How to Actually Enjoy Your Vacation: Simple Tips That Make a Big Difference

Posted January 28, 2026 by Prairie Wife -

Vacations are meant to be relaxing, but actually enjoying your vacation can feel surprisingly difficult when everyday habits and distractions follow you!

And while I don’t claim to be a vacation expert, I HAVE gone on several over the last few years. So, I feel like I have had enough experience to offer a few easy-to-follow tips that will help you truly find your zen while you’re away and ensure you’re ready to hit the ground running when you return home.

For the purposes of this post, I’m going to give you tips that are for a family vacation, one where you have the kids along with you…but of course, many of these same tips will help you to enjoy yourself if you’re on a solo or adults-only trip too.

Leave at least one day open. It can be tempting to fill all of your vacation days with family activities and soaking in the sights and fun around you, but it inevitably leads to a big energy (and mood) crash during the trip or immediately after you are home. We always leave one day open in the middle of our vacation, when we just stay at the hotel and swim, relax, play games, or watch TV or read for hours at our Airbnb.
Don’t overschedule your days. I get it, once you’re out and about, you want to do ALL THE THINGS! But when traveling with kids, remember that everything will take longer than you think, especially with young children. I find that planning 2 activities a day, with a bonus activity in mind if you finish early, strikes the right balance for a vacation. It keeps things exciting but not exhausting. Please, if your family likes to sleep in…let them. Don’t make every morning a rushed, up-at-the-crack-of-dawn experience.
Make sure you have snacks. The first thing we do after we land and get settled into our hotel is hit the grocery store to stock up on snacks. When I’m traveling solo, I make sure I have a variety of my favorite treats in my carry-on. Nothing makes a vacation fall apart quicker than hangry kids, and it’s THE WORST when you’re sitting in your hotel, relaxing in your pajamas, and you realize you’re feeling a little hungry and your only option is a stale $20 candy bar from the mini bar or $78 bowl of ice cream from room service!
Set up all your “out of office” messaging. As a small business owner, it’s impossible for me to completely disconnect on vacation. I usually set aside 15 minutes to check in daily. If the work can’t be done in that amount of time, then it has to wait until I’m back home. I set up emails and phone messages letting people know I’m gone and that if I haven’t responded to them by a certain date (I usually pick a week after I’m back) to reach out to me again. Schedule your social media posts for the entire time you’re gone/or hire someone to manage them during that time.
Plan some alone time. When you go on vacation with the kids, it can be a lot of togetherness. While this is great and the point of a family vacation, it can also be exhausting! We make sure to plan some time when one parent will 100% take care of all the kids while the other one finds some zen. Even on my girls’ trips, we all take some time to just relax alone and enjoy the peace and quiet.
Download Books/Audiobooks/Podcasts/Movies ahead of time. I love to read on the airplane, doze off by the pool while listening to a favorite audiobook or podcast, and catch up on the movies and TV shows I missed over the last 6 months. I don’t think there is anything wrong with completely ignoring everything around you for a little bit! When you have everything ready to go for that downtime, you save yourself 30 minutes of scrolling to try to decide what to read or listen to.
Take off your Apple Watch/turn off your phone notifications. This is the number one way that I have found to truly relax on vacation. We don’t realize how distracting all the buzzing and pinging from our devices can be. And often, when you go to your phone to respond to a text, you immediately start scrolling through your socials. I love to sit and zone out, scrolling through TikTok because my FYP is full of fashion videos, clips from comedians, DIY home tips, and heartwarming stories… It’s a stress-free app for me. If you find that your scrolling stresses you out and leaves you feeling less than, I encourage you to delete those apps during your vacation time, or make the conscious decision to only post and not scroll!

You don’t need a perfect plan or a packed schedule to enjoy your vacation. A few intentional choices…slowing down, unplugging when you can, and being present…can completely change how your time away feels. Enjoying your vacation doesn’t require big changes, just small ones that allow your time away to be exactly what it’s meant to be!

Do you have any tips for us? Let me know in the comments.

How to Actually Enjoy Your Vacation: Simple Tips That Make a Big Difference

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