\u201cJust like we need sleep every night to repair and recharge, we need longer stretches of destressing and decompression to step away from our daily grind,\u201d she added. \u201cInstead of thinking of vacation as a time to just build back up your reserves of energy so you can deplete them again when you return, think of it as a time where everything you work on, learn and absorb in your daily life has time to actually take hold, become permanent, and improve your quality of life overall both on vacation and back in your regular life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Below, travel and mental health experts share common vacation habits that tend to add stress to what should be a calming time. Read on for their insights and advice for avoiding these scenarios.<\/p>\n
Overplanning<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cOverscheduling is the No. 1 way to turn a relaxing vacation into a stressful one,\u201d said Laura Ratliff, the senior editorial director of TripSavvy<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cEven if you love a jam-packed itinerary \u2015 FOMO, I get it! \u2015 try leaving one day entirely open for exploration on your next trip,\u201d she added. \u201cIn a city, this might mean you wander and discover a great record store or coffee shop, while on a secluded beach trip, you might finally get to finish that book you\u2019ve been putting off for months.\u201d<\/p>\n Marek Bron, a travel blogger at Indie Traveller<\/a>, similarly advised against jamming too many activities and sightseeing goals into a single day. Having every minute of the day scheduled might seem like a great way to feel in control of your trip, but it doesn\u2019t foster relaxation. <\/p>\n \u201cI know the urge to see and do as much as possible is strong, especially when vacation days are limited, but it\u2019s hard to enjoy each activity if you\u2019re constantly in a rush,\u201d he said. \u201cI often find it helpful to trim your most ambitious itinerary by about a third, so that there is plenty of time left to spare. That way you won\u2019t actually need to destress from your vacation when you get back home.\u201d<\/p>\n Skipping Meals<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cSkipping meals is another bad habit that many people fall prey to,\u201d said Phil Dengler, co-founder of The Vacationer<\/a>. \u201cIt often goes along with planning too many activities in a day, and almost guarantees you will be stressed out.\u201d<\/p>\n If you\u2019re determined to plan every minute of your day, make sure you schedule some meals in between tourist attractions. <\/p>\n \u201cAt the very least, bring enough snacks with you,\u201d Dengler said.<\/p>\n Being Too Stringent With Itineraries<\/strong><\/p>\n Just as you should avoid jamming too many activities into each day, you should also try to let go of the notion that you have to stick to exactly what you planned. <\/p>\n \u201cHaving too rigid a schedule is the most stress-inducing vacation habit,\u201d Dengler noted. \u201cSome of the best activities and restaurants that I have found on vacation were after asking a local or loading up Google<\/a> on the spot.\u201d<\/p>\n Be open to spontaneity during your travels, rather getting upset if something doesn\u2019t go according to plan. Enjoy the way things unfold naturally and the excitement that brings. <\/p>\n \u201cLeave room for serendipity,\u201d said Konrad Waliszewski, co-founder and CEO of Tripscout<\/a>. \u201cRemember, no great travel story ever happened by things going exactly as planned.\u201d <\/p>\n Checking Your Work Email<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cYou think to yourself, \u2018I\u2019ll just check my email while I\u2019m out of the office so that when I return, I will have decluttered the spam and the reply-alls so I can jump back in with focus!\u2019\u201d Maenpaa said. \u201cInstead, you open your email from the pool, see a notification that something went wrong, and suddenly your brain is back in work mode.\u201d<\/p>\n Indeed, unplugging is often easier said than done, but getting sucked into work on vacation can mean derailing the whole experience. Keep your eyes off your inbox and trust that whatever needs addressing can be dealt with after you return. If anything is truly emergency-level urgent, you\u2019ll get a call anyway. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen you check your email during vacation, your panic will be intensified because you can\u2019t even do anything about the problem, so you\u2019re stressing about the issue without any options at your disposal for actually addressing it,\u201d Maenpaa said. \u201cAnd then your brain is completely focused on work for the rest of your vacation with no way to do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n Oscar Wong via Getty Images<\/p>\n Resist the urge to check your work email during a vacation. <\/p>\n Comparing Your Trip To Other People\u2019s Travels<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIn general, we constantly feel the need to have something to show for our time \u2015 including in our downtime \u2015 especially when others ask us what we did or saw while away,\u201d said Sue Varma<\/a>, a clinical assistant professor of psychiatry at NYU Langone Medical Center. \u201cThe comparison game with our peers extends to vacation as a way of signaling social status and savvy.\u201d<\/p>\n Most of us have spent more time than we\u2019d like to admit scrolling through people\u2019s fabulous vacation photos on Instagram. But it\u2019s important to remember that other people\u2019s travel highlights have no bearing on your experience.<\/p>\n Just because you can\u2019t afford a room at the hotel with the fancy-looking pool you saw on someone\u2019s social media doesn\u2019t mean your vacation is inherently less amazing than theirs. Fixating on those comparisons is a recipe for disaster.