People We Meet on Vacation premiered on Netflix on January 9, bringing Emily Henry’s bestselling novel to the screen.
The film adapts Henry’s 2020 book of the same name, which spent more than a year on The New York Times bestseller list and became one of the most widely read contemporary romance novels of the decade.
Spoiler alert: The following recap covers the entire story and final resolution of People We Meet on Vacation.
Watch the Trailer before the recap
The Story Begins: Poppy Alone on the Road
The movie opens in the present with Poppy Wright working on an article about her most recent trip. On the page, her words suggest excitement and discovery. On screen, the reality is quieter and lonelier. She travels alone, struggles to connect with other travelers, and finds herself isolated rather than inspired.
Poppy is blocked creatively and emotionally. Travel, once her defining passion, no longer feels fulfilling. From there, the story begins moving between the present summer and the past trips she once took every year with Alex Nilsen.
This Summer: A Wedding, an Invitation, and an Avoidance
Back home, Poppy receives a call from David, Alex’s brother, who is getting married in Barcelona. She has not RSVP’d, partly because she does not want to see Alex and his longtime girlfriend, Sarah. David explains that Alex and Sarah are no longer together either. He urges Poppy to come and make things right with Alex.
Poppy lies when calling Alex, telling him she is traveling for work in Santorini. Instead, her boss approves a last-minute pivot: she will cover destination weddings in Barcelona, allowing her to attend David’s ceremony.
Their reunion at the airport is awkward and restrained. Poppy mentions how difficult it is not to hug him, triggering the first major flashback.
Nine Summers Ago: The Drive Home From College
Poppy and Alex first meet in college through a mutual friend and quickly discover they both live in Linfield, Ohio. They decide to drive home together after the semester ends, despite having little in common on the surface.
From the start, their differences are clear. Poppy is spontaneous, restless, and drawn to novelty. She talks easily, seeks out experiences, and imagines a future that stretches far beyond any one place. Alex is her opposite: methodical, introverted, and deeply attached to routine. He values plans, stability, and the comfort of familiar spaces.
The road trip is long and chaotic. Poppy spills a burrito across Alex’s windshield when he brakes suddenly. Later, she locks them out of the car at a gas station, forcing them to spend the night in a roadside motel while waiting for assistance. The mishaps frustrate Alex but amuse Poppy, highlighting how differently they move through the world.
That night, Poppy explains why she hates Linfield. Shortly after moving there, she was publicly humiliated after a kiss at a party was twisted into a cruel rumor. Once labeled, she could not escape it. In a small town, identity feels permanent. Travel, she explains, became her way out. On the road, she could be whoever she wanted to be.
Alex listens quietly. He admits that while Poppy dreams of places like Paris, he feels most at ease in small towns. Still, he confesses that he would like to see more of the world one day. It is the first moment where their differences stop feeling oppositional and begin to feel complementary, laying the foundation for their friendship.
Eight Summers Ago: Vancouver and the Pact
Before leaving for Vancouver, Alex meets Poppy’s parents for the first time. They are warm, curious, and immediately assume the two are a couple. Both Poppy and Alex deny it, insisting they are just friends, though the dynamic between them already suggests something more complicated.
The Vancouver trip itself highlights how differently they approach travel. Alex arrives with a guidebook and a clear plan, hoping to see the city efficiently and responsibly. Poppy, on the other hand, wants to improvise. She argues that following an itinerary will only lead them to the same photos and experiences as every other tourist. She wants surprises, detours, and stories instead of landmarks.
That mindset leads them to a water taxi ride, where they meet Buck, the driver, who invites them to camp overnight with his friends. Alex ends up skinny-dipping with one of the women at the campsite, only to discover that his clothes have been swept away by the tide. He spends the night running through the woods completely naked, panicked and humiliated. Meanwhile, Poppy attempts to hook up with Buck, but loses interest after noticing a tattoo that reminds her of death, abruptly cooling the moment.
Poppy eventually finds Alex and rescues him by giving him one of her rompers to wear. Later that night, inside the tent, the tone shifts. Poppy admits she is scared about the future. She confesses that she has already decided not to return to college. Instead, she plans to move to New York, rent an apartment using her tuition money, intern at a magazine, and start building a life around writing and travel.
She worries that if they stop being in the same place, they will stop being friends. Alex reassures her in a way that becomes foundational to their relationship. He promises that every summer, no matter where they are or who they are with, they will meet somewhere in the world and take a trip together. It is not a grand romantic gesture, but a quiet commitment rooted in consistency. That promise becomes their tradition, anchoring the story that follows.
This Summer: Barcelona Revisited
Back in the present, the distance between Alex and Poppy is immediately apparent. Their conversations are stiff and superficial, limited to weather updates and logistical details, the kind of small talk that fills space without touching anything real. The ease they once shared is gone, replaced by careful pauses and things left unsaid.
