4 Secrets to Preventing Stress on Vacation

One of the major goals of a vacation is relaxation. However, people often find themselves returning from a vacation more tired than when they left. When you’re visiting a new place, creating a busy schedule is incredibly easy. The urge to explore and check things off your list begins to grow before you even arrive. This can lead to a vacation full of stress, mostly related to scheduling conflicts and fatigue. In this article, we’ll share our secrets to planning a stress-free vacation that will leave you feeling refreshed.

1. Minimize your vacation itinerary

A minimized itinerary equals minimized burnout. Of course, there will be sights and activities that you want to cross off your list. The safest way to ensure you get the most out of your experience is to create a list of all the things you want to do, but don’t commit to any specific thing until the day you want to do it. This ensures that you are actually feeling up to said activities when the moment arrives.

It’s worth mentioning that this does not bode well for all activities. There may be specific experiences that need to be prioritized and planned well in advance due to their popularity or limited availability.

2. Find a convenient vacation home base 

Booking a stay in the middle or close to your point of destination is both practical and cost-effective. It allows you to wander around and explore new and unheard-of things. When you walk the neighborhoods of a new destination, you will find little gems that are popular with locals and often overlooked by tourists.

Staying in the specific neighborhood you want to explore will cut back on Uber and Lyft fares as well as travel time to any spur-of-the-moment activity you want to do.

3. Vacation during the off-season

Traveling during peak season guarantees high prices, longer lines, and overly crowded spaces. This is an easy recipe for vacation overstimulation. Off season travel helps you to enjoy the following benefits.

Quieter surroundings

With less of a crowd, you will be free to take clearer pictures, stand in shorter lines, and soak in the environment without feeling overwhelmed.

Discounted accommodations

Prices typically plummet during the offseason, which means cheaper airfare, longer stays, and leisurely activities. For example, Miami spa prices drop up to 50% during offseason.

Authentic local experiences

With fewer tourists around you will be able to engage with more locals and discover events that might not be as popular during peak travel season.

This method especially works best for theme parks and destinations that have rich histories with popular landmarks and must-see sights.

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4. Embrace a flexible mindset

Flexibility is important to embrace when it comes to leisure travel. The more flexible you are with your time, the more room you have for spur-of-the-moment activities such as street festivals or local markets.

Remember, your entire vacation doesn’t have to be unplanned to experience refreshing leisure travel. Longer stays allow you to fit all the things you want to do into your schedule and give you enough time to unwind.

If a longer stay is not an option, you can always plan your activities at the beginning of your vacation and leave the last days open to leisure exploration and relaxation.

Putting these tips to use will have you returning to your regular day-to-day life feeling refreshed, like you should after every vacation.