Given the choice of vacationing anywhere in the world if time and money were no object, people were most likely to name Hawai'i with its black sand beaches, bubbling lava and warm Pacific breezes.

Following Hawai'i, mentioned by 14 percent, came Europe, Italy (singled out from other European locations), Alaska, the Caribbean and Florida, according to the poll conducted for the AP by Ipsos.

The attraction is easy to understand for Edward Harsh, a 41-year-old car salesman from Phoenix who lived on the Hawaiian island of O'ahu last year.

"It's probably one of the most secluded places on Earth," Harsh said. "In Hawai'i, the most dangerous thing there is a rogue wave that could carry you away."

Harsh says his dream vacation would be Europe, but he worries about the terrorist threats.

"It's strictly for the historical and artistic interest," Harsh said of his interest in Europe, "the art museums and the castles."

One-fourth of those questioned named warm, sunny locations from Hawai'i to Florida to the Caribbean, while slightly more mentioned some place in Europe, according to the poll conducted for the AP by Ipsos.

People with at least some college education were more likely to see Europe as the perfect vacation; those with a high school education were more likely to say Hawai'i.

Sharon Manning, a mother from Eldon, Mo., who works as a correctional officer, says she has only one requirement for her dream vacation.

"I've never seen the ocean before, so it wouldn't matter where I went to see it," she said. "My kids want to go to Disney World, but I want to go on a Caribbean cruise."

While half say they plan to take a vacation, almost eight in 10, 79 percent, say they would take a summer vacation if they could afford it and had the time.

Of those who plan a summer vacation trip, about two-thirds said they will go outside their state, while 22 percent said they will go outside the country. Some 13 percent of respondents said they plan to take their longest vacation trip in their home state.

Ian Dodd, a computer administrator from Ellicott City, Md., said he has no plans to go on vacation far from home, but he and his family "get away ever year."

"My normal day-to-day life is very hectic," Dodd said. "I have two small boys, so I want to go somewhere I can relax."

But many in the United States just do not make time for vacations.

"We have sort of a love-hate relationship with vacations," said Cindy Aron, a professor of history at the University of Virginia and author of a book about the history of vacations. "Americans aren't very comfortable being away from work."

Vacations offer more than just a chance to have a good time. They also recharge people's batteries and renew creativity.

"You need to get away and relax your mind," said Wanda Jones, a retiree from Youngstown, Ohio. "Vacations are more valuable than money."

And going without them is difficult for some.

"I went two years without a vacation," said Carrie Cook, a cosmetologist who lives in a suburb of Lansing, Mich. "It was awful, kind of depressing. Vacations revitalize you, make you appreciate what you have."

Three in 10 people surveyed said they have changed vacation plans because of gas prices, which are averaging almost $2.20 per gallon nationally, according to a recent analysis.

Women, blacks, people with lower incomes and younger people were more likely to want to take a vacation trip but could not.

"I'm not going on vacation this summer," said Laura Ann Simmonds, a 19-year-old who is studying social work and taking prelaw courses in West Hartford, Conn., who also works as a dietary aide at a hospital. "I'm just too busy with work and school."

But when she finally goes on vacation again, she knows where she wants to go: the Bahamas or Hawai'i.

"I like going to the beach," she said. "I was raised in a tropical place — Jamaica."