If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed when it comes to travel, it’s that at least one thing will go wrong. Maybe slightly wrong, maybe horribly wrong. What can you do increase the odds of enjoying your trip regardless of the mishaps? Here are my top 5 suggestions:
Choose travel partners wisely.
Even if you’re on the most relaxing vacation imaginable, travel is stressful and travel is tiring. When you’re stressed and tired it’s harder to get along with people, so choose wisely when you’re thinking about travel partners. I have tons of friends* that I enjoy hanging out with. There are maybe 10% of them that I’d travel with. Choose someone that doesn’t grate on your nerves after a long day together. Choose someone that will enjoy the same type of vacation that you do (i.e. sightseeing, relaxing, partying, etc.). Choose someone that can adhere to the other 5 steps listed in this post!
*I don’t really have TONS of friends, because I’m an introvert. But “I have four friends” didn’t really drive the point home as well so I exaggerated a little bit.
Have a basic plan.
I once traveled to New York City with my mom and sister (which was a pretty good reminder of tip number one above – Love you Mom and Maryann!) and we had very little planned. I wanted to walk across the Brooklyn bridge. My mom wanted to see the Statue of Liberty. We had tickets to see Wicked. Other than that, no plan. Without a plan you end up spending valuable vacation time figuring out and deciding on (perhaps arguing about) what to do and when. I suggest having a basic outline with 2-3 key things to do each day (enough things to fill ½-3/4 of your day). This increases the likelihood that you’ll get to see everything you really wanted to see but also allows time for spontaneity.
Remain flexible
No, I’m not talking about yoga poses here – though some deep breathing exercises may come in handy. I have been blessed with a remarkable “go-with-the-flow” attitude, so this step has been mostly easy for me, but this is not the case for all. You might need to remind yourself to stay flexible. A friend of mine was once travelling in Italy and hated it. Couldn’t wait to get home. Their plan involved visiting several cities, but was thrown off course by a travel strike that shut down all forms of public transportation. They were stuck in Venice (or Rome or Milan…I can’t recall). By their definition, the entire trip was ruined. They were unable to enjoy the city they were in because they knew their plan had just been tossed out the window – Don’t let this happen to you! Make the best of your situation and remember what Monty Python says: “Always look on the bright side of life” (and if you’re a fan, the song is now stuck in your head – you’re welcome).
Do a little research.
Some basic things to consider: 1. What neighborhoods are good/bad/ugly to stay in? To me, this is especially important if you’re staying in a home (i.e. Airbnb, VRBO, etc.) vs a hotel which may provide a tad more security. 2. Are there any cultural things you should know? This will likely apply most to women and foreign travel, especially if you’re visiting any religious sites or if you want to avoid too much cat-calling. 3. What will the weather be? Obviously, you won’t know this with any kind of certainty, but take a look at the general forecast. I like to be prepared – but that can quickly result in over packing so I try to be as logical as possible. That being said, it never hurts to have something to protect you from rain and wind.
Laugh.
Like I said before, something big or small is going to go wrong on your trip. It’s the way of the world. And what can you do when it does? Laugh about it. Tell stories about it (Remember that time we flew across the U.S. three times trying to get to Spain? Ha ha ha…). Revel in the ridiculousness of your situation, then go back to step 3 and come up with a revised plan.
Oh I STILL tell patients about you flying across the country 3 times to get to Spain 😂
Flying across the country 3 times, did lead us to first class seats though… always a silver lining.
Also, I hope that since you’ve started this blog it means you’ll need to travel a lot. In which case I’ll be invited. 😉
Yes, you can like or love someone but prefer to not travel with them. I had a friend who I drove with across the United States. On the third day, my friend says I really hate going out every night. Can we just stay in our hotel? What? We were in Memphis and I wanted to check it out. 🙁. We stayed in the hotel.