During the drive through Barcelona, Poppy learns that Alex’s grandmother, Betty, has died and left him her house in Linfield. The news lands heavily. It is another reminder of how much has happened in the years they stopped speaking, and how little of it they shared with each other.
At Poppy’s rented apartment, the discomfort continues. The building is under construction, the windows barely open, and the heat is stifling. The air conditioning works only intermittently, requiring constant adjustment and patience. Poppy tries to make light of it, noting that at least it is not humid, unlike New Orleans. The comment is casual, but it quietly signals the next memory the story is about to revisit.
Six Summers Ago: New Orleans
By the time they arrive in New Orleans, Poppy and Alex’s annual trip has settled into a familiar rhythm. This year, however, the dynamic is slightly altered. Poppy has a boyfriend, Julian, a chef who remains mostly offscreen but whose presence hangs over the trip. Alex, meanwhile, has recently broken up with Sarah, though the separation already feels temporary in a way Poppy notices but does not yet fully name.
In New Orleans, Poppy leans into performance. She and Alex pretend to be on their honeymoon to get better tables and special treatment at restaurants, a game that starts as a joke but quickly becomes revealing. Poppy invents fake names, fake jobs, and an elaborate backstory about how Alex proposed. She spins the story with ease, enjoying the attention and the intimacy of playing a role together. Alex follows along, at first awkwardly, then with growing confidence.
One night, they befriend another couple at a bar, newly married and visibly infatuated with each other. When the conversation turns to dancing, Poppy impulsively tells them that Alex choreographed their wedding dance. She puts music on without warning, forcing Alex into the spotlight. To her surprise, he does not freeze. He dances well. The moment draws laughter, applause, and a genuine sense of joy. For a brief stretch of time, Alex seems lighter than usual, less guarded, more himself.
Later, away from the noise, the tone shifts. Poppy confides that she feels disconnected from Julian and uncertain about her own capacity for love. She admits she envies Alex’s clarity, his belief that love is something steady and attainable. Even when his relationship with Sarah falters, she sees them as inevitable, pulled back together by gravity. Alex listens, quietly absorbing the comparison.
The closeness peaks when Poppy sprains her ankle, and Alex carries her back to the hotel through the humid streets. The physical intimacy feels natural, almost unremarkable to them, until they reach the hotel and find Julian waiting there, having flown in to surprise Poppy. The moment snaps the illusion.
This Summer: Barcelona, Again
In the present timeline, Alex throws out his back while trying to fix the air conditioning in Poppy’s apartment. The moment is small but telling. They have not seen each other in years, and the awkwardness between them is immediate. Their conversations are cautious, edged with what has gone unsaid for too long.
Poppy points out that even during the period when they were no longer speaking, Alex should have told her about his grandmother Betty’s death and about his breakup with Sarah. The comment lands quietly but heavily. It makes clear how much distance has grown between them, and how deeply that distance hurts.
Because Alex can barely move, Poppy insists he stay the night. She frames it lightly, saying she is just returning the favor for Norway, one of Alex’s favorite trips. The line is casual, but it opens the door to a memory neither of them has revisited out loud.
Four Summers Ago: Norway, or New York
Four summers earlier, Poppy and Alex were supposed to go to Norway together. It was the one week Alex had free from work, and Poppy’s magazine had already paid for the entire trip. At the last minute, Poppy gets sick and cannot travel.
Rather than postpone or cancel, she urges Alex to go without her. She even suggests he invite someone else, casually naming Sarah. Alex tells her it is over for good this time, that the relationship has finally ended.
But Alex does not go to Norway.
Instead, he goes to New York.
He spends the week taking care of Poppy, staying with her while she recovers. The choice is never framed as a sacrifice. It simply happens, quietly reinforcing the pattern that has defined their relationship for years. When it matters, Alex shows up.
This Summer: Morning After
The next morning in Barcelona, Alex goes out for a run. When he comes back, Poppy admits she has never run in her life and almost failed physical education in high school. The comment is tossed off as a joke, but it underscores how different they are, even in small, bodily ways.
Later that day, Alex invites Poppy to the rehearsal dinner for David’s wedding. During the meal, David thanks her for managing to get out of her Greece work trip at the last minute. Alex listens, and something shifts. He realizes she was never supposed to be in Barcelona.
Once they are alone, he confronts her. He asks her directly why she really came.
Poppy finally admits the truth. She came because she missed her best friend. Alex confirms that he missed her, too. The relief is real, but so is the tension that follows.
Poppy wishes they could go back to how things were before Tuscany. Alex tells her he does not think that is possible anymore. The past version of their relationship, the one that existed safely within once-a-year trips and unspoken feelings, can no longer hold.
