Timeshare vacations
Timeshare is ownership of a week or weeks in a condo unit at a resort area. Some are specific weeks of the year, others are "floating" time. Some relinquish ownership of the property after 25, 99 or some other number of years; others go 'forever'.
Aside from initial purchase costs, these arrangements assess annual "dues" and many also charge for utilities while you are there. They are touted as big moneysavers -- from what we've observed the average ones are not, but neither are they usually big money drains. If you have trouble taking time to vacation (we don't suffer much from this!), really like a certain area, or are intrigued with 'ownership' they can be ideal. Also, most timeshares are affiliated with either Interval International or RCI, with which you can exchange your timeshare weeks for other places/times.
Our timeshare is Plantation Village unit #34, for weeks 3 & 4 (from the 3rd to 5th Saturday of each year). It's cold in Colby at that time and we escape to Grand Cayman Island, a 1 x 20 mile L shaped flat island south of Cuba and west of Jamaica. The Caymanians are very friendly, the reefs great for snorkeling, and if you're into cloak and dagger stuff they are right up there with the Bahamas and Switzerland for secret bank accounts. We've been visiting Grand Cayman since 1979 and Plantation Village (rental info website) since 1984. We have also exchanged to New Zealand, Australia, Hawaii, Scotland, Wales, British Columbia, both Mexican coasts, Excelsior Springs MO, Orlando, San Clemente, Scottsdale, Cape Cod, Lake of the Ozarks and the Rockies.
If you're interested in trading timeshare or personal condo time with us, please email.