We all know that traveling can be stressful. Whether you’re going abroad for the first time, or if it’s your hundredth trip, there are always things to worry about when you’re on the go.
But what is one thing we don’t often think of? Taking care of ourselves! In this blog post, we’ll discuss 15 self-care tips so that you can have a more enjoyable and less stressful experience while traveling.
What is Self Care and Why is It Important When Traveling?
Self Care is taking care of yourself through organizing, prioritizing, and setting your priorities straight. It is important to take care of ourselves when traveling because travel can be quite stressful.
There are so many things that we need to think about before leaving the house: packing our suitcases, deciding what clothes to wear, picking out outfits for different occasions, etc.
Traveling also requires a lot of time and energy. It is important to take care of ourselves so we can travel efficiently and with ease, rather than feeling overwhelmed by stress throughout the trip.
By making a list of self-care travel goals, you’ll be able to stay on track. The checklist will make sure that you don’t let important things slip by like knowing when it’s time to take a walk or drink some tea. Try writing them down in a travel journal!
15 Self Care Tips When Traveling
1. Drink Water
Drinking a lot of water is not only important for travel, but also an everyday habit that we should all be doing. However, it’s especially critical to drink lots of water when traveling because you’re likely going to be dehydrated due to the altitude and dry air in airplanes or other travel methods. Additionally, drinking plenty of fluids can help you travel longer distances without getting tired or fatigued.
2. Schedule In Down Time
This means scheduling some “me time” into your day so that you can relax and recharge before going out for another longing day of travel. For example, you might want to schedule nap time or a yoga session into your travel itinerary so that at the end of the day, you’re not exhausted and ready for bed instead of out exploring!
Even if all you can manage is 15 minutes of quiet time to yourself (i.e. meditate, read a book), this is better than nothing. Practice self-care throughout the day so that you don’t feel as overwhelmed and exhausted at travel time.
3. Treat Yourself
This means rewarding yourself for your hard work by indulging in the travel experience; whether it be visiting that restaurant you’ve always wanted to try or taking an extra-long bath at the hotel after a busy day.
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4. Be Open Minded
It is very easy when traveling from becoming anxious and stressed about the things that could possibly go wrong (i.e. missed flights, lost luggage). Try as best as possible to keep an open mind throughout your travel experience. This will not only help you travel more efficiently, but it will also make the travel experience less stressful.
6. Eat Healthy Snacks
Eating healthy snacks is very important when traveling, especially if you’re going on a long travel day. You don’t want to be too full or bloated from eating heavy foods like fried chicken and french fries all day (although those are delicious). Try packing some nuts and fruit with you so that your body can get the nutrients it needs while you travel.
7. Take a Walk
Even if it’s just a short walk around the block, travel days can be exhausting and leave you feeling drained. Taking a short walk will help clear your head and give you some much-needed time to yourself so that when the travel day is over, you’ll feel refreshed and ready for another long travel day.
8. Turn off your phone
When traveling, it is all too easy to get caught up and anxious about your phone (texts from friends or family). Although we may want to check in with the people that we care about back home while travel, this can lead us down a road of anxiety and stress. Instead, try turning off your cell phone for an hour at least.
9. Drink Tea
Tea is not only delicious, but it also has many health benefits for travel days. Green tea with ginger can help ease nausea and bloating in the stomach while black tea helps with alertness (especially after a nap). Both are great to drink when you’re on travel day because they’ll make your body feel more refreshed!
10. Cleanse your body after travel
If possible, try to take a long shower with steam afterwards to cleanse your body of travel germs and feeling refreshed. Pack your favorite face mask so that afterwards, your travel day is over and you can feel fresh and relax!
11. Take a travel nap
If you’re traveling for multiple days, it is very important to get enough sleep in the process so that when the travel day is over, you’ll feel refreshed and ready to tackle another long travel day! Try taking a quick power nap or set up your travel bed.
12. Practice Gratitude
Although it’s easy to get overwhelmed with travel, try practicing gratitude throughout your travel experience so that you may be able to remember all of the beautiful things about travel while being grateful for them!
13. Practice relaxation techniques
A travel day can be very overwhelming and exhausting so try practicing deep breathing or meditation throughout travel. This will help you feel more relaxed in the process!
14. Take care of your feet
Tired, achy feet are no fun to deal with during travel days especially if they’re swollen from standing all day. Try wearing comfortable travel socks and even packing some emergency blister bandages just in case!
15. Take care of your skin
Traveling can leave you feeling stressed, tired, or anxious which is not good for the skin so try to pack travel makeup remover wipes along with a travel face wash on travel days. This will help you feel refreshed and ready to travel more on the next day!
Staying Balanced with Self-Care While Traveling
As you can see, travel is a rewarding experience but it requires some planning and self-care on your part. Remember that even if all of this seems like too much, don’t fret – just try as best as possible to travel with minimal stress! Staying balanced while travel is an art that takes some time to perfect but once mastered, travel will be a rewarding experience instead of one more thing on your list.
Self-care travel checklist
1. A Journal
This means writing down your travel experience in a travel journal (i.e. what you did each day, where you ate etc.) so that when you return home and start to forget about the trip, all of the memories will come rushing back!
2. Water Bottle
This means bringing a travel water bottle with you so that you have something to drink while traveling. If all else fails, buy bottled water from the store at your destination!
3. Snacks
It is always a good idea to pack snacks that are filling and nutritious so you aren’t tempted by the packaged food at airports or train stations. You can also pack travel-sized containers of your favorite snacks in case you get hungry during travel. They could be things like chocolate, almonds or crackers etc., depending on what makes your blood sugar levels spike.
4. A travel pillow
If you travel a lot, try buying a travel pillow that you can bring with you on travel days. This will help ease the stress of travel and make it feel more comfortable!
5. Earplugs
If possible, pack some noise-canceling headphones or earplugs to block out any unwanted background noises during travel so that travel day can
6. Eye mask
If you travel a lot and can’t sleep without an eye mask, pack one in your travel bag to help block out the light on travel days. That way you’ll be able to relax and fall asleep more easily!
7. Vitamins
If there are certain vitamins or supplements you need to take on a regular basis while traveling, it is a good idea to pack travel-sized containers of them in your travel bag. That way you won’t have to worry about losing or forgetting them while on the road!
Conclusion
Remember it is not selfish to take care of yourself when traveling. It’s necessary for maintaining our physical and mental health! So travel as much as possible but don’t forget to take care of yourself in the process.
Pay attention to yourself and remember to give yourself the care that works for you. Follow your self-care travel needs, not those that other people swear by. If you’re not someone who journals, don’t bring one!
What are some of your self-care tips for traveling? Share them with us! We’d love to hear from you in the comments section below!
