Tips for Reducing Travel-Related Stress

Travel is never easy.

Organizing a family vacation to Florida? Stressful! Journeying to a foreign land for the first time? Stressful! Flying out to California to look at Los Angeles homes for sale? Stressful! Going to New York City for a business conference that could make or break your entire career? Super-duper stressful!

Keep calm and carry on with these helpful travel tips.

Put Your Plans on Paper

“I don’t need to write it down; I’ll remember it just fine,” is one of those things we’ve all said at one point or another, and we’ve all regretted it. That’s doubly true when you’re trying to prepare a travel plan.

There’s so much to keep track of: calendar dates, flight departures, hotel check-in times, IDs and citizenship documents, expenses, emergency contact information, and more. The list goes on and on. Don’t try to keep track of all that stuff in your head. It’s a recipe for disaster.

Make Time to Disconnect

Sometimes, the things that stress you out the most when traveling are the very things you left home to get away from. Work, school, and other responsibilities can really take a toll on your peace of mind, especially when people are constantly calling, texting, and emailing you, even when you’re not on the clock.

Worst of all, because your obligation to these responsibilities is so ingrained in you, it can be difficult to force yourself to take a break even when you really need it. Do yourself a favor and disconnect, at least for a little while.

Have a Flexible Itinerary

Traveling is supposed to be fun. It is not supposed to be a hassle. Having a well-organized itinerary of places to go and things to do can help eliminate stress, but overcorrecting in the opposite direction by trying to adhere to that schedule as rigidly as possible can end up exacerbating anxiety instead.

It’s good to have a game plan when visiting a new city or country, but leave yourself some room to change things up. Sometimes the best memories are the ones you make on a whim.

Budget Below Your Limit

Money doesn’t grow on trees, as the old saying goes. Balancing your regular income with essential expenses often leaves only a small amount of spare cash to put towards recreational activities like travel.

When putting together a vacation budget, one miscalculation can quickly put you in over your head. That’s why it’s a good idea to assume everything will be more expensive than it will actually be, and to pretend you have less money than you actually do. Having some wiggle room can be a huge help should something unexpected come up.