Take Break (Part 2)
In Part One of “Take a Break” I shared my thoughts on how taking a short break in the middle of a busy touring day can really go a long way towards making a vacation more enjoyable. In this installment, I’m going to discuss how planning a longer break (a full day or two) in the middle of a big trip can also have a tremendous positive effect on our overall happiness and outlook.
Essentially, my family and I have found that it’s even more important to plan for some down time when traveling for several weeks at a time. Taking in all the novel sites and experiencing a new culture may be the reason you are traveling, but several days of running around in a row can also be exhausting and can make you a bit tense. This is where planning can help. If you schedule relaxing experiences in-between your other excursions, you can often find a nice way to spend a day or two of downtime conveniently near the places you want to see.
For example, my family took a month long trip to Europe and Israel and I was concerned that 30+ days of touring would push us past our limit. My solution was to book a resort-type day in between several days of running around and seeing the sights. After a few days of intense touring in Rome and then Jerusalem, we spent a day floating in the Dead Sea and then a couple days swimming and snorkeling in Eilat, a wonderful respite from amazing (but also exhausting) high-speed traveling.
Later in the same trip, we spent a day at the beach in Tel Aviv, again spending some down time before leaving to go to Paris. This way, we could happily run around and tire ourselves out seeing the sites with the knowledge that there was always a day or two of fun and relaxation on the horizon.
We found a few days of rest and down time to be a wonderful break yet again on our most recent trip to Europe. I had booked a port-intensive cruise for my family, and we intended to see and do as much as possible at each destination. This particular cruise had a revolving itinerary which consisted of 3 sets of 3 days of port visits followed 1 day at sea. Those days at sea were a built-in, enjoyable chance to help us relax and recharge our energy levels while having fun as a family. We spent these days reading books, participating in a trivia competition, taking drawing and cooking classes, going to both the gym and the spa, and relaxing by the pool. As a result, we were well-rested and ready to run around by the time we approached the second set of port days, which meant we could really make the most out of time in those cities. While the rest time on the cruise ship wasn’t the reason we booked this trip, those days at sea really made our adventures in the ports even better.
When I originally began planning my family trips, I wanted to maximize what we could see and do in the time that we had, but over time I’ve realized that adding some downtime makes things better. In the end, I can say with certainty that we enjoyed our touring days more, felt more energetic, and saw much more than we would have otherwise because of the rest days we planned. I now actively insert time for relaxation into every vacation my family takes, especially the longer ones. Do you try to add some rest and relaxation into your trips too? What works best for your family?
