Science Says You Need a Holiday Every Two Months: Where to Go This Summer
You have probably felt it for a while. The research has now confirmed it. A 2025 study on vacation frequency and psychological wellbeing found that people who take three to four holidays per year, roughly one every two to three months, report the lowest stress levels and the greatest life satisfaction of any group studied. The conclusion drawn by the researchers is straightforward: short, frequent breaks are more effective at managing work stress and preventing burnout than a single long annual holiday.
A separate meta-analysis published in European Psychologist found that while vacations reliably improve wellbeing, the benefits fade rapidly after the first week back at work, which is precisely why the researchers recommend planning and taking regular short holidays throughout the year rather than relying on one extended break.
The practical implication is clear. If you last took a proper break in March, you are already due another one. And with European summer firmly arriving, the timing and the destinations have never been more compelling. At Private Flights, we think the science gives everyone an excellent reason to start planning. Here is where to go, when, and why private aviation makes the difference between a genuinely restorative trip and a stressful one.
What the Research Actually Says About Holidays and Stress
The 2025 study, published in the Proceedings of the International Conference on Social Sciences and Humanities, is one of the most specific pieces of research to date on the relationship between holiday frequency and mental health outcomes. Participants who took holidays more frequently reported higher levels of stress reduction, with those taking three to four breaks per year experiencing the most beneficial psychological outcomes. Individuals aged 36 to 45 showed the greatest benefits, a demographic that corresponds closely to peak career pressure years.
Importantly, the research found that the holidays do not need to be extravagant or long to deliver genuine recovery benefits. Short trips provide the same cushion of recovery as longer ones, provided they create a genuine break from the work environment and its associated pressures.
Even three or four days of holiday can offer considerable work stress recovery, and after a break, 64% of people report feeling excited and refreshed to return to their work. The point is not the length of the trip. It is the regularity of the recovery cycle.
For our clients, this research validates something that private aviation makes uniquely practical: the ability to take a short, genuinely restorative break without the friction of commercial travel turning the journey itself into a source of stress. A long weekend in the South of France, a four-day trip to Ibiza, or a few days in the Italian lakes: these are exactly the kind of short, high-quality breaks the research recommends, and private aviation makes them achievable on a two-month cycle without the logistical overhead of commercial travel.
Is It Summer in Europe Yet?
Yes, and it is arriving properly. As of mid-May, the Mediterranean coast is warm and increasingly sunny, the Balearic Islands are open for the season, and the major summer destinations from the Algarve to the Amalfi Coast are at their most pleasant before the peak August crowds arrive.
May and June are widely considered the best months to visit most European summer destinations: warm enough for beaches and outdoor dining, uncrowded relative to July and August, and with accommodation and charter availability that has not yet been compressed by peak season demand. For clients planning a first break of the summer, the next six weeks represent the window before prices and competition for the best properties and aircraft intensify.
Here are the European destinations our clients are booking right now for the coming months, and why each one earns its place on the summer list.
Ibiza, Spain: The Season Is Open and the Island Is at Its Best
Ibiza in May and June offers something that July and August simply cannot: the full quality of the island's best restaurants, villas, and beaches without the volume of visitors that peak summer brings. The north of the island in particular, around Sant Joan and Portinatx, is at its most beautiful in early summer, when the countryside is green and the coves are accessible without competition.
The private jet journey from London takes just over two hours into Ibiza Airport, which has a dedicated private terminal with VIP handling. Private jet bookings to Ibiza for June are already moving, and the early-season window for securing preferred aircraft and dates is narrowing. For a three to four day break that genuinely delivers the recovery the research recommends, Ibiza in June is one of the most reliable choices in the European summer calendar.
Amalfi Coast, Italy: Drama, Food, and Genuine Escape
The Amalfi Coast remains one of the most visually arresting places in Europe, and the combination of clifftop villages, extraordinary seafood, and the particular quality of southern Italian light in early summer makes it one of the most genuinely restorative destinations on the continent. Positano, Ravello, and Praiano each offer a different experience of the same coastline, and all are within reach of Naples Airport, which handles private aviation efficiently and puts clients within forty minutes of the coast by road.
The research highlights that the psychological benefit of a holiday comes as much from actively engaging in pleasant and relaxing activities as from simply being away from the office. The Amalfi Coast delivers both: the pace of life is slow by design, the food demands full attention, and the scenery provides the kind of visual stimulus that research consistently links to psychological restoration.
Mykonos, Greece: The Cyclades Season Begins in Earnest
Mykonos opens fully in May and reaches its first peak in June, before the August intensity that defines the island's reputation in popular culture. The combination of Cycladic architecture, exceptional seafood, and the particular clarity of Aegean light makes it one of the most photographed places in Europe for good reason, and the private jet journey from London of just under three and a half hours makes it genuinely accessible for a long weekend.
Private aviation into Mykonos National Airport connects directly to the island's best hotels and villa properties without the commercial connection through Athens that most routes require. For a four-day break designed around the two-month recovery cycle the research recommends, Mykonos in June offers everything: visual beauty, excellent food, warm water, and a pace that allows genuine disengagement from the pressures of work.
Dubrovnik, Croatia: The Adriatic at Its Most Beautiful
Dubrovnik in May and June is, for many travellers, the definitive European summer destination at its best. The old city walls, the clarity of the Adriatic, and the surrounding islands accessed by boat create a setting that is both culturally rich and genuinely relaxing. July and August bring extraordinary crowds to the old city; May and June offer the same setting with a fraction of the pressure.
The private jet journey from London takes approximately two hours and forty minutes into Dubrovnik Airport, which is positioned immediately adjacent to the coast. The old city and the best coastal properties are within fifteen to twenty minutes of the terminal, making Dubrovnik one of the most efficient European summer destinations in terms of journey time from a London departure to genuine relaxation.
Porto, Portugal: Europe's Most Underrated Summer City
Porto has grown significantly in reputation over the past decade, but it remains meaningfully less crowded than Lisbon and delivers a quality of food, wine, and architecture that competes with any city in southern Europe. The Douro Valley, accessible by road or by river cruise from the city, adds a dimension that most coastal destinations cannot match: the combination of exceptional wine, extraordinary landscape, and the particular slowness of Portuguese river culture.
The private jet journey from London takes just under two hours into Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport. For a break focused on food, wine, and cultural engagement rather than beach time, Porto in the coming months represents one of the most compelling options in the European summer calendar. June temperatures in Porto sit comfortably in the mid-twenties, warm enough for outdoor dining and exploring without the heat that can make southern destinations uncomfortable in July and August.
Making the Two-Month Holiday Cycle Work in Practice
The research recommendation of a holiday every two months is, for most working adults, aspirational rather than automatic. The barrier is rarely desire: it is the friction of planning, booking, and travelling that makes the two-month cycle feel more demanding than it should.
Private aviation removes the largest sources of that friction. A three to four day break to any of the destinations above involves no commercial check-in, no airport queues, no fixed schedule constraints, and no connection anxiety. The journey itself becomes part of the recovery rather than a stressful preamble to it. And the flexibility of charter means that a trip planned for a Thursday to Monday can actually depart Thursday and return Monday, rather than being shaped around an airline's timetable.
For clients who want to build the two-month holiday cycle the research recommends into their year, we can help plan the full summer and autumn calendar, identifying the right destinations and aircraft for each break and confirming availability before the best options disappear. Explore our European private jet destinations guide for more inspiration across the continent.
Book your private flight with Private Flights now and give yourself the break the science says you genuinely need.
Image Attribution:
Photo by Rahime Gül via Pexels, used under Pexels License.
