There are people who have built careers around providing the services the letter writer requires. They are called travel agents. Why should he prevail upon friends who may have their own travel headaches? Curbside pick-up, airline terminal drop-off, reasonable accomodations and recommended itineraries can all be had with one simple phone call to a professional travel agent. I'm not a travel agent, but I have planned enough family vacations to know that there are times when you really need someone else to handle the details.

Of course going to a travel agent is a definite. But another thing to consider is going on a spa retreat. I can't think of a better idea to suggest - it seems perfect to me. There are all different kinds - do a google search and you'll find them throughout the country and the world, offering different services and luxuries (massage, facials, yoga, meditation, healthy diet, etc.)

There's always the idea of a cruise, too, though I still like the spa idea the best.

Don't know where the LW lives, but most cities have a premium pet boarding business. It costs more than the other places that make you feel uncomfortable when you walk in, but people who leave their pets there think it's worth it. Take your cat there. Don't feel guilty. The cat(s) will survive even if they don't like it. Maybe they'll be a little mad when you come back, but that doesn't mean they aren't all right, and you don't have to worry about finding someone you can trust to come to your house. Then go off and have a good time.

Hey LW, I'm just wondering when was the last time you actually just chilled out. I mean, did you go to college? Do you remember sitting in your dorm eating doritos and watching bad daytime TV when you were supposed to be studying? Or maybe it was back in highschool, before you were old enough to work, spending a lazy afternoon of summer vacation going for a long walk or reading a good book. Whenever it was, it sounds like you haven't just done nothing for a while... try it, its great!

All this vacation stuff sounds stressful because... well... it IS. Don't let anyone fool you - if you travel, you'll need a vactation to get over your vacation. You should still travel though! Its a great way to go places and see things you would never have seen while working your 70 hour week... what I'd suggest though is that instead of spending your 3 weeks on vacation somewhere exotic, spend 2. Then take 1 to sit at home and play Xbox. Seriously. Because going on vacation isn't going to solve your problem, but doing nothing at home will. Learn to waste a little time, and maybe you'll realise that it's fun!

everything in this life to worry about and 'how do i take a vacation' is what this moron chooses to obsess over? perhaps he should plan a vacation six feet under and give the rest of the world a break from his bloated ego and shameful arrogance

Previous posters are correct: vacations can be a headache.

When my husband and I took our first real vacation after the birth of our baby, we knew that we needed to relax. We usually take unstructured, cheap, adventerous trips, but that was not going to cut it this time.

We didn't need to stress about trying to negotiate an unfamiliar foreign language and customs. For once, I didn't want to carry a heavy back pack, sleep in a tent, or have aching calves at the end of every day. We did not need to cram multiple destinations (and travel) into a one week period. I didn't feel like worrying about not having reclaimed my pre-baby bikini body. We didn't want to deal with dirty dishes, noise, or crowds. And because I was nervous about leaving my baby behind, we choose not to fly to any place extremely far from home.

This meant that despite the fact that I had been dreaming of a few destinations (none of which we had visisted before) including Hawaii, Prague, and Morrocco, we decided to go to a Colorado mountain spa.

Our travel agent arranged air travel, ground trasport, the hotel, and some (amazing!) dinner reservations. We spent an entire week getting massages, hot-tubbing, swimming, hanging in the sauna, taking short hikes, and cuddling, star-gazing, and watching the snow fall.

It was the most that we've ever spent on a vacation and maybe the laziest we've ever been - but completely worth it!

So commit yourself to a relaxing vacation (although you don't need to be quite as lazy or decandent as we were!) You can always do something more challenging the next time, after you've gotten the hang of the travel thing and after you've learned to unwind a little bit.

Good Luck!

It doesn't sound like you want to travel, it sounds like you feel like it's what you're Supposed To Do. But you don't have to if it doesn't sound fun to you! And surely you don't want to waste your valuable time off and all that money doing something that won't make you happy.

To learn how to take a vacation, start with just one day. For that one day, you don't do any work at all, but other than that you do whatever you feel like at the moment. Not what you feel like you should take advantage of this free time to do, what you actually want to do. It doesn't need to be productive or valuable, it just needs to be pure self-indulgence. Don't set an alarm in the morning, and sleep until you wake up naturally. Then do whatever you feel like when you wake up. Then after that, do whatever you feel like next. Then after that, do whatever you feel like next. Even if it's stupid. Even if it's watching reruns on TV. Even if it's Googling people from high school. Even if it's trying to figure out if you can still do a cartwheel. Eat whatever you want, drink whatever you want, and if you find yoursrelf completely bored go to Youtube and type in the name of your favourite comedian. Keep indulging yourself for this whole day, then go back to work the next day and give yourself some time to process how you felt about your self-indulgent day off. Then after you've processed it, take another day off and see if you can improve on the first one. keep doing this, and eventually you'll figure out what kind of vacation is right for you.