logo
The Limits of the Family Vacation

The Limits of the Family Vacation

The Atlantic19-07-2025
This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning.
A family vacation can seem like the solution to all of life's tensions: You'll spend time together, bond, and experience a new place. But travel isn't a panacea. As Kim Brooks wrote last year about her own halting attempts at taking a successful trip with her kids: 'Gradually, lounging among my own dashed hopes, I began to understand that no family vacation was going to change who I was.' Today's newsletter explores how family trips have changed, and how to make the most of your time with loved ones without expecting too much.
On Family Vacations
On Failing the Family Vacation
By Kim Brooks
How I got dumped, went on a cruise, and embraced radical self-acceptance
Read the article.
The New Family Vacation
By Michael Waters
More and more Americans are traveling with multiple generations—and, perhaps, learning who their relatives really are.
Read the article.
Plan Ahead. Don't Post.
By Arthur C. Brooks
And seven other rules for a happy vacation
Read the article.
Still Curious?
Summer vacation is moving indoors: Extreme heat is changing summer for kids as we know it.
The rise and fall of the family-vacation road trip: The golden age of family road-tripping was a distinctly American phenomenon.
Other Diversions
P.S.
I recently asked readers to share a photo of something that sparks their sense of awe in the world. Ellen Walker, 69, shared this photo taken on Loch Linnhe in western Scotland in 2019. 'We were visiting friends who live south of Glasgow and with whom we take annual biking trips,' Ellen writes. 'It had rained much of the time we were exploring the west coast (as it will do in Scotland!) but I began to see the infinite varieties of grey as spectacularly beautiful. When the sun tried to peek through the clouds I snapped this photo and was so pleased to be able to capture the richness of the scene. It no longer seemed gloomy. I was in awe.'
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

'If You Can't Pay For The Trip, You Shouldn't Take It': Expert Warns Against Buy Now, Pay Later Travel Trend
'If You Can't Pay For The Trip, You Shouldn't Take It': Expert Warns Against Buy Now, Pay Later Travel Trend

Yahoo

timean hour ago

  • Yahoo

'If You Can't Pay For The Trip, You Shouldn't Take It': Expert Warns Against Buy Now, Pay Later Travel Trend

