How to Plan a Stress Free Vacation

Have you ever gotten home from a vacation and felt more tired than when you left? Maybe you feel like you need a few more days off just to recover from your vacation? If that resonates with you, this post is perfect for you! 

Summer is the peak time for people to take vacations. Everything at work slows down, kids are out of school, and there are a few long holiday weekends that allow people to get out of town. That's why we decided this is the perfect time to write this post.

You owe it to yourself to actually take time to decompress and relax from the stresses of your normal life. Do yourself a favor and read through this post so you can have the stress free vacation of your dreams. 

How Do I Plan a Trip Without Being Overwhelmed?

The cause of stress for a lot of vacations is planning too many things. Planning your activities down to the minute doesn't leave you much time to relax or to just explore your destination. 

Not scheduling an itinerary for every hour of the day might sound scary, especially if you're a planner like we are.  We aren't telling you to ditch it altogether! Instead, we're encouraging you to keep your schedule more open than you normally would. Trust us, you're going to appreciate the downtime to decompress or act on a whim. 

We put together some tips and tricks to avoid over-planning your vacation: 

1. Identify your "must-do" activities. You likely chose your destination because it has marvels you want to see and activities you want to do. Make a list of everything you want to accomplish while you're on vacation. Then, identify which activities you absolutely must-do. This doesn't necessarily mean you won't be able to do anything else. Instead, this gives you free time to actually relax and gives you a list of activities you can do if you have extra time or if something falls through. 
2. Purposefully carve out time to relax. It might feel silly to schedule time to relax when you're on vacation. However, actually seeing time on your itinerary that you purposefully leave free can stop you from scheduling an activity in that space. You don't necessarily have to take a nap or do absolutely nothing in that time. Instead, you could use that time to wander and explore. 
3. Avoid the pressure to do everything. Especially if you're going to a popular vacation spot, you might feel pressure to do everything that you've seen other people do. You'll end up tiring yourself out if you try to do everything. Release yourself from that pressure and remember that you can always come back. Even if it's not immediate, there will always be another opportunity to return. 
4. Limit recommendations from others. Don't get us wrong, it's nice to get a few recommendations from someone who has already been where you're going. However, try to avoid asking too many people or only doing what was recommended to you. Slate in a couple of the recommendations but give yourself the freedom to find places on your own and do what you want to do. 
5. Plan one day of downtime at home. When you plan your vacation, make sure you plan to have one day of downtime at home at the end of your trip. Even if that means you come home on a Saturday instead of a Sunday. Having a day at home to unpack, decompress, and relax before going back to work or returning to your everyday responsibilities can help you feel refreshed from your vacation.

Avoiding over-planning is a great way to ensure you don't feel exhausted from your vacation. Now, let's talk about what you can do when you're actually on the vacation to make sure you're relaxing. 

How Can I Make My Vacation Less Stressful? 

While you're actually on vacation, there are things you can do to make sure you aren't stressed. 

First and foremost, delete or mute the apps on your phone that cause you stress. This is incredibly important if you're taking time off work for your vacation. Keeping your email notifications on can make you feel stressed about the amount of things you'll need to do when you return. Really commit to fully unplugging and not thinking about work while you're away. 

Another way to make your vacation less stressful is having a physical copy of your itinerary. You aren't always guaranteed to have phone service so having a physical copy can provide you with an extra layer of comfort as you get ready to travel. 

Don't underestimate the power the day before your vacation holds. On that day, make sure you're drinking a lot of water and eating healthy. If you have someone watering your plants or watching your pets, make sure they have everything they need to get into your home to handle things while you're away. Clean your home if you have the time so you don't have to worry about it when you get home. Make sure you get a good night's sleep before you travel so you're feeling your best when you get to your destination. 

Finally, try to incorporate some kind of exercise into your itinerary while you're on vacation. This can be as simple as going for a swim or taking a walk on the beach. You could also go on a hike to explore your destination or take 30 minutes on the hotel treadmill to move your body. If your plans for the vacation already involve a lot of walking, that absolutely counts for exercise! 

