Travel Stress and Coping Tactics

I give more time on arrival. For domestic air travel, I arrive one day before any scheduled activity. For International air travel, that has become two days. I also don't schedule anything for the day after I am supposed to return. Irregular operations are not unusual and having that extra padding of time makes a huge difference because I know that I can flex, be delayed, and still arrive for the activities that matter.

1. When we moved to northern Idaho from the Seattle area, it added an extra flight from Spokane to reach Europe. So, we also stay at the airport hotel since the first flight is usually around 6am.

2. We are notoriously early for flights, trains, etc. That hasn’t changed in the last 20 years.

3. I’m also a paper person, although I use the TripIt app, Trenitalia train app, etc. My month-long trip coming up has 3/4 pound of paper in my 13 pounds on my back - well worth it to me.

4. My Packing List is very standardized now, but I am watching the weather this last week for any last-minute modifications.

5. Things that help me are to visualize myself in each city - walking to my hotel from the train station, being at activities, etc. Is there anything stressful, anything that I dwell on in particular? I take care of those before the trip begins.

I happily spend months researching & planning. While heading to the next city, I review the reservations & narrowed down activities when I am on the train going to the next location. My philosophy on travel is there are no “must do’s”. I give myself full permission to do whatever is appealing while I am there.

We’re retired now, so I try to not let time issues matter as much as when our time was limited because of work. We arrived over a day late to Spain in February because of a fogged in airport at Spokane. I was uncharacteristically mellow about the whole thing….although I missed our nice reserved airline seats! ; )

I had to laugh because I recently booked a hotel room for us the night before our flight. To be fair we are flying on the busiest day of the day (day before Thanksgiving) and we live over an hour from the airport, but I do feel like I have a bit more anxiety about things than I used to. I'm totally guilty of #2 always. #3 I do carry some paper copies, but not all of our reservations. I'm with you on #4 also, but it's fun:) If you are packing light it's important to get it right!

The ability to problem solve and to make decisions is easier with age and wisdom.
Everything else is harder!
Over preparation is my way of reducing stress.
Get to places early, plans written down and organized in a journal that I carry with me everywhere, understand how things work, watch videos, read....
Then on travel day, go with whatever happens.

Yes to all the above! Also:
- I like Packtor for my packing list. It's an app so anytime I think of something I can add it. (fair warning, App is free but there is an irritating ad after a couple minutes)
- I write a day by day itinerary as I plan and check off all the paper (tickets, hotel res, etc) as I put my pile o' paper in my backpack
- I talk through the trip with my travel partner or a friend to see what I've missed
Our first trip post-covid we planned very little, just brought the RS book and wandered around to sights on spur of the moment. Upcoming trip feels less stressful.

This was always good advice but even more so now with all the flight cancellations: If you really need to be somewhere on a certain date, plan your flights to arrive there the previous day.

Seems to me like a whole lotta needless anxious energy being expended over nothing.

35 trips to Europe including over 600 nights over there. I pack the night before and I check the bag at the airport - it's usually a 3-leg trip outbound and inbound and have received my checked bag each and every time. I rarely do much planning for the trip other than hotels and train schedules. I reduce my stress level by avoiding art galleries and museums that others may deem absolutely necessary for me to see even though I have zero interest in them.

Most of my transiting in Europe is through MUC which can be a much more pleasant experience than going through that nasty, nasty FRA airport.

I carry both an iPhone and a cellular iPad. I purchase 2 in-country data SIM cards to be in-touch with home. The iPad data SIM card is for security so I don't have to deal with sketchy hotel wifi. I never carry paper copies of anything.

Safe travels.

I travel full time so I am constantly traveling and planning at the same time. I plan in three month modules as I have to return to the US every three months to refill meds.

To keep me organized, I use a few items....

1) Packing list. This is a work in progress as I am constantly finding new "things" or ideas to improve it. But make one for your trip and use it as you pack. I have a master one and make a copy for each trip. I then go through it take things out I won't need. (Hats and gloves in summer.)

When packing, have liquids and larger electronics easy to get to and remove in case you have to at airport security. Look up the rules ahead of time. I see many Americans remove their shoes at European airports when they don't have to.

