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5 Tips To Make Travel Less Anxiety-Inducing

Travel should be exciting, and it often is, it’s also true that sometimes it feels more stressful than your regular work week. It takes a lot of effort to put a trip together, even if you’re just going somewhere for a couple of days. 

For example, managing flights, finding your way around new places, and trying to squeeze everything into your schedule is hard enough alone, let alone if you have someone else or a family to take care of too. Even veteran travelers sometimes wake up feeling anxious about their plans, like if they have a very long or multi-part flight that day.

Luckily, you don’t need to over-plan every minute or stick to a rigid schedule to do it right, even if preparation is wise. We’d say that focusing on the right details lets you relax and actually enjoy your time away, and this can help especially if you’re somewhat anxious.

5 Tips To Make Travel Less Anxiety-Inducing

1. Plan Your First Day Carefully

The first day is important to get right because trying to do too much after a long flight can mess you up, especially if you’re dealing with jet lag. Many hotels won’t let you check in until mid-afternoon, but dragging your bags around isn’t exactly the best start to a vacation.

Looking into something like luggage storage Melbourne CBD options ahead of time in the city you are traveling to gives you the freedom to explore without the extra weight, and it’s worth your attention. You might even find some local cafes or parks where you can relax until your room is ready, head to local bookshops, or just find something good to eat and relax a little. Sometimes, you can pay for early check-in if you really need to rest as well.

Keep your first day low-key and try not to stress about doing too much. Avoid scheduled activities if you can just to make the transition easier on yourself!

2. Pick The Right Location For Your Stay

The cheapest hotel isn’t always the best deal if you spend half your vacation on buses or trains, and so staying somewhere central is usually worth the cost thanks to the time and energy you save. Sometimes just knowing you have a convenient accommodation can remove most of the anxiety from your trip.

If we could make a suggestion, please look for places near public transport or walking distance to the things you want to see. Reading recent reviews is a good place to start, because sometimes a neighborhood that looked perfect online feels different when you’re actually there, or a restaurant that seemed to be excellent might not be that great under newer management.

3. Keep Your Important Documents Together

The nightmare of most travelers is leaving essential documentation behind, like a passport or booking confirmation that you no longer have access to. It seems that nothing spoils a trip quite like that, and it might even lead you having to return.

Now, we don’t say that to make you fearful of course, but just keep all your essential documents in one place secured to you, like a special folder on your phone or a travel wallet. Take photos of everything important if you can, because sometimes technology fails right when you need it most. Having backup copies stored somewhere secure just makes sense between you and your partner as well, so have them care for it.

4. Pack Smart, Not Heavy

When you’re anxious about travel, it’s so easy to become that person who brings their entire wardrobe on vacation, because you never know what you might need and don’t want to cause an issue. If you can avoid it, don’t be that person. 

Instead we’d recommend that you pick versatile clothes you can mix and match for the most part, as you can usually find anything you forgot to pack if you need anything extra. 

If you’re visiting multiple places, packing cubes help keep everything organized too, and can make the discomfort of shoving everything in your suitcase a lot easier to handle.

Also make sure you are comfortable with your luggage ahead of time. Whether you are packing in only a carry-on or planning to check luggage, make sure you can lift it and transport it yourself as needed.

5. Keep Some Plans Flexible

Having a structure on your trip is important, especially if you’re heading to a distinct attraction or hoping to have certain experiences, but try to leave room for spur-of-the-moment preferences too if you can, as it does make a difference. 

In this case, you may meet some friendly locals who recommend a great restaurant or discover a festival happening during your stay, and going with them, and having the freedom to do so, can lead to some of the best travel memories. In other words, feeling too prescribed can sometimes add to anxiety instead of freeing you from it, so keep that in mind.

With this advice, we hope you can more easily take out the anxiety from your recreational travel.