Is Travel Relaxing?
 

Just returned from almost a month on the road to the Southwest. (See "Back from Arizona: a trip report".) A friend asked me,
"Did you enjoy a relaxing trip?" In discussing this I realized that while a very enjoyable trip I was more relaxed after getting home. For instance, while away I woke up each day with a sore jaw which surely is due to tension. That went away immediately upon being home. Also a cough I had.

My friend was agreeing that especially as we grow older travel can be stressful. We may not realize it even as we are having a good time. Those miles on the highway and in motels and sightseeing are not really relaxing enjoyable as they are. That city traffic and interstate contest with semis and long stretches of highway does take its toll.

I've decided that human beings need two things. The one is comfortable and familiar surroundings. Isn't it great when you can kick off your shoes and lean back in your lounge chair with a good book? But wait, eventually you get restless. You want to take in a movie or dine with friends. or take a trip. So the other human need is for new experiences and adventure. Even though it may be relaxing aboard a cruise ship or on the porch of a mountain cabin, still you had to face the hassle of a plane or car trip to get there, to say nothing of packing and eating plans. When we travel abroad we are excited to view castles and mountains. But would you call that relaxing?

So we all do enjoy planning and being on trips and also taking those digital or camera picts which others may or may not want to see (but which store memories for us). And we do relish turning the key in our front door being greeted by familiar surroundings. "Yes, it's good to be back home again."

ozarksbill

I don't go on vacation to relax. I can relax all I want when I get home, but while I'm on vacation, I ((L)) to go, go, go!

Utahtea

I make a distinction between Vacation and Travel. A "vacation" to me is sitting around and relaxing. Travel is much more active and involves exploring cultures, interesting destinations, etc.... I don't think either one is better than the other, and I like to do them both regularly. In fact, I like to build in rest days during my travels - sort of a mini-vacation - to deal with the stress of travel.

Ozarksbill, are you retired? If we take a 10 day trip, we consider outselves lucky. I find that at around day seven, I miss home.

This is what I am noticing lately. We used to be able to take weekend trips and feel great doing it. Now, we are noticing, that we don't "recover" so easily from our weekend trips! Mainly because we are going 7 days without a break and we are tired people, lol.

We try and plan a balance when traveling. This summer we are going to Portugal -- we will cram as much in as possible because that's what we enjoy doing on those types of trips. But then I try and plan some quieter away time - on a Florida beach. We might "do" some stuff, but we are mainly there to relax.

And the tension in the jaw...well, sometimes that happens to my husband too after a long drive. But you really had an adventure!!! If I had to drive all those miles with my DH, my foot would be sore from pressing on the "imaginary" brake! ;) :D

I like a combination of vacation and travel on my trips. We generally plan one or two activities per day and then play it by ear. That way we have plenty of time to just hang out if that is what we feel like doing.

I've built relaxing time into my life routine, so I've no reason to take off time from life to do that. In fact, I get bored easily when I've traveled with people who insist on doing "nothing" while vacation. For me, when traveling I'm on the go from the time I wake up until I settle in at night.

It's like I get a high from all things that surround travel - the planning, the packing, flying/driving, being there, new experiences. It's like a drug in many ways, and the rush is rather addictive. It's simply what I enjoy. (Though I do like "coming down" and walking through my own door and eventually sleeping in my own bed when it ends!)

I don't expect everyone to agree with the following, but here's my view on travel:

I have never understood the concept of relaxing on vacation. People have told me, "I want to go someplace where I can sit around and do nothing." WHAT?? Why travel if you're going to sit around and do nothing? If I want to do nothing, I'll save my money and spend a lazy day at home.

My travel is not relaxing. It's about adventure and fun, not just sitting on my butt. Sure, I can enjoy an hour or 2 of sitting in an outdoor cafe and watching the world go by, but that's only after a day of going non-stop to see all of the sights. Then once I've had my time to rest, I'm off again to my next adventure.

I will say that travel relaxes my brain, as I'm not thinking about problems from home. So it's mentally relaxing, but physically exausting. And I like it that way!!

