Over the years, friends and family have asked me to share itineraries from our family's vacations. Eventually it occurred to me that (a) it would be easier to put them all up on a blog so I could just point such seekers there, and (b) there were likely others outside my immediate circle who might just be interested in them as well.
As I considered the idea, and picked the brains of fellow travel enthusiasts, my concept expanded beyond the functionality of a basic blog and thus, vettedvacations.com was born. It's still very much a work in progress, but I wanted to launch it to get feedback from early "stumblers-upon" so as to inform its future direction.
The "Mountain State National Parks" trip is the most complete at present... other trips, which currently only feature linked itinerary outlines and route maps, will all eventually include narrative versions of the itineraries, photos, and recommended resources. To the extent that folks have reactions and/or information with which to supplement our family itineraries (e.g. alternative lodging suggestions, dining recommendations, activity ideas), a curated "Suggestions" component is planned as well. I'm also hoping to adjust the map functionality in the longer term as well... the design platform I chose doesn't yet support what I'd envisioned, so, crossing my fingers for a solution on that front soon!
Blog posts will be forthcoming on a weekly basis if I can keep to the discipline of writing -- they'll range from referencing travel articles of interest to discourses on my travel planning process as it happens "in real time". You can follow Vetted Vacations on Instagram and Facebook to know when there's a new post, and for inspiring travel photos, and reposts of random travel content that appeals to me and so therefore might be of interest to you.
A few last caveats:
- A few trips herein were taken as long as a decade ago, so, while I did check to make sure that all aspects were still "viable", there are likely new options to consider.
- We are a family who likes to be on the go... some might consider these itineraries to be "aggressive" in terms of how much ground is covered in a relatively short period of time. If you fall into that camp, hopefully you'll still be able to use an idea or two to inspire your trip.
- When we vacation, we live "larger" than we do at home. We invest in experiences and hotels that are pretty spectacular. It's completely possible, however, to follow the itineraries you'll find here without staying in 5 star hotels -- there are a plethora of lodging options to be found, be it via Airbnb or TripAdvisor, or camping.com. The important part is just getting out there and experiencing the world!
I'm eager to hear what you think about Vetted Vacations... please send your thoughts by using the Contact form.
Happy trails!