Traveling is absolutely fantastic. It’s a phenomenal, mind-blowing experience if you ask me. But you know what isn’t? The whole act of planning your travels. I’m not only referring to packing. I’m talking about the entire act of trip planning, where you have to sit down, decide your itinerary, plan your outfits and pack your bags, figure out what activities you want to do and book them, and reserve restaurants. In short, all of it.
To some people, trip planning is simply just a pain—a major frustration, if you will. But to others, it is an incredibly stressful and anxiety-inducing experience that could leave them questioning whether to take the trip or not. Personally, I get it—mental health is important.
Yet, it doesn’t always have to be that way. If you consider yourself an anxious traveler who squirms at the sole thought of trip planning, fellow travelers have some advice. On Reddit, a person recently shared their struggle on the subreddit r/TravelHacks. “I get super stressed planning trips,” their post reads. “What are some tips and tricks you implement to make sure life [is] easier on the planning front?”
Luckily, the internet didn’t hold back, and travelers flocked to offer their own piece of advice. We rounded up some of the best tips to help you plan your next trip stress-free. Here’s what people are saying.
If you’re anxious about trip planning, just don’t
“Sounds ridiculous but don’t plan so much?” reads one of the most-liked comments. Sometimes, making too many plans can actually get in the way of spontaneous fun, and anxious travelers might be better off improvising some parts of their trip.
According to another Redditor, you only need to plan the essentials. “I plan on the flight and first couple nights at a hotel and wing it the rest of the way until my return flight,” they wrote. “Yeah, you have to figure out what to do when there, but sure beats over-planning before.”
Pro tip: Always remember to have enough financial funds set aside for emergencies. If you don’t plan your trip to a T, you might run into unpredictable extra costs.
Limit the number of activities you want to do each day
The more you try to squeeze into a vacation, the more stressed you will feel trying to make everything fit. For this reason, it is best if you only plan a small number of activities and things to do daily so that your planning and your traveling self won’t feel overwhelmed.
“Plan for only 1 or 2 things each day,” reads one comment in the thread. “It’s impossible to see everything, so don’t even try.”
Make a modifiable spreadsheet or list
And if you’re good at color-coding, that’s even better. Once you choose your destination, instead of just writing down everything you want to visit or see on a piece of paper, take the time to organize it on a modifiable spreadsheet or list.
This way, you can divide those landmarks and locations into priority-based categories. “When the travel location is chosen I make a list of ‘must see,’ ‘maybe’ (aka: would be nice) and ‘skip,'” wrote one Redditor. “I save it on a Google sheet so I can open it anywhere.”
With this technique, you can always edit your document anywhere and anytime, depending on the vibe, the weather, and any other travel hindrances or preferences. It’s organized flexibility.
Don’t try to do everything yourself
Unless you’re specifically going on a solo trip, there will be other people traveling with you—So why do you have to do all the planning alone? Teamwork makes the best work—and the least stressful work, too.
“Let each person on the trip choose a place or activity,” suggested one Redditor. “Then no one will be resentful that they didn’t get to do what they wanted. It’s okay to split up to do different things if the trip is short.”
Pack smart and follow an order
Instead of planning your outfits and specific gear you might need day by day, change up your perspective and follow a fool-proof order.
“Organize your packing list by activity,” said one user. “This way you won’t forget your swimsuit or sunhat or whatever.”
For the sake of your mental health, plan some free time
To allow both your planning and traveling self to feel more relaxed and at ease, choose some blocks of time in which you’ve got nothing planned except for sweet old free time.
“Allow time to do spontaneous things,” said another comment. “You might find a nice hiking spot you didn’t plan for but once you’re there, you’ll want to do.”
Have a travel essentials bag always ready
Every trip has its own different requirements, but some of them—including travel documents and, say, travel-size skin care products, if you use them—are a constant every time you travel. Keeping an always-ready travel essentials bag in your home will make for a much less stressful travel planning experience.
“I have a Go Bag prepped with the general things I need for trips,” reads one comment. “I just switch or add or remove things I don’t think I need for that specific trip.”
If you just can’t deal with trip planning, have someone else do it for you
That’s pretty straightforward. If trip planning triggers your anxiety too much but you’re not willing to say no to travel, you might want to invest some money in professionals who will plan the trip for you.
One commenter suggests, “If you get super stressed, hire a travel agent. It might be worth it to you.”
Alternatively, give AI a (small) shot
“Use AI, it can plan the whole trip for ya,” recommends another user.
While resorting to AI for planning the entire trip might be a little impractical and not as precise as using a human travel agent, AI can help you solve some little problems, including finding a list of activities to do and finding the most popular places to visit in the area.
