How to Spend the First Day- 8 Tips to Ease Into Your Vacation!
As much as I love to travel, I admit it can be tiring. Long hours stuck in the car, expected and unexpected traffic, cancelled flights, flight delays, tight layovers, hours stuck sitting in a cramped seat 30,000 feet in the air! Long and prolonged travel days can leave you wishing for the couch or even the bed once you finally arrive to your destination. But who wants to spend their first day of a long-awaited vacation in bed? And if the fatigue, stiffness, and soreness of travel hinders you from jumping right into your vacation plans, what is a weary traveler to do? Just push through, set the fatigue aside for another day, and get right to the vacation anyways? I say no. I personally prefer not pushing myself to the brink of exhaustion by jumping right into sightseeing and vacationing after arriving, neither do I want to travel and make it somewhere special just to lounge around and sleep. So I have eight tips, eight tested ways (by yours truly) to ease into your vacation. Here’s how to make that very first vacation day count without making a long travel day any longer!
- Get your grocery shopping out of the way!
And I don’t mean heading to the nearest grocery store, wandering around lost, drifting from aisle to aisle searching for breakfast items to scarf down the next morning so you can finally head out and be on your memorymaking way. That sounds extremely tiring to me and definitely not the way I want to spend my time in a new place once arriving. To make sure I have the food for the stay, whether I’m staying in a resort and plan to do a lot of cooking or if I just need snacks and drinks while away, I like to schedule a pickup order. If I’m pretty sure I’ll be where I’m supposed to be by a certain time, I’ll choose a time and shop for all the stuff I need (and want!) and conveniently pick it up once I arrive. And if I’m wrong about my pickup time, it’s ok! With Walmart pickup (the one I use and am familiar with), I can just show up at a later time or even the next day and notify them on the app of my late arrival. And if you really want to make it convenient, get those groceries delivered right to the door! You’ve done your part, you’ve arrived- ready for a fabulous vacation! Let someone else bring the groceries to you!
2. Make unpacking as easy as one bag
If you’re one of those people who unpack and put your clothes away as soon as you step through the door, I applaud you (and I secretly envy you). But if that’s not your style, continue reading because that’s not the way I roll either! When I do a great job of packing, I like to pack a next day bag. The next day bag includes everything we need as a family to enjoy the ext day. So if we don’t want to fully unpack upon arrival and we don’t want to to be running around in the morning rummaging through the contents of our suitcases trying to get dressed, that bag covers our immediate needs and allows us the freedom to unpack when we (hopefully) have more energy.
3. Check Out the Visitors Center
To this date, there has never been a time that I visited a city and there wasn’t at least a handful of attractions or restaurants that I didn’t know about until I came across a brochure at the visitors center. On more than one occasion, we’ve even snuck one of these newly found places into our itinerary. In addition to providing nuggets of information and new places to discover, some are also a great place for photo ops. There are even some that offer exhibits or video presentations. And it’s all free, of course! Since it’s within the visitor’s center! And if the visitor’s center is staffed, this is also a great place to ask for activity or restaurant recommendations and gain a local perspective. Checking out the visitor’s center is something informative, fun, and free to do to ease into your vacation while still enjoying that very first day of your stay.
4. Take a Look Around
I love it when I get into a city at an odd hour and can just drive around and take in my new surroundings. I find it so helpful to get an idea of the layout and test out the directions beforehand without the traffic and without the pressure of arriving. In my opinion, it’s helpful to drive around to see where everything is beforehand. It’s like the ultimate joy ride… but with a purpose. Driving around, walking around, getting an idea of the city before your vacation officially starts is not only a smart move, it’s also fun. A fun and beneficial way to start your vacation.
5. Prepare for the Time Ahead
Just like driving and walking around can give you a jump start on what to expect and where different places are that you’re exploring, looking over the vacation plans, checking the weather, confirming hours of operation, basically crossing the t’s and dotting the i’s ensures that you’re ready for the vacation ahead. It’s a forward-thinking and effortless move plus it gets you into vacation mode.
6. Enjoy the Hotel or Resort Amenities
Instead of waiting till the last minute (or not at all) to enjoy that view from the porch, swim in the pool, relax in the jetted tub, or play a game of pool in the rec room, make it a priority to enjoy the amenities the resort, hotel, or vacation rental where you choose to stay on that very first day. You’re already checked in, so there’s no driving- perfect for an exhausted traveler! Most likely there’s no cost and you finally get to enjoy the view, pool, and the amenities you were just eyeing on your laptop just a few short weeks ago. It’s a perfect opportunity!
7. Go the Free Route
If you really want to get out there on that first day and jumpstart your vacation experience, I highly recommend going with something free. Finding an activity that’s no charge-from my experience- is fairly easy. A self-guided or even guided walking tour, a free park, a beach with little or no entrance fee, even a free museum- there’ s normally an array of options to choose from! And the great part about it is as soon as the second wind wears off and you feel your energy waning, you can just call it a day. With zero guilt too since there’s no skin in the game. You haven’t paid much or very little so throwing in the towel and resting for the next full vacation day
8. Order Local
You’ve finally made it to your destination and understandably, you’re hungry! Starving! Carryout or delivery followed by some well-deserved rest is the only thing on your mind. Well, that doesn’t mean you can’t start to delight in this new place and adventure you’re about to embark on still. Go ahead and place that carryout or delivery order and perhaps even consider a local spot or trying the local cuisine. It allows you to experience that new location while still getting in some much-deserved rest. Exploration and relaxation- it’s the best of both worlds!
So those are my eight tested ways to spend the travel day, that very first day of vacation. Which do you like? Which one(s) have you tried? How do you prefer to spend your first day of vacation? Let us know at info@offourcouch.com.