2) Find an easy way to plan and keep track of your trip. I use Tripit Pro to keep all my travel details in one place.

However, I use old school paper and pencil to plan. I print out a monthly calendar for the months I want to plan. Each date has its own square. At the bottom of each day, I write the city/town I will be sleeping in. In the center, any transportation I might need and the two cities. In the upper right hand corner, I put the expected temperatures.

When I actually book those things, I circle it. This way, I know its been done. I don't need to know the name of the hotel on my planning calendar, that's in Tripit. But I also set up a separate folder in my email account for that trip. I move all emails regarding the trip into that folder as a backup.

I also know me. I am not a morning person. I am a night owl. So, if I have a flight before noon, I'm staying at an airport hotel or one near it. That allows me to travel the day before and get an extra hour or so of sleep.

Try to print your airline boarding passes before heading to the airport. This will save you time so you can, if you only have carry on, go straight to security.

At some point, if you travel enough, things will go wrong. The best thing to do is not to get flustered but to think "what can I do to fix this?" "What are my alternatives?"

Lastly, unless you are going on an expedition down the Amazon or camping in a remote part of Africa, if you forget something you can probably find it at your destination.

Hi there, welcome to posting on the Forum! @Frank II gave a great list, thanks Frank. I agree it feels more stressful & I've been flying to Europe for 50 years.

1) Lowered expectations - Whenever I arrive where I'm going without problems along the way, I just feel grateful. And yes, I check my bag, my body cannot handle the schlepp through connecting airports, so I'm REALLY grateful when it shows up.
2) I (try) and see it all as an adventure, rather than just a delayed / missed flight. Once I was on board and realized my connecting flight had been cancelled, I was able to file on the airline app quickly for EU- law compensation & the $$ more than made up for waiting for what became a 6-hour connection. And it gave me time to have dinner with a friend in Copenhagen and wander around to look at Christmas lights!
3) And speaking of airplane apps, usually if you're delayed or miss a connection, the airline automatically re-books you, just check the app. So technology might be more your friend than years ago.
4) Pre-travel list - An extensive list that includes putting the car onto a battery, cleaning out the fridge, etc etc, which I follow starting days before the flight. That leaves very few last minute things to do & makes for a much more relaxing departure.

Ways that work for me:

• DIRECT flights wherever possible. Flying long distance is a PITA without the stress of potential missed layovers and/or lost luggage.
• Any longer distance flight - ie Europe - some sort of seat upgrades. Not necessarily business class, but at least "premium" coach seats with greater legroom and a better location in the cabin.
• Folder - in my carry-on - with paper copies galore of anything and everything we might need - mainly as back-up for my phone where the tickets are often in an app or in the Wallet.
• About a week out before the trip, packing of luggage and the carryon has begun. Luggage bag open in the bedroom with "must" or "maybe" items slowly being added until final packing the evening before the trip. Carryon is a small plastic bin that passports, Euros, sunglasses, airpods, plane snacks, etc., slowly get added too.
• General "Day One" game plan talked through - pre-flight logistics, arrival logistics, hotel check-in time and route there, afternoon plans for easy transition, etc.

I'm sure lots of other stuff, but being prepared TO travel is the big reducer of stress. Once actually landed, squared away at the hotel, and somewhat relaxed after the disruption, we're readily into "low stress, vacation mode" and good for most of the trip.

All great tips!

I have a new approach to DIY via metro/tube/subway. Post-Covid, my brain doesn't seem to recall the line names, stops, directions, etc as easily as in the past. I used to glance at a physical map, find any connections, leap aboard the closest train, and I was off to my destination. No longer - especially in cities that I'm not terribly familiar with.

I now use a dedicated transit app for the city I'm touring or a more general one like google or Apple maps, or City-Mapper that cover many locations. Lots of info regarding best exit, timings, platforms, etc.

I've taken to studying possible routes as I plan a day's outings. I often write down the info and carry it in my pocket. I can more quickly glance at the notes if confused or forgetful than I can pull up an app on the fly if I don't recall some detail.

Thought of one more I’ve done for the last three trips - I look up each of my hotels/B&B’s on Booking.com a few weeks before the trip and sort the reviews on the most recent ones. Last year, one of our B&B’s in England modified its name, and all of the most reviews showed they were suddenly having problems, i.e. “we arrived and the doors were locked and lights off”! This gave me enough time to cancel that one and reserved a different B&B in a nearby town.

