Who doesn’t love a good vacation? And with good reason, since taking a break from stressors is well-documented to improve your quality of life significantly. Unfortunately, holidays don’t always go as planned despite your best intentions.
Here are 11 reasons why you don’t enjoy vacations:
- Poor planning
- Wrong company
- Bad hotels
- Social media
- Depression
- Health issues
- Finance
- Bad weather
- Loneliness
- Safety
- Language barrier
Vacations are wonderful, but to have the best time, you need to do everything you can to prepare.
1. Poor Planning
Poor planning is one of the biggest reasons why you wouldn’t enjoy a vacation. While you might have booked a hotel or apartment and are looking forward to spending time in the sun, the plan seems pretty vague.
The problem with vague plans is that while it seems like you have things planned, you really only have a general idea rather than specific plans.
This can leave you lying around most of the time you’re on vacation with nothing to do. Once you have a vacation coming up, take the extra time to do some research and ask yourself the following questions:
- What are the best spots to visit?
- Is it adult or child-friendly?
- What are some fun activities to do while you’re there?
Once you discover the answers, you’ll find that the quality of your vacations significantly increases.
2. Wrong Company
Going on a vacation with people you’re not comfortable or friendly with can be just as bad as staying home. In fact, it can sometimes be even worse in many situations There’s little more annoying on vacation than constantly disagreeing with the person you’re supposed to be having fun with.
Sometimes costs and scheduling can make it hard to book the perfect vacations with friends.
However, rather than going with other people, try as much as possible to meet a compromise like booking a cheaper trip or slightly adjusting your schedule. Also, you might have more fun on your own.
3. Bad Hotels
All hotels would be the epitome of customer satisfaction in a perfect world, but unfortunately, the reality is very different. While many hotels do their best to meet standards, some simply won’t.
Before booking a hotel, review reviews on popular websites like Booking to see what other people say. Apart from problems unique to the hotel, you might need extra features like handicap parking, breakfast, or a good internet connection to keep an eye on things back home.
A quick search of the hotel, either on their website or aggregate sites, can answer several questions. Make sure you always do at least a cursory background check of available hotels or serviced apartments to find the best fit for you.
4. Social Media
In a time when people halfway across the world are only a few phone taps away, unplugging from social media can seem impossible. However, the effects of social media on dopamine levels and stress regularly do more harm than good.
Staying in contact with people is essential, but try your best to unplug and be in the moment while on vacation.
5. Depression
Although mental health awareness has significantly increased over the past decade, there’s still a lot of work to be done. Vacations are a proven way to relieve depression as they account for significant stress relief and an overall better outlook on life.
However, mental health varies between patients. So, if you struggle with depression, it could make you unable to enjoy things like vacations.
If you’re significantly worried about this, the best advice is to see a therapist.
There are many free resources online available for everyone to use regardless of status or income. You can also take advantage of free online therapy sessions before you decide to see a personal therapist.
6. Health Issues
Imagine planning your vacation for months and finally getting there, just to get sick. Illnesses are bad news, and unfortunately, our immune systems are not always suited to the locations we plan to visit.
Thankfully, modern medicine has come a long way, and various vaccines and treatments can boost your body’s resistance. Before traveling, especially to tropical destinations, make sure you research what illnesses you need to be aware of.
Apart from location-specific diseases, ensure you make arrangements if you have a chronic illness like diabetes or asthma.
Having fun is essential but never forget that your health should always come first.
7. Finance
Affording a vacation is more than just being able to pay for it, but it shouldn’t leave you in dire financial straits either. Paying almost everything you have for a two-week vacation might seem fine, but the after-effects can be devastating as you go from paycheck to paycheck.
8. Bad Weather
Bad weather during vacations can be disappointing. You could have the entire day planned with a suite of activities just for bad weather to lay it all to rest.
Unfortunately, we can’t control the weather, but thankfully, you can handle it well enough to salvage a lost day. Staying in doesn’t mean your vacation has to stop. Also, if you’re on vacation with friends, you can play various indoor games to keep your brain active, or you could see a movie or go to a museum.
If that’s not your thing, you can also use a day in to plan for better weather. This would be the best time to ask the hotel staff or locals what the best attractions are and then schedule a visit.
9. Loneliness
Loneliness is a problem many people face. Being around people helps, but it’s more of a buffer than a cure. The main problem isn’t being alone, but rather, it’s that you’re not comfortable being alone.
Ironically, the only cure for loneliness is to learn how to be alone.
There’s no better time to enjoy a little alone time than while you’re on vacation with activities to keep busy. Take some time now that you’re on a trip to take pleasure in being alone. See the sights and bask in the moment.
10. Safety
No matter where you plan to go, safety must always be paramount. Before booking your trip to that beautiful city you’ve had on your mind, take a few minutes to research everything you need to stay safe.
However, there are many horror stories from tourists about different countries with some bad experiences starting right from the airport. This video by Da Traveller on Youtube highlights a great example of this.
However, take everything you read during your research with a grain of salt. One person’s bad experience should not be used as a standard. Instead, get a wide variety of stories and facts from people and draw your own conclusions.
The above video example starts with a negative airport security experience, which is common in some countries. However, it then goes on to show extreme hospitality for the remainder of the video.
Essentially, no country is all bad or all good, so it’s essential to weed out the ones that are genuinely unsafe from the others.
11. Language Barrier
A different local language from yours can make a vacation experience more stressful than it should be. Communication is essential, and it becomes challenging to properly explore a country if you can’t ask questions.
It takes a while to learn a language, but while you can’t learn the entire language, you can learn a few things that’ll make your trip much smoother.
Here are a few phrases you should always learn in the local language:
- Hello
- How are you?
- Thank you
- Please
- Help
- I don’t speak the language
Of course, you’ll be far from fluent but knowing a few key phrases can make moving around and getting information a lot easier. You can also use a translator app or Google Translate in a pinch.
Sources
- Worldpackers: 10 common travel problems and how to deal with them
- G Adventures: Nervous About Language Barriers While Traveling?
- WebMD: What to Know About Loneliness During the Holidays
- Smarter Travel: What to Do if You Get Lost When Traveling
- WebMD: Vacation Depression-How to Cope
- WebMD: What Is Social Media Addiction?
- Lost Your Luggage? Here’s What to Do Now
- WebMD: How Travel Affects Mental Health
- PsychGuides: Mental Health Hotline
- Study and go abroad: How long does it take to learn a foreign language?
