While I have heard of taking a vacation from the vacation (or what I like to call “taking a vacay from the vacay”), I never actually took one before, until last year, October 2016. I ended up being an unintentional slew of 2 trips in a row.

pigeonpoint_lighthouse
Lighthouse at Pigeon Point.

Originally in the beginning of the year, we had booked a place to go to Pigeon Point for a weekend getaway, it was easy since it was close by. Pigeon Point is located near Pescadero and is only a little more than 1 hour south of San Francisco. The best thing about this area was that there were quaint places to visit, such as Pigeon Point Lighthouse, Harley Goat Farms, Arcangeli Market, and several hiking spots.

reykjavik_fromhallsgrimkirkya
We were looking at this view of Reykjavik less than 48hrs before we arrived at Pigeon Point.

But by June, we had caught wind of cheap flights to Iceland, courtesy of Wow Air. How could we say no?! Literally, it only costed us under $450 total round trip from the west coast! We quickly worked through our schedule and found that we could still go to Iceland, it would just be 2 trips in a row.

So we did it, we officially took a vacay from the vacay!

These are the pros and cons for taking 2 trips in a row.

Pros

A more relaxing way to travel.

Depending on your travel style, this could be a super relaxing way to do it. We tend to be constantly on-the-go and this was the case with Iceland especially since we spent a lot of time driving around the island. The weekend away gave us time to relax and recharge after a tiring, but fun week chasing waterfalls.

Getaway to somewhere else.

It gives you an opportunity to travel elsewhere! I’ve had friends who fly to another spot for their vacay from the vacay; we decided to take it easy and just chill close to home. It’s nice to have a chance to hit 2 bucket list spots at once.

Cons

It could be expensive.

As always money is always a factor. For us, we had already booked the Pigeon Point trip, so we still wanted to make it happen. Back then, the reservations for Pigeon Point Hostel were difficult to come by. I know, it’s a hostel, how hard could it be? But some people would wait a year just to get the dates they wanted. So we decided to keep our reservation and plan around the weekend trip. 🙂

Time is money.

Lack of time is another issue, if you’re needing to go back to work it can be a problem. But if you plan it well you could end up being more relaxed after your trip without actually needing to lay out on a beach all day every day.

I wouldn’t make a vacay from the vacay happen all the time, it’s $$$, after all! But it was a nice experience and I would consider it in the future especially for after strenuous trips.

We loved our vacay from the vacay! Would you take a vacation from the vacation?

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Our story on how we unintentionally took a vacay from the vacay and how it helped us relax after a strenuous, on-the-go vacation. Learn all about how we budgeted time for some rest and relaxation by taking 2 accidental trips in a row. #Travel #Relax #Rest #Vacation #Holiday

35 Comments

  1. bye:myself Reply

    Since I’m also constantly on the go, just like you, I’m not sure if it would be for me. I think that – especially when travelling – deceleration is key. On the other hand – the chance to go to Iceland…anyway, you did it and I hope you had a great time! Happy travels.

    • Constance Panda Reply

      To each their own! For me, the vacay after the vacay was what helped me relax after a super hectic first vacation. 😊 Iceland was great, we just didn’t have enough time to do what we wanted to do on the island, hence an insane itinerary.

  2. Lena Scheidler Reply

    I have often wished I could do a 3 day beach vacation after a strenuous trip. But often there is no time, because of work. So I just keep hoping and wishing.

    • Constance Panda Reply

      It just happened by chance for us because the coastal trip had already been booked and planned. But at the same time we totally needed more time in Iceland to finish everything we wanted to do, so I guess we’ll just have to go back! 😝

  3. Travelquartz Reply

    Till now I thought its only me who do this vacay form a vacay , it happened while I was returning from New Zealand and did not want to end my trip and went to Thailand instead and it turned out to be a good idea lol 🙂 Enjoyed reading this post !

    • Constance Panda Reply

      Wow you got 2 vacays from such gorgeous locations! If possible from a time and budget standpoint, I definitely think vacay from the vacay can be so freeing and completely worth it!

  4. I love the idea of taking a vacay from a vacay, because some vacations are full of activities and you need some time to decompress without getting back into a normal routine.

    • Constance Panda Reply

      I totally agree, that’s exactly how we felt after our Iceland trip. We were so exhausted from driving and constantly moving around the country that the 2nd vacay helped us relax, even if it was just a 2 day local trip.

  5. Cyril Deeming Reply

    We are thinking of taking a holiday to Iceland and wondered which is the best time to go there? We had a vacey from a vacey. We went Skiing in the Sierra Nevada in Spain and one day we skied in the morning a drove down to the coast and spent the afternoon on the beach at Salobrena.

    • Constance Panda Reply

      That sounds like a fun vacay from the vacay! Your question regarding Iceland, I personally feel when you go, in short, is more of a personal preference.

      I’ll break it down for you in a sort of a pro/con list, but in all honesty Iceland is beautiful no matter the season. I’ll start with winter since it’s coming. 🙂

      Winter:
      PROS – higher chance for the northern lights, snow (depends if you like it), landscapes will be contrasted with dark (rock formations) and white (snow), waterfalls will freeze over, least crowded/cheaper airline fares
      CONS – cold, snow, more difficult to drive/driving will take longer, shorter days/longer nights, must rent a 4×4, won’t be able to dive between the tectonic plates

      Spring:
      PROS – more greenery, a chance at the northern lights, landscapes will be more green, not as cold as winter but still cold,
      CONS – larger chance of rain, usually can’t go to the highlands, less activities available

      Summer:
      PROS – more activities available (ex: diving between tectonic plates, whale watching, etc.), long days/midnight sun, easiest to drive, can take the f-roads to the highlands,
      CONS – may have trouble sleeping, very very slim chance of the northern lights, more tourists/crowded