Also, I’m keeping an eye on the announced train strikes.

We also stay at an airport hotel the night before our flight, but work our way back home on the day we get back to the U.S. We are also early for any type of connection by making sure we have plenty of time between legs of a flight. We still believe in carrying paper copies of all reservations and tickets in addition to emails and PDFs on the phones; technology does go belly up at times. We do use a packing list that changes very little from trip to trip.

1) Lowered expectations - Whenever I arrive where I'm going without problems along the way, I just feel grateful. And yes, I check my bag, my body cannot handle the schlepp through connecting airports, so I'm REALLY grateful when it shows up.

Oh my gosh this. Reframing the mindset to "thank goodness our flights all happened and us and our stuff arrived" is just so much nicer than thinking about being cramped for hours, etc. :).

One tip I got somewhere that I used last year and will do again this year is to completely pack everything a week before you leave. (Other than meds you can't or your credit cards, etc). This way all of the "where's my passport/pillow/charge cords/book?" searching stress is done, the "will it all fit?" stress is done, you know where everything is, and you can free your mind of that thinking (and instead focus on "what plants need to be watered by the house sitter so they don't die"). This tip fed my overplanner soul AND reduced my pre-trip stress levels in ways I didn't know I needed. Maybe packing lists can fill this, but again having everything packed early was awesome.

Carrie

One thing I do now that I did not do earlier is be willing to hire a taxi if it makes sense. I am both cheap and I pride myself on being able to figure out local public transportation. But sometimes you need to pivot.

For example, we were to meet our daughter and husband at Catania airport. Their flight was delayed which meant the bus we took from the airport would arrive in Taormina after dark. I had planned for us to walk from the bus station (and had directions) but when I contacted the owner of the air Bnb to meet us, she told us to take a taxi-and that there would only be a couple meeting the bus. We managed to get one and I quickly realized it would have been an ordeal to find the place in the dark.

Three days later I had bus tickets to the train station for us. But it was pouring rain. We took a taxi to the train station.

I would have just endured a few years ago.

Stressing over stress is a new one, But…..treat your journey as a business endeavor and detach some of the emotion. Packing lists are really great but don’t over do it and joyfully embrace you might forget something. Keep documentation to a minimum. Remember you are on vacation and unless it’s a one time visit somewhere don’t go crazy with planning every waking moment. Have limitations of age or patience….then don’t over plan.

I’ve been on the road for business and pleasure for nearly 50 years. Mistakes made, some regrets and always a sense of anticipation and nervousness. RS brings advice and not answers…..listen to what you wish and do as you want.

Good Luck!

Yes--having just returned from my first big international trip since Covid I can certainly relate. I am a guide book person, so I do a lot of reading before I leave. I am also very pen, paper and copies of things--not so much an I Phone person (besides Whats App and Google). I start packing about a week before a big trip. I have always been an early arriver at whatever form of transportation it is (sometimes WAY too early)--that has always been the case. I try to always have a day off at the end of the trip (I didn't on this last trip and it has been a hard, sleepy week). Doesn't take too long to get to the airport so I have not been that much of an airport-stay-before-flight person, at least so far. An international trip always causes me more stress/anxiety than a domestic one--it extrapolates my worries! I also know I don't handle travel hiccups (or convulsions) well.

Forgot to mention in prior post. We also have a check list for the house to be sure lights are off, windows locked, hot water heater set to "vacation", main water supply turned off, certain electronics unplugged, and such. Very easy to custom make one using any word processing software.

