Going on vacation is seen by many as self-care.
Even for me, travel is my self-care.
But going on vacation and travelling out of your usual environment can also be an extremely stressful and anxiety-fuelled time.
Especially if you put others’ needs (friends and family included) before your own.
I mean, hands up if you’ve ever felt you needed a holiday after a holiday.
You’re not alone.
Studies show that at least 21% of people feel tense or stressed out while on vacation.
So with vacation season nearly upon us, I felt like there was no time like the present to share my go-to tips for stress-free travel.
Here is everything you can do to practice self-care on vacation so that when you get home, you’re feeling more refreshed than ever.
Travel is my self-care
If you haven’t guessed already, I travel a lot.
It’s literally my life. (You can stay up to date with my digital nomad diary on Instagram!)
And so I know a thing or two about using certain tools and practices to help ease stress and anxiety as best I can.
Travel is not just a lifestyle for me, but a form of self-care.
It serves as a constant source of inspiration, sparks my creativity, allows me to reconnect with my values and is shaping me into the person I want to be.
Having the freedom to travel is also part of my personal why.
I get to wake up every day, exploring somewhere new and doing the things that I want to be doing. Whether that is walking and wandering around the city I find myself in, hitting up all the tourist hotspots or simply working from a local coffee shop all day.
I finally have space to grow, and I no longer feel trapped being somewhere I don’t want to be.
However, that doesn’t mean that every day looks like a fairytale.
Travel, like any other aspect of life, has its challenges and uncertainties.
I still get overwhelmed from time to time, and I still have moments where I want to scream into a pillow due to a lack of understanding.
But I’ve managed to establish a set of habits and rituals that have been essential in maintaining my overall health and well-being while travelling.
It is these practices that allow me to mindfully navigate a new environment, create balance amidst a demanding schedule and find calm while dealing with stressful situations.
Benefits of self-care
Before we jump into how you can practice self-care on vacation, let’s first look at the many benefits of travel self-care.
For starters, engaging in self-care can improve the overall quality of your trip.
It helps reduce stress and anxiety, boost mood, increase energy levels, and enhance self-esteem.
Self-care also helps you become more resilient in the face of challenges, so you are better equipped to manage travel-related issues, i.e. lost baggage, delayed flights, language barriers, etc.
Practising self-care on vacation can also help to:
- Improve physical, mental and emotional health
- Boost energy
- Reduce the risk of travel burnout and exhaustion
- Enhance enjoyment and appreciation of vacation experiences
- Learn how to appreciate your own company
- Strengthen relationships and connections with your travel buddies
- Encourage personal growth and self-awareness (especially when adapting to new environments)
- Promote rejuvenation and a refreshed feeling when returning home
- Increase overall happiness and life satisfaction
9 ways to practice self-care on your next vacation
Self-care goes beyond indulging in massages, meditation, or yoga.
It involves deepening the relationship you have with yourself, nurturing self-awareness and developing the strength to navigate stressful situations.
And that is what I have chosen to focus on in this blog post.
For me, practising self-care while travelling doesn’t always look like getting an affordable pedicure (that is simply a bonus).
Travel self-care looks like planning ahead, going slow and maintaining a solid daily routine.
I invite you to bookmark this page so you can refer back to it whenever you need to and find calm on your next trip abroad.
1 | Plan ahead
My number 1 tip for eliminating overwhelm and feeling zen whilst abroad is to plan trips ahead of time.
Lucky for me, I’m a natural-born planner and I absolutely love putting together my itinerary.
While I do leave room for flexibility and book excursions in real-time with local travel agents, there are certain aspects I never fail to plan — accommodation and transportation.
I’m not a “turn up and look for a room” kinda gal.
I find peace of mind in knowing where I’ll be staying at least a week in advance and how I’ll be getting there.
By taking care of these essentials ahead of time, I can embark on my journey with confidence and focus on savouring every moment of my adventure rather than stressing out over last-minute travel planning.
2 | Set healthy work boundaries
There’s nothing worse than being on holiday and getting disturbed by unwanted work calls or emails.
So enjoy a well-deserved vacation by establishing healthy work-life boundaries.
Boundaries are the limits and rules you put in place to separate your personal space, emotions and responsibilities from others.
They also help to protect your energy and stop people from taking advantage of you.
Setting boundaries is necessary all year round, but they are even more necessary when you want to sip cocktails while lying on a tropical beach.
So don’t skip this step!
Here are a few mindful tips to help you get started:
- Clearly communicate your availability: Let your colleagues and clients, etc. know in advance about your vacation and set clear expectations regarding your availability. Let them know the specific times or days when you won’t be reachable for work-related matters.
- Turn on your out-of-office: Enable your ‘out of office’ so people can expect when to hear back from you. This will take the pressure off you having to reply to anyone while you’re on holiday.
- Limit screen time: Get the most out of your vacation by disconnecting from your devices. You’ll be amazed at how much time you free up by not hopping onto Instagram every hour to have a little scroll.
By setting healthy work-life boundaries, you can fully disconnect from work and enjoy a stress-free vacation, allowing yourself to truly unwind and recharge.
3 | Create a travel reset routine
While exploring remains one of my favourite self-care activities, the actual travelling part, like getting from A to B, can be exhausting and not as glamorous as it seems.
Packing can often feel like a daunting task (I’ve discovered that listening to a podcast while packing makes it more enjoyable), airports can be stressful, flying can trigger anxiety and arriving in a new country can be a sensory overload.
So once you arrive at your destination, I suggest following a travel reset routine to nourish your mind, body and skin.
