The year 2020 has taught us that no appointment is completely certain, no arrangement unbreakable. You can plan a pretty picnic, but you can’t predict the weather, so even a carefully plotted out vacation can be stopped dead in its tracks by unforeseen circumstances.
Although the times of month-long lockdowns are hopefully behind us, here’s a list of things you can do if your summer holiday gets canceled.
Be a tourist in your own town
Everybody loves to travel, that’s no secret. However, that sometimes means that we try harder to get to know remote places and distant cultures than trying to fall in love with our own.
Be honest with yourself – have you really explored your own town? Have you visited every museum, have you had a picnic in every park? Have you gone to the beach on the lake or the river that runs through your town?
If your exotic trip to Bali gets canceled last minute, make a conscious decision to get to know your own neighborhood. There has to be a beach near you – and it’s probably much more beautiful and affordable than you could ever imagine.
Museums, theaters, concerts. Lakes, rivers, ponds. Fine restaurants out of town. Hiking destinations with vistas that will take your breath away. Spa treatments. You’ll see that you can find all of that and much, much more if you just venture into the part of town you never visit.
You’ll be surprised at how much you’re really missing while craving luxury destinations. On top of that, you’ll get to support local businesses from your area, as well as probably meet some good, honest, hard-working people.
Take up a new sport
So, you’ve got a couple of weeks to spare now. And you’ve always wanted to take up swimming, for example.
The main issue of taking up a new sport is – after work, you don’t want to do much of anything except lay on your couch with Netflix running.
Now you’ve got a perfect chance to gain a healthy habit in your life. With your vacation time canceled, you can make a routine where your job is – exercise.
Sleep in every day, that’s what vacations are for. Then, go for a healthy workout. After that, you can enjoy the rest of your day guilt free. You’re on vacation, and you did something healthy and good for yourself.
Truthfully, you can do this for any skill or activity. You can brush up on your cooking, your knitting, or your guitar playing. You can treat it as your job for a couple of weeks. Do something you enjoy and then rest afterward, it’s an excellent combination.
Hopefully, by the time you will need to go back to work, you will have developed a new passion and a new habit that will transfer into your ‘normal life.’
Catch up with housework
It sure doesn’t sound like a vacation, but taking the small bit of effort required to finish off all those nagging little chores that you just can’t seem to find time for after work, will really pay off.
Maybe you need to finally finish off that landscaping project you’ve been neglecting. Perhaps you just need to have a thorough house cleaning. Maybe you finally need to fix the upstairs toilet or install the new kitchen cabinets you’ve been craving for so long.
A canceled vacation is sometimes best used for the opposite – do a little bit of hard work. Not too much, just enough to make you feel good about yourself. Then you can relax in style, in your own living room, with your own drinks and order some food.
Quality time is much better after a bit of work.
Try and get your money back
Here’s an annoying piece of advice. Make sure you check out the return policy for every part of your travel arrangements – from the flight to the hotel. Now, this is where you need to read the fine print beforehand.
Terms and conditions about the trip are always included with every travel arrangement purchase. It’s not an easy read, but if you know what you’re looking for – the cancellation policy – you can save yourself a lot of headaches.
You should also plan to have ‘cancel for any reason’ travel insurance. With this type of insurance, you can usually get at least 75% of your money back, no questions asked. Paying with your credit card will also come in handy. Your card issuer may reimburse you for any number of disruptions, delays or inconveniences.
Here’s another piece of hard advice – expect negotiations. Both travel companies and hotels will never give you their highest refund on the first offer. Make sure to be persistent.
Also, be patient. Call for a refund as soon as you can, and allow the company as much time as you can to answer your request. Sometimes, it might take them a few days.
The final tip is to be polite. Nothing bends a no-refund policy like a polite inquiry and a pleasant conversation. Remember – there’s another person on the other end of that line.
Conclusion
Nothing’s worse than plans that went bad. Nothing, except wallowing in self-pity and anger, that is.
If fate’s dealt you these cards, that have been dealt to many these couple of years, try and make the best of it. For starters, asking for a refund may be a difficult task but a worthy one. Travel agencies, airline companies, and hotel owners may not be too eager to fork out the dough, but with enough persistence, patience, and politeness, you’ll get your money back.
Get your money back if you can and start exploring. You’ll find quite quickly that everything you’ve been looking for in remote destinations has been in front of your nose this entire time. You don’t need to go to Madrid to see a good concert – just explore your own area.
Catch up with backed up work. It’s usually things that don’t take much time – that’s why we don’t find time to do them. Fix that upstairs bathroom, and finish your backyard pool. These minor tasks will make you really deserve your night out in your own town.
About The Author
Stacey is a freelance writer living in Minnesota with her cat, and she’s passionate about yoga, languages, home improvement, and drinking strong coffee. Find her on Twitter @StaceyShann0n