8 Tips to Most of Your Vacation
A great vacation isn’t just about where you go—it’s about how you experience it.
Most people think of a trip as a break from real life, but it’s more than that. Done right, your vacation can generate a “memory dividend”—a source of joy and satisfaction that pays emotional interest for years. And research in psychology, behavioral science, and neuroscience shows that how you plan, experience, and reflect on a trip has a huge impact on the happiness it delivers.
Here are 8 powerful, science-backed strategies to make your vacation not just good—but exceptional.
1. Start the Fun Early: Build Anticipation
Before you even step on the plane, your vacation can start working its magic.
Research shows that anticipating a trip can boost happiness just as much (or more) than the trip itself. Your brain loves to pre-live the joy.
Try this:
- Watch travel videos or documentaries about your destination.
- Start a countdown calendar.
- Make a dream list of foods, sights, or experiences you want to try.
Pro tip: Plan at least a few details early so you have something concrete to look forward to.
2. Book-End The Trip with Awesomeness
We don’t remember vacations as a collection of hours—we remember moments. According to the peak-end rule, people judge an experience by its emotional high point and how it ends.
Try this:
- Schedule your biggest adventures early in the trip when you’re rested and excited.
- Plan something relaxing and enjoyable for your final day—like a scenic walk, sunset dinner, or spa visit.
You want a strong beginning and a sweet ending—just like a great story.
3. Leave Room for Magic: Don’t Over-Plan
It’s tempting to pack your itinerary with every must-see and must-do. But research shows that over-scheduling can actually reduce enjoyment and spontaneity.
Try this:
- Keep one afternoon completely unscheduled.
- Plan only 1–2 major activities per day to leave space for wandering, resting, or saying yes to a random adventure.
Serendipity is the secret ingredient of great stories. Make space for it.
This can’t happen just sitting in your hotel. Be out engaging with the place you’re in.
4. Use All Five Senses
Want your trip to live longer in your memory? Engage more of your senses. Multi-sensory experiences are encoded more deeply in the brain, which makes them more vivid and long-lasting.
Try this:
- Smell the spices in a street market.
- Listen to live music or local radio.
- Touch the textures of rocks, fabrics, or waves.
- Pause to fully savor a scene—don’t just take a picture.
The more senses you involve, the more your brain says, “this matters.”
5. Keep a Daily Highlight Log
You don’t need a full travel journal to create a treasure trove of memories. Just capturing one or two standout moments per day can dramatically improve how vividly you remember your trip—and how happy you feel recalling it.
Try this:
- Use your phone to jot down a “3 Best Moments” note each night.
- Record a quick voice memo or selfie video with your reflections.
- Ask each travel partner to share their favorite moment from the day.
Years from now, those quick notes will be pure gold.
6. Do Something You’ve Never Done Before
Nothing wakes up your brain (and your memory) like novelty. New experiences increase dopamine and make time feel richer and more expansive.
Try this:
- Pick one thing that’s completely new to you: a food, a class, a language, a cultural experience.
- Even small “firsts” count—like kayaking, eating a local fruit, or navigating a new transit system.
The weirder or more surprising, the better the story later. And don’t worry if it doesn’t go according to plan. Sometimes the best stories come out of those moments.
7. Plan a Soft Landing
The return from vacation can be a jarring crash back to reality. But how you end your trip and reenter normal life makes a difference in how fondly you remember it.
Try this:
- Don’t fly back the night before work—give yourself a buffer day.
- Come home to a clean house (you’ll thank yourself).
- Have something small to look forward to that week—a favorite meal, a date night, a call with a friend.
Let the joy taper gently instead of dropping off a cliff.
8. Reflect to Multiply the Memory Dividend
Here’s a secret: you can make a vacation more enjoyable after it’s over. How? By actively reflecting on and revisiting it. Neuroscience shows that we relive experiences when we remember or retell them.
Try this:
- Create a “Top 10 Moments” list.
- Make a photo book or slideshow to share.
- Tell someone a funny or meaningful story from the trip.
You’re not just reminiscing—you’re rewiring your brain to feel good all over again.
Final Thoughts
Vacations aren’t just about escape—they’re about meaning, joy, and connection. With just a few intentional choices, you can transform your trip into something more than a good time—you can make it one of the most vivid, meaningful, and memory-rich parts of your year.
Because the best vacations don’t just give you a break. They give you stories.
These strategies are grounded in psychological and behavioral research. The power of anticipation is supported by Van Boven & Ashworth (2007) and Gilbert & Wilson (2000), who found that looking forward to experiences can boost happiness. The peak-end rule comes from Kahneman et al. (1993), showing that people remember the emotional high point and ending most vividly. Research by Mogilner et al. (2012) and Etkin & Ratner (2012) explains why over-scheduling can decrease leisure enjoyment. The role of multi-sensory encoding in memory formation is highlighted by Chatterjee (2008). Reflective journaling improves memory and happiness, as shown by Pennebaker & Seagal (1999), while novelty and first-time experiences have been linked to dopamine release and deeper memory encoding (Bunzeck & Düzel, 2006). Finally, Kahneman (2011) and Walker et al. (2003) demonstrate that post-trip reflection enhances long-term satisfaction by strengthening the “remembering self.”