But each to his/her own. :-)

Good discussion, and yes I am retired. Strikes me that travel/vacations are different before and after retirement. This has caused me to reflect further because you certainly do travel just to get away while employed and have less time. But after retiring you can actually go places you've wanted to see and be more relaxed. My point is that in the very act of traveling there is built in tension but that this also provides adventure.

Interesting point about the difference between travel and vacation.

ozarksbill

Most of our trips are very active with hiking, snorkeling, skiing, touring, discovering, bird watching, photographing wildlife and wildflowers, rock climbing (not any longer), dining out, meeting local people, making new friends, visiting with old ones. We love every moment of our busy schedule. Usually once-twice a year we go to a beach destination to relax but after two-three days we are ready to go snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, walking, talking, whatever is there we will find it, if it's not there we will come up with new activities. But that's us. Upon return home I need more time to get back to our everyday life after more relaxing trips than after more active and demanding trips. We are just like Utahtea, go, go, go and then we go even more. We get up early on our trips and late afternoon just read, write and relax knowing there are more activities waiting for us the next morning. We do not seek out a nightlife while traveling, once a while we go to a concert, movie, night drives or night hikes, nice restaurants, to watch sunset and afterglow. For us going out for dinner while on vacation is sometimes more tiring than all day hiking and this is why we like to cook some of our meals during our trips. I don't mind packing, repacking and packing again and I don't mind flying, changing planes and waiting for connections. My husband and I love traveling but we also love being at home too. After two weeks away from home we are sometimes ready to go back. Then after two weeks home we are ready for our next trip or at least are in process of planning our next adventure. 'Is travel relaxing?' Certainly to us but we do what we want to do not what others think we should do and this is why we chose to remain independent travelers.

There are some trips that I need to come home and reflect on before I realize that I've had a good trip.

As someone who has traveled extensively for both business and pleasure, I never get tired of it. Sure, I've had my share of 'inconveniences' on the road but being exposed to new people, places and ideas is absolutely invigorating to me! I'm still 37 years young so maybe this will change as I get older but for now - send me anywhere, anytime!

Having said that, good traveling partners make all the difference in the world. Spending time with someone who is not flexible or willing to try new things is a major drag. Life is short and it's meant to be lived!

What an interesting thread! I realize that I have sometimes been troubled after returning, exhausted, from a trip--as though I had "failed" to find it relaxing! On reflection, I find most travel exhausting because it involves external deadlines (especially airlines, scheduled events, anticipation and avoidance of rush-hour traffic). The logistics are what get to me--where to put the luggage, how to get from A to B in an unfamiliar area. That doesn't mean that I don't relish traveling, but I think that from now on I will consciously try to build deadline-free periods into each trip, so I don't have to stress out over getting somewhere on time.

The only truly "relaxing" vacation for me is a week on the beach.

Everything else is more like adventure, which is great, too. It's like mental stretching that gives everything a different perspective when I come home.

No it's not relaxing it's not supposed to be(!) unless it's a week at the beach or something. Excitement is one sign of a successful trip.

I disagree that people need comfort and familiar surroundings. Sure some people do, but you can't generalize about something like that.

It depends - our trips to Europe are exciting, interesting, but not particularly relaxing (although I do forget about work at the office). Our trips to Mexican beaches are very relaxing once we get settled in. Our trips in the US lie somewhere in between.

"Excitement is one sign of a successful trip."

But excitement can be finding a great little store or a lovely restaurant or a nice, leisurely walk and a refreshing nap. No Battaan Death March vacations for me. If I want scheduled, I'd go to work.

Well I didn't say excitement had to be exhausting! I'm a proponent of the whole "slow travel" approach. But being in a foreign country, even if simply sitting in a sidewalk cafe, is invigorating and certainly counts as un-familiar surroundings.

While I love a massage and a beautiful beach as much as most people, I prefer to be active on vacation. After a day at the beach, I'm like, OK, now let's go DO something.

My husband and I went away by ourselves last year, but not too a typical "romantic" getaway. We chose Glacier NP in Montana and we mountain-biked, white water rafted and hiked a ton. Hiking for 8 miles through amazing scenery is more mentally relaxing to me than sitting on a beach for 8 hours.

I figure I can sit at the pool or do nothing at home, I don't need to fly 5 hours to do it. I want to see and do and experience new things - that's a great vacation to me.

