What are your stress-reducers?

"but what about the normal (or unique) stresses of travel, from start to finish, and what remedies or preventiond do you use?"

I simply enjoy my trip and remind myself that even if things don't go perfectly, I'm still probably having a better time than I would if I stayed at home.

Monitoring this website for years, the majority of the negative trip reports I've read (of which there are very few to begin with), it seems that the problem was more with the individual and their expectations, rather than the trip experience itself....

... and before we get a flood of "Well, my trip went bad and it wasn't my fault because...", note that I wrote "majority of", not "all".

I try to plan to avoid what stresses I can. I am not one to look for hotels once I get somewhere. I pre-schedule all my rooms for the trip. I make sure to give myself plenty of time for train transfers on tickets I buy ahead of time (probably more time than most people would consider necessary) and enough time between flights. I bring detailed directions to each hotel from the train station, airport or wherever I am coming from. Then, once I go, I just accept that everything might not go as I planned. When something goes wrong, I try to keep a sense of humor about it or see it as an adventure. Also, when planning my budget for a trip, I always over budget so that I usually spend less than I planned and can avoid the stress of spending more than planned.

Sleep, Eat (think nutrition), Hydrate (drink plenty of water), and Exercise. The order may not be exactly right, but this is the best way to reduce stress on your body.
Smoking, poor nutrition, drinking alcohol, not getting adequate sleep, not drinking enough water, and trying too do to much or meet impossibly strict time limits are all self-imposed stresses. Try to reduce self-imposed stress wherever you can.

I try to take for granted that some things will go wrong, usually at the worst time. In 2012 when my sister and I arrived in Paris from CDG, we spent 30 minutes wandering around the 6th trying to find our hotel. Though we were tired and had all our luggage, we stayed calm. While the idea of getting upset might be tempting because you think it'll get you somewhere, in reality it won't and you'll feel worse.

I just stop for a cappucino -- or a glass of wine. Works every time! And while sipping, remind myself that I am sooooo lucky to be able to see this wonderful place I'm in! I avoid the stress of losing $$ and passports and credit cards by using a neck wallet! The loss of those things would be VERY stressful, and I couldn't even buy a glass of wine!!

The only stresses that come to mind are

1. getting to trains/planes on time - so first I don't schedule difficult options if I can avoid it. And I always sacrifice activities (including sleeping and eating) to make sure I have plenty of lead time.

2. getting lost. I simply can't follow maps and directions in foreign places and then I get really frustrated at being lost. My simple solution is to be prepared to spend what I have to for a taxi when all else fails.

For everything else, alcohol, chocolate and/or gelato works for me.

Zoe,

I do my "stressing" at home. that is, i do it while im planning for my trip as in trying to figure my schedule, what transportation to take, hotel to stay and if im going to be able to see what i had planned to see in the time i had allotted. I "plan" my trip to reduce my stress over there. Also, if anything does come up unexpectedly, i will have some knowledge by my planning at home, what to do over there.

one of these days i will do the "wing it" type trip, but for now im doing the planning type. I also found out that while doing the planning i get in the "mood" for my travels.

i found that after my first trip (i had done the planning on that too) that alot of any stress wasnt there on my second trip and im finishing up the planning on my 3rd trip for this sept and not alot of stress there either. i see it as once i got the hang of it, its just like getting back on a horse.

im sure others will have different experience.

Happy trails.

Zoe... well, sometimes I plan but most often I wing it... but either way, there are certainly stressful times... can't find the hotel I booked, lost and wandering some city, can't find a restaurant serving food when I need it, can't find my favorite flavor of gelato:))) But.... I always try to take a deep breath and remember that 'if it's not life threatening, it really doesn't matter'.... and as has been previously stated...how lucky I am to be traveling and what a whiner I would sound like complaining about being in Europe:)) For me the most stressful thing would be losing my camera before I had downloaded my images (all else can be replaced)

I relieve my work stress by traveling. Traveling isn't what I would consider stressful, even if things go wrong.

Much like Leigh, I do lots of planning up front so that I know where I will stay, what I will see, and have my finances, passport and other documents handled safely. Even with doing all this planning, we like to be flexible to change direction if we want to. We've had things go wrong, but it's always worked out - we try to have a sense of humor and adventure (almost couldn't do that when a spider the size of a coffee saucer showed up in the B&B room!).

I plan and print out reservations. I make lists. Then, as we leave for the airport and I am stressing over the checklists, I remind myself that all we really need are passports, a credit card and debit card, and access to confirmation codes for flights, etc. Everything else can be bought over there or retrieved by email. Relax.

I do lots of planning as well, spread sheets, photocopies of reservations, train tickets, etc. I am most organized when traveling! I find that the research and planning is part of the journey and does relieve some stress.

I also avoid changing planes at JFK whenever possible. And I spend the $$ for economy comfort seating; in flight I feel like a sardine rather than an anchovy.

I get stressed over things like having enough startup money, so I try to make sure I have enough for the first day - or at least to get me to my hotel (usually in city centers so there are ATMS everywhere).

Then it's just breathe, pinch myself that I'm in Europe again, and remember that some of my best travel stories are when things went wrong. The stress is there in the moment, but it disappears, as noted, with a capuccino (before noon) or something stronger later on.

It helps me to remember that traveling is a privilege and that what may be an inconvenience to me is what others live with every day.

My biggest travel stressor-an unexpectedly hot hotel/apartment. I am a very easy going person but I am a Midwesterner. I do not do well in the heat when I am trying to sleep (I do okay in the day). I try my best to get places with a/c but that isn't always possible. So my solution is my 12 dollar Wal-Mart travel fan! It is very powerful, and is fairly thin/lightweight. My friends and family mock me upon arrival but I am the one getting a peaceful slumber. It also provides good white noise in case any of my travel companions snore.

