Hello to my lovely ladies who love to travel and enjoy fun experiences in different parts of the world. If you have traveled quite a bit, you probably have established a vacation routine that has made your traveling experiences more seamless and enjoyable. I know I have a routine that I have maintained to have more pleasant vacations. I am here to share the top 3 parts of my routine and how you can use them if you are new to traveling or if you are a frequent traveler who always needs a vacation from a vacation.
Just a quick disclaimer, the 3 tips I will be sharing are based on the life of someone who only travels with her spouse. I am now in a different stage of life because I am about to become a first-time mom. My vacation routine is subject to change when I start traveling with kids.
Now what is a vacation routine and why do we need one? I would define a vacation routine as a series of actions you consistently follow to ensure that you have a great trip. Now of course, you can tweak your routine as needed but like anything else in life, the better you plan to have a great experience, the more likely you can enjoy a wonderful experience in whatever activity you plan on doing. Without further ado, here are my top 3 routines.
- Have your itinerary planned out in advance of your trip: This may sound obvious to any traveler, but I still think it is a worthy mention because I know of spontaneous travelers who purchase a plane ticket to visit somewhere and decide on every part of their trip including lodging and activities after they reach their destination. While that might seem exciting, it can often end up in a disaster because you suddenly find yourself excessively planning while on vacation instead of enjoying your already planned vacation. If you want a spontaneous vacation, you should have the essential elements of your trip like lodging and the kind of trip you expect to have decided in advance. You may not have all the activities planned but you could choose to have a relaxing trip where you will think of something to do on a set number of days and maybe rest and do nothing for the remainder of the trip. My husband and I decided on a relaxing trip when we recently traveled to Hawaii. We decided to have a spontaneous baby moon but decided in advance to stay in an all-inclusive hotel resort and do no more than 2 days of actual exploring for our entire 9-day trip. What we decided to explore was determined during our stay in Hawaii. You can still have a fun spontaneous trip but to avoid less planning and more vacationing during your trip, take care of the essential parts of your itinerary.
- Take at least 1-2 days of resting/doing nothing on your trip: This is more of a sub-point to item 1 but it is part of my vacation routine that I have found to be an absolute must when planning my itinerary. You want to avoid vacation burnout caused by filling up your itinerary with something to do every single day for the entire trip, only to return to your everyday life wanting another vacation from the vacation you just had. Now, there might be readers who like the idea of packing up their schedule with something to do each day and that is fine if you do not feel exhausted at the end of your vacation. If like me, you tend to feel drained after a vacation, you may find it helpful to give yourself 1-2 days of doing absolutely nothing on your trip. I find that resting and doing nothing for 2 days out of my 1 week to 10-day trips often rejuvenates me so that I am in a healthy mental state upon return to my everyday life.
- Pack fewer accessories: This is more of a style tip but an essential part of my routine. When packing all your vacation wardrobe items, it is easy to overpack for a trip because you sometimes think the more you pack, the better options you will have when styling. A great way to pack lighter is to find accessories in each wardrobe category that go well with all or most of your clothing pieces and pack those items instead of selecting multiple accessories from different categories to wear each day of the trip. For example, let us say you have 7 looks to wear during your trip, choose one bag/purse that goes well with all the looks depending on the activities you would be doing. Instead of grabbing several pairs of heels or sandals, focus on packing a pair of dressy heels and 1-2 pairs of comfortable casual shoes that pair well with most or all your looks. For more tips on how to pack for vacation, check out my blog topic “My vacation outfit planning blueprint.
Till next time, I hope you ladies have a seamless vacation this summer.
