Creating a Relaxed Vacation Itinerary That’s Full of Fun

Can you book an exciting vacation that’s full of adventure but doesn’t wear you out?

If you’re looking to sit on a beach chair for a straight week without any sort of stress, you can certainly book a flight and an all-inclusive hotel and enter a state of pure relaxation for the duration of your stay.

On the other hand, maybe you’re traveling somewhere that offers some amazing opportunities for adventure and you’re keen on experiencing everything you can during your stay.

As a novice vacation planner, it’s easy to schedule a slew of activities that fill just about every minute of your travel time. However, even though you might feel like you’ll miss out on something great if you don’t fill absolutely every moment with activities, you might be surprised how valuable a few hours of downtime can feel.

(note: some of the links here are to websites with which I am an affiliate, and your purchases help fund my website!)

A view of the coastline of Western Iceland. — Do you need hours or days for relaxation?

How Much Downtime Do You Need?

The number of hours each day that you’ll need for relaxation will usually depend on the types of activities you’ll pursue during your vacation. A walking tour that lasts two hours and wanders through a historical area is a lot different than a walking tour that lasts six hours and takes you to multiple sites.

Let me share an example from a recent trip. When we went to Colombia, we went on tours and participated in various activities in all three major cities we visited (Bogotá, Medellín, and Cartagena). For one of our tours in Cartagena, we went on a walking tour of the Walled City of Cartagena, and the tour took between two and three hours.

Since we were nearing the end of our trip and had a full-day excursion planned the next day, I purposefully booked the brief walking tour for the late morning and then scheduled us the afternoon to relax after the tour.

A street in the old town area of Cartagena, Colombia. — A colorful cobblestone street in Cartegena’s Walled City.

We’d already spent a few days in Bogotá and a few more days in Medellín, so we’d done a lot by the time we got to Cartagena (like paragliding outside Medellín and hiking outside Bogotá). We spent the afternoon enjoying lunch at a restaurant near out hotel in Cartagena and then relaxed in the hotel room for a few hours.

Schedule Your Downtime, Minute by Minute

Filling every second of every day with something to do might actually mean you’re scheduling a nap, some relaxation time, or nothing at all for a period of time.

Every couple of days (maybe twice during a nine-day vacation), I try to make sure we have a full morning to relax or an afternoon where we don’t have anything in particular planned.

When I make my itinerary, I do block those sections of time out, so every moment is scheduled, in a way. For example, if we have a 6-hour tour that starts at noon and I want to schedule some relaxation time, I’ll list breakfast from 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM, relaxation from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM, and the activity for 12:00 PM to 06:00 PM.

Tip: If you’re traveling somewhere that uses what Americans refer to as “miitary time,” or time that’s on a 24-hour schedule rather than two twelve-hour blocks, make sure you label your activities in your itinerary under both times. I find it convenient to refer to times in the same way the locals do. So if my flight lands at 3:00 PM (that’s how we’d refer to it in the United States), I’d also put that it lands at 15:00 in the itinerary.

If I have a bicycling tour scheduled for 2:00 PM, I’ll also write 14:00 on my itinerary. Sometimes, you’ll even see your activities listed in local style rather than your home style. That’s certainly the case quite often for Americans traveling outside of the country.