How to Burn Calories on Vacation (the Fun Way!)

Your plan for vacation: Lounge chair and a good book, some sightseeing and delicious meals. Nowhere on your agenda is the hotel gym—and it doesn’t have to be. You can still burn some of those extra buffet calories by sneaking exercise into your fun. Here’s how:

Move in the Water

Don’t just hang by the side of the pool or take a quick dunk in the ocean to cool off. Stay in for a little and swim, tread water or jump waves. Water offers nearly 15 percent more resistance than when you exercise on land, so even just walking at a waist- or chest-deep depth can burn calories.
Approximate calories burned: 245, for 30 minutes of swimming*

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Take the Stairs

Burning eight calories per minute may not sound like a lot, but it can add up over the course of your vacation if you skip the elevator on your week-long cruise, when exploring a museum or shopping the mall for souvenirs.
Approximate calories burned: 8 per minute*

Tour on Foot

Checking out the local town or nearby city? Forget the trolley and oversized bus, and sign up for the guided walk. Or just grab a map and explore on your own. For a little extra burn, double-time it up the hills.
Approximate calories burned: 164, for 30 minutes of walking*

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Rent a bike

Take in the countryside on two wheels, or go for a ride on the boardwalk when you need a break from the sand. For the more ambitious traveler, see if your destination offers organized bike tours.
Approximate calories burned: 245, for 30 minutes at a leisurely 10 to 11.9 mph speed*

Play

Your kids aren’t going to let you read that book in peace for too long anyway, so join them in a game of badminton or toss a Frisbee around for a half hour and you’ll burn about 165 calories. Even better, set up a volleyball net on the beach and get a game going.
Approximate calories burned: 327, for 30 minutes of beach volleyball*

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Dance Like Nobody’s Watching

You’re on vacation… kick up those heels!
Approximate calories burned: 205, for 30 minutes of letting loose*

*Calories burned are based on a 180-pound person; data computed by the Calorie Control Council.