How To Practice Self-Care While Traveling
Maintaining our self-care while traveling can be the first thing we lose as we embrace the vibrancy that the world has to offer. You’re in a new destination with new things to see, new experiences to have, new people to meet. Your curiosity is peaked and every day feels like the best day of your life.
I get it. Maintaining a self-care practice while on the road can be difficult! After all, for many of us traveling is a form of self-care.
But, just as self-care is the essential foundation for which we need to live our lives, it plays just as critical a role while we’re out there exploring. And this is especially true for solo traveler and long-term travelers or digital nomads.
While I’ve had some of the best experiences of my life while traveling, I’ve also experienced travel burnout, extended periods of loneliness and moments of pure doubt and overwhelm. Chances are, if you’ve traveled alone for any amount of time, you’ve experienced some of that as well – am I right?
Throughout all of that, I’ve realized that to both prevent and manage those things, it is crucial for me to maintain my self-care practice abroad.
CHECK IN WITH YOURSELF DAILY AND LISTEN
The first part of knowing what you need and when is to be able to connect with yourself. Ask yourself how am I feeling and what do I need right now? Easy enough, right? But the most important part is to then listen to what it is you need.
If you need a day to slow down and kick back in your hotel, take it. If you’re peopled out and need a week in a private Air BnB, book it. Giving yourself permission to do nothing isn’t wasting a day of your trip, it’s essential for your wellbeing!
If you wind up in a city and realize you truly aren’t enjoying your time there, move on. If your plans were to spend 3 days somewhere and you desperately want to stay for 7 days, stay! Check in with yourself and listen to what you need.
BE PRESENT TO THE MOMENT
Sure, we all want to get the perfect photo to capture those moments in time forever. But make it a priority to put the camera or the phone down and view the world away from the lens. Stop going somewhere to snap a pic and then leave. Stay a while, soak in the atmosphere, talk to people.
PACK SMART – STAY ORGANIZED – DECREASE THE STRESS
Sometimes, living out of a suitcase or a backpack is enough to make you lose your mind. Packing smart can prevent those frustrating moments of not being able to find anything. Clothing organizers are a god send – you can organize clothing by outfits (going out outfits, beach outfits, temple outfits, etc.) or by item (dresses together, pants together, etc.). Keep all electronic gadgets together as well, wrap up the cords so they don’t tangle. Go one step further and label those organizers too!
STAY CONNECTED TO THE PEOPLE BACK HOME
Life on the road can get lonely. It’s a life of constant hellos and endless goodbyes bridged by the intense, fast friendships in between. When loneliness hits, connect with the people back home. Call your family and friends on a video chat for a while – it works every time!
KNOW WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPY, KNOW WHAT MAKES YOU CALM, AND MAKE THOSE THINGS A PRIORITY
For those of you already practicing self-care at home, you’ll already know what you need to bring you joy and bring you a sense of calm when stress and overwhelm takes over. Traveling can force situations onto you that you’ve never experienced before. Traveling alone means you have to make every single decision about everything on your own (sometimes in a place where you don’t even understand the language enough to truly know how to express that decision).
Make it a daily habit to connect to the things that make you feel calm and make you feel renewed. Whether that’s running every morning, meditating before bed or journaling in a park, don’t lose those practices.
Listening to a guided meditation is a nightly practice that I have at home and is easy to continue while I travel.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY
Time changes, jet lag, changes in climate and pollution levels can wreak havoc on our bodies. Indulging in the local cuisine or living off noodles in the hostel kitchen if you’re a budget traveler can also leave you feeling sluggish.
When you’re trying out the local food, include going to the local fruit and veg markets. Carry a reusable water bottle with you wherever you go to keep up your water intake. Move your body – walk instead of taking the bus, go on local hikes, swim laps in the ocean, try out a yoga class or the popular fitness option in your destination (Salsa in Cali, Colombia, anyone?).
Pamper your skin! Keep up the habit of washing your face and moisturizing instead of collapsing into bed with your makeup on at the end of a big day. This is important even if you don’t wear makeup: the smog and dirt from the day clings to your skin and you want to get that off.
If you’re traveling in cheaper countries (think: Southeast Asia), make use of how affordable massages and facials are to keep your body and skin in tip top shape! I may or may not have indulged in daily foot massages whenever I’ve been to Thailand.
GO WITH THE FLOW
Part of self-care is surrendering to whatever comes your way. Of course you might have things you absolutely need to do or see while you’re away, but releasing control and going with the flow is a huge part of self-care while traveling.
Don’t be too rigid with your plans and don’t obsess over every little detail. Allowing flexibility in your schedule and leaving a few days in your trip to just do whatever happens that day is a great way to practice self-care!
CHALLENGE YOURSELF AND YOUR MIND
Mental or intellectual self-care is an easy one to nurture when you’re on the road. Dedicating time to learn the language, practice a traditional skill of the area, having a conversation with a local, taking in a museum or doing a photography tour are all ways that you can stimulate your brain abroad.
MAKE USE OF TRAVEL TIME TO PRACTICE SELF-CARE
There are plenty of opportunities to practice self-care while traveling during the travel days themselves. Make use of your time in the airport, on the 10 hour bus ride, on the train through the English countryside. These are great times to listen to a self-development podcast, journal, read a new book, meditate, sleep, do a crossword or sudoku, reflect on your experience so far or connect with people back home.
SLEEP BETTER
Don’t underestimate the power of sleep as a self-care tool. Sometimes, this can be hard to come by when you’re traveling. You want to experience everything on offer during the day but also want to experience your destination by night. You might be sleeping in hostel dorms where there’s all sorts of sleep disrupting noises. You might be jet lagged or just have trouble sleeping in an unfamiliar place.
Some items that may support your sleep are a light-blocking eye mask, noise-blocking earplugs, headphones so you can listen to a sleep meditation, or even lavender essential oil rolled onto your pulse point or rubbed into your pillowcase.
MAKE TRAVEL DECISIONS WITH EASE
I know how overwhelming things can be when you’re trying to navigate a country where you don’t speak the language, where you have nobody to rely on but yourself and then – to top it off – there’s no wifi to help you figure out your next step. If you’re struggling with a language barrier, get yourself an app or a dictionary so that you know how to ask for what you need. In moments of overwhelm, go find a quiet place to sit down and collect your thoughts before you start freaking out. Ask for help – people will always be willing to help, even if they only understand a word or two of your broken Spanish/French/Thai/whatever. Trust that people are good and things will work themselves out.
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It is a lot easier to maintain a self-care practice while traveling if you already have a self-care practice at home. If you aren’t sure where to start, use this guide to help you figure out how to create your perfect wellness routine or commit to 5 days of building a self-care practice!
What do you do to maintain self-care on the road?