BootsnAll's Travel Community

Over on the Funding Your Travel Habit forum, semicolon brought up a good point. On an extended (I'm hoping for up to 2 years in my case) RTW trip, is it best to take one day a week off as a "maintenance day" and just do nothing but relax, hang out in the local park/beach, etc.? He recommends doing this or you'll burn out. Not having done such a trip myself, I can't speak from experience but it makes sense to me.

My question is: does anyone here take a "maintenance day" on their extended trips? Or are you pretty much running on all cylinders the entire time, just go go go?

Hi Orangelad,

Semicolon does bring up a good point, especially when you are planning a long trip, it is always good to factor sometime to get some r & r, whether it is getting over jetlag or catching up on laundry, writting home.

I always try to have some time out from being the traveller, sightseeing experiencing the country you are in.

Not sure whether it is like a day a week but whenever possible i will take some time off..for me.

Just my opinion.

I found that I had these "maintenance days" as you put it probably about every 1-2 weeks during my RTW trip although they weren't planned specifically. It seemed that every so often my body would say "ok, enough is enough, lets just slow down for a minute" and I'd spend the day on the beach, catching up on emails and whathaveyou, depending on where I was.
It was just a natural progression for me but I do think that it's a good idea as I don't think that you take in your surroundings properly when you're on all systems go permenantly. Just wandering through the local town or village to get some lunch and people watching for the afternoon can tell you a lot more about a place sometimes than the museum that everyone said was amazing.
I don't think it even neccessarily (is that spelling right??!!) means even doing bugger all - just perhaps doing what you WANT rather than what you think you SHOULD be doing wherever you are - those 24 temples that you HAVE to see in one day will still be there tomorrow....!!!

I don't ever plan a rest day. They just kind of happen. Usually I spend most of the day commando in a pair of shorts waiting for the rest of my clothes to dry.

The great thing about long term travel is that most of the time you don't have to be anywhere. So, if you gotta go...go. If you wanna sit around half-naked reading a book all day...do it.

Some good points raised here too, and for sure if you just schedule Go Go Go, you'll go and get burnt but if you're taking your time without too much of a schedule (only way to travel) there'll be those days of hanging loose, being it sitting around reading a book or just taking a stroll about to see what you see.

quote:

neccessarily (is that spelling right??!!)

nearly there Spicey, one c as I recall.
If you ever heard of Jet Jackson, well his side kick would always say when asked his name, it's Ickobod Mudd with two Ds - it might help you to remember two Ds but 1c

Ha, thanks Gonorth. Very nice of you to give me a way to remember it but as I don't really understand then it might not help me THAT much!!! Isn't Jester the expert at translating what you're saying?? Will see if he can help me....
Must get my dictionary out next time but I think that hopefully I'll remember one "c" in the future!!!!
You wouldn't think that I did English at A-level and actually passed it would you????

I am another traveller who doesn't generally plan maintenance days (or much of anything else for that matter). I do take them frequently, however, otherwise I'd burn out quickly. And, last year I took 3 "maintenance weeks" in CapeTown to help me keep my sanity. It was wonderful.

I am vindicated......YESSSSSSSSSSS!!!

We take LOOOOOOOTS of days off and they are totally necessary if one is traveling with a kiddo ,but we would do some any way.There is great joy in just hanging out and ones body and mind needs time to process it all.

Just doing everyday things in extraordinary places is one of the joys of long term travel.Living a bit like a native and getting the experience of the every day life.

We are going slower than we thought we would and it is a very nice pace.See a little ,read a little ,rest a lot.Lots of time to smell the roses ( or grape vines, or oceans or whatever).We just kind of know when it is time to chill out and when it is time to move...listening to that inner voice when one has nothing to do but follow it.

I agree with everything that has been said here. We don't plan our days off, but they happen every now and then and are important and awesome. Laundry, reading, email, get the itinerary for the next few days together, etc. Taking your time if you have it is the best way to travel.

Wait a minute.

I'm leaving in 2 months for an extended trip and I've never considered "days off" and this concept is new to me.

I honestly feel like everyday is going to be a down day for me and more often i'll have to "work" to actually not be resting. That makes me wonder what everyone else is doing that they are so on the go all the time while traveling?

