If you've yet to take a vacation this summer, AARP travel ambassador Samantha Brown not only knows why, but she can offer a remedy as well.
Speaking with KPBS "Morning Edition's" Deb Welsh, Brown says sticking to a budget and deciding where to go are the biggest hurdles would-be vacationers face.
To get past those challenges Brown says she will "always encourage people to go to Travel.AARP.org."
"It is one of the best travel planning sites online. It has tools no other online travel agency has. For instance, there's the 'trip-finder' tool," she said. "This finds trips based on your preferences."
According to Brown, the tool then gives you a list of destinations. She calls it a "travel-personality quiz."
Research provided by AARP finds many people, especially those considered to be "baby boomers," are taking what's referred to as a "celebration vacation."
In fact, Brown says based on that research, 78 percent of people 45 or older indicate that that they have taken or intend to take a "celebration vacation" in the next two years instead of throwing a party or getting an expensive piece of jewelry.
The new research also shows a vast majority of "celebration vacations" in the last two years were taken in the U.S.
Of course, for those of us who call San Diego home, we're living in "vacation paradise."
You really do have the best of both worlds," Brown said. "But I would say I love Santa Fe, New Mexico. That's not a long flight. It's different from San Diego. Of course, you don't have the sea, but you're in the desert. You're surrounded by art. You have that culture of Native American as well as Spanish. I would definitely recommend going in that direction. But San Diego, you're right. You're pretty lucky."
Brown will be part of AARP's "Ideas at 50 Plus Event," which is being held at the San Diego Convention Center next month.