This summer, millions of Americans are planning trips — and a growing number are using buy now, pay later services to help cover the cost. These short-term installment loans, offered by companies like Klarna and Affirm, are being used to pay for flights, hotels, cruises, and even event tickets. According to a NerdWallet survey, 18% of summer travelers planned to use BNPL this year. Klarna reported a 50% year-over-year jump in travel bookings, and Affirm (AFRM:NASDAQ) said its travel-related volume rose 38% in late 2024, topping $1 billion. While BNPL may seem appealing — especially when it comes with no upfront costs or interest — experts caution that it's not always a smart choice. Don't Miss: Be part of the breakthrough that could replace plastic as we know it— $100k+ in investable assets? – no cost, no obligation. It's Not Just Luxury Travel Anymore BNPL was once associated with high-end purchases, but that's changing. Andrew Lokenauth, founder of told CNBC that many of his clients now use BNPL to pay for basic travel, such as visiting family or attending weddings. "It's not just luxury vacations anymore," he said. "I've worked with over 100 clients drowning in BNPL travel debt, and it's not pretty." BNPL loans typically have zero flexibility — miss a payment, and you might face late fees or damage to your credit score. Even Affirm, which doesn't charge late fees, began reporting pay-over-time products to credit bureaus this year. Trending: This AI-Powered Trading Platform Has 5,000+ Users, 27 Pending Patents, and a $43.97M Valuation — The Debt Can Outlast the Trip The biggest risk with BNPL travel financing is that the fun may end, but the debt lingers. NerdWallet found that 30% of travelers who used credit cards for summer travel in 2024 still haven't paid off their balances. The average credit card interest rate, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, is over 22%. BNPL doesn't charge interest in many cases, but it can still lead to overextension. A recent Consumer Finance Protection Bureau report found that 63% of BNPL borrowers had more than one loan at a time — also known as "loan stacking" — at some point in 2021 and 2022. Disney vacation planner Jackie Steele said he's seen more clients use BNPL to pay for Disney trips, sometimes to make last-minute travel happen or to upgrade their experience. "I always caution people — especially younger adults or families on tight budgets — to look beyond the monthly breakdown," he told Caution and Have a Backup Plan Some travelers say BNPL made their trips possible. One traveler told CNBC she used it to book a last-minute trip to Miami, calling it a "lifesaver." But when she missed one payment reminder, she was hit with extra fees. Some experts say that BNPL can work if used wisely. Fiserv Head of Embedded Finance Sunil Sachdev told CNBC that the service has matured in recent years and, so far, hasn't resulted in widespread defaults. Still, Lokenauth doesn't sugarcoat it: "If you can't pay for a vacation outright, you probably shouldn't take it." Smart Alternatives for Summer Travel Before reaching for BNPL, consider alternatives. According to NerdWallet, 91% of travelers are already looking for ways to save — such as using credit card points or choosing budget hotels. "Travel rewards aren't fine wine — they don't get better with age," NerdWallet spokesperson Sally French says. "In fact, with airlines and hotels constantly tweaking their loyalty programs to a level that's usually not in your favor, your points could be worth less next summer than they are right now." No matter your destination this summer, planning ahead — and paying responsibly — can help you avoid turning your dream vacation into a long-term debt burden. Read Next: Warren Buffett once said, "If you don't find a way to make money while you sleep, you will work until you die." Image: Shutterstock Up Next: Transform your trading with Benzinga Edge's one-of-a-kind market trade ideas and tools. Click now to access unique insights that can set you ahead in today's competitive market. Get the latest stock analysis from Benzinga? APPLE (AAPL): Free Stock Analysis Report TESLA (TSLA): Free Stock Analysis Report This article 'If You Can't Pay For The Trip, You Shouldn't Take It': Expert Warns Against Buy Now, Pay Later Travel Trend originally appeared on © 2025 Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

The Pleasures of Reading Outside
The Pleasures of Reading Outside

Atlantic

time2 hours ago

  • Atlantic

The Pleasures of Reading Outside

This is an edition of The Wonder Reader, a newsletter in which our editors recommend a set of stories to spark your curiosity and fill you with delight. Sign up here to get it every Saturday morning. 'Reading has been unfairly maligned as an indoor activity for far too long,' Bekah Waalkes wrote this past spring. 'As a child, when nice weather came around, I was told to put down my book and go play outside.' But why can't reading a book be a form of outdoor play? Reading outside can also be a practice in sustained attention, Waalkes writes: The act of focus can actually sharpen 'one's perception of the trees, the soil, the friends chattering at the next table in the beer garden.' Today's newsletter offers a guide to reading outdoors—how to make the most of it, and which books to take with you on your adventure. Six Books You'll Want to Read Outdoors By Bekah Waalkes Reading has been unfairly maligned as an indoor activity for far too long. Read the article. 24 Books to Get Lost in This Summer By The Atlantic Culture Desk The Atlantic 's writers and editors have chosen fiction and nonfiction to match all sorts of moods. Read the article. The One Book Everyone Should Read By The Atlantic Culture Desk The Atlantic 's staffers on the books they share—again and again Read the article. Still Curious? Other Diversions P.S. I recently asked readers to share a photo of something that sparked their sense of awe in the world. 'I had awakened early on this morning in July 2016 and tiptoed out of the hikers' dorms at Rifugio Lagazuoi, which is perched at 9,000 feet in the Italian Dolomites,' Tim Tumlin, 74, in Darien, Illinois, writes. 'As I hoped, the silent overwhelming beauty made the climb the day before more than worthwhile.' I'll continue to feature your responses in the coming weeks.