How to Plan a Relaxing Trip

Now that you know the causes of stress on vacation, let's talk about how you can plan a relaxing trip. We'll explore what makes a relaxing itinerary and how you can stay calm when things don't go as planned. 

What are the Five Most Important Components of an Itinerary? 

You know how to avoid over-planning and what activities to prioritize over others when you're thinking about what you want to do on your trip. 

However, there are five key components you need to keep in mind as you begin planning your trip: 

1. Consider who you're traveling with. More likely than not, you probably aren't going on this vacation alone. You've been tasked with creating the itinerary for the group so you need to consider who you're traveling with as you're building it. If you're traveling with someone who's elderly, or if you're traveling with young kids, you might need to modify the activities you're planning depending on what their limitations are. You should also be considering if there are any severe food allergies in the group if you're making restaurant reservations. 
2. Travel time. Think carefully about how much time you really want to spend traveling. The act of traveling itself can be stressful and it's important to think of how you can mitigate that stress. If you're flying, try to avoid layovers if you can. Make sure you're getting to the airport with plenty of time and that you have all necessary travel documents before you leave the house. Also, think about what time you're scheduling your flight. Sometimes it's worth scheduling an early morning flight if it means you have more time on the first day of your vacation. 
3. Lodging. You'll need somewhere to stay when you get there. This kind of goes hand-in-hand when you're considering who you're traveling with. If there are a lot of people in your travel group, think about if it makes more sense to book an Airbnb or if getting a hotel will suffice. Consider how close you'll be to the bulk of the activities you plan. If you didn't drive, think about if it makes sense to get a rental car or if you can walk most places you'd like to go. 
4. Budget. One of the most stressful parts of going on vacation is the cost. Having a budget and sticking to it can help relieve some of that stress. A budget can also help you realistically determine what and how many activities you can do on you trip. 
5. Back up plans. Not everything is going to go as planned on your vacation. Think of a few difference scenarios of what could realistically go wrong and have a back up plan available in case you need it. Weather is unpredictable, flights get canceled, and life gets in the way. Making sure everything is refundable is another way you can avoid stress on your vacation. 

You can be the best planner in the world and things can still go awry. As much as I'm sure you wish you can control everything that happens on your vacation, you can't. Let's talk about how you can stay calm when things don't go as planned. 

How Do You Stay Calm When Things Don't Go as Planned?

One of the other stressful parts of going on vacation is the unknown. What happens if you plan a vacation where the primary activity consists of sitting on the beach and it rains everyday you're there? What do you do if your flight gets delayed, or canceled, and you have to rethink you're entire vacation? 

Things that are out of your control are going to happen, it's inevitable. What you can control is how you react when things don't go as planned. 

When something veers off plan, the first thing you should do is take some deep breaths. Calm yourself down before you react to the situation. Having a level head can also help you determine the best course of action and can keep everyone else on the trip calm. 

Accept that your plans are going to change. It sucks, but there's nothing you can really do about it. You can always rearrange your schedule and try again later in the trip. Remember, you can always return back to the destination at a different date. 

Remember that list of extra activities you put together? Now is the time to refer to it. This way, you're still doing something you wanted to do and it accommodates the needs and wants of the entire group. 

Finally, remind yourself why you took the trip in the first place. Did you take it to spend more time with your family? If so, then what's most important is that you're spending quality time together. Did you take it to celebrate an anniversary with your partner? You can still celebrate as long as you're together. Whatever the reason is, remind yourself of what's truly important about this vacation. 

Enjoy Your Stress Free Vacation

All that's left to do now is enjoy your stress free vacation! You deserve time to decompress and relax. Make sure that's your priority as you plan your vacation. 

If you need a little extra help to stay calm, don't forget your fidget jewelry to help with your anxiety! For more information about how fidget jewelry can help with anxiety, check out this blog post.