5 Ways to Make Your Vacation Enjoyable

5 Ways to Make Your Vacation Enjoyable

It happens to all of us: going on vacation and being disappointed. You might have intricately planned out a trip, but as luck would have it, the trip wasn’t all that fun after all. In a weird twist of fate, somehow planning your vacation ends up being more fun than the vacation itself. However, that doesn’t mean you’re fated to spend your life on the couch and browse your friends’ Instagram vacation photos and miss out on all the fun. You can still enjoy your own vacation and appreciate the time you have off. Here’s a few ways to make the most out of your vacation.

Manage your expectations: Telling someone to lower their expectations is as effective as saying, “don’t think about pink elephants.” However, examine how you approach your vacation. If you are going to a place as highly popular as, say, Paris, there is as much potential to massively enjoy your vacation as there is to be disappointed by it. Examine what annoys you and what brings you joy. If you hate crowds, plan your vacation in the off-season. But if you like museums and don’t mind crowds, then the busy season might not bother you as much. Plan your vacation around what you have previously enjoyed, but don’t be afraid to get out of your comfort zone. A study found that people are happiest when anticipating their trip, so don’t feel bad if you’re not as excited as you were right before you left.

Plan for the pitfalls: Understand that obstacles and incidents are bound to occur. It’s not ideal and sometimes you can dread what could potentially upset your plans. However, if you allow some flexibility in your schedule and finances, you’ll be able to cover the bases of missed trains and delayed planes. Recognize what stresses you out. Stress is inevitable on vacations, but it doesn’t have to ruin your vacation. As long as you plan for the hidden fees and allow for flexibility in your schedule, the stress will be easier to manage.

Do what you want –even if it’s not glamorous: In this day and age of keeping up with the Joneses, it’s all too tempting to compare your vacation with your friends and enemies. After all, they look happier in their pictures, so they must be happier, right? If you prefer to take a stay-cation that involves binge-watching the latest season of Orange is the New Black, there’s no shame in that. Your vacation is intended to relax you, and comparing your vacation to others’ vacations will do the exact opposite.

Research your destination: Luckily, most destinations are easy to look up nowadays. You can go to www.zanzibarresorts.com and find out everything you need to know. Find out what deals are offered in the place you’ll be staying at. Discover the features that make your destination special. There is so much to see and do, and if you know about all of that and how to get into it, you’ll be able to have a more interesting vacation that yields fond memories and great photos.

Once you’ve done your research, disconnect from the rest of the world: This means disconnecting from work, from social media, and from distractions that could potentially wreak havoc on your psyche during your vacation. If you absolutely must stay connected, give yourself some short time in the morning and in the evening. Spend the rest of your time enjoying your vacation. Of course, you can never completely forget about home while you’re away, but disconnecting will help you appreciate what is currently at present. You may not be practiced in meditation, but disconnecting will make mindfulness easier.

Overall, while you may fear that your vacation will not be as fun as you would like it to be, there are ways to ensure a more delightful time. As long as you are honest about what you want to do, manage your expectations in a healthy way, plan for the pitfalls, and do some research and then disconnect, then your vacation will be every bit the trip about which you dreamed.