I'm with Utahtea on this one.

Back in the old days when everybody worked at the steel mill all day, 17 hours per, barefoot... vacation needed to be 7 nights at some resort somewhere when you didn't move a muscle for a whole week.

Now, if you don't get up and go-go-GO on your vacation, then when in the world will you ever get any exercise (mental or physical)?

I always need a vacation from my vacation. I can't stand the relaxing vacation. I relax in MI at the lake.

So I guess my vacation travel, is really what I call it, an adventure, and NOT a vacation.

I do know that friends will not travel with me because they want to sit and soak. I don't- ever.

And actually, we do have friends and close ones, and I have too- worked physically and hard for long, long days. It's not just "back in the day" when people worked real work. Not everyone has a white collar job, although most Fodorites probably do. But don't speak for all of us, as if our jobs were without any physical labor.

And my Dad lifted garbage cans for 55 hours a week, worked a salt truck and still wanted to adventure on vacation- so I guess it's more relative to the personal choice. Some people don't have one desire to leave a deck chair- except if it's for obtaining a tasty morsel or drink.

Karens: That is our favorite kind of romantic vacation, too. One of our best vacations was to Moab where we biked and hiked everyday. I like a lot of activity during my vacations.

I think whether people want a relaxing or active vacation depends a lot on what else is going on in their lives.

Right now I am half way through a particularly tough semester of graduate school and I work full time. Sitting on a beach sipping alcoholic beverages and reading for a few days sounds lovely to me right now. As such, I planned a camping trip right after finals so I will have the option to sit around all I want - or go hiking and beachcombing as the mood strikes me. I wouldn't want to sit around at home because there is too much work to do there. I wouldn't actually relax.

Last summer we took a similar camping trip and it was lovely to be able to read by the river in the afternoons or nap. Just what I needed to recharge.

Later this summer, we have a trip to Germany planned, which will be a very active trip. By then, I plan to be absolutely recharged and ready to go.

I wouldn't consider travel for business relaxing. Maybe early in a person's career it's exciting, but when you are doing it for umpteem years, it becomes old fast. Sure there are great dinners and nice perks such as FF miles and reward points, but in the end a bowl of cereal looks real good sometimes. :)

In fact, the only way I'll get to Charleston, SC is if I tag along on a business trip, because if it's a business travel destination, it won't become a vacation destination. That's the rule.

Ever since 2001 when I moved into my late maternal g-ma's house to live I don't want to travel. I live on same property as Mom and we have a nice sized yard and I will be taking off time this summer (July 4th) and just stay at home or go to the Grove City PA Outlets or some other local destination. Just last March 3rd we travelled 36-40 miles over to Newell, WV and toured the Fiestaware factory and then went onto Rogers OH and went to the Friday flea market and I really enjoyed myself and returned home easily by 5:30p. Some of the best places are 500 plus miles away!

Every year we travel to Mexico in February to do nothing but lie on the beach, read books and rest.

My husband works ~70 hour weeks and he needs a vaction that involves no computer, no phone, no "connection" to work in anyway. He doesn't "rest" at home at all because he works even at home-so there are no "lazy" days.

Summers are a little better because I can coax him away on a Sunday afternoon for a convertible ride if its nice out :)

Travel is stressful for me - but just the part of getting there and home. The middle part is great!

We also take another vacation during the year (last year we went to Europe-this year it's DisneyWorld with our whole family) where we run from morning to night trying to fit in as much sight seeing as possible.

We both love to travel but have noticed that as we've gotten older it is more stressful and tiring. I specifically remember being in Ireland in September about 1 week into the vacation and saying to my husband that I was ready to go home!
After all home is where the heart is :) Pam

Yes, it definitely changes with age- but at the same time, regardless of what is happening in my life (2 jobs, sick parents etc.) I still find find it almost impossible to "sit". That's work for me. I read everyday- I've never slept as much as other people do. My daughter doesn't either.

If I want to "veg" out- I go to Michigan and try to lay on the deck or on a raft, but to tell you the truth that very seldom lasts more than 2 hours and then I'm going to a vineyard or fruit picking or doing something else at the local Southwestern Michigan University's little Museum.

