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Jump to Key Points This year, thanks to increased feelings of burnout, vacation planning has done something of a 360. Turns out, highly scheduled itineraries and jam-packed sightseeing jaunts aren’t as popular as lower-stimulation vacations where physicians get to wander, sit on a beach, or just ponder a gorgeous mountain vista.
And a Vrbo survey found that 91% of travelers said that they’re interested in slower, simpler trips built around rest, reading, nature, and meaningful experiences this year.
Are doctors leaning into the trend and making a conscious effort to plan decompression-first vacations over bucket-list travel, Medscape Medical News asked them.
About Medscape Insights
Medscape continually surveys physicians and other medical professionals about key practice challenges and current issues, creating high-impact analyses. For example, Medscape Physician Mental Health & Well-Being Report 2026 found that:
- 73% of physicians surveyed said vacations are very important for their happiness and mental health.
- Younger doctors in the survey took longer vacations than older doctors (3-4 weeks).
- About one quarter of physicians in the survey said vacations were only somewhat important.
For Jessica Yu, MD, a board-certified pediatrician in San Diego, it’s vitally important to plan her vacations around what her body and mind are asking for after a stretch of long days spent in the clinic.
- Burnout ↑; physicians favor low-stimulation, decompression-first vacations.
- 91% travelers interested in slower trips centered on rest/nature/meaning.
- 73% physicians: vacations very important for happiness + mental health.
- Slow vacations may improve post-return patience, attention, presence in clinic.
- Restoration may come from downtime + novelty, nature, culture, relationships.
“I’ve found that a demanding schedule builds up in ways that a packed sightseeing itinerary does not fix, so I’d prefer to pick a quiet beach or a slow week away over checking landmarks off a list,” Yu said.
Is There Anything to This Anti-Hustle Idea?
“What I get out of an anti-hustle vacation is simple,” she said. “My mind actually stops running through patient charts and scheduling conflicts. A slow morning with coffee on a balcony does more for me than a rushed tour through five cities ever could because there is nothing pulling at my attention.”
When we asked Gail Saltz, MD, associate professor of psychiatry at the New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill-Cornell School of Medicine, New York City, and host of the How Can I Help? podcast to talk about the benefits of a slow-paced vacation; she said that it’s something she’s pondered both personally and professionally.
“As a psychiatrist, I know vacations that include play, memorable experiences, nature, some exercise, some downtime, and (if possible) experiencing something that creates a sense of awe really improve the odds that the break will be restorative. Personally, I know that they’re [slower vacations] also a critical reset that will add to my life experiences in a gratifying way,” she said.
It’s Okay to Sightsee a Little
Amar Rewari, MD, adjunct assistant professor of radiation oncology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, keeps busy when he travels, but he adds that the fact that travel uses a different part of his brain helps him relax and restore.
“When I go somewhere new, I want to see the historic sites, experience the culture, try the food, meet people, and fit in as much as I reasonably can,” Rewari said. “Medicine requires you to be intensely focused on other people’s needs, make consequential decisions, and operate within a very structured environment, so this ends up being a form of decompression for me.”
For Rewari, it’s the pacing of a day away from medicine and the fact that thoughts can turn to all of the joy it will bring — that makes for a great vacation.
“When I’m on vacation, I’m thinking about where I’m going next, what I’m seeing, what I’m eating, or the history of a place,” he said. “That’s quite different than thinking about the next patient, meeting, email, or administrative issue.”
Saltz deems the best vacation one in which there’s a way to combine activities and downtime.
“The activities I do while I’m away from work give me a sense of immersion in something very interesting, fun, or even awesome that is a complete change from work,” she said. “The downtime gives me some relaxation, too. Both allow for play and restoration.”
A Low-Stress Getaway Is an Rx for Better Self-Care
No matter the destination or the pace of a vacation getaway, it’s clear that time away from the office is critical.
“Our work requires a lot of caring and empathy about others and vacation is both a break from work and is time spent thinking about my family and my own needs and pleasures,” Saltz added. “Physicians need to have breaks where they really take care of themselves, especially in a field like medicine where there is high burnout and high care of others.”
Rewari doesn’t equate burnout with a need to relax.
“As physicians, we sometimes think about burnout primarily in terms of needing rest,” he said. “Rest is certainly important, but I think restoration can come from other places too, such as novelty, curiosity, relationships, nature, culture, and experiences that remind you that your identity and your life are much larger than your work.”
Ultimately, Yu said how she feels when she returns to the office after a stress-free few days away is what matters most.
“I notice the difference right away,” she said. “I’m more patient during long consultations, I catch details I might otherwise rush past, and I have the energy to be fully present with each patient instead of just moving through the day. Rest like that isn’t a luxury for physicians; it’s what keeps the care we give at its best.”
The experts cited in this article had no relevant disclosures.
Lambeth Hochwald is a New York City-based journalist who covers health, relationships, trends, and issues of importance to women. She’s also a longtime professor at New York University’s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute.
