not take any risks.
All inclusive
I've been on very few all-inclusive trips in my life, but most of the places I've been to haven't impressed. Specifically, I'm thinking of my trips to the Caribbean, where most hotels focus on all-inclusive package tours and where tourists drink way too many mojitos at large resorts with armed guards. Why go to the other side of the world to be stuck in a hotel, eat the same tasteless buffet every day and drink drinks in plastic cups? There are just as nice beaches to go to closer, with nicer and safer surroundings where you can enjoy a stroll in the sunset in the evenings and choose your restaurants yourself. In addition, I have unfortunately seen far too many cases of family tragedies with drunk parents letting their children run wild when they themselves have passed out in a sun lounger.
So an "all-inclusive" trip is not my dream trip, but I would definitely choose full board if I were to spend the vacation on a small grain of sand in the Indian Ocean or on an inaccessible mountain peak. (In addition, I must add that I have stayed at a really good all inclusive in Sri Lanka, so of course there are exceptions among the dream trips)
Want to read more anti-dream travel bloggers?
More lovely bloggers with lists of travel destinations they DON'T dream about can be found here:
Lisa on Let's go explore
Daniela on Discovering the planet
Towe on come fly with me
Annika on Travel Friday
Sandra on Life journeys
Helena and Peter on Freedom Travel
Maria on Maria's memoirs
Wind up Travel consciously
Malin on malinlundsten.com
Cornelia on Lite mer rosa
Helena on Oh Darling let's be adventurers
So, where do you NOT dream of traveling?
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Agree with most things. However, I can definitely imagine a tent holiday, at least for a night or two. I also don't choose countries that are politically or religiously far from me, but if it is troubled or there is high crime, I think once, twice and three times before I possibly. goes.
Agree, countries with high crime rates really don't attract. I don't choose countries that are far from me politically or religiously, but countries where the trend is towards less democracy and more extremism are not on my dream list of travel destinations...
So the thing about drinking beer at Arlanda super early in the morning, how do people even manage that? The last time I had breakfast around 04.00:XNUMX at Arlanda, people were already sitting with giant beer glasses. I wouldn't take a single sip myself. Agree with that on most things, except that we enjoyed going on a cruise (however, I thought much like you before we went) and that I can think that all-inclusive is perfectly fine, probably because we only stayed in hotels with real good one. Then I myself am completely uninterested in football, but since it is William's biggest dream to go to Manchester and watch football, I could imagine doing it.
Exciting! Sounds like there will be a soccer trip for you soon! ? If I liked boats and deep seas, maybe it could be fun to cruise on a smaller boat. I have only cruised in the Mediterranean and in the Baltic Sea, no places that gave more taste. There are definitely good all-incls (like the hotel we stayed at in Sri Lanka), but it's not something I dream of. I dream more of a good full board with a la carte than an all inclusive buffet and even more I dream of dinners with cozy restaurants in genuine neighborhoods. ??
I like to bathe in both warm and cold water, but of course it's more fun if it's warm. What if it could always be warm in all Sweden's lakes? :)
Faster ferry lines to Finland would not be entirely wrong actually. I don't really mind taking the ferry itself, but just going round trip to Finland without disembarking really doesn't appeal. Feels mostly like wasted days as I still don't like to party, which I feel like most people who go do.
I like your saying about tent holidays, haha. I don't mind camping but wouldn't want to live in a tent only for an entire trip. No, there should be some variety!
I also have a bit of the same philosophy during my early travels - that accommodation is just a place to sleep. But, have never stayed in any really bad hotels. Today, I'd rather pay a little extra to stay in a better hotel – I want to be able to feel that I actually want to go back to the hotel in the evening!
My partner is one of those people who is more than happy to have a beer at Arlanda for breakfast. However, not because he wants to party, but because he is afraid of flying and the beer helps calm his poor nerves.
Poor roommate, it can't be fun to be afraid of flying! :( Understand that a little help may be needed to calm the nerves then - regardless of the time of day. But I don't classify that as a "party trip". :)
Warmer Swedish lakes would be a dream, then maybe even I would think it would be fun to swim? :)
I have written about the same about both tent holidays and budget holidays! Funny that we think the same. By the way, I also don't like to bathe if the water is not warm; Before the fantastic summer of 2018, I hadn't swum in Scandinavia for decades. Bathing only to cool down if it's hot, which means I don't always bathe even abroad.
Sounds just like me – don't feel the need to bathe just for the sake of bathing. I tried to swim in Sweden in the summer of 2018, but only managed to dip up to my thighs. But I did try! :)
Motorhome is so comfortable! :)
I'm probably the only one who doesn't understand that it's convenient with a mobile home! I need a motorhome coach I feel! Do you possibly know someone? ;)
Oh, what fun to read your list! I realize that we like basically everything the same! :) Haha, of course you get more and more comfortable with the years. A motorhome as big as a coach, that would be something! Good saying there regarding the campsite; I totally agree. ;)
Swimming is not very important to me, but I probably like jumping into 28-degree water in Greece. Pools are going away (can't stand the chlorine) but the sea is lovely! However, I don't just want to swim on a holiday, but experience more than that.
My list is here: http://www.newyorkmybite.com/resorna-som-jag-inte-vill-gora/