Vacationing

Vacationing is an activity for Sims in The Sims: Vacation, The Sims 2: Bon Voyage, The Sims 3: World Adventures and in The Sims 3: Island Paradise. A form of vacationing is also seen in The Sims 3: Generations.

The Sims: Vacation
To have Sims go on vacation, click on the telephone, select "Call Cab...", then "Go On Vacation". If any family members are not at home, a notice will appear saying that the family cannot go on vacation unless all members are home. Otherwise, you will be prompted to confirm that you want the family to go. Click "Ok", and before long, the Vacation Island SUV will appear and the family will get in and be charged §500. The SUV will drive away and the Vacation Island screen will appear. Select a lot, and the family will be delivered to that lot, and will be dressed appropriately for that area of the island. There is no limit on how long the family can stay, but they will not be able to sleep unless an adult member checks in at a hotel desk, or rents igloos or tents. Pets travel with the family.

The family will be able to travel to any lot on the island by using the phone to call for an island shuttle. This service is free, but if the family is going to a different area of the island, it will be up to the player to make sure the Sims dress appropriately. When it's time to leave, have an adult family member check out, then call for a shuttle and select "Go Home".

The Sims 2: Bon Voyage
Here are a few things to do to have a vacation in Bon Voyage.

Booking a vacation
Use the telephone or computer to book a vacation. Choose when the Sims will leave, who they are taking with them, how long they will stay, and where they are going. The further in advance the vacation is booked, the cheaper it will be. If Sims book the trip for that very moment, they will be charged §1,000.

If they book in advance, a shuttle will come to the Sims' house at 9 am on the appointed day, and take them to the airport.

Hotels
A Hotel is a hybrid of a community lot and residential lot. It gives controllable Sims a place to rest and rejuvenate before going off to explore. Hotel costs are separate from the original booking cost. Players can put hotels in the base neighborhood, and Sims can go to them by choosing to go to a community lot. When a Sim calls a cab or gets in a car, the hotel(s) will appear in the list of possible destinations. Sims can stay indefinitely, and the basics are the same as in the vacation hotels.

Vacation homes
Instead of staying at a hotel, Sims can stay at their own Vacation Home.

Buying a vacation home
Vacation homes can be bought via the phone. The deed is then placed in the buyer's inventory. Vacation homes cannot be lived in. Sims can only stay at one during a vacation.

Exploring
Once the Sims have arrived, it's time to start exploring. Talk to the Tour Guide to take a tour, call a cab, or use the interaction "Walk to Lot" to explore the community lots. To go to a secret location, make sure the Sim with the map is the selected Sim.

Ending a vacation
The player can end the Sims' vacation early by using the telephone booth. If this is done a shuttle will come to take them to the airport.

The Sims 3: World Adventures
As in the previous two games mentioned, Sims once again have the choice of partaking in three different forms of vacations. However, in a first for the series, the new vacation destinations are based on real-world locations. Sims are able to vacation in new locations: Shang Simla, Champs Les Sims and Al Simhara. These new locations are the same size as the neighborhoods Sunset Valley and Riverview, and parody the countries of China, France and Egypt respectively. Pets cannot go abroad.

This expansion pack is more focused on adventuring, loot-gathering, and questing. A Sim starts out with zero stars in their passports, and must fulfill quests for the locals to gain more. More stars grant a Sim the right to do more things in the town, such as staying for a longer period of time, or buying property. All Sims otherwise start out in a small hostel.

Sims can collect many different expensive artifacts which they can either sell or display in their homes for moodlet bonuses. Ancient Coins can be collected in tombs and used to buy useful items from the special merchant that resides in the town. There are no "rabbit holes" in vacation towns, but many unique shops that vacationing Sims can enter and move about freely in. Items are bought through a menu brought up by interacting with a Sim manning the cash register.

Tomb exploration is the main focus of vacation towns in World Adventures. Tombs are special locations Sims can freely walk around in, fraught with dangerous traps and a few with deadly Mummies. Artifacts are found strewn about the rooms, and Sims can pick them up and take them for themselves. Many tombs have quests attached to them, which will give Sims keys to proceed further or fulfill a short storyline.

The Sims 3: Generations
This form of vacationing is different from the others. It is not a booked vacation, and the Sim(s) involved cannot be controlled or seen. It only happens as an opportunity given to any adult as long as there is at least one teenager in the household and nobody is pregnant within the household. The offer will be for all the adults to go on an all-expenses vacation whilst the teens look after themselves. The adults stop what they are doing moments later and leave in a taxi.

The adults will return after two days if nothing goes wrong, but if the teen throws a party and gets caught by the police, they will return after a few in-game hours after the police have scolded the teen. If the teen performs a prank and is caught by the butler (with Late Night installed), if they skip school, or if they get caught pranking the school and are sent home by the police, the parents will return after the scheduled time and scold the teen as soon as they arrive. The teens will be grounded if the adults return and find the house messy.