What makes a great vacation?
Take a moment and think about some of the best vacation that you have ever had. Then think about some of the less successful vacations you have had. What’s the difference?
In this article we take a look at some of the defining characteristics that differentiate a great vacation from the rest.
The destination
Going to somewhere amazing definitely gets things off on the right foot. If you are planning a summer beach vacation, then it is not hard to see that heading to Biarritz has the potential to be a little more amazing than heading to Brighton.
Sometimes it works to go to somewhere that is tried and tested — Ibiza again this summer? I wonder if the bar staff will remember us from last year. Shall we book the same hotel on Mykonos again? Well it is always brilliant, why mess with something that you know works. Sometimes it is best to go for somewhere new and different — never been to Iceland? That is definitely somewhere you want to tick off your list.
If you make a mistake with the destination it can really put a dampener on everything from the very start. “It looked better in the brochure…” really doesn’t cut it when you’ve given up your precious vacation-time for a nasty hostel somewhere north of Birmingham.
The people
It really helps to travel with people that you know you will gel with. Sometimes travelling with family can be really great, sometimes not — there is a reason you left home. You would think that travelling with your best friends will be brilliant — but if you’ve never travelled with someone before you may soon realise that you didn’t really know them as well as you thought.
The best vacations are when you are travelling with people and everything just works smoothly — decisions about where to eat dinner are made quickly and easily; sometimes you do things together — sometimes you do things separately and it isn’t a drama; you get stuck in an airport for a couple of hours and you don’t end up killing each other. These are the travel companions that you are looking for.
The bragging rights
The thing about vacations is that you need to have something to talk about and tell people about when you get home. Relaxing vacations where you just sit by the pool are great, but if it’s got an amazing view or the world’s best cocktails then at least you will get some great selfies that you can post on Facebook. There’s nothing better than timing your visit with a unique festival or event — it’s hard for anyone to compete with you when you can trump them with “…we were so lucky to be there for the traditional fire festival”; or “…the coral only spawns once a decade — it sure made the snorkelling interesting!”
Vacations are important and you owe it to yourself to ensure that you have have the best experience possible. While some of the crucial factors may not be within our control, with a bit of planning and preparation you can give yourself a fighting chance to have a great break, with people that you love spending time with, and then come home and tell everyone how amazing it was.
