10 steps to turn time off into time well spent
Holidays are great, but here’s the problem. You save for months, research your destination endlessly and pack your bags with some frenzied excitement—there’s a rush and a push to get things in order beforehand so you can take your break - yet you return home after a busy ‘break’ feeling more tired, behind, overwhelmed and need a vacation from your vacation. Whether it's the constant urge to check work emails, your inner perfectionist going into overdrive no matter where you are, or the pressure to see every. tourist. attraction. in. town, it's easy to miss the true joy and pause of taking some time away.
But what if your next getaway could be done a little differently? What if you could come home feeling genuinely refreshed, with memories that linger for a lot longer?
Here are my ten tried-and-true strategies to elevate your vacation experience from merely checking items off a list to creating meaningful moments you'll treasure for years to come. And the best part is that you’ll have a calmer, happier holiday as you give each one a go. Enjoy!
1. Embrace the Digital Detox
When one is holidaying - the most rebellious act might be turning off notifications. Set a clear out-of-office message that establishes your bliss-time boundaries ("I’ve stepped away from my computer for a few days. I'll be back on [date] and will not be checking messages until then"). Pop your phone on aeroplane mode as instructed when your flight takes off and consider leaving it there unless it’s really needed. Pause to ask yourself if you constantly need wifi connection or if a little less screen time and connectivity would help you feel more relaxed right now. When you want to scroll, pick up a book instead. Leave your phone in the room when you go for a meal. Consider designating specific "tech times" once a day rather than constantly checking your phone and being on call as usual.
The initial anxiety of disconnecting typically fades after 24-48 hours, replaced by a sense of liberation that allows you to tune into your surroundings with a wonderful child-like awe and heightened awareness. Those sunset colours really do look different when you're not viewing them through an Instagram filter.
2. Eat Like a Local, Not a Tourist
The golden rule of vacation dining: if you can find the same restaurant at home, skip it abroad. Some of my most memorable travel experiences have centered around food discoveries—like the time I ate salmon smoked in sheep-poo at a wonderful local restaurant in Reykjavik! True story…
Ask your accommodation hosts, tour guides, reception staff or even shop assistants where they eat when they're not working. The places without English menus or glossy photos of food often hide the most authentic culinary treasures you could taste!
3. Leave SOME Room for Serendipity
I enjoy cramming lots in so I love a loose plan when heading overseas, but I’m mindful not to overdo it. While planning provides structure, over-scheduling kills the spirit of adventure. For a longer break - every two planned days, leave one completely open, or for a shorter stay - for every action packed morning, leave upto 2 hours in the afternoon to be spontaneous. These unscripted times often become the highlight of your trip.
On a recent vacation in Albany, our unplanned morning led to hiring a 4-seater buggy and exploring the coast with our kids. We found a cute cafe and a wonderful bay where we could splash, swim, cool down in the shade and sip on great coffee. We fell in love with the area so much we’ve booked to go back!
4. Master the Activity-Relaxation Balance
The quickest route to vacation burnout is treating your getaway like a competitive sport. Alternate between days of exploration and days of deliberate relaxation. Your body and mind need processing time to absorb new experiences.
Consider the vacation "sandwich" approach: start with a day of gentle adjustment, build up to your most ambitious activities mid-trip, then wind down with increasingly relaxed days before departure. Say yes to tours and treks and thrill-seeking, also yes to fine-dining, cultural activities and definitely yes to the occasional massage, nap or swim. This rhythm will help you return home feeling replenished rather than depleted.
5. Develop Mindful Memory-Keeping
Ah, the phone dilemma again. Photos capture moments, but they can also create distance from the very experiences we're trying to preserve. Consider quality over quantity and take twenty meaningful pictures from your trip rather than documenting the entire thing. Try this practice as you do: for every five photos you take, spend one full minute without your camera, absorbing the scene through all your senses.
What does this place smell like? What ambient sounds create its unique atmosphere? How does the air feel against your skin?
These sensory memories often outlast visual ones and can transport you back more vividly than any photograph. This is the practice of savouring and will embed the positive experiences into your brain the longer you linger on what’s going on in the present moment for you.
6. Connect Beyond the Surface
True cultural immersion happens through people, not places. Challenge yourself to have at least one meaningful conversation with a local resident each day of your trip.
Learn the basic greetings in the local dialect. Simple openers like "What do you love most about living here?" or "Is there a local tradition I should know about?" can unlock stories and perspectives that transform your understanding of a destination. These exchanges often lead to personalised recommendations you won't find in travel guides. This usually starts for me soon as I hit the ground and hop in the taxi leaving the airport!
7. Become a Student Again
Learning stimulates our brains in ways that passive sightseeing doesn't. Sign up for a hands-on experience that connects you with local expertise—whether it's a cooking class in Italy, a pottery workshop in Japan, or a dance lesson in Brazil.
The vulnerability of being a beginner opens you to authentic cultural exchange, and bringing home a new skill extends your vacation's positive effects long after you've returned. I will never forget our cooking class in Bali making green matcha and coconut pancakes in amongst the rice paddies!
8. Venture Beyond the Highlight Reel
For every famous attraction you visit, explore a neighborhood that isn't mentioned in your guidebook. Morning walks through residential areas, visits to local markets, or taking public transportation to the end of the line can reveal the authentic rhythm of a place.
These excursions provide an interesting contrast that deepens your appreciation of a destination's complexity and often leads to discovering hidden gems like neighborhood cafés, community parks, or local arts venues. Like the time a friend and I ventured far out of the city around the outskirts of Paris on a mission for a certain pair of shoes. We made it into an adventure that sadly ended without my dream shoes but with hot chocolates in hand, ever so slightly improved French and lots of funny memories from the day.
9. Create Sacred Morning Moments
How you start your vacation days sets the tone for everything that follows. Establish a simple morning ritual that differs from your routine at home but remains consistent throughout your trip.
It might be enjoying your coffee on a balcony, taking a sunrise walk along the beach, or spending fifteen minutes journaling about the previous day's discoveries. This practice creates a thread of continuity through your changing experiences and offers a moment of centering before the day's adventures begin. I love to do a meditation somewhere new (balcony, day bed, yoga deck), journal and take an early swim before breakfast.
10. Practice Active Gratitude
Wherever you’re going …. travel is a privilege not everyone gets to experience. Taking time each day to acknowledge this fact transforms how you perceive even the challenging aspects of your journey.
Try keeping a "gratitude trio"—each night before bed, write down or share with your travel companion three specific moments from the day that filled you with appreciation. This practice trains your attention to notice the gifts hidden in ordinary experiences and creates a tangible record of meaningful moments that might otherwise blur together. It’s fun to hear other’s perspective and what they’re thankful for too.
Beyond the Checklist
The true measure of a great vacation isn't how many landmarks you photographed or activities you completed. It's how present you were for the experiences you chose. It's the conversations that surprised you, the flavors that delighted you, and the moments when you forgot about your to-do list entirely.
Your next getaway doesn't need to be exotic or expensive to be extraordinary. It simply requires a shift in approach—from consuming experiences to truly living them, from recording memories to creating them, from seeing everything to feeling something. So be sure to activate awe, use your senses, switch off your phones and connect with the people and places around you as you explore, unwind and enjoy!
What strategies have transformed your own vacations? Share your tips and tricks in the comments below!