Three Summers Ago: Tuscany
Three summers earlier, the annual trip to Tuscany takes place, and for the first time, everything feels off. Alex brings his girlfriend, Sarah, while Poppy arrives with her own boyfriend, Trey. From the start, the atmosphere is strained. What used to feel effortless between Alex and Poppy now feels monitored and guarded.
Sarah makes pointed comments about who Alex might be texting, clearly referencing Poppy, and brings up past trips, including Napa Valley, in ways that signal lingering discomfort. Trey, meanwhile, describes himself and Poppy as nomads, always chasing the next place and the next experience. The contrast between the two couples is stark. Alex is a high school teacher who values routine and home. Sarah works for her family’s business and shares his desire for stability. Poppy and Trey, by contrast, drift easily, resistant to roots.
Alex articulates the difference plainly. What makes the trips special for him, he explains, is knowing that at the end of them, he gets to go home. That idea lands poorly with Poppy, who has built her life around movement.
Later that night, Poppy becomes violently ill and starts vomiting. Panicked, she realizes she might be pregnant and texts Alex for help. He immediately comes to check on her. Although Sarah supports him going, it is clear that the situation unsettles her. Alex takes Poppy to buy a pregnancy test. When it comes back negative, Poppy is relieved, but shaken. Alex comforts her, telling her he will always be there for her.
The intimacy of the moment overwhelms Poppy. She leans in and tries to kiss him. Alex stops her.
Embarrassed and emotional, Poppy apologizes, saying she was confused and did not mean it. When Alex asks what he is to her, she answers honestly but cautiously. He is her best friend. She does not want to ruin that. The words hurt more than she realizes.
The next morning, Poppy wakes up to a celebration. Alex has proposed to Sarah. The ring, it turns out, was not an impulsive choice. He has been carrying it for some time, waiting for the right moment.
Later, Poppy tells Alex she is happy for him. But when he talks about staying in Linfield and building a life there, she pushes back. She asks about his abandoned plans for a PhD, about teaching in Europe or New York. Alex responds calmly. He wants a loving, stable relationship. That kind of life requires compromise.
Poppy calls it settling.
Alex tells her she lives in a fantasy, always chasing new places, new people, new versions of herself. He and Sarah are building something real, together. That matters to him. He ends the conversation by telling her this will be their last trip.
This Summer
Back in the present, after walking Poppy home in Barcelona, Alex returns to her apartment. The heat is still unbearable, the air conditioning still unreliable. Alex makes it clear he does not want things to slip back into the version of their relationship that existed before Tuscany.
Poppy finally asks the question she has been carrying. Did he break up with Sarah because of her?
Alex confirms that he did.
The heat, the tension, and the weight of the moment become too much. Poppy tears down the plastic covering the construction windows. Rain pours, Alex joins her outside, soaked and exposed.
She admits she messed up. She asked too much of him and waited too long. Alex tells her he wants her, but not as a friend. Poppy tells him she wants him too. That is why she came to Barcelona. She has always been in love with him.
They kiss and spend the night together.
Choosing Each Other
At the wedding, things initially feel hopeful. But while dancing, Alex presses Poppy about their future. Linfield or New York, stability. Poppy hesitates, asking for time to think. Alex cannot understand how, after everything, she still does not know what she wants.
She accuses him of settling. He tells her he was waiting for her.
They finally say the truth that neither has been able to voice before. Love was never the problem. Timing was.
Poppy returns to New York alone. At the airport, she runs into Sarah, who is now a flight attendant. Poppy apologizes for her role in their relationship. Sarah surprises her by saying it was not her fault. In a way, Poppy did her a favor. Sarah thought she knew what she wanted from life, but she didn’t. That realization mattered.
Back home, Poppy looks at a souvenir from Vancouver and realizes her life is no longer working. She writes a resignation letter. For the first time, she stops running.
She goes to Linfield.
Alex does not answer the door. She notices him running down the street instead. Poppy starts running after him, even though she has always hated running. Even though she almost failed gym in high school. She keeps going until he finally hears her.
She finally tells him the truth. One week a year was safe. It was the only way she knew how to love him without risking everything. If she stayed too long, she was afraid he would see what everyone else eventually did. That she was too much. Even for him.
Loving him from a distance felt safer than asking for more and losing him altogether. But she loves him. She always has. And there is nothing in her life she would not give up to build something real with him.
Alex was never on vacation. He was home.
Alex kisses her.
One Year Later
The final scene jumps forward to the following summer. Poppy and Alex are together in New York. Alex is teaching at Sarah Lawrence. Poppy writes for her own website, no longer chasing someone else’s version of success.
She understands now that home is not a place. It is where you are fully yourself. With the person who loves you for exactly who you are.
They are on vacation, posed exactly like the cover of Emily Henry’s novel. This time, they are not running toward something else.
They are already where they belong.
The Poster
