Lounging or Dancing: Which Type of Vacation Style Suits You Better?

Vacation

There’s no right or wrong way to holiday. Just like different people have different personalities during the workweek, different people have different preferences during their vacations. In fact, one of the few hard-and-fast rules is to use your vacation days. In 2015, Americans left a staggering 658 million vacation days on the table, and that is bad news for almost everyone.

Another good vacation rule is to select a hotel carefully. During a short or business-related stay, the quality of the hotel (or lack thereof) really matters little. But if you’re on a longer holiday, your hotel should be a jumping-off point for whatever you have planned. For example, if you plan on a few days in Cape Town, the Marriott Protea is probably a good place to start.

The Lounging Vacation

For many people, taking a vacation means more than a change of scenery. It also means a change of lifestyle away from ringing phones, buzzing computers, barking dogs and barking co-workers. A few aspects of a lounging vacation include:

  • Going Off the Grid: While it’s almost impossible to be entirely out of touch for the entire duration of your vacation, it is possible to get a few hours or days here and there. In this way, you can legitimately tell people at the office that you will have “restricted access to e-mails and phone calls and may therefore be unreachable.”
  • F Time: No, this does not mean Facebook time. Instead, have some face time with the people that matter most to you.
  • Minimal Schedule: Try not to look at the clock. For example, if you take a beach vacation, when the sun’s out it’s beach time, when the sun goes down it’s dinnertime, and when you get tired it’s bedtime.

Lounging vacations have a number of proven benefits, including less stress, better sleep, and improved mental focus. Cape Town, with all its beaches and interesting and relaxing sites, is a good place to find such a holiday.

The Dancing Vacation

For other people, the lounging vacation is just too slow. Moreover, they reason, if you truly want to unplug, you can turn off your cell phone anytime. If you follow the “work hard, play hard” mantra, then a dancing vacation filled with activity is probably just right for you. After all, sitting by a pool is not the only way to get your mind off work. Some of these activities may be:

  • Nightclubs: You can’t have a “dancing vacation” without dancing, right? Most larger, tourist-friendly hotels, such as the aforementioned Marriott, have a lot of amenities in this area, like shuttle service to popular clubs and a knowledgeable local staff who knows where the hotspots are.
  • House Parties: If someone invites you somewhere, it’s usually a bad idea to say “no,” because you’re losing out on a good way to explore the local culture.
  • Something Physically Daring: We aren’t talking pistols at dawn or anything like that, but skydiving or motorcycle riding or something along those lines may be just what the doctor ordered.

Because it is a large urban center, Cape Town has a lot to offer in this area as well.

It’s rather ironic that time away from the office will make you a better worker, but it’s also very true, so start planning your holiday today.

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