Travel Smart + Our Trip to Mexico!!

Welcome back, and happy new year! I hope that everyone got a chance to rest and reset over what can be a crazy time of the year. 

This year, I did something out of my comfort zone and traveled during the holiday season. I'm a big proponent of not leaving the house and exclusively wearing pajamas between Christmas and New Year's Day, and this is what I've done for literally every year of my life, except for this year. This year, my boyfriend and I decided to check a country off of our travel bucket list and go to Mexico for a getaway. We were home for Christmas day but flew out a day or so after and stayed in Mexico through New Year's Day. And what a lovely time we had!

Planning this trip really got me thinking about when is the "right" time to book a vacation and where is the "right" destination.

This will look different for everyone. For me, a lot is dependent upon my work schedule; when work is slow, it is easier and less stressful to take time away from the desk. But, with that being said, there is never a "good time" to take off from work; there will always be something that you could work on. If a team is well-functioning, people should be able to cover for each other when they are out so that no work falls through the cracks. My team is thankfully very good about this. 

If you are not inclined to take a bunch of days off, consider planning vacations around "built-in" time off, such as federal holidays when you know that everyone is logged off. My family trip to Alaska this summer, for example, linked up with Labor Day Weekend, so I got 10 days off in a row while really only taking off 5 days. Work smarter, not harder! Also consider which day of the week you will be coming back on and what time you will arrive. If you're the type of person who needs to do laundry and grocery shop right when you get back from a vacation in order to feel human again, perhaps don't take a redeye and plan to work the next day!

Picking a spot comes down to 5 considerations in my mind: 

1. How much money are you willing to spend? If you are looking to save money, consider somewhere driving distance or consider staying with a friend nearby. If money's no object, go to Sin City and open a tab. Certain cities and countries are obviously more expensive than others, so the worst thing you could do is go into a trip with the expectation that things will be cheaper than they really are. 

2. How much time do you have? Is it a long weekend? Two weeks? A month? How long your trip is will guide you in deciding how much time you are willing to spend in transit and which activities and sites are "must-dos". 

3. Who are you going with (if anyone)? Family? Friends? A significant other? Alaska was a great trip because my family loves hiking and being outdoors, but Mexico would not have been a great spot because my brother doesn't care for the beach (and burns like a crisp). 
 
4. What activities do you want to do? If you want to walk cobblestone roads, drink flat whites at cute cafes, and window shop, maybe somewhere in Europe is right for you. If you want to go to an opera house, maybe try Sydney. And if you want to see a moose crossing, I know the perfect spot in Alaska!

5. What type of climate are you seeking? If you don't like rain, maybe don't go to Ireland in December and January (I looked it up, and apparently these are the wettest months there). If you get sick of the cold easily, go somewhere warm in the winter and a more temperate spot in the summer. I know that weather can be unpredictable, but you should have a general sense for what temperatures/conditions will make you feel happiest while traveling. 

Balancing adventure and relaxation on vacation is an art, not a science!

Everyone is different when it comes to how much time they want to spend doing activities versus lounging on a vacation; some people want to see every inch of a national park, and some people are content only doing one hike and resting at the top of a mountain for a few hours. I probably prefer relaxing slightly more than doing activities on a vacation (perhaps because I experience the hustle and bustle of NYC in my day-to-day life), but my family definitely prefers to experience as many adventures as possible while away, being sure to "make the most" of the time (reality check: resting during a vacation can also mean that you are making the most of the time if rest is what you need!). I can recall going to Disney World as a kid and swimming in the hotel pool late at night because my parents didn't want us to use precious daylight park time while we were in the Happiest Place on Earth!

If you fall somewhere in the middle of the spectrum, you probably want to find a healthy balance between the two. You don't want to come back from a vacation feeling overly exhausted from rushing from activity to activity and stressing over start and stop times, so focus on devoting at least a couple of days on a trip (maybe 50% of the days) to relaxation. Turn the alarm off! Allow yourself to sleep in. We did this and didn't realize how sleep deprived we were (we slept for 10 hours multiple nights while in Mexico). And then have a few non-negotiable activities that you must do in order for your vacation to feel complete. Ours were: 

1. See the Mayan Ruins. We did a day-long excursion to Chichén Itzá, which consisted of a full tour, and even a surprise stop on the ride back to Valladolid, a small town known for its medieval religious sites, city center, and European-esque shops.

2. Swim in a cenote (cenote: a deep natural well or sinkhole, especially in Central America, formed by the collapse of surface limestone that exposes ground water underneath, and sometimes used by the ancient Mayans for sacrificial offerings); we swam in the Hubiku Cenote and even finished off the swim with tequila tasting!

3. Do one athletic activity. We decided on snorkeling, one of my favorite aquatic activities hehe. Candidly, I think I enjoyed more than Rob did!

We did more than just these activities, but the rest were at and around our resort. We lounged around the pool, making sure to enjoy the multiple poolside bars, tanned (or burned, depending on who you ask!), and even got a couple of workouts in. We found one authentic Mexican restaurant with a live mariachi band near our hotel and ended up going back twice during the week. I think there's something comforting in doing "repeat activities" on a vacation (i.e. revisiting a restaurant you really liked or going to the hotel pool a few times) because you are out of your comfort zone on vacation otherwise. 

Last tip: track where you've been.

How many times did a friend tell you that they were going to a city that you had been to recently, and you couldn't remember the name of that one fabulous restaurant that you tried? I got into the habit of keeping track in my notes of which restaurants, bars, landmarks, and attractions I've been to when I'm traveling for just this reason. It's also fun to look back on and recall the memories from each spot! I also love using the Been app to track the different states and countries that I've been to. This app reminds me of how much of the world I have yet to explore (94% of it to be exact!).

"Fill your life with adventures, not things. Have stories to tell, not stuff to show."

Here's to my next adventure!

Xoxo,

Rebecca