3 Simple Ways to Combat Travel Anxiety While You’re on a Trip

This blog post is adapted from a free workshop I gave in June 2022. I am not a licensed therapist. This content is for your information and enjoyment only.

Understanding your travel anxiety and how to work with it, travel with it, and reduce it will change how you travel and enjoy travel. In this post, I am going to talk about the three most effective and easy ways to reduce your travel anxiety while you’re actually on your trip. These are all things that I do every time I travel.

I’m an anxious traveler, just like you. And I deal with this anxiety every time I travel. I never plan a trip without at least some butterflies. And if we’re going someplace entirely new, well, that’s another story.

Over many years and thousands upon thousands of miles traveled, I have developed some specific tools that help me continue traveling despite my anxiety. These are tools I use to help me once I’m traveling.

Take your trip one day at a time

The number one tip that I can give to anyone who struggles with travel anxiety is to simply take one day of your trip at a time. It can be so tempting to think about ALL of the logistics and pieces that need to come together on your trip. And then we just go straight into overwhelm, don’t we?

You don’t need to think about the tour that you’ve booked three days from now, because you will have already confirmed that reservation before you left on your trip and made sure that your reservation information is packed with you. You know to take care of all that itinerary detail work before you leave for your trip.

Here’s an example from our trip to Italy. We decided to spend a week in Florence for our trip, but then after we booked the trip, we decided to add a day trip to Rome. We planned to take the high-speed train there and back in one day just to get a taste of Rome.

So I did a lot of research, booked our train tickets to Rome, bought tickets for the Coliseum and the Forum, booked a time for us to go into the Vatican Museums, and researched visiting St. Peter’s Basilica. I had that day planned almost down to the minute because we had to get on the train in Florence very early in the morning and had a pretty strict schedule to follow so we could do everything and get back to the train station in Rome.

I was nervous about that day because not only was I traveling to another country, but I was also going to be getting on a train and traveling to another city and getting back on the train in that country. I was crazy nervous. So finding our train, finding our seats, getting to the Metro in Rome, buying Metro tickets, getting to the Coliseum, all the things that we had to do that day to get from Florence to Rome and back again, and do all the things that we wanted to do in the city and, find food on top of it, all of that, for someone who deals with travel anxiety, that is a lot.

The Rome day trip was several days into our Italy itinerary. So, we were going to be in Florence for a few days before we made the day trip to Rome. It would have been so easy to spend four full days of our trip in Florence worrying about that day in Rome, but it would have taken away from all of the amazing things that we were seeing in Florence. So I had to mentally set aside that day until it was time to think about it again.

This is something that has served me well for every trip that I take.

Review your itinerary each day

The next tip is that while you’re traveling, review your itinerary every day. So once you’re done for that day, you’re going to get out your itinerary for the next day and you’re going to review it thoroughly so you know exactly what’s going on on the next day.

You could wait till the next morning to review that day’s itinerary, but I find I rest easier knowing for certain what’s coming up the next day. And of course, your plans for the next day will be informing you what time you get up in the morning and what time and where you’re perhaps eating breakfast.

My recommendation is to do this every evening of your trip before you go to bed. And of course, if you also want to review your day’s itinerary in the morning, you can certainly do that. I often do that too.

Young woman wearing jeans and a short-sleeved T-shirt sits on a wall overlooking a green and scenic landscape below.

Don’t force yourself to do more than you can handle

The last tip that we’re going to discuss for combating travel anxiety during your trip is don’t force yourself to do more in any one day than you can handle. If you’re ready to be done for the day, it’s okay to be done for the day. Give yourself the freedom to be honest with yourself about when you need to leave a situation, when you need to just head back to your hotel, put on your sweats, and watch Netflix.

Give your travel companions the consideration of being honest with them about what your needs are. In my family, we always follow a two-part travel rule. When we travel, everyone on the trip has the freedom to do whatever they want and the freedom to opt out of whatever they want.

The important thing for you to remember is that your travel is for you. And while there’s something to be said about pushing yourself to try new things, you also know your limits better than anyone else. And it’s a good thing to be honest with yourself about those limits.

The bottom line

Managing travel anxiety is all about taking proactive steps to make sure you enjoy your journey to the fullest. By taking your trip one day at a time, reviewing your itinerary each evening, and being honest about your limits, you can significantly reduce stress and make the most of your travel experiences. Remember, it’s okay to prioritize your well-being and adjust your plans as needed.

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