Part of a holiday’s happiness arrives before you leave home. Psychologists have measured it: people who are looking forward to a trip report higher happiness than people with no trip planned, and waiting for an experience feels better than waiting for a new possession. Here is what the research found, and how to plan in a way that makes the most of the countdown.

Traveller sitting at the end of a wooden jetty beside a mountain lake

Waiting for Merlot: why anticipating experiences feels good

In 2014 the journal Psychological Science published “Waiting for Merlot” by Amit Kumar, Matthew Killingsworth and Thomas Gilovich. Earlier research had shown that experiences tend to make people happier than things once they have them. This team looked at the period before.

Across four studies – questionnaires about real planned purchases, a large experience-sampling study and an analysis of news stories about people queuing to buy something – they found that waiting for an experiential purchase, such as a trip or a concert, was more pleasurable and exciting than waiting for a material one. Their conclusion: consumers derive value from anticipation, and more of it from experiences.

The Dutch study: happier before the holiday

A 2010 study led by Jeroen Nawijn of Erasmus University Rotterdam and NHTV Breda followed 1,530 Dutch adults, 974 of whom took a holiday during the study period. Published in Applied Research in Quality of Life, it found that people with a trip ahead were happier than those not going away, most likely because they were looking forward to it.

After returning, most holidaymakers were no happier than non-holidaymakers. The exception was a very relaxing trip, which gave a slight lift that lasted about two weeks and had faded by eight. The lesson for travellers is simple: the anticipation is a real part of the reward, so give it room.

Traveller sitting on a rocky viewpoint with a backpack and snowy mountains beyond

The Booking.com survey behind “happier than marriage”

The headline comparing travel with marriage came from a 2016 survey commissioned by Booking.com. It polled 17,157 adults across 17 countries between September and October 2016, all of whom had taken a holiday in the previous year. Among the results:

  • 49% said a holiday brought them more happiness than their wedding day, and 29% said the same about having a baby.
  • 72% felt excited just researching where to go, and 80% enjoyed looking at maps and investigating places to visit.
  • 39% thought about an upcoming trip at least once a day, and 87% counted the first day of a holiday among their happiest moments.

These are self-reported opinions from a travel company’s poll, but they echo the academic findings on anticipation. Our explanation of the original travel happiness survey covers it in more detail, and Thinking Humanity looked at the same study.

How to plan a trip and enjoy the countdown

Anticipation works best when the big decisions are settled and the fun details are left to savour.

  • Book early, then stop comparing. Set your conditions for accommodation – location, total price, access – and once an option meets them, book it and move on.
  • Keep two lists. A practical list for transport, documents and bookings, and a pleasure list of dishes, walks and views to browse when you want a lift.
  • Choose three experiences that define the trip. Someone dreaming of volcanic lakes might use our Azores guide to pick one island base; a lake lover can compare towns in our Lake Garda guide.
  • Learn the story of the place. Read why Meteora’s monasteries in Thessaly, Greece, stand on towering rock pillars, or check the coastal paths in our Riomaggiore guide before you go.
  • Agree on wishes before schedules. On a shared trip, ask everyone what they most want and what they would happily skip.
Traveller with a red backpack looking across a mountain lake

Small trips count too

The anticipation effect is not limited to long-haul holidays. A day by a lake, a weekend in a nearby town or a museum you have meant to visit can all be put on the calendar and looked forward to. Pick a date, sort the essentials and keep one detail to savour.

A traveler sitting in an airport lounge with an aircraft visible outside

Closer to departure, refresh opening hours and travel information, then let the remaining weeks be for daydreaming. Our original travel thoughts offer a few prompts for the next journey.

Passenger holding a paper map beside a car window

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