Guest Post: Redefining the Summer Vacation by Matt Long

Redefining the Summer Vacation

By Matt Long
Editor-in-Chief and Founder of LandLopers.com

When Christina asked me to write about the quintessential summer vacation, at first I thought it’d be easy. I would just write about spending summers at my grandparents‘ house in Maine, driving down to Florida or a weekend at the beach. Add in some hot dogs, sunscreen and a fight with siblings and I would be done.

The more I started to think about it though, the more I realized that this really isn’t how I travel any more and it’s not really what I consider the quintessential summer vacation. I am not going to even to attempt to say that people don’t take epic summer vacations anymore. They do. Millions of them. What I argue is that for many people this style of travel has gone the way of the Dodo, and with good reason. Christina writes from the perspective of a DINK: Double Income No Kids, for the uninitiated. That’s the same point of view from which I write, and there are hundreds of thousands, probably millions, of couples out there like us. Without debating the great wonder that are kids, not having any allows us a certain level of flexibility. I’m not tied to any school schedules, youth sports leagues, summer camps or anything. Summer, for me, is just another time of the year during which I slog to work, albeit considerably hotter. This flexibility allows my partner and I to be extremely picky not only where we travel, but when we travel. As adults, we have never taken a long vacation during the summer months. Instead, we wait for the shoulder or off-seasons in order to get the most out of our travel dollar. Personally, I also think the experience of NOT traveling in the summer is a richer one. There are fewer people, the weather is more pleasant and we’re able to see more of the ’real’ destination without the tourist veneer.

Of course the DINK market is probably somewhat limited. Most of my friends do in fact have kids and must necessarily think about travel in an entirely different light. But even for those people with children, the summer vacation isn’t what it used to be. Many school districts around the country have changed their schedules; the school year isn’t the same as I knew it. When I was a kid, school started the first week in September and ended in May. That gave us three months of classic, halcyon-ish, ’Lean On Me’ summer breaks. Cue the wiffle balls, hamburgers and childish shenanigans. But today, some school systems operate on a completely different schedule with many having shorter, but more periodic breaks. The schools in my area were already back to work in July, something that truly shocked me. What does this mean for family travelers? It means that the classic, take two weeks to drive somewhere kind of trips are harder to plan and not as convenient to take.

Does this mean that the quintessential summer vacation is dead? No, not at all. It is alive and well, but it is changing. I’m not sure that kids today will have the same carefree memories of summer that I enjoy. Then again maybe they will, who knows, I’m just a DINK.For me though, summer vacation is more of a spirit, a travel style rather than being necessarily tied to a specific few months on the calendar. For me, the quintessential summer vacation is about exploration, fun, adventure and relaxation. It’s about getting away from the daily humdrum chores we all have to perform and instead live a carefree life, if only for a week or two. Summer vacation is a mindset of letting go of your travel inhibitions and setting out to explore the great world around us, be it at a local beach or far-flung reaches of the planet. Most importantly though, summer vacation is a way to reconnect with those we love and to enjoy these adventures together.

Matthew Long, Editor-in-Chief and creator of share tips on where to go, what to see and how to experience the best the world has to offer. Matt is a Lonely Planet Featured Blogger, a contributor to many other travel sites and publications including Dabble Magazine. Matt’s site, LandLopers.com, is listed in the Top 100 Travel Blogs, Top 100 Independent Travel Blogs, Most Influential Online Travel Personalities and Washington Flyer’s Top 100 Travel Blogs. Follow him on Facebook.