Travel vs. Vacation

Travel vs. vacation. Are they the same thing? Being a travel writer for the last 3 years, here’s my thoughts.

There’s not many more things that get on my nerves than we people say, “you take so many vacations!” or “You’re going on vacation again?”

There is a huge difference between a “vacation” and “travel.” Let’s talk more about that, shall we? 😊

Travel vs Vacation

I used to think travel and vacation were the same thing. When you took a vacation, you traveled. Whether that was just a few hours up north or taking a plane to a faraway destination. Right? Same thing!

Wrong.

A vacation is a getaway, an escape. It’s a break from everyday life.

Travel is an experience. It’s a journey and a chance to learn new things.

Growing up, vacations weren’t part of my everyday life. So I thought that travel wasn’t part of my everyday life. But looking back on it now, it was!

My family traveled all around the state of Minnesota. Whether that was to state parks or small towns, we were always up for an adventure to experience and learn new things.

Different from a vacation, I believe that travel should be part of your everyday life. Not an escape from it. Which is the entire reason why I started this website! My goal is to share ideas with you to make travel more of a reality in your life. And to show you that you don’t need to go on a vacation to travel.

Everyone can travel

If you say that travel is my hobby, and I will totally agree with you.

If you say vacation is my hobby, I will disagree with you.

Travel is a way to explore, to learn, to experience new things, and to push myself out of my comfort zone. I want my life to be an adventure. I also thrive in the unknown, the unplanned, and the opportunity that it gives. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sound like a vacation.

The thing I love about travel is that everyone can do it because everyone’s definition of travel looks different. It just has to be purposeful and prioritized into your lifestyle.

It could be hiking a new trail in your area, it could be taking a road trip to a nearby state, or flying somewhere abroad.

Travel within your means. We spend so much of our time exploring our great state of Minnesota and have learned so much and made so many memories!

If you find yourself living for your vacations to get your travel fix, this might be harsh, but you’re doing it wrong. I challenge you to look at travel through a different lens and make it a true part of your lifestyle.

How to travel more

This means more local travel, but it also means shorter trips. Cole and I love to book last minute trips and flight deals for a quick weekend somewhere new. You’d be surprised how much you can experience in one weekend!

In fact, I would say about 90% of our trips are a weekend or long weekend (3 days). And I would consider ourselves to be very avid travelers. If we only waited until we had a continuous week off from work, we would never have been to as many places as we have!

Same goes with money. It’s obviously cheaper to travel locally or to do a road trip. If we only used our PTO or vacation days at work to fly somewhere or stay at a fancy resort, we would be totally broke! But because we mix local travel with domestic and international travel, we’re able to experience more things than if we just focused on the big trips.

Travel, don’t always vacation

Sometimes, you do need a vacation. I get that. We all need some time to getaway and recharge from everyday life.

But don’t let vacation be your only excuse to travel. Make exploring and learning new things part of your everyday life, or it will just pass you by.

There you have it folks, the travel vs. vacation difference that I see. Comment below with your thoughts!