<\/p>\n \u201cMy general advice for people trying to keep up with others: Stop flexing and start relaxing,\u201d Varma said. \u201cAnd if you are going to take a lot of pictures, build in a no-photo period where you put the phone away.\u201d<\/p>\n Underplanning<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cSometimes, by the time we take a vacation, we are so burned out that we plan absolutely nothing,\u201d Maenpaa said. \u201cWe say, \u2018I am going to sleep and drink fruity cocktails and come back completely blissed out!\u2019 But when we\u2019re used to being pretty scheduled and busy, that kind of empty stretch can backfire. We can wake up and feel a sense of dread knowing that there is nothing scheduled today, tomorrow or the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead, she recommended making a short list with a few major sites or restaurants you\u2019d like to visit and sprinkling them in across your vacation. Make a couple of reservations in advance if they\u2019re required, but don\u2019t go overboard. Just a little bit of planning goes a long way. <\/p>\n \u201cOver-planning and under-planning can be equally stressful,\u201d said Ciara Johnson, a travel blogger at Hey Ciara<\/a>. \u201cOverplanning can leave very little room to actually breathe and soak up the experience; meanwhile, underplanning can cause a traveler to miss out on great experiences. It helps to have a balance of activities and free time where spontaneity can occur.\u201d<\/p>\n Ditching Your Self-Care Habits<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIf there are certain habits that keep you sane at home, it\u2019s likely that dropping them as soon as you land at your destination will cause undue stress,\u201d said Meg Gitlin, a psychotherapist and the voice behind the Instagram City Therapist<\/a>. \u201cFor example, if you know that regular physical exercise keeps you clearer and more balanced mentally, it\u2019s not the best idea to take a seven-day break from it altogether.\u201d<\/p>\n She suggested finding ways to modify your routine to feel more \u201cvacation like.\u201d Instead of that 6 a.m. bootcamp class, perhaps you take a long walk on the beach or hike a trail with a loved one. <\/p>\n \u201cEssentially, you are taking what works for you at home and making it feel like more of a vacation,\u201d Gitlin said. \u201cOtherwise the cumulative mental impact will likely build up over time regardless of how \u2018relaxed\u2019 you may feel.\u201d<\/p>\n If you like to meditate or journal when you\u2019re at home, try to carve out a little time to stick to these aspects of your routine during your trip. And if you aren\u2019t a heavy drinker at home, that doesn\u2019t mean you have to chug countless cocktails just because you\u2019re on vacation.<\/p>\n Only Booking The Cheapest Options<\/strong><\/p>\n Vacation budgets aren\u2019t always negotiable, but you can adjust your spending priorities to ensure a less stressful experience. Instead of eating every meal in a nice restaurant, divert some of those funds toward transit and accommodation and check out the local street food options. <\/p>\n \u201cBlindly booking the cheapest flight and hotel can lead to a terrible experience,\u201d Dengler said. \u201cWhile it is important, and many times necessary, to find reasonably priced flights and accommodations, do not do it at the expense of your own enjoyment.\u201d<\/p>\n He advised against booking that flight with two layovers that adds an extra 10 hours to your travel time or choosing that hotel with awful reviews that is a little cheaper than a nearby one that you will like much better.<\/p>\n \u201cConsider the minimum level of comfort that you need from a flight and accommodation and then book the cheapest ones,\u201d Dengler said. <\/p>\n Not Understanding Your Budget<\/strong><\/p>\n On the flip side, it\u2019s important to get a clear sense of your overall budget and expenses before you travel.<\/p>\n \u201cDecide ahead of time where you want to splurge. Will it be housing, food, nightlife, activities, or all the above?\u201d said Ravi Roth<\/a>, a queer travel expert and host of \u201cThe Gaycation Travel Show<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n This is a situation where advanced preparation pays off by allowing you to spend wisely and avoid panicking during your trip.<\/p>\n \u201cGoing over budget can be stressful but planning out where you will splurge ahead of time is the best way to go,\u201d he noted. <\/p>\n Setting Unrealistic Expectations<\/strong><\/p>\n We all want our vacations to be as smooth and close to perfect as possible. But reality isn\u2019t always 100% free of adversity, so don\u2019t set that expectation.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you know traveling with extended family tends to bring up stressors, prepare yourself emotionally and make a game plan for when things get too heated,\u201d Gitlin said, suggesting you retreat to your room, plan a separate excursion or call in friend in these moments. <\/p>\n \u201cPeople may hope to be more relaxed versions of themselves on vacation but can also be triggered or thrown off by the disruption of routine,\u201d she added. \u201cYour mother won\u2019t suddenly become \u2018easy\u2019 because she\u2019s in the Caribbean and not in her kitchen in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n Having unrealistic expectations \u2015 whether it\u2019s with interpersonal dynamics or logistics \u2015 will only set you up for disappointment and frustration.<\/p>\n![\"Resist](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/6203f670250000b0302b18f1.jpeg\"\/)
<\/p>\n![\"Vacation](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/6203f7a0250000b4302b18f3.jpeg\"\/)
Vacation budgets aren\u2019t always negotiable, but you can adjust your spending priorities to ensure a more relaxing experience. Think about where you want to splurge and where you want to save. <\/p>\n