You Snooze You Lose--True or False? Vacationer's Guilt

If I look relaxed in the picture above, it’s because I really, truly am. This is the face of a post-burger, pre-nap young woman on vacation in Croatia, and it was taken on the laziest day of our trip. That day we slept in, took a long lunch, and then walked to the park just in time to decide it was too hot to do anything except walk back to the AirBnb for a nap.

Even as I snuggled into a blissful snooze, the guilt set in. Old Town was calling. There were bunches of museums I hadn’t even stepped foot in! Shouldn’t I be sucking up every bit of history and culture I could?

Likely one of the most privileged problems there is, I was facing vacationer’s guilt. Maybe you’ve felt it settle in the same time you settle down for a nap, or turn over on your sunbathing towel again, or do any sort of extended resting. Shouldn’t you be highlighting your guidebook or combing through TripAdvisor? Shouldn’t you be signing up for a walking tour or staring at old architecture you know nothing about or doing something? Shouldn’t you feel bad for going back to that same knockout Italian restaurant you discovered on the first day instead of trying a new one for each meal?

But that raises the question, what is a vacation for, anyways? Rest or research? One might say that you can sleep in anywhere, but one might also say that you’d get a better view of the Sistine Chapel by Googling it at home than you ever would by touring it yourself (and it’d be a lot cheaper, too!).

These aren’t the days of my family trips to Disneyland after all, where we’d sprint between Splash Mountain and Tomorrowland until we were starving, sunburnt, and exhausted, all for the sake of seeing everything we could (and we did see a lot, haha.) Now that I’m in the time of life where I can plan my own escapes, I get to evaluate what’s really important to me. While I do try and see significant cultural things, I’ve found I prioritize my time and money around local meals or conversations rather than monuments or museums–and I make sure to get plenty of rest in between.

On one hand, I can nap at home. On the other hand, how can I enjoy my exquisite, expensive, foreign gnocchi if I’m falling asleep into it?

I have friends who won’t feel like they had a successful vacation unless they see every sight, and if that’s the travel rhythm you march to, then good for you! I don’t feel guilty about taking things easy because I found a balance of recuperation and exploration that worked for me (and I had a travel partner who was on the same page). The few streets I saw through well-rested, post-nap eyes that evening were far more enjoyable than sweating in the charming alleys of Zagreb’s Old Town, I’m sure.

So next time you’re on a trip, if you have the privilege to take the reins, find the rhythm that works for you, whether that’s two naps a day or two walking tours a day. Don’t beat yourself up for not seeing “enough”, for not checking more things off of your list. After all, you’re on vacation. Enjoy yourself!