The Magic Travel Hack Question: Vacation or an Adventure?

A vacation is a vacation, right?! It could be filled with adventure, or not. What’s the big deal?

Whether you want to use your precious vacation (or Paid Time Off) time to have a vacation or an adventure, the key is to be intentional about what you want out of a particular trip. Answering this question before the planning begins will help set your trip up for success. And, bonus! It will also help manage everyone’s expectations.

How did we stumble upon this magic travel hack? While watching one of our favorite YouTube channels, Keep Your Daydream, Marc and Trish commented about vacations versus adventures. Their comment hit us like a ton of bricks. Suddenly it all became clear: when we go on “vacation” we typically seek adventure.

What’s the difference you ask?

Of course, everyone has their own definition of vacation and how they want to spend their time, and to be clear there is no wrong answer. For us, vacation is typically a time to relax, have down time, enjoy a specific area or favorite activity (hiking, skiing, etc.), and is less structured. The goal of vacation: easy. We know what to expect. Think of sitting on a pristine beach at a vacation rental with your partner, enjoying a cold drink, or enjoying the view from your jacuzzi in a mountain cabin while sipping wine.

On the other hand, the goal of adventure: experience the unknown! With adventure we intentionally embrace something new, exciting, and oftentimes challenging!

Case in point, our ten-year anniversary trip. We threw around the idea of staying at a nice resort or vacation rental in a tropical area, and even looked at a couple options. I can’t explain it, but this did not feel right. As time passed, some life events unfolded, leading me to request 60-days off work. Shortly after the time off was approved (!!), my husband asked the million dollar question, “Why don’t we go somewhere in the RV during your time off?”

Voila! Our ten-year anniversary trip vision became crystal clear. Just 24 hours later, I had an itinerary laid out for a 4-week long RV-trip out west. Campgrounds (surprisingly) had availability, and the time of year was perfect to avoid peak season while enjoying cooler weather. Things were falling into place, and most importantly, it just felt right. We still had doubts. Could we really pull this off? We knew it would be challenging–my husband would need to work some from the road, our puppy would only be 6-months old. How would we feel being away from home for so long, and would we survive being in such a small space for a month? What would our families say? Were we crazy?!

Yes, it would be challenging, scary, and out of the norm for us. It would be a bold move. It would force us to think about work differently, how we live, how we work as a team, our space, how we make meals, do laundry, etc. But…

It would be an amazing adventure, and felt right.

So, friends, remember to ask yourself (and possibly your family) the magic travel hack question before you begin trip planning:

Do you want a vacation or an adventure?

Once you’ve asked yourself that question, do you know how to make travel planning easier? Click here to learn how to make travel planning easier each year!