Over decades of travels to Europe since I was a child, some of my approach remains the same:
1. Packing is the same colour combo with jacket, shoes & # of layers changing based on time of year/weather;
2. Carry on has an extra change of clothes and pjs; luggage delayed overnight twice;
3. Live 10 minutes from airport so that part is easy:)
4. I’m a paper gal and not giving it up; so much easier having one piece of paper out versus phone that I can (too easily) drop; a general plan for neighbourhoods to explore at destination (with a few small paper notes with possible restaurants etc to try); first 2 days are relaxed ‘jet lag’ days; we are slow travellers so we stay minimum 3-4 days at a hotel (and often longer)
5. iPhone has an audio book or two and iPad has programs to watch downloaded so self sufficient for entertainment at airports and flights; (travel related apps on phone for ‘as needed’ changes, updates
6. In the past 7 years we spend the money on Business Class for a more relaxed journey
7. Arrive early for all transportation and enjoy atmosphere of everyone’s comings and goings

Everyone covered all the details above. Just arrived home yesterday from a month in Europe. Reading this at 5 am. Takes 5 days to reset my “body clocks”. Happy travels!

So many of you here are more frequent travelers than I, but I am stressing about what you all do prior to a trip! I was a once a year Europe traveler pre-Covid and going back for the first time this fall. I can't imagine prepping to the extent that some of you do!

I have no problem with checking a bag (its usually a 23" roller). I have always hated dragging around a bag and prefer essentially hands-free airport travel. I don't stress about clothing but do try to mix/match as much as possible. I DO always arrive hours before my flight but I also have to take a 2.5-3 hr bus to get to the airport so I build in possible delays on the bus. One thing I will be doing differently this year is either taxi or scheduled transport from airport to hotel. I am lucky enough to be able to factor this cost into my trip.

Always paper back-ups since I am not a cell phone officianado (just got my iPhone 2 yrs ago). The house checklist has been streamlined since I sold the house-so now just unplug all electrics, turn off washing machine water source.

Bottom line, if something comes up, I have no issue with spending for an extra night or two in Europe. I don't have to be anywhere anymore. Totally freeing feeling.

Bottom line, if something comes up, I have no issue with spending for
an extra night or two in Europe. I don't have to be anywhere anymore.
Totally freeing feeling.

Me too. I still stress about getting there, but coming home....do I have to? My upcoming trip I've created some stresses getting there by breaking a lot of my own rules. We're heading to Lisbon in September to meet friends coming from the Philadelphia area. There are no direct flights and I wasn't happy with the price of options of flying through Toronto, so instead were flying our airline of choice-WestJet to Barcelona and then after a 4 hour layover hopping on an EasyJet flight to Lisbon. A connection on the same ticket is one thing, but a connection on a different ticket with a budget airline I've never used before has me concerned already. I'm trying to think of it as an adventure and a learning experience if this is a good idea, but I'm not convincing myself that it will be either.

@Allan - Hopefully, it will work out, but we've often spent a night in between such flights to just be sure (and to explore another European town that we might never have gone to otherwise).

I'm reading a lot about stress and worry.

Remember, much of what you are worrying about will either...

--never happen. It's mostly anticipatory anxiety;

or

--is out of your control. You can be ready with backup plans, but much of what you are stressing about is out of your control.

I usually have a backup plan and I try to cut the odds of having problems with my planning. But I also realize that much of life is out of my control.

When plans change due to cancellations, techinical issues, weather, etc, I don't get all stressed out. I ask myself "what are my alternatives?"

Okay, I do get upset for a bit, but not enough to stop thinking clearly about a solution.

One thing I always keep in mind......with my passport, a credit card and for me, my phone, I can always get home. And if I lose everything else, it's all replaceable. As are my passport, my credit card and my phone.

A very interesting thread. Started off with strategies to help your trip go better/smoother. Then they added in a few “I don’t know what your problem is, but I never have it” posts to spice it up. I don’t think this was intended to be a post about stress as much as ways to help ensure a positive experience.

More proof that these threads have a life of their own.

. I don’t think this was intended to be a post about stress as much as ways to help ensure a positive experience.

From the OP

I have found myself more stressed when travelling. I am curious if others have experienced this and if so what coping tactics they've adopted.

There are a lot of useful tips in this thread. Dealing with pre-trip stress for a week or more ahead of a trip departure has been a challenge for me from even before the pandemic. I also still work full time so there is that wrap-up process too. Quite a few people delegate work to me so despite plenty of notice of my vacation that can get crazy.

