Christmas travel is also very confusing for young children.  They will often worry about how Santa is going to find them.  Then there is the whole ordeal of packing all the gifts, and what size gifts are appropriate.

Once you’ve reached your destination, there is so much pressure to make it a memorable Christmas with the family.  Pressure to participate in many of the Holiday traditions.  Some of which you have chosen to abandon as an adult. You may be forced to attend a church you are unfamiliar with, and leave behind those you worship with weekly.

I feel that there are so many other opportunities to travel and visit with family throughout the year, that don’t involve all the pressure and formalities.  Christmas time is one of the most hectic times of year for everyone, by throwing a big trip in the middle of it I think you are asking for trouble.

I think travel should be relaxing and enjoyable for everyone involved the host and the guests.  It is very hard to relax during this type of trip.  Another consideration, is other friends and family you may like to visit while you’re in town. Some of them may be traveling as well. If they’re not, they are likely busy with their crazy Holiday schedules and it is a hard time to fit in a casual get together.

There’s nothing like waking up in your own home on Christmas morning, and enjoying the joy of your children as they casually open their gifts. Somehow being at another person’s home, or worse, a hotel, takes away the magic for the children.

Christmas-time travel is just bad timing all the way around and I think it should really be avoided.

Most of us know that George Clooney lives somewhere there on the lake and we would all love to be able to wave to him as he cruises by in what must be an incredibly luxurious speed boat. But, even though chances of that are slim, you won’t believe the vistas that will surround you.Lake Como is in the northern part of Italy in the Lombardy region. It is one of many lakes in that area, but probably the most popular. The lake is huge and borders the Italian Alps no less. The lake stretches southward with two ’legs’ of the lake and many, many small villages up and down the lakeside coast that are accessible to each other by ferry boat. You may have heard of a few of those villages — Bellagio, Varenna, Menaggio. From what I have learned, Varenna looks like my pick and this picture gives you just a little clue as to why.

You can take a themed vacation and spend it fishing or golfing or dancing or eating and so many, many more options. You can take a vacation with people with similar backgrounds and/or interests, whether it is age related or religious or your particular sexual orientation. You can take a vacation where all of those issues are intermingled if you really, really want to experience some of life’s education. Whatever or wherever it is, get out of your rut and go some place you have never been before or try something you have never tried before.

I have never taken an extended train trip but I have always wanted to do just that. A big part of the education found in traveling is found in the journey itself. What better way to experience all the beauty of the United States or Canada even, than to travel by train. Along the way between your place of departure and your destination, lies all of those little out of the way small towns and all of the views of the purple mountains’ majesty or golden waves of grain, not to mention all of the canyons and coastlines and rivers and lakes and waterfalls which you may never have the opportunity to get a peek at in any other way. You as the passenger on a travel train, have the luxury of sitting back and taking it all in.

As I understand it, the sleeping accommodations on the trains are a far cry better than they have ever been before. Can’t you just imagine drifting off to sleep to the ever so gentle rocking of the train. And it doesn’t have to be your basic bunk-styled sleeping arrangements that you may have burned into your mind having never traveled by train. Today’s train travel offers luxuriously appointed staterooms with private bathrooms, including shower, sink and toilet. Also, the dining cars on the travel trains of today offer so much more than just a cold pre-packaged sandwich and a bag of chips. Today’s dining cars can offer you gourmet meals and some very nice wines. Some travel excursions by train include professional, world-class chefs and accompanying sommeliers as well as classically trained musicians performing for you.

Depending on your chosen place of departure, you can experience the beauty of fall in New England and Cape Cod or the rugged mountains and snow scenes of Colorado. You can traverse the Canadian Rockies from Calgary to Vancouver. There will be interesting stops along the way and beautiful scenery, the likes of which you have never seen. In my lifetime, I must take one of these incredible trips.

Call your local travel agent today or go online to one of the train travel sites and you will see for yourself what is available out there that just might have your name written all over it. And get a group together. It may be less expensive and it is always more fun to share the experience.