You know that feeling when your group chat, your work, your family and the news cycle has hit peak chaos, all at once? That deep, burning, “please just let me disappear” energy? Well it turns out that feeling may just have a name.
Yep, this year we’re all about rage booking holidays.
Who amongst us hasn’t had a terrible day at school, work or lost in the depths of the algorithm and thought, “I need to get outta here”.
If you’ve turned to ChatGPT or social media in times of need desperately searching for a far away land you can escape to, you’re not alone.
In fact, you may just be due for a ragecation.
Sorry, hold up, what is Rage Booking?
Rage booking is booking a trip in the heat of the moment, not after planning spreadsheets, not after reading 50 travel blogs, not after endless nights of logistical planning with the group chat… just a straight-up emotional or impulsive reflex.
Meltdown at work? Book a last-minute flight. News cycle got you spiraling? Time to take a week off and go somewhere exotic. Did you watch the Manosphere and need to log off and touch grass? A remote country may be calling your name.
It’s basically impulsive travel that’s been quickly spurred on by a “life is way too short” moment in time. You know the drill: you’ve figured out you’re probably never going to afford a house anytime soon, so you may as well live life, one adventure at a time, while you’re young, hot and untethered.
Younger travellers are driving Rage Booking
Turns out we all just need a break and we need it ASAP.
“Instead of waiting for the perfect time to travel, they book the trip in the moment because they need a break,” said Toni Ambler, Contiki’s chief customer officer. “Travel becomes a way to swap burnout for something exciting and spontaneous.”
Basically we’re all ready to throw some well-earned cash at a chance to escape the everyday grind, even if it’s only for a little while.
Did you know it’s actually impossible to feel stressed out to your eyeballs when you’re drinking a coconut by the beach in Thailand? OK, maybe that’s not scientifically proven, but it makes sense to us.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to be made redundant in about a weeks’ time so I thought ‘I may as well at least have something to look forward to no matter the outcome’ so I booked myself on the Vietnam Experience Contiki trip as I had never been to SE Asia before and had always wanted to go,” one six-two reader told us.
“I had the BEST time on my trip and honestly was in need of some time off as work had been a bit stressful. Would 100% book the trip again.”
“I quit my job mid-shift and ended up booking the [Contiki] Balkans trip soon after,” someone else said, with another saying, “I quit a toxic job in 2019 and booked a month-long Contiki and now I’m obsessed!”
And it’s not just rage-quitting work. Another traveller told six-two, “My best friend and I went to Portugal with two days notice when I broke up with my boyfriend.”
They say the best way to get over someone is to indeed, leave the country.
So where should you Rage Book next?
Need some rage booking inspiration but not sure where to start? Let us help you out.
- For those who don’t want to break the bank, browse our trips under $2000 here.
- Were you ready to go like, last week, and want a last minute deal? Find one here.
- Overwhelmed by choice and only want to travel with a small group? We’ve got the perfect trips for you here.
- Sun, sea, and sailing calling your name? Come Island Hopping with us.
- Ready to be the first out of your friends to explore new and exotic territories? Keep an eye on our new trips here.
- And if you’re limited on time and don’t have enough PTO, we’ve also got week long vacations, or ragecations, right here.
Have you ever Rage Booked a trip and want to tell us about it? Write to us here!
