What’s Trending: Skillcations
November 18, 2025
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Have you ever felt more drained coming back to work after a vacation? Like the sand and beach, it only leaves your brain feeling sluggish once you sit down under the fluorescent light of your computer screen. Possibly, as that has been a common complaint of workers for a while, now. So what if what you needed to do was to work more to feel rested?
Caroline Bologna published a piece on the Huffington Post all about this new trend and how it might be more focused on self-actualization and personal growth, leading to a different type of rest.
If you’re wondering what the meaning of a skillcation is, it can be defined as time that mixes leisure and hands-on learning. This type of travel has been booming for a while, but the term hasn’t reached mainstream yet, according to experts.
“If you wish you had more time to explore new skills and hobbies in your everyday reality, however, you might enjoy dedicating your time away to pursuing these goals. Just take a mindful approach to this opportunity for personal growth.”
The idea behind these vacations is that you can learn while having fun, a combination that can be easily achieved through sightseeing and leisurely activities.
Now, according to psychologists and experts interviewed for Fast Company, there is scientific backing to the idea of skillcations. The primary benefit is creating an environment that fosters relaxation and optimal learning conditions.
According to Future Partners, 39% of travellers want something closer to skillcations. They desire to immerse themselves in cultural experiences and learn valuable skills in the process. These can be “mastery experiences.”
“Mastery experiences are activities that are challenging. So, for instance, learning a new language or having a hobby that really requires stepping outside one’s comfort zone.”
Mastery experiences are good for the brain in different ways: the first one is that they’re more likely to translate to skills, like learning to cook, knit, speak a new language, and you may feel rewarded by the end of your skillcation. The second one is that it thoroughly distracts your brain from thinking about work. Being busy is a good way to ensure maintaining work-life balance and disconnecting completely from work, which should be the target of a vacation.
Now, Roger Sands compiles a list of possible skills you can try, including some locations that specifically offer the opportunity to get immersed in the culture surrounding the particular skills.
“It’s a way to enrich both professional and personal growth by incorporating learning experiences into leisure activities.”
The experiences he lists include scuba diving, surfing, and fishing, among others that aren’t as beach-focused. The latter includes wine tasting, pottery classes, and sustainable gardening.
In the article, he focuses mostly on particular destinations that can enrich the experience; however, activities such as wine tasting or gardening can be done anywhere, even at home, by following a tutorial.
Traditional vacations can leave people feeling less recharged than before, as the whiplash from doing a lot of stuff to nothing and back again can be distressing. Instead, getting your brain busy learning something new quite literally distracts it, while also providing an extra boost from adding a new skill to your repertoire. Now, travelling like this can be fun, immersing yourself in different cultures and practices, but having a staycation where you can add some skills can also work. The end goal should be the same: resting while learning.
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