5 Tips for Making Your Next Vacation More Memorable

Vacations can be some of the most beautiful, fun, and uplifting moments in our lives – and for many of us, the time each year when we can take a break from work, let our hair down, and travel to some new location, is something we look forward to with great anticipation.

All the same, some vacations seem to be a lot more exciting, fun, and ultimately memorable than others – and it would be a shame if we were going to all the trouble of making plans, booking accommodation, and arranging transport, only for our vacation experience to seem underwhelming, or to not be as memorable as we would like.

Here are a few tips for making your next vacation more memorable.

Use the vacation as an excuse to try out fun pastimes you’ve never tried before

One of the things that makes experiences memorable is novelty – in other words, the fact that the experience in question is relatively new and engaging, and so causes us to pay a lot more attention to it, and to feel that childlike sense of adventure and discovery that can contribute to making life feel rich and engaging.

Using your vacation as an excuse to try out fun pastimes you’ve never tried before, such as an escape game, is great way of making the experience more memorable as a whole, while also helping you to cross some items off your “bucket list,” and to have an enjoyable experience at the same time.

Do something on your vacation that’s a bit outside of your comfort zone, and that you find a bit frightening

Many people report that some of the most powerful, uplifting, and memorable moments of their lives are those occasions where they confront their fears, step outside their comfort zone, and expand their sense of their own capabilities and possibilities.

A vacation can, in many cases, serve as a great excuse for getting you out of your comfort zone, and trying out certain activities pastimes that you find a bit frightening.

These kinds of activities can range from things like bungee jumping, to driving through a Safari game park, to trying out SCUBA diving, or any number of other different things.

Of course, it’s important to strike the right balance here and to ensure that you’re not taking risks that you are uncomfortable with taking.

In any case, however, confronting and overcoming your fears and getting your adrenaline up a bit can certainly contribute significantly to making a vacation more memorable as a whole, and to giving you some fun anecdotes to share with friends and family.

Really delve into your destination through guided tours, local museum visits, and more

Just about any destination that you might visit on your travels is likely to have a rich and fascinating history, and all sorts of deeply intriguing and engaging tales associated with it, that you will tend not to know anything about at all, at first glance.

Learning more about the stories and history of the place you’re visiting can completely transform the experience and can make it a lot more memorable in various different ways. Instead of seeing the place only on a shallow surface level, having a greater awareness of the tales and history of the place will seem to open up its “depths,” and to make the experience as a whole a lot more engaging.

So, how do you go about delving into your destination more and learning about the stories associated with it?

Well, things like guided walking tours – especially those that focus on particular subjects, such as certain historical periods, ghost stories, local legends, or local art and architecture – can be extremely useful and powerful in this regard.

Visiting local museums, and attending local cultural events – such as annual festivals – can also go a long way towards helping to unlock the stories and mysteries of the place.

Stay active, and get out and about often

Generally speaking, one of the reasons why we all like vacations so much is because they give us the opportunity to relax and to get away from our normal chores, professional duties, and assorted obligations as a whole.

While it’s certainly important to enjoy some much deserved relaxation on your vacation travel outings, however, it’s also important to keep in mind that vacations where you just rest in bed all day, or lounge around by the pool, are not likely to be particularly memorable.

There’s also such a thing as “too much of a good thing.” At some point, sleeping in late and relaxing by the pool can seem to become frustrations in their own right, and can cause you to feel as if you’re missing out on different experiences.

Making a point of staying active, and getting out and about relatively often while on your vacation can help to put you in touch with new experiences and sights and sounds, and can make the overall experience a lot more memorable and exciting.

Once again, though, balance is important. If you spend your entire vacation rushing from location to location and sticking to a tightly controlled itinerary, there’s a good chance that you won’t be able to actually enjoy your experiences in full, and will be craving a bit of rest as well.

Making a point of staying active, and getting out and about relatively often while on your vacation can help to put you in touch with new experiences and sights and sounds, and can make the overall experience a lot more memorable and exciting. If you’re visiting New York, why not spend some time outside in a lively, vibrant atmosphere often filled with enthusiastic sports fans? A few sports bars near madison square garden offer a wide selection of food and beverages to cater to different tastes. They also provide a social hub to connect with other vacationers and individuals with similar interests, so feel free to consider this. You can also explore your destination on a bicycle or foot for a more interesting experience.    

Immerse yourself in the experience, instead of being too caught up in distractions

The experiences that you encounter on your travels – like the experiences that you encounter in everyday life – will tend to be much richer, more engaging and exciting, and more memorable, if you actually manage to be present for them and to immerse yourself in them.

All too often, we end up missing out on a lot of the richness and excitement to be found in life by simply not being properly present for those experiences. Instead, we get caught up in our own distractions, expectations, or – on vacation in particular – things like taking the best selfies for social media.

By immersing yourself in your vacation experiences to the best of your ability, those experiences will tend to be a lot more memorable.