This article includes nine travel woes to avoid to ensure you’ll have happy travels! Some of these you can avoid in the preparation phase of you trip while others are meant to help you stay happy during your travels.
Hanger
To avoid hanger (a mix of hunger and anger, where being hungry just makes your anger worse), you must remember to eat. This seems silly but when you’re travelling you might lose track of time and forget to make time to sit down and eat. Packing snacks will turn out to be a lifesaver during moments of hanger. If you are a foodie or you just hate the idea of packing snacks and want to taste more local flavors, stop at a local grocery store on your first day and buy some snacks there! That way you can try new things while avoiding hanger!
Dehydration
Dehydration is a great way to make you feel like crap. It can also make you crabby if you start to feel unwell. If you get in the habit of ordering water anytime you sit down for a meal this will help to avoid the dreaded dehydration. Another way is to carry a reusable water bottle with you.
If you are travelling in Europe, you will be charged for water if you order it. This will most of the time be served in a bottle as some areas don’t have high quality drinking water. If you are from the US, you are accustomed to receiving water for free at restaurants or bars, but this is not the norm in other places. When I was travelling in Scotland, I wasn’t charged for water, but I was charged in mainland Europe.
Jet Lag
Jet lag, according to the mayo clinic, is a sleep disorder that can affect those who travel quickly across multiple time zones. The longest flight I have been on was 8 hours long from Chicago to London. I’ve flown the route a few times now and I’ve learned a few tips that have helped me. If you are going on a journey longer than that you may experience worse jet lag as you would be crossing more time zones.
On the way over to London, I always try to get sleep on the plane. The flight I am usually on leave Chicago at around 9pm and lands in London at 10am London time. This may seem like a long flight, but it is only around the 8 hours and the rest of the difference is the time zones you’ve crossed. To make the most out of your first day of your trip don’t let yourself go to sleep once you arrive. Wait to go to sleep until at least 8pm to help your body adjust to the time.
To sleep on the plane, I have used melatonin to help make me sleepy. It has helped the majority of the times I’ve tried it. I would also pack earplugs and an eye mask because you never know who you’ll end up sitting next to. You won’t want to let the six-year-old complaining next to you ruin you trip.
Exhaustion
If you travel like I do, you are trying to make the most out of your time in a new place. Most of the time, I end up running around trying to see everything and when I get back home, I crash. I sleep for an entire day before I can start to get back into a normal routine.
If you are taking a trip as part of a holiday or break, I highly suggest planning some time in your trip to do absolutely nothing. Take time to relax and enjoy yourself. If your going somewhere warm plan to go to a beach or go on a picnic. If your going somewhere colder take a sauna or find somewhere with an indoor pool.
Another way to fight exhaustion is to take little breaks in the day. If you’re running around to museums and sights all morning take an hour after lunch to go back to your hotel to regroup and put up your feet. Or pop into a café and sit with a cup of tea for a while.
Overweight Luggage
Pack light and pack layers. I can’t stress this enough. If you’re going on a trip with a single destination and you’re staying in one place you wouldn’t have to worry about packing efficiently. When it gets to be important is when you are moving to different cities and you have to carry your bag with you until you can check into your hotel. To check weight while I’m packing, I invested in a little luggage scale that hooks onto your bag handle. I think its just genius.
Don’t pack heavy things. For example, you don’t need 7 pairs of shoes for a 5-day trip. Most of the time you will be on your feet, so you want comfortable shoes that you’ll wear most of the time and a pair or two of light sandals or dressier shoes for when you want to look cute! I wear my hiking boots EVERYWHERE. They always match what I want to wear, and my feet are comfortable. I’m ready to go anywhere in them. If you can’t go five days without your shoe collection, wear your heaviest pair on the way there.
Missed Connections
A missed connection can ruin a trip before you even get to where you’re going. The only way you can avoid missed connections is by planning ahead. Planes can be behind schedule, weather can cause cancellations or delays, and transportation to the airport could make you late. By scheduling extra time in between each step of your journey you can travel just as happy and calm as a clam.
My rule of thumb is a minimum of 3 hours in between flights. I’ve been on planes out of Chicago that take off an hour after the scheduled departure. If you have a one-hour delay that leaves you two hours to get through the airport after you land and make your next connection. When I was first booking flights, I always wanted to chance it and make the quick connections just so I would have more time at my destination. I know better now. I’ve changed my perspective to deciding between waiting in the airport for an extra hour or risking not making it to my destination at all because of mixed connections. Now I just find ways to kill time in airports.
Motion Sickness
The only time I have needed something for motion sickness was when I was on a mini tour bus in the highlands of Scotland. My mom and her friend, Kathy, came to visit me while I was on one of my course breaks. I wanted to make the most of the time we had to explore, so naturally, I signed us up for a two-day highland tour. It was a great tour and we saw so much but I am SO glad Kathy thought to bring Dramamine. The roads were winding and twisting all over the place and I definitely could see how miserable it could have been without the motion sickness medication.
On the second day of the tour, (after Kathy had shared her personal stash of Dramamine with us) we had to try to get more from the pharmacy in a little highland town. We asked for Dramamine and that’s not what they call it, so we had to describe why we needed it for the car ride. From our conversation with the pharmacist I don’t think that’s typically a problem people have there. Maybe they are just use to the winding roads? Anyhow, long story short; pack Dramamine if you are prone to motion sickness or planning a tour on mountain roads.
Pick Pockets
Be aware of your surroundings at all times to keep safe and also to avoid pick pockets. I luckily haven’t been pick pocketed thus far. One thing I do, to avoid potential pick pockets, is keep important things in pockets inside my jacket or coat. I also have a cute vest that has inside pockets. That way I can keep my passport and credit cards safe when in transit. I have also tried using a money belt which I would recommend if you don’t have inner pockets or don’t trust in your ability to be on the look out the whole time. The money belt I used while I was in Italy was very uncomfortable so before you go on your trip maybe try wearing one for a day and decide if its something you could do for your trip.
To avoid disaster from pick pockets, I try to keep my passport and extra credit cards tucked away for safe keeping. Then I keep some currency in a small purse that way its accessible throughout the day and if that gets stolen it won’t ruin my day or my trip. But seriously look for clothes to travel in with inner pockets.
Tourist Traps
When I travel, I try to get as much culture, food, and history as possible. I avoid chain restaurants or attractions; like hard rock cafes or wax museums of any sort. These types of places are expensive and gimmicky. There are so many things to see when you visit another country and you should not waste your time at a tourist trap. Go find local museums, cafes and shops!
Do go to places that are iconic for the location you’re in. Think the Eiffel tower in Paris, the Colosseum in Rome, the Vatican, the London eye! These places are the history and you will be upset if you miss them. They are crowded, and lines will be long. At most places you can reserve time slots weeks ahead of your visit and I highly suggest this.
The difference between a gimmick and the real thing is hard to tell sometimes. Researching things, you want to do before you go, helps to avoid tourist traps. If it feels like someone is trying really hard to sell you a ticket, it’s probably a gimmick.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this article of random travel tips! I plan to start writing articles about the specific places I’ve visited in the coming months. Please post any questions or comments below!
If you are looking for a place to travel next, you may want to check out my post about: Where I Have Traveled So Far for some adventure inspiration.
