What makes a perfect holiday?

In my opinion, it is difficult to fully answer this question, because like a proverb says, ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison’. Nowadays we travel more often and to different places than our parents did in the past. We do not only visit our family in the country to help them with the harvest. We leave for faraway places overseas, we take part in active holidays to lose weight or to pursue our various hobbies. We take part in language camps to brush up our English and so on. Our expectations related to holidays have therefore changed. Just like I said at the beginning, what is an ideal holiday for one person might be a nightmare for someone else.

I believe that a lot depends on our age and our individual personality traits. For example, a young, sociable woman will choose a busy and crowded holiday resort with a lot of discos and a busy nightlife. This tourist will always seek company and enjoy soaking up the sun on sandy beaches. She will be eager to show off her suntan or her windsurfing skills. Another gregarious person will not mind having to rough it for a few days and sleep in a tent if there are other campers around. Not only noisy seaside resorts but also campfires and hiking and climbing in the mountains attract a lot of young and active tourists.

On the other hand, a middle-aged loner will probably look for a remote place off the beaten track. He will hate touristy resorts with lots of noisy holidaymakers with their clicking cameras and blasting portable radios. This man will want to recharge his batteries before he goes back to work in the autumn. His wife might be keen on peace and quiet so sometimes all she needs is some shade in her own garden where she can sit with a book and read it from cover to cover. Unfortunately, a lot of people who find it difficult to make ends meet have to spend their holidays at home although they would prefer to travel.

As I have mentioned above, there are almost as many types of holidays, as many individual tourists. Still, there definitely are some common factors that people take into account while considering a perfect vacation. We all expect sunny but not too hot or humid weather, we want nice travelling companions, and last but not least, we all dream of having enough money to travel. We dread nasty surprises like being mugged in the street, being involved in road accidents, suffering from food poisoning, being sunburnt, and falling ill when travelling. If we manage to avoid these unpleasant experiences and we do not run out of money and exposures in our camera, then I think that every holiday can be successful.

 

Pytanie, które może zadać egzaminator

What category of tourists do you belong to?
Frankly speaking, my favourite type of holiday is a mixture of those I have described in my presentation. I hate lying on the beach and doing nothing and I am particularly fond of visiting historic places and nature reserves in the middle of nowhere. On the other hand, I like going out in the evening and meeting people, so I can sum up that I enjoy doing sightseeing on my own at daytime, and socializing at night.