In many ways, the ability to go on a real vacation often is an indication that you've hired the right people.

Two-and-a-half years ago, for example, Honey Rand, founder of Environmental PR Group in Lutz, Florida, realized she'd been following the wrong hiring strategy—bringing on board midlevel employees who were communications experts and teaching them the technicalities of her specialty.

As a result, "I was everybody's backup," she says. "If something went wrong, I had to fix it. And the clients all wanted to work with only me."

The solution, she decided, was to look for a different type of individual—a professional with a technical background who could be taught communications skills. She also introduced a new benefits package to attract them.

The upshot: Rand was able to create a 10-employee staff that functioned more independently than before. Recently, she took her first vacation in a decade, a 10-day trip to Yellowstone National Park. In May, she's planning a three-week holiday to the Galápagos Islands and the Amazon River basin.

If you don't have the staff in place—or you just can't let go—then use email to stay in touch. But confine your work-related communication to one particular time during the day—such as first thing in the morning, before you're off to your next activity.

Rabins takes his laptop with him whenever he goes on vacation, spending two hours or so every morning or "after everyone has gone to sleep," he says, emailing back and forth. In fact, thanks to email, he finds vacations much less stressful than he did before easy access to the internet came on the scene.

If your business is seasonal, of course, it's best to go away during your slower time. A toy retailer, for example, would be foolish to jet off between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Jason Andelman, who runs Artisan Confections, a three-year-old retail store and chocolate wholesaler in Arlington, Virginia, decided to go on a five-day holiday to his in-laws' Cape Cod home last July. That's because he makes most of his money from September to May.

With no regular employees at the time—he recently hired his first full-time worker—Andelman checked with his wholesale customers, making sure he had supplied all their stores before he left, and simply closed down his retail outlet for the week.

For best results, lounging at the beach might not do the trick. To ensure that you don't spend too much time thinking about business, experienced vacationers suggest that you plan activities likely to take your mind off your work.

Alicia Rockmore, C.E.O. of Buttoned Up, a nine-employee company in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that makes organizational products for women, recently took a five-day trip to Walt Disney World with her husband and six-year-old daughter.

She says, "It's hard to think about work under those circumstances."