Beat The Holiday Stress Once And For All | Holidaying Abroad

With less holiday time than our European friends, American travelers and holiday-makers we need to be smart about ticking dream destination off their to-do lists. Indeed, with only 42% of the population owning a passport, it’s easy to understand why the majority of Americans don’t travel out of the country: A handful of weeks off per year can often limit vacation time to popular national sites such as California, Texas, and Florida – the 3 most popular states for holiday-makers. Nevertheless, those who own a passport can experience difficulties when it comes to picking the best possible destination to visit. Mexico and Canada, after all, are just around the corner and keep their travel preps to a minimum. 

That's probably why only a small part of holiday-makers pick Europe as their vacation spot: Long flights, a diversity of foreign languages – most tourist spots in Mexico speak English fluently, while English is one of the national languages in Canada –, and alien cultural behaviors often transform their idyllic trip into a stressful nightmare. With only a little time to see the world – unless you’re one of the lucky Millennial's who have managed to create a nomadic work-life universe, a trip to the Old European World comes with many obstacles. If you’ve been wondering about a long-distance holiday and are worried about how to make the most of your time, the secret is to keep it as stress-free as possible. 

Sounds easier to say than to do? 

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Take a look at some of the tips to beat the holiday stress. 

Get off the plane and RELAX 

We get it; you’re off the plane, and you want to hit the ground running. One word of advice, though: Don’t. Give yourself some time to relax your body and mind after a long flight. Have you ever noticed how a bottle of water reacts to the air pressure on a plane? It has a similar effect on your body too. That’s precisely why you need to take it slow as you get off the plane. A little meditation can help you to clarify your mind after a long flight and bring you the inner calm you need to focus on what you want to do and see during your trip. Additionally, airports are never the most relaxing of places. You need to go through a passport and VISA check after landing, wait for your luggage and find the best way out to get to town. Fifteen minutes to disconnect from your surroundings and recenter yourself can make the hell of a difference! 

Don’t pull your hair about an impossible itinerary

You’ve got so much to see and so little time! You can’t afford to waste long on an ill-suited route that drags you slowly across the most special tourist spots in Europe. Ticking the items off your to-do list takes excellent planning skills and knowledge of the area. In other words, it’s the kind of tasks you want to entrust a specialist with, someone who is not only local but who also understands and respects your needs. You might struggle to gather the appropriate know-how from your guidebooks. That’s precisely why you should get in touch with experts – view here to find out how holiday advisers and organizers can help you. A private and fully tailored tour is the best way to discover the region. 

Heard of jet lag? Put your yoga pants on!

Flying to Europe messes up with your Circadian rhythms. Ultimately, Europe is awake when you normally sleep, so it’s fair to say that you’ll struggle with keeping your eyes open, and your mind engaged once you hit the airport in London, Paris, Berlin, or even Rome. Head to your hotel, unpack, and get ready for an invigorating yoga workout. You can use yoga to cut through the symptoms of jet lag and get your energy back. Start with a gentle seated pose, Sukhasana, which helps your body to acclimate to your surroundings. Move to a more complex pose, the Supine Thread-the-Needle where you draw one leg to your chest while lying on your back. This opens your posture and soothes flight-related pains. 

Not everybody speaks English, and that’s fine

You need to accept that not everyone is going to speak fluently English. The EU only has over 20 different languages. But you can boost your communication skills ahead of your journey with apps such as DuoLingo – check this thread here about learning Italian. You don’t need to master a foreign language, but getting the basics will help you to navigate through new towns and read menus in restaurants. 

Follow the local pace of living

You might want to see a million things, but you can’t go against the pace of the local population. On the contrary, traveling like a local is a good tip to get to meet the real people and discover the culture. You need to stay away from typical tourist attractions, such as the bus tour or the all-inclusive resort. Instead, try to get to know the locals to get recommendations and plan friendly and casual visits. 

To cash nor not to cash, that is the question

You should try to avoid carrying a large amount of cash in your wallet. You don’t want to get around attraction attention because you carry a lot of money on you. Copy the locals and withdraw what you need from the ATM while on the go. Make sure to keep your cash in your hotel room instead – most hotels provide a safe –; otherwise you’ll end up worrying all the time about getting mugged. 

Impatience is your worst enemy

Last, but not least, you don’t have a lot of time to make the most of your trip. However, packing your days with local activities is counterproductive. Getting impatient in restaurants, shops or any other sites will only increase your stress levels. Each culture has a different sense of pace. Coffeehouses in Vienna, for instance, like to give their patrons time to enjoy each other company, which can be irritated if you don’t understand their Kaffeekultur. 

Holidaying abroad can be stressful if you’re trying to pack a lot in a tight schedule. From jet lag to failure to understand the local culture, you can apply some smart tips to create a relaxing and pleasant journey instead.