If it is vulnerability stress (based on "Between post covid challenges and accommodating the impacts of aging") then basically you perceive the same stress factors which you already perceived in earlier times (consciously or subconsciously) - but much stronger (influencing factor becomes stress factor). In this case ask yourself what did stress you earlier but not enough to develop the need of finding coping tactics. These stress factors are often "inherited" or socially transferred / adapted - so also checking your closest family and friends network for overtaken stress factors and how they cope with it can help you to find bridging solutions.

The problem wth our mental issues is that they travel with us - everywhere and everytime. Therefore it is important also to find daily business tactics to cope generally with own fears and doubts, e. g. breathing, mentality or body techniques.

And be cautious with all sort of coping because once "installed" a tactic, you somehow accepted the stress factor and you have another barreer to carry around. To avoid this all around solution focus and neutralizing the problem / reason are good approaches.

Have a good journey.

I used to roll out major changes at work that affected a lot of people in Operations. All of the levels of personnel saw it as a positive change (middle management usually last), but there was still “the change curve” everyone walked through, so I had to be very mindful of people’s valid process of reaction through it.

Each traveler has various degrees of stress or none perceived, and they are each valid for them.

The good news is that your stress about packing ends as soon as you’re on the airplane! What you brought is what you’re wearing! : )

Have a great time!

I guess I just got over it. I usually expect something to happen. This past year i've had late and cancelled trains, buses that didn't show, taxi drivers who couldn't find me (and vice versa), road construction, museums closed (when they were supposed to be open), ferry's that weren't running, lost luggage, etc. Sometimes more than one of these the same day.

Fortunately I'm at a point where I can afford to resolve some of those issues, and my job isn't going to cut me loose if my schedule changes. If I have to walk a bit further I do that. If I need to find a place to spend the night I do that. Clothes are not expensive. If I need alternate transport I work out something. I usually carry something to eat, but missing a meal won't kill me. I never pack more than I can pick up and carry, always keep cash on hand, am not a picky eater, and believe "any port in a storm" is a good philosophy.

To me these are the challenges that make travel interesting. I try to practice patience; always carry a book and a pocket knife (both come in handy), and try to, at least, learn something of the local language.

First of all, I am not interested in stress while traveling in Europe. You learn to cope or you had better learn which is the philosophy I apply to myself. You learn to pace yourself, set aside for so-called down time, etc.

I did carry paper copies of only a few hotel reservations, this 9 week trip last summer none at all, when I decided to dispense with all that unnecessary paper weight, just walked into the hotel and told them I had a reservation for x number of nights without showing any confirmation....always worked.

Never in 53 years of traveling in Europe has any hotel call in question my reservation in Europe, be it in Austria, England, France and Paris, Poland, Germany, whether or not I had the reservation on paper or phone. They believed me upon showing the passport, not worried about losing the passport either, having it picked or whatever....not going to happen.

I do make a packing list, the absolute essential things other than my prescribed meds, I know naturally. The only taxing thing I find now , post pandemic, is the inconsistency and moments of unreliability of the ICE trains in Germany, ie train cancelled, trains one hour late I have accustomed myself to in Germany. Luckily that has not happened to me too often, day or night train.

Thank you for all the thoughtful responses! We all have our travel methods and there's no "one right way" after all. I utilize a lot of the recommendations, most of which I picked up from this forum over the years. I also realized that there are several things that don't bother me that are of concern to others -- travelling alone, for instance; or getting lost (still carry a map and compass in these GPS days).

The biggest stressor I dumped when I retired! All those weeks prepping work and then more catching up. And the sheer luxury of time . . . as Jean and retiredinVT point out. I can add extra days to stops, adjust for weather, just sit on a park bench and enjoy.

I think Sandancisco and Carrie have a great attitude to the mixed joys of air travel. "Thank goodness our flights all happened . . .":-)

I learned a couple of things on my last 2 trips. First, in an arrival zombie state I lost my paper copies. This actually did cause a problem in one instance, plus I was just mentally uncomfortable without them, so I will keep packing them. Second, I finally tried only bringing one pair of shoes (Sketchers light hikers). This worked, but I missed being able to swap out, so I probably will go back to 2 pairs. And third, as BethinFL points out, taking an occasional taxi is a good investment.

I have a trip in the works for this fall. I hope to make greater use of transit apps and will undoubtedly order a couple more travel gizmos recommended by forum folks. Safe travels!