5 Tips for a Great Vacation

Lower your sights, and remember, while the G&T might not be just like the one at home, at least you’re not at home making it.

August is upon us, and that means one thing. Vacation! But while we all look forward to that much-needed getaway, vacations today are fraught affairs, brittle from high expectations, too little time, too much planning, and too little room for serendipity.

We shouldn’t be surprised then when our fantasies and expectations crash into reality like a cannonball on your poolside nap. Flights are cramped and angry, the Maldives is, dare I say it, boring. It’s hard to inhale is some of the Paris bistros for all the smokers. G&Ts are made with soda instead of tonic at times, despite the name. Travel is hard.

But after a year of being on a quasi-vacation, I came up with a few tips to avoid the disappointment.

Here’s five of my still-evolving vacation resolutions. Let me know your secrets.

Five Tips for Having a Good (ok, Decent) Vacation

It’s Not Like Home

Resist comparing this place to somewhere else or worse, home. Allow the place to just be, and experience its essence without preconception or without comparisons.

You’re Not New and Improved

Remember, you are not a new person people just because the surroundings are new. A little self-awareness will go a long way. Know that you actually hate hikes so don’t go on one just because it’s an option.

Go with the flow

When the Parisian hotel room is musty and cramped, don’t dwell. It’s just a room. Focus on something else. The people are nice. The weather is good. The good story the experience will make. If you absolutely can’t get past it, cough up the money and move.

Ditch the plan for a day

Sit at a café and read a book. Go to the beach and stare at the water. Watch a movie in the hotel room (yes, it’s allowed). Read a magazine poolside and order lunch and a drink. Lie in the grass in a park.

Quell the cranky

Your husband is hot, too. Your wife is in the same pickle as you are. You are both lost and your feet hurt. No matter how impossible it might seem at the moment, try to laugh. Or at least crack a smile. And for pete’s sake when you ask for directions or need advice from a local, smile and say good morning first.

It’s simple really: lower yours sights. No place will live up to your ideal. And while the G&T might not be just as you have it at home, at least you’re not at home making it yourself.