So you see, some of us just don't "relax" by laying there. I do think it's partly genetic. I've tried to beach or pool sit. After my first book, I'm done. And I read fast.

Comments as I respond to different ideas. First, I can say that age is indeed a factor and that getting older means more stress in highway driving and the rest. Just look at how younger drivers weave in and out of traffic, no stress at all! :-(

Then I can see that what some want on a vacation others might not. And the same person will want different things the same day, e.g., vigorous hiking in the daytime and then restfully reading a book in the evening. Also while some might venture forth to see far away places with strange sounding names, others are content with simply dining out or a trip to the mall. I remember someone looking puzzled about my intended trip to Ireland: "Why are you going there? Do you have family in Ireland?"

As to generalizing about all people wanting the familiar and comfortable, well I'm guessing that there isn't a one among us who doesn't appreciate his/her own bed with just the right pillow, having good friends to chat with, glancing out the front window at those tulips in bloom, looking at the morning paper and the mail every day, shopping at a grocery store where you are familiar with where items are, having that loving pet jump on your lap, knowing that you have a job to go to every day, and all the other routines in life.

ozarksbill

Travel is not very relaxing. I am married to a man on the move "mr.onthego"! He can't sit still!
His motto is you can sleep when you get home.
I love to get up and tour in the city vacations. The only time I like to sit around and relax is at a beach house vacation. Even on an island, we tend to only sit for a short period of time. My DH is always planning the next activity! For our trip to Hawaii, I have tried to pre plan things so that we have the right balance of enjoying our resort and seeing everything!
I admit I like to see it all on vacation too. I find the most stressful part is getting there. I find the most fun part is the planning and research. The best is when you sit down in a restaurant that someone on Fodors recommended and it is the best place you eat in all week! Every time we dine or do an activity on vacation now, he asks, "Was this recommended by your Fodor friends?" :)
So, I would say a few days relaxing at a beach is nice, but I can sit by the pool in the backyard and relax. Vacation is for seeing the world...

ozarksbill- OK I confess, you got me with the "loving pet" part... i do miss my cats when I travel. That said, i truly do not miss my mail, grocery store, job, etc. etc.

Interesting thread! My husband and I were dreaming the other day about retirement (we're in our mid-40's so it's a few years away) and how we look forward to long weeks of travel. Ozarksbill, your trip sounds wonderful--being able to stop anywhere that looks interesting instead of trying to cram as much as possible into a trip is truly a luxury for us right now.

With a 17 year old and a 14 year old, plus two demanding jobs and aging parents (plus our beloved basset who really is our third child), we divide out of town journeys into 'trips' and 'vacations.' Trips we take often--soccer tournaments, dance competitions, school functions, University of Nebraska football games--those are trips. Absolutely fun, but we come home exhausted. I wouldn't trade the memories for anything but the older I get, the more I long for my own bed at the end of this trips.

But vacations! That's where we hop in the car or on a plane and leave the rest of the world behind. My favorite vacation was the 7 day Caribbean cruise our family took 2 summers ago. The kids' cell phones didn't work on the ocean, MSN wasn't accessible and we had total family time for an entire week. Absolutely blissful. Of course, Mr. Tess was antsy by Day 3 but oh well...

This thread made me finally realize something. Now I know why I am permanently exhausted. My husband, daughter and I have been expats now for over 8 years. We have lived in 3 different countries during that time. All we have done is work our butts off and travel every second we get to try and make the most of the experience - great - yes, expensive - absolutely. But definitely worth it. Sure does explain why I'm stuffed.

Like someone else said, certainly the getting there and getting back are stressful. I always feel so happy and relieved when we arrive at our destination whether it's our hotel or arriving back home. While we are on vacation, we are liesurely about it. We seek out hotels, villas, etc., with fabulous views and good restaurants nearby, and always spend at least a day just relaxing and enjoying our view. We do half-days and also sleep late sometimes. We enjoy the activities but we also make time for relaxing. My husband works very long hours so he needs some down-time. I enjoy just sitting back soaking up the view. My 13-year old daughter hasn't complained yet. It's true we could relax on our own porch but it wouldn't be the same.