Second issue- getting lost upon arrival to a new city. I am intelligent, left brained, and enjoy maps. But there are ALWAYS missing streets, streets that aren't marked, unexpectedly dead ended streets, construction, gated off areas, that throw me off. I have started using the map app on my Ipad to do step by step instructions of my route. Then I take a picture every step. If I get lost, I can scroll through my pictures to try and orient myself. It has worked fairly well so far. But I always plan on extra travel time for "taking the scenic route" upon arrival to a new city.

That doesn't sound like an easy going person. For the most part we have very little stress in our travels in part because our planning is very min. So there is little to go wrong. We have been accused by friends as being too laid back when it comes to traveling. We haven't had to sleep in the train station or airport yet but we have been close a couple of times. The biggest thing for us is that we both are absolutely on the same page, in fact - the same paragraph, when it comes to traveling. For this reason we are very reluctant to travel with friends. For us, the travel is the stress reducer.

My unrest is more about leaving my home safe and well behind, getting to the airport on time for not missing the flight to my destination and there for the one back home. The rest is not of a real concern.

@Frank

I guess "easy going" is in the eye of the beholder. I can roll with just about anything. But I don't sleep well when I am hot. I was just sharing some of my tricks like everyone else. I don't think the first sentence of your comment was really warranted or necessary for you to share your point of view.

@ Brad - I think that you listed all of my favorite things (drinking, smoking, 14 bakery/gelato stops, staying up all hours of the night)

My two stresses are:
Getting lost - I usually try to take public transportation, but will take a taxi if I am lost (especially trying to find a hotel). I find that the extra 5-10 euros decreases my stress a lot, even if it is only 2 blocks from the train station.
Travel companions - Traveling with groups is much more stressful (IMHO) than by myself. If I go with other people I think that scheduled time away from eachother, and an open group mentality help. I also max out at 3 people, otherwise there are too many opinions and too many people to make happy. I know that other people make it work with bigger groups, but I hate playing tour guide (I still remember one fight in a back street in Barcelona - I think it ended with "You might think Gaudi is lame but I am going to see it, see you at the airport")

A bakery/gelato/bar stop fixes most stresses, if not a break helps. I always try to think 'am I having fun' because if I am not then it's time to do something else.

I share Wil's sentiment. Airline travel stresses me out. I'm fine with flying (I've been a licensed pilot for 45 years), but the hassles of ground transportation and the regimentation of ticketing, security and seating drive me nuts. If I could fly my Cessna to Europe, I would. I'm a wreck and unpleasant to be around from the time I get up on travel day, and the only thing that reduces my stress is arriving at the departure gate with at least an hour to spare.

Any stress takes place in the planning, but it's not bad. Mostly worrying about leaving our Abby (cat) and our home in the care of someone else while we're away. We've always had people we know watch both, but we still worry. We know where we'll be staying, how to get there and have a flexible plan as to what we'd like to see and do. A few weeks before leaving our CC and banks have been notified, everything reconfirmed and we're always packed and ready to go 2 or 3 days before departure of our trip. The 2 or 3 days before we leave are normal days and we can relax and not even think about the trip before leaving.

I used to be like Jeff and Wil, really tense and edgy. Then I started traveling a lot more and the stress is gone, so (for me at least) that stress went away when travel became more "routine."

"Stressed is Deserts spelled backwards." and "Live is short. Eat Desert first."

Sounds like a good way to relive stress particularly if you also take a break from whatever has you stressed this time. Chocolate fixes (that's what I call them) work especially well for me.

When traveling, If I do find that stress is creeping in, I medicate. My preferred form of medication can be found at the local pub.

Wine/beer.

I also try to get as much sleep as possible ;-)

We used to fly into some place like Amsterdam, spend a long weekend, then hit the road for the remainder of our trip with a rental car. We've gone as far as Venice and Vienna--750 miles one way. But $8 and $9 per U.S. gallon gasoline has cured us of pushing ourselves so hard.
We're now into Traveling Slowly. I have a tendency to over plan our trips, however I usually know the streets and what tourist venues are worth seeing in any city.

We stay in B&B's, apartments and agriturismos whenever we can.
But if my wife and I want to sleep until 10:00 a.m., we'll do it. And if we want to eat pizza or other non-native foods, we eat it. We just roll with the flow, and things have a way of working out well.

Make sure you have a "to do" list prior to departure, get it done, and sleep. Pack well in advance, esp don't leave any packing to the last minute. Have all the "stuff" you want to take visibily, to be packed, another way of not forgetting.

Careful planning and research and a reasonable, easy-going attitude help with the actual logistics of the trip. I have a good sense of direction so haven't had trouble with getting lost, though while in Tallinn last year I adopted a new rule for myself: I was going to take the bus to a nearby area and despite having been successful with their public transport before I somehow could not find the right stop and was growing hot and frustrated as I trudged along and the people waiting at the stops seemed to be Russians who did not speak English (to their credit, they seemed genuinely sorry they could not help me) and so I took a taxi instead. The return trip was made on the bus. Always be prepared to take a taxi if you've reached your limit of patience. And know when it's time to sit down and people-watch, with possibly a drink and/or snack of some kind, to re-charge your batteries. Other than that I keep myself well-entertained while traveling with the same things I use at home, knitting and reading. I travel alone, so self-reliance is key.

I just posted this tip elsewhere: I pack my carryon the night before I leave; next day's clothing is laid out. In the morning, sleepwear and toiletries go in the daybag or the outer zipper compartment of the carryon.