August is the biggest travel month of the summer. As summer is winding down, travelers and families with school-aged children are trying to squeeze in a few more days of vacation before they go back to school. Imagine planning for your perfect trip. You do everything that you need to do. You followed the steps to prepare for your travels and are excited to embark on your adventure. You picture yourself sipping a cocktail in Santorini or enjoying a tapa in Barcelona. You are excited to practice your French at a local cafe in Montmartre or impress the local Italian restaurant when you order a polenta using the Italian language skills you acquired through Babel.
Then D-Day arrives, and you are stressing out about last-minute shopping and other unforeseen events. You check to see if you have everything on your travel list. Are your suitcases within the weight limit? Is your flight on time? How is the weather looking? A thousand questions are running through your mind, and if you are traveling solo, you are starting to check on your security measures and ensure you have all the information about the place you are staying. When traveling with a group, you are ensuring that everyone has everything necessary to make it to the plane.
Girl, don’t worry, you are not alone. Regardless of how much you plan, you will probably experience travel stress. The International Association for Medication Assistance for Travelers, IAMAT, defines travel stress as the situational pressures, anxiety, or challenges of traveling. Although I constantly travel, travel day is always stressful. I, too, experience travel stress, and for a good reason.
My Travel Day Disasters
During my 8 years of mainly traveling alone, there have been many events that have caused me stress. Some of the events I endured included almost missing my flight from Shanghai to LAX because the boarding time changed, and I did not get the memo because I did not have an internet connection on my train ride to the airport. When I was planning for my study abroad in France, I missed my flight because my French visa did not arrive on time, which meant I also did not have my physical passport to travel. There was a mistake in the travel documents I printed at the French Consulate in Boston. Due to that, there was a delay in my visa application. Since I did not purchase travel insurance on my ticket, I could not get a refund or modify my ticket.
On my way back from France to Boston’s Logan, I had a 5 AM flight from Rennes to Paris. Although I had booked a taxi for 4, I overslept due to exhaustion. I had to take the train, with three pieces of luggage, and rely on a good Samaritan to help me off when I arrived at Paris’ Charles de Gaulle International Airport. On a trip to Texas, I missed my flight during a layover because I thought I would retrieve my suitcases at my destination. So I went to the gate only to find out I needed to retrieve and recheck my bag. Travel day stress does not only occur when you are flying. It can happen on road trips or train rides. When I left Paderborn, Germany, for Paris by train, there was a problem on the railroad. The train journey from Paderborn to Essen would be delayed, which meant I was sure to miss my train from Essen to Paris.
This delay would result in losing about $235, as I had purchased a nonrefundable ticket. Since that was the last train to Paris that day, I would need to stay overnight in Essen. However, like in many instances, that did not end up happening, and I was able to get on the train to Paris. In the same way, although travel day brings its stressors, there is always a solution, and you end up making it on that plane, car, or train. Hence, this guide aims to help you ensure a smooth travel day experience with 6 valuable tips. Although stressors are inevitable, these tips will help you manage your time effectively and ensure you are ready to reach your destination. Let’s dive in!
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6 Best Tips to Ensure a Smooth Travel Day
- Pack Smart and Efficiently
One of the most stressful activities when traveling is packing. A previous post discusses the packing must-haves to ensure you have everything you need. To provide a smooth travel day, create a packing list in advance. Make a checklist of essential items you will need during your trip to avoid last-minute panic and ensure you don’t forget anything important. Check items that will be in your checked luggage and essential items that will be in your carry-on. Secondly, pack strategically: organize your belongings efficiently and use packing cubes or compression bags you can buy at Amazon.
Using packing cubes will save space and make it easier to find what you need once you start unpacking at your destination. Lastly, prepare your bag efficiently. Pack your bag/purse with all the items you’ll need during the journey, such as travel documents, medications, electronics, and entertainment. I use a pack travel bag or backpack to carry my essentials, including my computer, travel documents, motion sickness medication, Nyquil, and snacks. The primary rule when it comes to packing is to put your irreplaceable items in your carry-on because you will have them with you. I usually pack replaceable items, such as clothes, in the suitcase that will go to baggage claim. Items such as documents, expensive clothes, medications, and other personal belongings are in my carry-on or individual bags. Having an efficient packing strategy ensures you know exactly where to find all your travel essentials.