My 7-step travel reset routine looks a little like this:
- Step 1 = Unpack
- Step 2 = Shower and wash my hair
- Step 3 = Cleanse and moisturise
- Step 4 = Use CurrentBody’s LED face mask to revitalise dry and tired skin
- Step 5 = Go on a short walk around my new neighbourhood
- Step 6 = Eat a local meal
- Step 7 = Relax in my room and watch a movie
This reset routine not only allows you to get organised and explore your new local area, but it also gives you plenty of time to recharge so you can tackle the rest of your vacation with renewed energy and confidence.
Feel free to create your own travel reset routine or adjust this one to better suit you and your needs.
4 | Maintain your daily wellness habits
Take it from someone who has been living on the road for over 2 years — keeping some form of routine while travelling is essential.
Routines provide structure to your day and help to reduce stress, especially in the morning.
They can also be incredibly comforting.
I mean, hands up if you’ve ever looked forward to coming home from a holiday and jumping back into your routine.
It’s that sense of familiarity that grounds us.
So why not continue your routine even when on holiday?
Whether it’s waking up at a certain time, doing a morning workout or stretching before bed, maintaining your usual daily wellness habits can provide a feeling of normalcy and stability in unfamiliar surroundings. Which in turn helps to ease overwhelm and anxiety.
5 | Carve out some alone time
Whether you are travelling as part of a group, with friends, family or a partner, it is essential that you spend time alone.
Time spent alone helps to reduce social exhaustion and burnout.
Plus, you can turn up to dinner feeling a lot happier and refreshed, too.
So spend some time alone every day — even if it’s just for 10 minutes or so.
Go on a walk by yourself, head to the spa or simply sit and do nothing. The choice is yours — just make sure you’re doing something for you.
Pinpoint what you and your body need in terms of nourishment and go straight to addressing those needs.
The more you rest and take care of yourself, the more nourished you feel, so you can continue to show up to be your “best” self for you and your travel buddies.
6 | Engage in activities that make you happy
Engaging in activities that bring you joy is a vital aspect of practising self-care.
In fact, even while on vacation, many people now prioritise fun activities over getting pampered or indulging.
So take the time to identify the things that genuinely make you happy and incorporate them into your itinerary.
Whether it’s exploring local markets, indulging in delicious cuisine, immersing yourself in nature, or pursuing creative endeavours, prioritise activities that boost your mood and promote a sense of fulfilment.
By focusing on the things that bring you joy, you can ease stress and enhance your overall well-being even when travelling
7 | Practice slow travel
With the fast pace of modern life, the surge in social media and accessibility, travel has become a popularity contest.
Because of the excessive need for everything to be visually appealing and “Instagrammable”, entire cities and cultures are being reduced to tourist attractions, must-sees and “Insta-worthy” hotspots.
Travel can also feel like a whirlwind. You find yourself going from landmark to landmark, museum to museum, restaurant to restaurant, etc, without fully reflecting and making sense of your experiences.
Stress, overwhelm and exhaustion all add up, and as soon as you get home, you feel as though you need another vacation.
But slow travel allows you to take your time and explore somewhere new at your own pace.
When you stay longer in a destination, you can have a richer, more meaningful experience.
So ditch the Lonely Planet guides, spend time speaking to locals, walk and wander everywhere, stay in one place for at least a week and adopt a traveller mindset, not a tourist mindset.
Choosing to practice slow travel deepens your connection with a place, its people and its culture.
It’s not all about getting the perfect “insta” shot or rushing through all the sites in a short amount of time.
Slow travel allows you to truly feel something. It leaves a lasting impression and impacts your soul.
8 | Don’t try to do absolutely everything
And this brings me to my next tip… don’t fall into the trap of trying to do absolutely everything during your vacation.
A vacation shouldn’t be about the number of places you manage to visit so you can document it for others to see.
Your vacation should be about you.
So, rather than chasing a long and exhausting list of sites, prioritise rest and relaxation. Focus on creating meaningful experiences and memories that resonate with you personally.
Give yourself permission to slow down, savour each moment and truly immerse yourself in a new culture.
Release the pressure to do it all and open yourself up to a more fulfilling and enriching experience.
9 | Write a gratitude list every evening
When we’re on vacation, it’s easy to forget how privileged we are to experience the places we get to see.
Taking a moment to truly appreciate everything you see is essential.
During a recent stay in Ubud, I got chatting with a French woman at breakfast, and her words have resonated deeply within me ever since: “Everywhere is special if you have an open mind.”
As humans, we tend to focus on the negatives rather than the positives. So even though you might have had a great holiday, there will always be something bad that you remember. Maybe the sidewalks weren’t complete, maybe you got sick from the drinking water, or there were unforeseen challenges that stressed you out.
For some reason, we choose to use these negative experiences to impact how good the vacation was. But if you just open up your mind, you’ll find your trip a lot more enjoyable.
So learn to appreciate the slowness of certain countries. Learn to appreciate the fact that life doesn’t always need to be rushed and hectic.
Take the time to savour the small moments and embrace the beauty of simply being present.
Every evening before you go to sleep, I encourage you to practice gratitude by making a list of everything you were grateful for that day.
By jotting down your observations, reflections and insights, you can deepen your connection to the place and gain a richer understanding of its culture, history and people.
These notes can later become treasured memories and serve as a reminder of your travel experiences long after you’ve returned home.
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Final thoughts
When you’re in a dreamy destination, it can be easy to forget about regular habits and let self-care take a backseat.
But by prioritising self-care while on vacation, you can continue to take care of your physical, mental and emotional well-being.
And by following the tips above, you can invite more calm into your next trip and enjoy stress-free travel.
It also goes without saying that what works for me might not necessarily work for you.
Use these tips as inspiration or adapt them to better suit you and your needs, and create your own version of a healthy and fulfilling vacation.
You’ve got this.
Thalia xx
