Emily Bader Defends People We Meet On Vacation Changing The Book’s Ending

When Emily Bader was cast in People We Meet on Vacation — the movie adaptation of Emily Henry’s beloved 2021 romance novel — she immediately felt the pressure. “With how much this book matters to people, it's a big responsibility,” the 29-year-old actor says. “There was a bit of fear, but an excited kind.”

Though she strove to keep much of travel writer Poppy Wright’s energy as true to the page as possible, the Netflix movie makes some big changes to the story. Most notably, one of the main vacation destinations is Barcelona instead of Palm Springs, which Bader calls out as her favorite alteration in the movie.

“It adds an extra level of dimension to the whole story, because then we really are all over the world. And it's also a very sexy place,” Bader says. “The energy was really cool and great.”

While that setting change didn’t affect the central plot too much, there is a much weightier story change at the very end of the movie. In the book, Poppy and Alex end up splitting their time between New York City and their hometown in Linfield, Ohio. However, the movie has the couple settling squarely in New York.

“I don't think there's an abandonment of Linfield in any way,” Bader says. “Alex still has Grandma Betty's house. I'm not sure what happens with that; maybe they're renting it on Airbnb. But I think this move is something Alex needed to do. He did have those dreams, and I think his desire to put down roots is really well-founded, but he can put them down anywhere as long as they're together. I really like him ending up as a teacher at Sarah Lawrence. I think he would thrive in that space.”

We had to scream to be able to hear each other.

While the movie may have taken some liberties with the book’s ending, it faithfully adapted one of the novel’s most iconic scenes — when Poppy and Alex finally give in to their feelings for one another and passionately make out in a deluge of rain. This may sound romantic, but it wasn’t quite so sexy to film.

“Rain on camera is a tricky thing because it takes a lot of it to show up at all. So it's basically like being pelted with hail,” Bader says. “And it was very cold. So it's a lot of trying not to shiver. And also, it's super loud. So we had to scream to be able to hear each other.”

Thankfully, after soaking in the rain, Bader had a much more comfortable experience shooting Poppy and Alex’s subsequent sex scene, which moved the actors indoors and out of the elements.

“We had a wonderful intimacy coordinator,” Bader says. “It’s really nice to have that kind of middle person to talk with who’s not busy doing so many other things on set. It was all very professional. For people who aren't in this business, it can be this very interesting, mysterious thing: How do you do these scenes? It really is just trusting each other and knowing there's going to be the entire camera crew surrounding you, so you’re just trying to make it look good. There's nothing worse than when it doesn't look good.”

Below, Bader channels her inner Poppy to answer some hot-button travel questions.

Elite Daily: What’s the best vacation you’ve ever been on?

Emily Bader: I always say Hawaii because I love fish and the water. But also Prague, which was an unexpected favorite.

ED: What is your dream vacation destination that you haven't done yet?

EB: Japan.

ED: How long before a flight do you like to get to the airport?

EB: If it's domestic, an hour before boarding. And if it's international, two hours before boarding. I don't want to sit around for an hour. That just makes me feel like I failed the assignment.

ED: Window seat or aisle seat?

EB: I want to take the window seat, but I'm going to take the aisle if I'm traveling alone, so I don't have to ask someone to get up.

ED: What’s one travel essential you always have with you?

EB: My Nintendo Switch. It's like a little piece of home. I almost never end up playing it except for on the plane, but it's a very good plane time occupier.

ED: What would be on your ultimate road trip playlist?

EB: Some Led Zeppelin. I want the classics, but also some early 2000s pop.

ED: What is your favorite movie to re-watch on a long plane ride?

EB: I love Pixar movies. If Ratatouille is on a plane, I will be sat the whole time watching.

ED: What are you manifesting for yourself in 2026?

EB: I'm trying to be less of a people pleaser. That's something I need to work on.

ED: Take the window seat more.

EB: Exactly. That's like the allegory of my life, the fact that I want the window seat, but I'm going to take the aisle. So this year, I'm going to take the window seat.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.