How Europeans Feel About American Tourists Right Now
How Europeans Feel About American Tourists Right Now

Yahoo

time5 hours ago

  • Yahoo

How Europeans Feel About American Tourists Right Now

Danny Hu/Getty When you picture an American tourist in Europe, a certain cliché is bound to spring to mind. Perhaps you envision a loud, bumbling traveler in a large tour group, who doesn't attempt to adhere to cultural customs or speak the local language, and who is impatient at tourist attractions and restaurants. But do these stereotypes actually have any truth to them? Or are they outdated tropes that don't represent the majority of US travelers? A new study is shedding light on the matter. To get to the bottom of how Europeans really see American travelers, Upgraded Points surveyed more than 2,200 people across 22 European countries on their general view of US tourists. The travel credit card advice site also asked Europeans whether recent political events impacted their opinions. For comparison, they also surveyed 1,000 American travelers on their views of the typical US tourist. How Europeans really see American tourists On the whole, Americans actually had a much harsher view of themselves as tourists than the European respondents did. 'Americans often assume the worst about how they come off, while Europeans see a more balanced, though definitely still loud, picture,' the study said. Indeed, the one matter on which both groups agreed was that American travelers can be loud: 70% of Europeans said loudness was a typical trait of US tourists, while 69% of Americans agreed. But volume aside, Europeans had quite a favorable view of US tourists, with 64% of European respondents saying US travelers are friendly (compared to just 44% of Americans who agreed), and 46% saying US tourists are curious (with only 31% of Americans saying the same thing about themselves). When it came to less endearing qualities, American respondents were much more likely to view themselves in a negative light than Europeans. More than half of Americans said that US tourists are arrogant (53%) compared to just 27% of Europeans. Likewise, 40% of Americans said that US travelers are rude, while only 12% of Europeans agreed. When it comes to some of those aforementioned stereotypes, some Europeans do believe at least a few to be true. For example, 61% said US tourists think everyone in Europe speaks English, while 30% said Americans often ignore local customs. Where do Americans annoy European locals the most? The survey also identified the European countries that are most and least annoyed with American tourists. Among the most annoyed countries are Portugal (with 18.8% of respondents saying they're annoyed by US travelers), Belgium (18.3%), Ireland (17.4%), Netherlands (14.9%), and Denmark (14.8%). The countries where respondents said they are the least annoyed by American tourists include Poland, where just 7% of survey participants said they found American tourists annoying, Spain (7.8%), the UK (8.8%), Greece (8.8%), and Latvia (9.6%). The European countries that welcome Americans The report also examined which European countries saw themselves as most and least welcoming to US travelers. Belgium was named the most welcoming country for Americans, with just 1.9% of participants saying that their nation is unwelcoming to American tourists. Belgium's warm hospitality was closely followed by Italy (2%), Estonia (3%), Netherlands (3%), Finland (3%), and Poland (3%). As for the least welcoming country in Europe for Americans? France took that title, with a significant 15% of survey respondents saying their country is unwelcoming to US tourists. This detail isn't lost on American travelers, 47% of whom said France is probably the country who views them the least favorably. Hungary (where 8.7% of participants said their country was unwelcoming to US tourists), Norway (8%), Denmark (7.5%), and Spain (6.9%), appear slightly more tolerant than France, but still maintain comparably aloof attitudes toward US visitors. How have US politics affected Europeans' views of American tourists? Interestingly, recent political events seem to have had little effect on Europeans' collective views of US tourists, with just one in five European respondents saying recent policy changes such as tariffs have shifted their views on American travelers. On the other hand, a whopping 80% of Americans believe that recent political issues have affected how Europeans view them. The 2024 presidential election did change some Europeans' views of Americans in certain regions. In Scandinavia, for instance, a higher percentage of survey participants said the recent US election shifted their view of US travelers. The effect was most prominent in Norway, where 44% said the election impacted their view of Americans, followed by Estonia (35%), Sweden (31%), Denmark (30%), and Finland (29%). Among the countries least likely to say the election affected their views were Hungary (8%), Slovenia (14%), the UK (17%), Poland (17%), and France (17%). Originally Appeared on Condé Nast Traveler The Latest Travel News and Advice Want to be the first to know? Sign up to our newsletters for travel inspiration and tips Stop Counting the Countries You Visit How Safe Is Flying Today? 5 Things Experts Want Travelers to Know The Best Places to See the Northern Lights Worldwide Solve the daily Crossword

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store