"The reality is a vacation should really be about you and what your body needs, what your mind needs, what your soul needs and what your heart needs, and that drives good vacation decisions, " she said.

CNN: Relax, it's only a vacation

Then there are employees that feel their weeks vacation can really be boiled down to just one or two days off as they had their phone with them while at the beach with their friends or family.

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The president of the United States never gets a vacation, not really.

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Ever since Sir Richard Branson opened his Necker Island resort in the British Virgin Islands in the early 80s, private islands have been the sexiest vacation choices for the really rich, and they have proliferated around the globe.

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When I was considering a very large vacation, I had to really think of the future Mikelann.

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Mr. HANFT: I think up until that point, adults really planned the vacation, and maybe there were a few activities for kids along the way.

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Because it has gotten more difficult to separate work from home, "I really need the mental break of vacation, that feeling of, 'I'm out of here, '" Deboo says.

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If you really want to get away, the vacation-within-a-vacation is Moloka'i, profiled by Robert Reid in "Hawaii's hush-hush getaway".

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So even though most of your e-mail may not be urgent or even interesting, every now and then there is something you really do want to know about while you're on vacation -- perhaps even just office gossip.

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People who go for the trips they think they want instead of the type of experience they really want and need are the ones who come home needing another vacation, said travel agent Anne Morgan Scully, president of McCabe World Travel in McLean, Virginia.

CNN: Relax, it's only a vacation

It hit a nerve because unlike most video game ads that feature bland-faced soldiers blowing up zombies or army guys, this one told a really sad story about a little girl getting turned into a zombie while on vacation.

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If you really want to go extreme, follow Jeff Rubin's advice to Planning your dream Antarctic vacation.

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