Joey, I'm sure the need for "maintenance" time or down time really just depends on your travel style. If you're whiling your days away on the beach, in museums and at pubs, then your entire trip would of course consist of down time. But if you're hiking, biking, or just hustling to try to take in as much as possible six days a week, you'll probably need that seventh day to veg.

One thing it seems many people don't consider is that a RTW or extended trip is typically not a "vacation" in the traditional sense (it's not Disney World or Club Med). Unless you have everything planned out to a tee, you're going to spend a fair amount of time planning, making reservations, etc. on the go. On top of everything else you're already doing. In which case, you'll certainly welcome that day of down time.

I can't imagine it's something most people plan per se. ("And on the seventh day, we rest.") But to at least be conscious of the fact that running on all cylinders 24/7 will burn you out. And you may not realize it until you're already burnt out. So I'm thinking: why not be preventive?

quote:

honestly feel like everyday is going to be a down day for me and more often i'll have to "work" to actually not be resting.

Well yes and no.I suppose it all depends on what you call a "down day".Some may say that every day of our world tour has been a down day.We are traveling with a child so there is no way one can enjoy the experience and go fast.We sleep in every day and stay up as late as we want.We never seem to make it out before noon and sometimes not til two in the afternoon or later.

Even with endless time ,there still are limits or the day is gone before you have seen anything and after all the reason for traveling the world is to see sights and experience different lifestyles.Even at the slowest pace,one needs time to digest all the sights and experiences and as someone said take time for more laying in bed all day,pleasure reading,laundry,email,keeping up with the blog,working on photo albums,figuring out plans or maps or subway systems,time to meditate,talk to friends & family,handle investments and banking things etc etc etc.

I will give you an example.We are near a famous site in France and arrived here a few days ago at night.The first morning we woke up late made ourselves a leisurely breakfast,explored the campground which is in a pretty woods by a river,took nice long showers until we decided to hike about 1k to the famous site.We made a simple picnic to take along as that is what my child wanted to do.It was fabulous and then we wandered all about and ended up meeting some cool people and finding the most fabulous museum,ate dinner and slowly made our way back "home" just before dark and then watched some movies in bed.

That I would call an "on " day.We have been on off days the last two days since we just felt lazy ( we have seen a lot before coming here at a similar slow pace as above) and we found they had free wifi so we could have fun on the internet and call family on skype.It is good to just do nothing and its important I think even at a slow pace.Orangelad is right ,that slow travel and extended ,slow world tours are not like travel so much,but like living.Doing ordinary things in extraordinary places.

There is "work" to be done,especially on the more "on " days as one has to eat and have some kind of a plan and figure out how to get around and how to eat ( at a minimum) shower,go the bathroom etc.These things can be an adventure in themselves sometimes.We just spent 2 weeks in Paris and had a blast and lots of down days,but if one does not get the museum pass or long term metro pass things ,you waste a lot of money,so one has to plan a bit.Many things are only open certain days and times so that also means planning and adapting.So a city will probably be more intense than a beach area where the only thing to be done is lay on the beach,but most people want to see and do more than beaches.

I'm already doing some research now on my off days on our plans for next summer and fall.I know more now about our trip than before I started,one learns a lot as you go and it shifts and changes things.

I think "down day" and "work" are just relative terms that will vary amongst people.I see it as all "down days" and all "work" too to some extent.Time to replenish must take place daily,but some days and times one needs more for various reasons ,depending on the person ( or family or couple) and the tour.We find that after city days we want some mellow and after mellow stretches we are ready for more excitement.A trip like this has a natural pace to it and each traveler finds how that works for them and will lable it according to thier standards.

On a long tour one is dealing with constant change and cultural shock and that has an impact.Each person must find a way to feel nurtured thru the process so they can fully enjoy it all.People usually have a "recovery " period after a trip,so those on long sojourns need to take that "recovery" as they go.

I did a year long trip and after a while, if you don't take some time to relax and do nothing but read a book and rest, things become all the same. I found that things that would have blown my socks off after 4-5 months were merely "intriguing" after 10-11 months on the road. You can get numb to seeing and experiencing amazing things. Travel can be hard work when you do it for extended periods of time or in less developed areas.

PC

I usually try and do some work at least one day a week to have a day off travel - kind of works quite well as it is nice to use the brain now and again!