How to Have a Stressless Vacation

Photo by Praise Judah

The holidays have come and gone  and you’ve probably arranged for some time off from work. Maybe you’re spending extra time at home, or maybe you’re jetting off to someone tropical to avoid the winter weather entirely. However you choose to spend your vacation, you probably deserve one. Vacations don’t come around often, they cost money, and they take you away from making money, so it’s infuriating if your vacation doesn’t go well.

Some things cannot be controlled, like canceled flights and food poisoning. But a lot of times, if a vacation doesn’t go great, it’s our own fault because we just didn’t plan it right, or take the right steps to leave stress behind. Don’t come back from your more vacation more stressed out than you left; here are the top things that interfere with a relaxing  vacation and how to avoid them.

Going with the wrong person

Don’t travel with someone for the first time this vacation. You never know what they’re really like for a week-long excursion—only travel with people you’ve traveled with before, and with whom you know you can get along with for a while.

Failing to research the neighborhood

Your hotel may have rave reviews, but what do you know about the neighborhood? If it’s a busy bar street, you may struggle to get any sleep because of the drunkards yelling outside all night. And you’re an adult; you need to sleep on your vacay.

Failing to tell your credit card that you’re traveling

If your credit card company sees a transaction in another city or country and you didn’t tell them you were traveling, they will likely put a hold on it or even deactivate it.  Do you know how hard it is to get a credit card company person on the phone when you in a different country?  What a nightmare.

Not leaving someone competent in charge

You do not need your brand new assistant/babysitter/temp calling you every five minutes because they do not know how to do anything. Hire someone who you have hired before or who comes highly recommended. Hopefully, you have a family member that is reliable and trustworthy that you can eave in charge.

Spending too much

Call your hotel before booking to make sure there are absolutely no hidden fees (like $50 a day resort fees, $100 cleaning fees, and $30 a day parking fees). If you’re staying at the hotel for several days, that can put you far over your travel budget, which will stress you out.

Failing to get all travel paperwork in order

If you are traveling somewhere you’ve never traveled before, make sure you have absolutely every document you need. You may need a visa, proof of certain vaccines or a letter from a friend who lives there stating they’ve invited you. If you don’t have the things you need on the day of travel, you will not get a refund or be transferred to a new flight without a hefty fee.

Staying with your family for too long

Hey, if you’re one of those people whose family relaxes them, I envy you. But if you know you always come home stressed out by your family’s drama, then do yourself a favor, cut your trip short and steal a few staycation days for yourself at home.

Traveling with another couple

If you are in a relationship, and you and your boo want to travel with another couple, all I’m saying is that now you’ve put your fun in two couples’ hands. If the other couple gets in a fight, everybody’s trip is ruined.

Failing to tie up loose ends

If there’s something you’ve been putting off, like filing for a tax extension, applying to X amount of new jobs, or writing a resignation letter, just do it before leaving for your trip. If you don’t, you will not be able to relax.

Over-packing your agenda

If you pack your daily agenda too much, you only set yourself up to fail. Make sure you schedule several hours of relaxation time—you can use these if a tour is running late and you won’t worry about missing your next activity.

Feeling bad about your body

You shouldn’t feel bad about your body, but of course, that’s easier said than done. If you know you want to enjoy a few extra cocktails and appetizers on your trip, then don’t splurge on meaningless treats like the boring cookies you have around all of the time before your trip.

Caring about your appearance

Hey, you’re on vacation. You’ll likely never see any of these people again. This is not the time to waste 45 minutes straightening your hair every morning—it will just leave you feeling like you’re missing out on the exciting terrain outside your hotel door!

You forget to be grateful

Rather than focusing on the fact that your steak wasn’t cooked perfectly, or the pool isn’t as warm as you thought it would be, consider the fact that you don’t need to cook your own dinner, and your only task that day is to sit by a pool!

Having expectations

Let the trip give you what it wants to give you. Let the new city show you what it wants to show you. If you push and push to meet stiff expectations you set up for the vacation, you’re just going to stress yourself out and miss out on what’s right in front of you.

Enjoy your vacation and let us know in the comments how everything went!!!

The post How to Have a Stressless Vacation first appeared on Upscale Magazine.