      Fall (we went in Oct):
      PROS – a chance at the northern lights, landscapes will be more colorful due to the autumn foliage and glacial waterfalls, not as cold as winter but still cold,
      CONS – larger chance of rain, usually can’t go to the highlands, less activities available, may need to rent 4×4 if it’s snowing (it usually snows by Nov)

      You can also take a look at my blog posts about our trip to Iceland:
      Chasing Waterfalls in Iceland
      Unique Features of Iceland

      I’m also working on more posts about Iceland so feel free to subscribe to my blog and you’ll be notified when they’re posted, hope this helps you! Feel free to let me know if you have any additional questions. 🙂

  6. Unless I am traveling for only a few days, I rarely do just one destination in a single trip. It’s nice to change things up in the middle. 🙂

    • Constance Panda Reply

      Our situation happened by chance but I totally agree with you, if we’re doing a city trip we try to do at least 2 cities if feasible.

  7. Wow! Really liked the idea of taking a vacay from the vacay. Will definitely try that. Love your post. The pictures are very beautiful.. 🙂

    • Constance Panda Reply

      Thank you, glad you liked the post and the photos! I never thought in a million years I’d do something like this, but since it was such a coincidence I figured, why not? And then blogged about it! 😛

  8. Alexander Popkov Reply

    Oh well, just like you, I am on always on the go while on vacation. Sometimes it is so hard, that I need time to rest. But the place I live (Finland) is so calm, that I always skip relaxing holidays.
    I event told once, that “you should have rest in a way, that your home looks like paradise when you are back.

    • Constance Panda Reply

      I agree, I definitely need time to relax after my on-the-go vacations… maybe that’s why the jetlag tends to hit me pretty hard 😅 That’s a great idea though, making home a more restful place!

  9. California has some amazing spots! Lucky they aren’t so far away 🙂

    • Constance Panda Reply

      Yes! It’s one of the things that keeps us in California through the crazy high costs of living. Our 2nd vacay was only a little more than 1hr drive away from San Francisco. 😉

  10. Ali Dunnell Reply

    I love the idea of this… and wish I could go on a vacay after a vacay after a vacay… I guess I will have to wait until my kids are in University, I will the lottery and I’m retired… but until then, I guess I will just have to take a holiday when I can. Great post, thanks for the taste of freedom 😉

    • Constance Panda Reply

      Don’t get me wrong, we don’t have all the time in the world. This scenario happened by chance, but we also live in California and only 1hr drive away from the 2nd vacation. We only took about 5-6 days off for Iceland since that was our major vacation and we like to maximize our weekends so that we can do stuff like this.

  11. No way could I turn down a fare like that to Iceland so I’d make it work but I would do this if I had time off from work. Sounds like a ton of fun to me and quite relaxing. 🙂

    • Constance Panda Reply

      The Iceland fares were definitely too good to pass up! We only took about 5-6 days off for Iceland and fortunately for us, because we live in CA the relaxing vacation was only about 1hr drive away.

  12. Helene Choo Reply

    I’d love to take a vacay from the vacay!:) I’m just really sad that I usually can’t afford the time or the money to do it… The sadness of having a full-time job! Glad you enjoyed it though!!:D

    • Constance Panda Reply

      I thought Europeans get better vacation benefits than us Americans do? The Iceland trip was totally a last minute decision but totally worth it! It also helps that we live in California so it’s easier to do weekend getaways like our relaxing post-Iceland vacay.

  13. PossesstheWorld Reply

    We try to have down time on all our trips, I think it is an age thing, or we just get burnt out and can’t enjoy the next part of the trip. We are long term travellers so if we didn’t do some vacay from the vacay as you say we would be exhausted, I do think everyone should build some time to do nothing into any trip though, it gives you time to reflect and fully appreciate your travels. Nice Post by the way

    • Constance Panda Reply

      It’s nice to hear from digital nomads how they manage their travel exhaustion. I totally agree that if you don’t rest and relax you’re not going to be able to enjoy your travels. Thank you for sharing your point of view 🙂

  14. For now, at least, most of my trips are local day trips, but I think a slow-paced, vacay from the vacay for some time to wind down sounds like a great idea.

    • Constance Panda Reply

      It’s definitely important to do slower trips to recharge sometimes, I think day trips are a great way to do that since you’d don’t waste too much time traveling and you can go somewhere close by!

  15. heraafarooq Reply

    I so feel you lol I don’t really take breaks while traveling as I want to explore the most out of it. So I definitely keep an extra day from my trip just for myself to have a good sleep.

    • Constance Panda Reply

      Rest is important! Generally, I’m not a huge fan of those laying all day on the beach vacations since I’m more of an on-the-go traveler so the vacay from the vacay helped me a lot. Thank you for sharing!

  16. digital travel guru Reply

    Very true I always feel I need a break after travelling and always keep a few days to relax after a trip or the last few days of a trip. It gets exhausting at times.

  17. ambujsaxena05 Reply

    Vacay from a vacay sounds like a really cool concept. I think many people suffer from a travel hangover and this is what i would suggest them now on!

    • Constance Panda Reply

      Glad you enjoyed it! It’s best to relax and recharge during and after traveling so you can enjoy your trip to its fullest!

  18. This is so true, I used to always feel after returning form a trip that I needed another trip or break recover lol. So what I do now is build in proper vacation time into my trip to relax and ensure I return from the trip I have a few days to relax before getting back to daily life and reality. Great post.

    • Constance Panda Reply

      It’s surprising how difficult it is to relax while on vacation sometimes, especially if you’re constantly on the go, glad you enjoyed this one!

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