How do you timeshare?

[jericap Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close jericap]

Do you have a place in mind for vacation or do you see what comes up for exchange and plan from there?

I usually plan where we would like to go and then hope something nice is available for exchange. There have been times when I just called the exchange company and asked what's available. We've always enjoyed anywhere we have vacationed.

How do the rest of you decide where to go?

[lawren2 Malibu Beach Barbie & A Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close lawren2]

Do you have a place in mind for vacation or do you see what comes up for exchange and plan from there?

I usually plan where we would like to go and then hope something nice is available for exchange. There have been times when I just called the exchange company and asked what's available. We've always enjoyed anywhere we have vacationed.

How do the rest of you decide where to go?

Believe it or not

Many times I have no clue where we are going until I see people here talking about exchanges they've enjoyed or I see availability posted in exchange opportunities.

Some of our best vacations have been of the "I didn't know I wanted to go there until..." variety.

Off the top of my head some of those exchanges have been Morritts Grand Cayman, Donotello SFO, the outer banks and Sedona, AZ.We hadn't a clue about SW Florida but went and LOVED it. Another exchange we thoroughly enjoyed was Williamsburg.

I'm thinking National Parks and the Northwest going forward as a lot of our members have been recently and write glowing reports. I think Myrtle Beach is also in our future.

[jericap Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close jericap]

We're doing Yellowstone next year and after all the talk about GNP, I think we may tack on a few days and take a drive up there...no timeshares on the second leg though, just hotels.

[Luanne Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Luanne]

We do Hawaii (Big Island) every other summer. My other timeshare use has been combinations of looking for specific locations, and just "fishing" to see what's out there.

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

I'm thinking National Parks and the Northwest going forward as a lot of our members have been recently and write glowing reports. I think Myrtle Beach is also in our future.

I can highly recommend the Northwest and definitely the National Parks but they are very busy in the summer. A park that isn't so busy is Lassen National Park and very nice too.

[muzjik Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close muzjik]

For the most part, I look at online availability and plan vacations around that. My husband does much better with "hey, there's a week available at ____________ on _____________. Let's go there. Can you get the time off work?" than "When would you like to take a vacation and where would you like to go?"

Some of our location choices are generated by business conferences my husband attends that I insist the whole family tag along on. We added an exchange in Yorkshire and a week in Scotland to a London event. We also added Williamsburg to a Washington DC trip.

The exchange opportunities posted have given me ideas that I would have never thought to search for. For example, we took advantage of the mass banking of the Manhattan Club. Since we live in Arizona, NYC was never on my radar as a search possibility and, having heard how difficult it was to exchange there, I wouldn't have planned and then began a search. But a glut of availability required a "hey, there's a week......"

[ArtsieAng Super Moderator Find all posts View Profile Close ArtsieAng]

I think that I do a little bit of everything. I try and go to certain locations that are on my must do list, and I also just grab stuff that shows up. Grabbing stuff can be fun, because you wind up visiting places that you otherwise might not have thought about visiting. Or, at least they're not on your short list of places.

[jlwquilter Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close jlwquilter]

We are still very new to timesharing and exchanging so our short list is pretty long! We are happy to go just about anywhere But so far we are concentrating on the national parks out west. That said, our radar is looking toward Willaimsburg and that area for 2010 in order to take a break from the national park... we don't want to burn out on all that natural splendor

[Lisa P Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Lisa P]

My husband does much better with "hey, there's a week available at ____________ on _____________. Let's go there. Can you get the time off work?" than "When would you like to take a vacation and where would you like to go?"

Same here! DH is much more of a homebody than I and he rarely hears interesting vacation details from friends. So when asked, "Where would you like to go?", he pretty much just shrugs and asks the question back to me. In over 21 years of marriage, he has arranged for exactly one getaway weekend for the two of us ...and it was to a place we'd been before. Let's just say that he has many, many charming and valued qualities but vacation planning is not one of them.

OTOH, he's usually up for an adventure. As long as I can work the vacation budget within our family budget, he's been willing to go wherever I'd like and pretty much whenever I'd like. He seems to enjoy our trips when we get there too. So I have fun looking at the Sightings and dreaming a bit.

[happymum Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close happymum]

Since getting our first timeshare in 2000,we have mainly vacationed where I have seen availability . Unfortunately, that has led to developing favorites that need to be re-visited, as well as the need to check out destinations that others have raved about. Sedona,Carlsbad, Grand Cayman,and Manhattan Club are definite return-tos , Barbados and other Carribean destinations have been added to the bucket list.

[funtime2 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close funtime2]

We generally stay in the southeast and search for what is available.

[dopeyfav Member Find all posts View Profile Close dopeyfav]

We always go to the East Coast to visit in-laws and try to plan one or two big trips in addition to that. One is usually a beach and the other is somewhere within the US. We take about 4 shorter trips to Branson, which is about a 2 hour drive. We watch Ex-Ops and read posts for good ideas.

[senorak Member Find all posts View Profile Close senorak]

We've been going to Hilton Head Island for the past five years. Other than that, I tend to vary my exchanges, depending on when we are traveling, (being a teacher, I'm limited to summer and longer winter breaks), and who is traveling with me. Our family vacations, (all 5 of us), have included Sedona, Las Vegas, Orlando, Myrtle Beach...and Hilton Head. Trips with just one or two of the children have included San Francisco, West Palm Beach, and New York City.

We currently own 5 weeks.....so I am constantly looking at availability for upcoming trips.

DEB

[GrayFal Silver Contributor and supermoderator Find all posts View Profile Close GrayFal]

I'm Timeshare EASY

I have my favs I return to every year - Aruba and St Thomas

I purchased a week in Ireland and plan to go every other year 2007, 2009 but I am thinking that in 2011, I will use my Island Park Village summer week and do a trade for a second week for a National Park Tour ....

I also enjoy trading into DVC

I like to go someplace 'different' for February break after several years in Cancun.

This year I am trading into St John and Harborside Atlantis for the first time...and will probably want to go back.

Making my first visit to Grand Cayman next year

Went to South Lake Tahoe thanks to a sighting here and would love to go back

Am returning to the Four Seasons Aviara this year

So, what is my 'style'????
I am not sure

[taffy19 Gold Contributor Find all posts View Profile Close taffy19]

So, what is my 'style'????
I am not sure

Our style is very boring to many of you but not to us. We try to return every year to the three locations where we own a timeshare because they are on the beach in Maui, Mexico and Laguna Beach in CA. If only we had bought a house on the beach, we didn't need to do all this flying today but as long as we can we'll keep continue doing it. Since we occupy the same unit too, it feels like it is our home away from home because everything is so familiar but still, it is a vacation and a change.