Stress-Free Travel (by Noelle Goetz)

It is common in today’s travel experiences that stress can take power over relaxation. This may be caused by many unavoidable factors such as delayed flights, traffic, crowds, lack of sleep, long lines, rude people or even poor customer service. I know that when I travel beyond my comfort zone, I aim to find the perfect state where exhaustion is eliminated and enjoyability is multiplied. Here are a few ways to keep your travel experiences as stress-free as possible.

Do your best to search for hotels that have flexible check-in and check-out times. It is unrealistic for every traveller to be expected to check-in at 3 in the afternoon and check-out by 11 in the morning. The hotel that has flexible hours will allow you to have more freedom and leeway to enjoy your time away on vacation. When you travel, at least I know when I do, you try with all your might to squeeze in every site, attraction, and adventure into your stay so strict check-out times can be conflicting and cause a panic. Flexibility can give you control over your own vacation time and allow for extra downtime.

Another easy stress reliever for travel is to avoid the last minute booking stage. Organization and preparedness is key when attempting to travel stress-free. Last minute booking can give you a sense of doubtfulness after reserving. The feeling that maybe you didn’t find the best price because you didn’t do your proper research can honestly be easily avoidable. Finding out the dates of when plane tickets are the cheapest is the first step in finding the best price. The next step is to use the best travel site there is to ensure that you are receiving the best price you researched. Any coupons or points you have should also be incorporated into your purchasing process to fully ensure that you are getting the most reasonable price available.

It may seem trivial now, but making sleep a priority is the best thing I find when trying to travel stress-free. I personally rate the hotels I stay in based off of my night sleep. What does the bed you sleep in say about the hotel you’re staying in? The better sleep you get, the more likely you are to stay relaxed and well-rested throughout your whole trip making everything that more enjoyable. I would never want to return to a hotel that I had not slept well in for then I no longer considered it a relaxing stay and more a way stress could pile onto my sleepy shoulders.

Anxiety, stress, and anger are all common feelings we may encounter when traveling. Do you tend to find yourself more stressed than relaxed during your travels? Is there something you could have done better as a traveller to avoid this problem? We need to bring relaxation back into traveling without having to pay for a $450 massage at your hotel spa. Flexibility, organization and rest are the main things to bring you a stress-free travel experience. Once you have mastered these main obstacles and researched some others, you are sure to have the stress-free vacation and travel experience of a lifetime. Are you up for the challenge?

About the Author

Noelle Goetz is a third year Hospitality Management student at the Collins College with an emphasis in hotel management. She one day hopes to work for the Disney Company in one of their many hotels around the world. She will be participating in an externship position at the W Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia during Spring Break of 2016 and a summer internship with Marriott Vacation Club during Summer 2016.

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The picture was downloaded from Heatrelieftoday.com