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How to Travel Stress Free – o.k., low stress
Do you always feel stressed when traveling? Whether it’s before the trip even begins, with the planning? On the way to your destination? Or once you’re actually there.
It happens to the best of us. Even if you’ve done all the planning you can.
So is it even possible to have a stress free trip?
I believe it is possible and we’re going to go into four different ways to be able to travel stress free…. or at least low stress 😉
Book early
When do you typically book your trips? Is it always at the last minute? Do you try and do it as soon as you’ve decided you’re going to take a trip?
Both can have their benefits and drawbacks.
If you book at the last minute you are more than likely going to pay more for flights or hotels, that is if there is even any availability. But, at the same time you won’t have to worry about cancellation policies or refund since you’ll know you’ll be going. Then again, if you check and there’s no availability then you’ll either have to look into alternative ways to get there or places to stay. Which, for me at least, would add to the stress! Not to mention if you can’t find anything….
If you do it too early, you might also pay more for flights or hotels. The airlines and hotels won’t be worried yet about booking their seats/rooms and so wouldn’t be trying to fill them. The benefit is you know you’ll already have everything booked and will be able to cross that off your to-do list.
If there can be a happy medium – it’s suggested to book at least one month out but no more than three months out for the best pricing. I feel like that’s a pretty good rule of thumb for availability too.
This way, again, you can have it off your to-do list but you will also be able to rest assured that you’ve gotten a great price.
Use a packing list
My Never Forget Anything Again Packing List is my go-to packing list.
As silly as it sounds, even for a one night stay somewhere I use a packing list.
As I’ve gotten older, I find that having things written down so that I don’t have to remember it does a world a wonder for my sanity!
I make several copies of the list and put them with my suitcases, that way I don’t have to remember where they are. Then when I’m getting ready to pack for a trip I just pull out a copy and start organizing everything. It even has plenty of space to add in additional items that will make it custom just for you!
Next time you go on a trip try this packing list.
Trust the pilot
Now, this one is specific to flying but I know for some of us the flight is the most stressful part of the trip. The cramped seats, the small bathrooms, the screaming kids. Am I right? But they don’t have to be. Check out my post: 6 Reasons you hate to fly for some great ways to deal with these unpleasant parts of flying.
Outside of that, I know for me, when there is turbulence I get stressed. I get tense. I find myself holding onto the arm rest. Praying.
Thankfully I’ve never been in a situation where it has been anything more than just bad weather and something that passes after awhile but it still stresses me out. Here’s where the ‘trust the pilot’ comes in. O.k., so we’ve all heard the horrible stories involving pilots and flights going awry but we’re going to do our best and try to stay positive during our flights unless otherwise instructed.
I was on a flight from Vegas to NYC and of course the last 30 minutes or so of the flight we were going into a storm, which meant lots of turbulance. We had already gone through some rough patches when the pilot finally came on and informed us of the weather and the situation, that we’d be in it all the way until we landed. Oh, not a pleasant thought but then he said something wonderful and (obviously) something I’ll never forget.
He said (and I’m paraphrasing) please let go of your arm rests and sit back and enjoy your massage from mother nature!
Well, can I just tell you we all had a little giggle at that.
I in fact had been gripping my arm rest and so I tried to follow the pilots instructions.
It definitely eased my fears and stress levels immensely to hear him acknowledge how bumpy it was.
I have to believe that our pilots want to have a safe flight too and will do everything in their power to make that happen.
Go with the flow
There will always be things that will go wrong when you travel. They won’t always be big things like a lost bag. It may be as simple as a gate change, weather not cooperating or a store or restaurant closed that you were hoping to visit.
Know that there will always be things out of your control and if you can accept this then you will have an easier time traveling stress free.
Are you always stressed when traveling? What stresses you out? How do you deal with it? I’d love to hear you thoughts and ideas. Please leave them in the comment section below.
Happy Travels!