Why doing nothing might be the best way to travel

On your holiday, instead of visiting every city, ticking off every landmark and scrambling to book tables at viral restaurants, how about simply doing… nothing? A growing number of travellers are embracing the idea that travelling without a schedule makes for a more stress-free vacation. 

A new survey from Talker Research revealed 84 per cent of travellers felt better after a “do nothing holiday”, with 79 per cent adding it had reduced their travel stress significantly.​

The aim of a “do nothing holiday” is simple: let your cares melt away. This could mean lying by the pool in an all-inclusive resort, enjoying a reading holiday with friends or spending a few days in a cabin surrounded by nature. 

Say goodbye to packed itineraries

Nikki Pang, Head of Sales for Lightfoot Travel in Hong Kong, says the company has noticed that even for multi-stop vacations, guests now have a more laid-back attitude. “Not every day needs to be packed with ticking scenic spots off a list,” says Pang.  

Less is now definitely more. “Recently, a client requested to have a longer, slower cruise down the Nile and opted to miss several ‘highlights’ in favour of simply watching life unfold along the river in the afternoons,” says Pang.

Rebecca Goodchild, a UK-based international DJ, says she wanted a holiday this year where she wasn’t constantly watching the clock. Previously, she has gone on safari in Kenya, skydiving in Dubai and scuba diving in Egypt, but when it came to her vacation with family, she chose to book a stay at the new all-inclusive Paradisus by Melia in Nusa Dua, Bali: “Our only plan was to do nothing together for 14 nights. That’s exactly what we did and we absolutely loved it.” 

Without a schedule, they found they had much more freedom. “If the children were happy in the pool, we could just stay there rather than dragging them away because we had something booked,” says Goodchild. “It also meant I was much more present with the children rather than constantly thinking about what we needed to do next.”

Goodchild said she has experienced FOMO on vacation before, but this holiday felt different. “This time I was quite happy to think, ‘We can always come back’,” she says. 

Initially, the choice of going without an itinerary did feel unsettling. “I genuinely wondered whether I’d get bored. But I realised there’s a difference between being bored and truly allowing yourself to slow down,” she says. 

A chance for recovery 

Psychologist Dr Carolyne Keenan says our brains aren’t designed to be “on all the time”. But doing “nothing” doesn’t mean your brain has stopped working. “When we step away from constant decision-making, we give our minds a chance to recover,” says Keenan.  

Going for a swim, reading a book by the pool or taking a leisurely walk to lunch will allow you to switch out of stress mode, says Keenan: “That can have positive effects on everything from your immune system to your blood pressure.” 

If you feel guilty about doing nothing, Keenan suggests reframing it as recovery. “Elite athletes don’t train at full intensity every day because they know recovery is where growth happens.” 

Choose the place that’s right for you

Hotels and travel companies are now catering for this new group of travellers. Crystalbrook Byron in the Australian rainforest has created the Rainforest Reset, where having a nap on your balcony is as valid as rolling out your yoga mat at the complimentary yoga session. At Koh Yao Noi in Thailand, guests can enjoy the Castaway Experience, which takes them on a longtail boat to a private island where they can spend the rest of the day relaxing in a hammock, enjoying a gourmet barbecue and walking barefoot on the sand. 

Similarly, A Bright Place mountain retreat in Shaxi Village, Yunnan, encourages people to rest and relax in the countryside. Photographer Ting Yang left Singapore to open the retreat in 2023, creating a sanctuary where guests can sip tea, soak in herbal baths or stroll along mountain lanes. “It’s all about the in-between moments and not ‘what’s on the plan today’,” she says.

“Do nothing holidays” can be anywhere 

You don’t even need to leave the urban environment to make a “do nothing holiday” work for you. School social worker Zahara Orwig from New Orleans spent just over a month in Italy in the summer of 2026. “I found my café for cappuccino in the morning, my grocery store, a market and my nightly hangout. It was wonderful,” she says. 

Orwig was due to travel to the Dolomites after Florence, but she enjoyed her time in the neighbourhood of Sant’Ambrogio so much that she cancelled her stay in the mountains. “I allow myself to change direction if something is really working or not working for me,” she says. “I also liked the freedom of waking up and having no plan other than roaming around.”  

That roaming led to interesting areas I may not have ventured to [with] a strict schedule.” 

An Instagram-worthy city such as Florence could have encouraged Orwig to rush between the Duomo, the Uffizi Gallery and the famed Ponte Vecchio, but she didn’t feel the need to tick every box. “I like a slow pace, so I don't push myself to do something, even though it might be the most popular thing in a city,” she says. 

The goal of a “do nothing holiday” isn’t to fill every moment, but to leave enough space to enjoy the experience, allowing you to arrive home truly refreshed and not feel like you need another holiday to recover.