How to Pick the Right Sort of Vacation for <em>You</em>

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Although I don’t know exactly what you were hoping for in your summer vacation this year, I can make an educated guess based on data. The travel company Expedia, in a survey of more than 12,000 travelers, found that 38 percent of them primarily value relaxation, and 37 percent are searching for “contentment and mental well-being.” Meanwhile, no research I have ever seen finds that vacationers are looking for an increase in their stress and aggravation.

Yet an increase in stress is what 65 percent to expecting from their vacations. Some reasons for this are obvious, such as being at the mercy of airlines, which rank in the top five (right up there with cable financial worries and the hassles of packing, making travel arrangements, and developing an itinerary. Simply the pressure to have fun is something people report as a downer.