- Double-Check Travel Documents and Essentials
Speaking about essential items, another crucial step to ensure a smooth travel day is to have your travel documents in a secure place. The first thing to do is to confirm your reservations. Reconfirm your flight, hotel, and transportation reservations to ensure everything is in order. I know that making mistakes can put stress on you, but it is best to catch them before you leave rather than at the airport or your destination. If you book accommodation with services like Booking.com, you can message the property through the app to ensure your reservation is in order.
The second step to take is to organize all the travel documents. Keep your passport, tickets, identification, and necessary visas or permits in a secure, easily accessible place. You can purchase a passport holder from Amazon, like the Passport Holder & Travel Wallet with RFID Blocking. You can put your passport, tickets, and foreign currency in your passport holder. During the pandemic, I also kept my COVID-19 vaccination card in a passport holder. It helps keep everything in one place, stay organized, and know where the vital documents are throughout my travel journey.
The last thing to do is to prepare a digital backup. Please take photos or scan important documents and store them securely on your smartphone or the cloud as a backup. I usually create a Google Drive folder to keep all the digital travel documents. Google Drive keeps everything safe and secure, making your documents easy to access. You can download the airline flight app to get a digital version of your ticket. Since I constantly fly on American Airlines, I have the App to get my E-ticket. However, although I have the app and the E-ticket, when I get to the airport, I always have a printout ticket to have in case my phone dies. Having your documents and essential items organized alleviates the stressors of the travel day. Having both digital and physical ensures you have a backup if you lose access to one or the other.
- Plan your transportation
The third most important thing to check on the day of your travel is transportation. First and foremost, check traffic and weather conditions. As a Rhode Islander, I usually underestimate the feasibility of getting to the airport, passing security, and making it to my window seat on the plane in less than forty-five minutes. Rhode Island has a small airport, and the TSA line is less crowded, so it usually takes me 20 minutes to check in and get on the plane. However, one thing I have faced more often than not is flight delays. Some delays were due to weather or mechanical issues. Although these delays are inevitable, they can interrupt your plans, especially if you have a layover and are at risk of missing your second flight.
Therefore, staying updated on traffic or weather-related issues that could affect your journey is vital. Plan your departure accordingly to avoid unnecessary delays. Secondly, arrange airport transportation, whether a taxi, rideshare service, or public transportation, and book transport in advance. When you book your transportation in advance, you are eliminating last-minute stress. Remember, the rule is you should arrive at the airport 2-3 hours before departure. Therefore, plan to leave about an hour before the 2-3 hours. For people who live in major cities with major traffic jams, prepare to depart two hours before your 2-3 hour airport timeframe. Use your flight app to check whether or not your plane will leave on time.
In conjunction with the last point about transportation, it is good to allow yourself extra time. Account for potential delays or long queues at the airport, train station, or bus terminal. Arriving earlier will give you a buffer to handle any unexpected situations. You will have enough time to go through baggage claim and TSA, and relax before boarding your flight. I fly out of Boston Logan International Airport for international trips, and my hometown is 45 minutes from the airport, assuming no traffic. I use the Peter Pan Bus Line or Amtrak to leave Rhode Island. I don’t trust my family members to get me to the airport on time because they always seem to think I’ll make it to my flight no matter when they decide to drop me off. Therefore, an effective transportation plan will ensure a smooth sailing travel day.
- Double-check the layover instructions.
One travel stress many travelers experience on their travel day is delays that disrupt their layovers. When you have a layover and your first flight is delayed, it can cause stress because you want to know if you will make it to your second flight or if the airport can put you on another flight the same day or as soon as possible. Some people missed their connecting flights because the timeframe between their first flight’s arrival in the connecting city and their second flight’s departure was too short. This delay recently happened to my mother as she was heading to Dubai. The flight from Boston to Toronto arrived late, so she missed the flight from Toronto to Dubai. Others have missed flights because they did not know they needed to grab their luggage at the connecting city and recheck it before getting to their second flight. I have experienced all three of these common scenarios.
