Ideas for this article were taken from an article, Planning the Perfect Vacation, written by Michelle Higgins that was posted in the New York times on July 20, 2011.
With summer coming to an end, the top priority of many people’s next vacation is to have a relaxing holiday. However, this goal is not always that easy to attain.
The problem is just exactly how do you do this? How do you get the most out of the vacation days available? Do you need a week to unwind or does it take longer? Should you spend leisurely days doing absolutely nothing? Should you answer your phone or your e-mail while you are away? Or should you completely disconnect and answer all of them when you return home? Should the cell phone stay at home?
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The answers depend entirely on what type of a person you are. Some people would be bored out of their mind if they just sat on a beach all day and did nothing else – they need action and lots of activities. Others would think that they had died and gone to heaven if they had could relax on a beach for most of their holiday. As for the emails, some people have a job where they need to keep on top of their emails and cannot just turn it off. There is not one answer to all of these questions for everybody as a whole.
So let’s get started in figuring out how you can enjoy your next vacation!
1) Spend time planning your trip: The vacation that proves to be the least enjoyable, and in the long run, ends up being expensive, disastrous or simply not fun are those that are thrown together at the last minute. Spend some time making your plans so that you can compare prices, check out some of the different destination options and end up with a vacation you will never forget.
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In 2010, Jeroen Nawijn, a tourism research lecturer at Breda University of the Applied Sciences in the Netherlands, studied the behaviour of 1,530 Dutch adults and found that 974 individuals who took a vacation achieved the great amount of happiness leading up to the vacation. A similar study done by the psychologists Leigh Thompson of Northwestern University and Terence Mitchell of the University of Washington examined traveler’s experiences, actual experiences on, and memories of vacations. They found that regardless of the type of trip, vacationers, were happier in the period leading up to their time off than during the vacation
itself.
So by booking you trip well ahead, you can often get a better room and price, but you also are building anticipation which can boost your happiness. In addition, you will decrease the stress of last minute planning.
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3) Cost of your vacation: Be realistic about the amount of money you are planning onspending on your trip. If you spend money on a vacation that is way over your means, you may find yourself in a financial mess. You do not to return home after you vacation to be faced with money problems that can quickly ruin any good memories of your trip. Make sure that you determine exactly how much you can afford for your trip, and then choose a destination, accommodations, and other expenses accordingly.
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4) Longer is not necessarily better: Some people ask if it is better to take one long holiday or several three- or four-day trips. Sometime, taking a leisurely one- or two-week vacation is not possible so people need to take a short trips. Perhaps, if you take several small trip, you will have multiple opportunities to enjoy the anticipation more so than you would receive from one long vacation. Another way to think about it is that if you take only one big vacation a year, then, it’s over and there is nothing to look forward to for the rest of the year. You might want to balance your travel between a long holiday and several short trips is at all possible.
5) Keep you options open:The first thing you want to do is to keep you options open regarding where you want to go. You may have you heart set on Bora Bora but may find it’s way over your budget but you can find a great resort in Hawaii with everything you want including a beautiful tropical beach location at a great price. Save the Bora Bora trip for another time.
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6) Relax on your vacation: While your holiday time may vary in length, realize that true relaxation can’t be rushed. Ali Gini, the author of The Importance of Being Lazy, says it takes one week to get into it and really unwind. He says that people often take three days of vacation and work right up to the end before they leave on vacation. For the first three days of their vacation they are exhausted and still tied up in knots. His advice is that you give yourself permission to slow down prior to you trip by taking a few days for packing and wrapping things up at work. Build in time to wind down at the end of your trip by doing something relaxing such as lounging around the pool instead of getting in the last thing you had on your sightseeing list so that you come home relaxed.
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7) Ditch the smart phone or the e-mail: The best answer if you can do this depends on you. Some people who do not answer their calls or e-mails become more stressed out thinking about all of the things they are missing and that could go wrong. Other people need to be connected to feel secure. If you can’t disconnect, check e-mail and your cell phone at a certain time and stick to it. Let people know ahead of time that you are going on vacation and set up a plan with key people if they need to get a hold of you in an emergency. If you really want to disconnect, go to a location where you do not have cell phone access or e-mails.
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8) Lose yourself in activity: Doing activities that completely absorb us can be good for us on vacation says Elizabeth W. Dunn, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia, who studies consumption and happiness. She said that people who use their time productively are happier than people who are idle. You know how fast the time always goes when we are doing the things we enjoy! You might even want to pamper yourself as self-indulgence is relaxing.
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9) End on a high note: Daniel Kahneman, a Princeton psychologist, has demonstrated that people tend to judge experiences largely on peak moments whether they were good or bad, regardless of how long the experience lasted. While it is not possible to end every trip with a positive note, you can plan at least one special activity such a as special dinner at a special restaurant or a scenic hike. When my daughter and I were getting ready to leave Oahu to fly back home this summer, we had dinner at one of our favourite restaurants just before we left for the airport. We had a very memorable and enjoyable meal together and one which we were able to tell all our friends about upon our return home.
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Remember, that you are taking this vacation to get away the stresses back home. It’s all right to take a break from all of the responsibilities and obligations for a little while. Everything will be waiting for you when you get home from your vacation, whether you have spent the entire time relaxing or not. Make the most of the time you have!
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Muriel MacRae plans destination weddings, exciting getaways and customized vacations for discerning travellers, honeymooners and families. As the owner of Del Sol Travel, she offers romantic vacations with personalized service and unique itineraries. Getting to know and understand her clients is critical in helping turn their ideas and vision into a unique and memorable masterpiece when creating their customized vacation. Located in Calgary, Alberta, she plans weddings, destination weddings, and honeymoons for couples in and around the Calgary and Banff area and throughout North America. For more information about planning your wedding, honeymoon, or romantic getaway, please contact her at travelinfo@delsoltravel.ca or phone 403-477-0643.