Travel Tip 101: Don’t Overplan Your Vacation

Vacations are the best time to relax, have fun, and forget about the bustle of work and home. Everything in our routine lives is penned down and fixed to a daily regime, and we ensure that everything goes according to plan. Why not take a break from this cycle of waking up at a fixed time, prepping meals, organising things, and tallying daily calendars? 

Vacations and holidays are the best time to take relief from an unvarying, repetitive routine. It is the right time to open up to the element of surprise that is integral to a vacation. Spontaneous happiness is the best, and unanticipated moments in your vacation can take you by surprise. Most people with a time crunch do not plan their vacation. Instead, they just wait for the weekend and go out with a vague idea of what to do.

Planning is essential, but are you over-planning your vacations and losing out on all the fun and surprise elements? When it comes to having a picture-perfect vacation, over-planning is not the key: instead, it may just ruin the whole holiday. Keep reading to find out how you can be minimalist and not over-plan your vacation, yet enjoy them to the fullest.

Plans for a minimalist vacation

1. It’s only a vacation

Remember that you are only going for a vacation. That means it’s only an affair of 8 or fewer days. While planning a holiday, you are so excited to overthink your plans. However, that only adds to more confusion! A vacation should be treated like a vacation and not like a work trip over-burdened with the stress of plans and schedules. 

2. Travel light

Travelling light allows you to make interesting improvisations during your vacations. With light luggage, a road trip or solo travel can also become an option. Heavy baggage can be a hurdle in making spontaneous plans on your vacation. On the other hand, travelling light can enable you to change your decisions in a jiff. Carrying each and everything just in case you need it does not make any sense – you will only end up carrying those extra kilos unnecessarily.

3. Be accommodating with last-minute plans

Over-planning your vacations will keep you from performing the activities you may discover upon reaching your destination. A new place can offer some thrilling things to experience, but if you already have a packed schedule, you will have difficulty accommodating any new, exciting changes. Ensure you have ample free time to take pleasure in some surprise fun activities and places.

4. Plans on arrival

Many of us start planning about the places to visit before even reaching the vacay spot. It is better to take time to reach your favourite spot, talk to local hotel managers, guides, and tour operators, and get a clear picture of how you can utilise your vacations for relaxing and roaming. The locals are the best advisors on the topic.

Working out a stress-free, non-over-planned vacation

How many of us get stressed about creating a vacation itinerary? Ironically, vacations are designed to escape this stress! So, how do we keep the pressure out of choosing the location and deciding on the schedule? Read on for some tips to help you arrange a fantastic vacay.

1. Pick the best place you want to be at

Now, most of our planned vacations are predestined places. You might have been planning for the choice of place months or weeks ago, at least. Choose a destination which accommodates activities for you and your family equally. Remember to keep one or two places at the back of your mind if you cannot find time for longer vacations.

2. Duration of your stay

A perfect vacation should have at least a day to relax, some days for outdoor activities, and some days to enjoy the indoor amenities. You must plan for an appropriate number of days of stay to rest adequately and take advantage of everything the vacation and the stay have to offer. You’ll only be rushing your holiday otherwise. 

3. Account for the travel time

Lucky are people who stay quite close to scenic locations. If you don’t stay near a tourist destination, you can always Google and find out the nearest places where you can go on mini treks, jungle trails, and mountain hikes. However, easily accessible locations have a great advantage: you get more time to spend at the place rather than wasting time on travel. Save time on travelling and enjoy more at the actual place by accounting for travel time and staying close to tourist spots.

4. Stay options

For a good vacation, book your stay for the day of arrival. After that, you can change hotels if you need to. In this way, you can visit and check out other stay options and even find some good house stays.

5. Budget to travel

Most cities have a good public transport network for travel within and around them. Be aware of some easy and cheap travel options so that you do not end up taking expensive rides.

6. Time constraints

Planning a vacation between your deadlines can get intimidating. Ensure your travel dates and tickets are fixed and that you can reach back home in time. Nowadays, you can keep your tickets locked even 3 months in advance without any extra charges!

7. No cluttering

This includes not only your travel bags but tourist places as well. Do not clutter your dates and time schedules for sightseeing more than you can in a day or two. Don’t over-exhaust yourself on vacation.  

Yay for surprise plans!

Say yes to all the surprises you find during your lightly-planned vacations! Don’t you get bored with your monotonous life where you plan each and every assignment with utmost care? Change this planning mode to an unplanned vacay mode. Allow yourself to indulge in the elements of what your holiday destination has to offer. 

Bollywood gives us ample ideas to look for impromptu vacations. Farhan Akhtar-starrer Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara is an outstanding example of how an unplanned vacation can turn out to be. Remember to go with the flow and just have fun—create memories, not schedules! Unknown destinations can spark memories for your friends and family. You never know – you may make some unforgettable buddies and memories on your next trip. 

Conclusion

Vacations should be an escape plan and not the plan itself. Remember that enjoyment is the ultimate goal of your vacation. If you stick to your rule book, you’ll end up being a spoilsport. Planning is excellent; however, over-planning is redundant. Don’t be someone who always keeps a planner by their side, even on vacation. Say yes to surprise plans—be minimalist in packing and welcome some new experiences in your life!

FAQs

Q1. Can you over-plan your vacation?

Ans: Yes. All vacations and holidays require some amount of planning. But if you are packing way more than you need, are constantly running behind schedule, or cannot really enjoy the vacation because of a planned schedule, it means you have over-planned your vacations.

Q2. Is it really important to plan a trip?

Ans: For most people, a little planning makes the trip comfortable. But you should stop when you find yourself trying to fix every minute detail about your trip, leaving nothing to chance. Planning a vacation lowers your stress levels and makes your trip comfortable. But, too much planning can ruin the whole idea of a relaxing holiday break.

Q3. Can somebody help me plan and not over-plan my vacations?

Ans: Yes, definitely. Vacation planners can guide you through the right plan for your vacations. They make your schedules and allow you to spend your vacations stress-free.

Q4. What is a pre-planned vacation?

Ans: A pre-planned vacation is one where you have a fixed time and schedule for all your activities. You have made a detailed list of activities and chores you will undertake when you reach your destination.

Q5. How can I stay away from over-planning a vacation?

Ans: Make sure that you do not have a detailed schedule. Keep enough time to accommodate other things while on vacation. You should be able to relax and enjoy your time.

Q6. Which vacations can be planned?

Ans: Tours and adventure sites can be pre-planned. As adventure sports demand a fixed schedule, some activities are conducted at specific times of the day or night. Such vacations are usually planned in advance.

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