The first time I missed a flight, I experienced the third scenario. I was headed to Austin, Texas, and was still figuring out what would happen with my flight. I learned from my mother, who missed her flight to Paris, that she had to pay money to get on the next flight. Since I was attending a conference, I didn’t pay for my flight. As a college student, I couldn’t afford to pay extra for an alternative flight. When I went to the front desk and explained that I missed my flight because I heard my name on the intercom to get my luggage when I thought I would only retrieve it at my destination, the lady at the front desk told me she had placed me on standby at no extra cost.
Learning this information distressed me. If you faced a delay and compromised your layover, you could go to the front desk and ask to be on the next flight. The rule states that the front desk will help you book the next available flight if the delay is due to maintenance or weather-related issues. However, if you miss your flight because of your own mistake, whether intentional or unintentional, you can still get to another flight at no extra cost. The caveat is that the missing flight must be on the same booking reference. Therefore, next time you have an itinerary with a layover, make sure you have a plan if you face a delay that will impact your layover.
- Take care of personal well-being:
Your well-being is another significant step to ensure a smooth travel day. Traveling can be stressful for your body. To have enough energy to take on the day, you first need to get a good night’s sleep. Ensure you’re well-rested the night before your travel day to start the day on the right foot. Doctors recommend having 8 hours of sleep to feel well-rested. The second thing you need to do to ensure your well-being is to eat a healthy meal. Have a balanced breakfast or lunch before you leave your house to fuel your body for the journey. A full stomach prevents you from being hangry and acting out of character during unforeseen situations. Also, some airlines do not provide meals on the plane based on the ticket you buy.
My plane ticket on FlyLevel did not include a meal on my trip to Barcelona. Therefore, you must eat before your trip or bring food for the plane. Buying food at the airport can be expensive, so it’s best to eat before arriving. I also learned you can get your food from home through TSA. I bought a Kebab in Thessaloniki on my way to the airport, and I was allowed to bring it with me through TSA. Lastly, stay hydrated. Carry a water bottle with you, and remember to drink water throughout the day to stay refreshed and avoid dehydration. Taking care of your well-being will ensure you are well-rested, ready to take on the stress of the travel day, and secure a smooth one.
- Organize your entertainment for the journey:
Lastly, organize your entertainment for the travel journey. This tip ensures you are entertained and organized to enjoy your trip. If you travel domestically, you might be on planes that do not provide in-flight entertainment, or the wi-fi is down, so you cannot use your phone to watch movies through the flight wi-fi. Therefore, download offline entertainment: Load your devices with movies, TV shows, books, or podcasts to entertain yourself during travel. On a recent trip from Thessaloniki to Athens, my neighbor shared her tablet, where she downloaded movies from Netflix. The Kindle app also offers color soft books that both adults and children can enjoy during their travel journey.
Downloading your entertainment also lets you have all your favorite shows and movies in one place to ensure you enjoy your trip. Secondly, it is vital to stay connected. Carry a portable charger to keep your devices powered up, and carry headphones to enjoy entertainment without disturbing others. Lastly, stay organized. Keep your travel essentials within reach, including snacks, a neck pillow, an eye mask, and any necessary medications. I usually have my anti-nausea meds because I sometimes get motion sickness while on the plane. Having your entertainment on standby ensures you can de-stress once you sit on that plane or train. It allows you to start enjoying yourself before reaching your destination.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a travel day can be exciting and hectic, filled with anticipation and last-minute preparations. Many travelers experience last-minute shopping stunts, reorganizing their suitcases, or waiting for that family member who thinks they can beat the traffic to the airport on time. Therefore, planning effectively to ensure a smooth travel day is crucial. By following these practical tips and ideas, you can make the most of your travel day and ensure a smooth start to your journey. Adequate preparation, organization, and self-care will help you stay relaxed and ready to embrace new experiences from the moment you set off. So, go ahead, pack your bags, and get ready for an incredible adventure!
Let us know what other travel day tips have worked for you, or any other tips to reduce travel day stress, in the comments below.
Until next time, have a safe flight!
Xoxo,
Cy
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