Poll: Most want to just do nothing on summer vacation

Never mind the hike. Where’s the hammock?

A new poll about summer travel finds that the No. 1 thing Americans want to do on vacation is … nothing.

Almost three-fourths of Americans say resting and relaxing is very or extremely important to them when they go on vacation, according to the survey from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

Among those dreaming about kicking back is Yari Blanco of Brooklyn, New York, who recently tweeted, “Your girl needs a vacation. The kind where you lay by a crystal blue beach and nap in a hammock.” Blanco, who’s been busy working on a website she recently launched called TheGirlMob, hopes to squeeze in some relaxation time in July and maybe a trip later this year to Portugal.

Interestingly, most Americans say staying home and doing nothing isn’t ideal. Instead, they want a change of scenery. Of those who plan a summer vacation, 92 percent are going away and only 8 percent are making it a staycation. More than half of those polled said relaxing at home doesn’t count as a real vacation.

Only 22 percent “completely disconnect” while on vacation. A third don’t even try to get away from the internet and social media. Some of those surveyed — 42 percent — say they dial back their time online a little.

Americans under 30 are the most plugged in. Just 13 percent say they’re likely to completely disconnect on vacation.

But most Americans do avoid working on vacation. Sixty percent of workers say they don’t check in with work at all when they’re on vacation, while 32 percent say they work or check in with work a little. Eight percent may fall into the workaholic category: They work or check in with the office “a lot.”

The AP-NORC poll of 1,022 adults was conducted May 10-14. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.