I’ve never heard anyone yet said “I don’t like traveling”, travel has become a massive, global industry – with £6.4 trillion spent in the travel and tourism sector every year.

We love to travel for different reasons, some of us travel for annual holidays to visit family and friends, some travel as a birthday treat. We travel for fun, relaxation needs, experience, and adventure.

While others travel for business: according to Groupon, business travel is worth a whopping £1 trillion annually, and some 39% of Millennial and Gen Z workers say they wouldn’t take a job that didn’t offer them at least some form of travel option.

But let’s admit it that despite the happiness that traveling can give us, it can also be stressful at time! The good thing is it’s possible to travel stress-free if we know how to plan it properly.

So here are just basic four essentials for stress-free travel, while there’s more to it.

1. Book the best flight times available. 

Starting your journey with a middle-of-the-night alarm call can be pretty stressful. Cut out the worry of whether you will wake up, or miss the flight, by looking for the best daytime flight departures. Whether traveling for pleasure or work, you don’t want to begin your trip with a missed night’s sleep.

Keep an eye on arrival times as well though, especially if flying long haul. You may not want to land in a strange city at night time or arrive at your hotel without being able to check in to your room for another six hours.

Don’t forget to check on transit times, too. You might think you have bagged a bargain flight, but if it means sitting around an airport terminal for half a day – being tempted by the duty-free, food outlets and bars – your bargain deal may suddenly have lost its value!

2. Make a list.

Many of us spend days over-thinking what we need to pack, what we need to buy, and what we need to do. So make a list – with a timeframe if necessary.

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A checklist is very helpful. I still do it even I’ve traveled a lot already. I just want to make sure that everything that I need to prepare before the trip and the things I need during the trip is all set.

It could be from the very basics of buying sunscreen and mosquito repellent, to things to pack. Probably, for others, making sure that they have someone to water the plants, feed the pets or someone to look after the house while on holiday. Just write down everything that you think you need to do and eliminate the unnecessary from the list as you go along with your planning.

3. Kids Stuff.

Now that my kids are already teenagers, traveling with them is a lot easier compared when they were little. If there’s one thing that didn’t change, is when traveling as a family, I do pack a variety of snacks they like, just like the adults, hungry kids can be grumpy kids!

When they were little, I made sure to bring along their favorite small toys to keep them busy. Nowadays you have smartphones or iPads that can be loaded up with games or movies. It has become an essential item for the traveling family. Just bring anything you think to help keep the kid/s behave and entertained.

4. Travel lots!

The more you travel, the more it becomes second nature. You might even find yourself dumping the checklist!

Booking a trip has never been so easy. With a few clicks, we can book flights, hotels, apartments, villas, cars, bikes, tours, activities, theatre tickets, restaurants and, of course, that all-important travel insurance.

With so many options available at our fingertips, the world has become almost instantly accessible, inviting us to explore new places, experience different things, and meet new people. Take the stress out of travel, and put the adventure back in!

 

Anything you want to add on this list? Share with us at the comments below!