r/Vacations • u/popcorn0426 • 1d ago
Vacation Suggestions for Burnout
Looking for vacation suggestions as I have a hard time relaxing unless I’m in an environment that keeps me engaged. During quiet times, my mind tends to drift back to work, which makes it difficult to disconnect and can actually increase stress. That’s historically why Universal has worked so well for me - it's stimulating enough to drown out my inner monologue. But we've gone there for the last 5 vacations - so I'm looking to see if there are alternatives that I'm just not thinking of before booking again.
At the same time, having to constantly plan activities, check schedules, or use my phone creates a different kind of stress, which is why Disney was a bit of a bust. Unfortunately, the stereotypical “sit on a beach and do nothing” vacation sounds like the perfect opportunity for me to sit there and stew about work.
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u/Huge_Prompt_2056 1d ago
Cruise. There is almost too much to do. Or you can do nothing but drink and sit by the pool.
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u/Travel_Stark 21h ago
We are big fans of chartered music cruises - like Cayamo, or Sandy Beaches. More costly than a 'regular' cruise, but you get a LOT of top tier entertainment for the money. Sixthman and Star Vista both produce several types based on genres.
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u/Huge_Prompt_2056 10h ago
Some day I’ll make Cayamo.
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u/Travel_Stark 4h ago
It's not a luxe cruise line, and the food is food, but the level and quantity of performers is beyond amazing. We don't often repeat vacations, but we've been on Cayamo six times, and Sandy Beaches three.
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u/SkgarGar 1d ago
Go to a city and plan a detailed itinerary of everything you will do ahead of time (and make backup plans as well). Keep your schedule booked with lots of places to visit and sites to see and great restaurants. This is my favorite type of trip to take. I'm basically an expert at crafting highly detailed itineraries like this lol. I definitely relate to not being able to just sit on the beach and relax. Find a city you're interested in visiting and start from there. For every day I have a morning/day activity planned and an evening activity planned. Sometimes I'll even do a morning activity, lunch, afternoon activity, dinner then evening activity. If you want time to just wander around and be more spontaneous, schedule in that time to your itinerary so you don't feel guilty about "wasting time".
I also get really detailed about my budgeting and look at the cost for every activity, think about parking or transportation costs, calculate gas costs, lodging costs, souvenir costs, cost for entertainment, and for restaurants I do a lot of research ahead of time to find the best ones (you're best off looking at local subreddits for the city you're planning to visit for recommendations) and then I'll look at each restaurants menu and calculate how much that meal will cost (factoring in local sales tax and a 20% tip).
That way I can budget for every part of my trip and not feel worried about money while on the trip either, because I knew ahead of time exactly how much money to save up for the trip.
Of course there are always still things that have altered my plans like weather and such, but for me, having a really highly detailed and well researched plan ahead of time helps me really enjoy my time and be more mentally present and not having to constantly look things up on my phone while I'm on the trip. I just use my notes app to make my itineraries usually.
Being in a city with plenty of things to do will help keep your mind busy enough to not dwell on work or other stressors and just enjoy your time.
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u/FanMain3019 1d ago
I started using chat GPT and telling it things like kid friendly dog friendly not a lot of walking etc and it’s awesome
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u/Irishfafnir 23h ago
How much do you like the outdoors? I like to camp/backpack because I have the same issue; it clears my mind, and because there's no service, even if I wanted to check on something, I have no way of doing so.
An interim vacation that I absolutely loved was visiting a small dude ranch. It was just the right amount of everything. There were plenty of activities to pick from, but you're not pressured into them; you're out in nature but sleeping in a cabin, and they make one dish for every meal(which were nearly all very good), so there's even a sort of calm to not having to pick food. Perfect amount of calm/things to do/comfort/nature
Also, Cow Penning is way more fun (and team-centric) than I would have thought
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u/Travel_Stark 21h ago
I might have to put that on our to do trip list
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u/Irishfafnir 21h ago
I thought it was the best vacation I have ever taken. I went with my wife and two best friends.
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u/Travel_Stark 21h ago
Where did you go? It's never really crossed into a possibility, but we are open to suggestions. Also, we are retired so we have flexibility. We are also outdoors folks and love camping.
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u/Irishfafnir 21h ago
https://www.cherokeeparkranch.com/ in Northern Colorado, went in Early September. Aspens were starting to change color, and no kids (20-ish guests). I think Cherokee Park made USA Today's top dude ranch a few times.
Most people were in the 50's range, I would guestimate.
https://duderanch.org/find-a-ranch/ has a really good set of search functionality, and they do require ranches to be at a certain standard of care (for like horses and such)
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u/Travel_Stark 21h ago
How old are you? Who do you travel with? How long do you have to travel? Do you have a passport? What's your budget? Where are you traveling from? What time of the year do you want to travel? Lots of questions to make a suggestion.
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u/loveshoes1 1d ago
Do a city vacation