an introvert's guide to travel 🧳

Welcome to The Introverted Path!

Happy Thursday y’all! I’m coming off a packed week of personal and work travel. I had to go to Baltimore Monday/Tuesday for work and used that opportunity to see a friend in Philadelphia the weekend before.

While traveling is certainly a privilege, it can be exhausting. Especially for introverts. I thought it would be helpful to talk about some things I have learned to help keep me in the right headspace as I travel.

In today’s email:

• Traveling as an introvert: the good, the bad, the ugly

• Tips and tricks to keep your batteries charged during travel

• 🔗 Links to other content I enjoyed this week

Let’s dive in 🤙 

Travel as an introvert

I’m someone who is very routined. Most of my days follow a similar format. This helps me stay productive during my work days.

Routines have their drawbacks - while I think having routines is good, you need to allow room for randomness in your life. After all, that’s what it’s all about. Those unexpected moments of joy. And travel is a great way to open yourself up to those moments.

My partner owns her own travel agency, so traveling is a big part of our lives. This includes many long international trips. We also have the flexibility of working remote, so we try to take advantage of that.

Planning these trips always immediately fills me with a bit if hesitancy. How will I do without my routine? How can I keep productive habits going while traveling? And how can I find time to recharge?

There are certainly ways to travel without removing those parts of your life. It takes some planning, but doing so helps ensure you stay in a good headspace while traveling.

Let’s get into some of the things that help me below ⬇️ 

6 Tips & tricks to managing travel

1. Prioritize comfort by bringing familiar items from home

Packing items you are familiar with can help bridge the gap between home and travel. This could be books, a pillow, journal, pajamas, lotions, shampoos, supplements, or exercise equipment.

I have been doing daily exercises to help with a knee injury. On my trips lately I have packed exercise bands that allow me to stick with that routine.

The idea is to identify items you enjoy using while you are home and making sure they are a part of your packing list when traveling.

2. Allow quiet time in your schedule

When traveling, you tend to want to do as much as possible. If you are only going to be in a destination for a few days, you want to see it all.

Building in free days allow you to roam on your own schedule. You also allow time for yourself to rest in case you need it.

The biggest hurdle is getting over feeling “guilty” by not maximizing your trip. But having a trip that aligns with your personality allows you to experience a destination in a way that doesn’t drain you.

3. Pick calm destinations

When we travel, we try to do a combination of calm and busy destinations. Exploring cities can be overwhelming and drain your energy.

Including relaxing destinations helps to create a balance. Give yourself time to read a book, lay by the pool, or enjoy a spa day.

We really enjoy seeking out local cafes. That way you can try some local coffee or teas. It’s also a great spot for my favorite hobby while traveling, people watching 👀 

4. Plan out “me time”

One of the most important habits to keep when traveling for me is exercise. This is the one activity that helps me stay in a good headspace.

Because of this, I prioritize hotels that have gyms. With the internet, it is easy to find places that have this available. Many times it is a very simple setup, but it is enough to get the job done.

I typically will try to exercise in the mornings when traveling. This still gives me plenty of time to do my exploring or sightseeing during the days.

5. Spend more for private tours versus group tours

As an introvert, group tours can be very draining. Sometimes there is no way around that, especially when you are seeing famous historical sites.

One thing we have found helpful is prioritizing private tours. This way you don’t have to deal with large groups of other tourists.

We’ve also found we learn a great deal more during these. It gives you the venue to ask more questions and really get a sense for the area you are visiting.

Context Tours allows you to book guided experiences with local experts. It’s a great way to get a local’s point of view.

6. Allow yourself time on the backend for a rest day

With work and PTO, most of us try to maximize our time off in a destination to ensure we make the most of it.

But giving yourself a day at the end of a trip is a great way to readjust to your normal life. This gives you a day to rest, do laundry, and prepare for your usual responsibilities.

It can help reduce the anxiety at the end of a trip as well knowing you have an extra day to get things together before jumping back into work.

My thoughts 💭 

I love to travel. Seeing new cultures and meeting different types of people is one of the best ways to form new thoughts and challenge your previously held opinions.

This week I was able to see my coworkers in person and it brought me a ton of energy.

But I planned ahead to reduce anxieties associated with travel. I stayed active. Brought some comfort items from home, like my exercise bands. And I made sure I didn’t have plans for a couple nights after returning home.

The important thing is realizing you don’t have to completely abandon your home routines when you travel. Finding that balance between familiarity and newness is key.

And if you do fall away from your routines, try not to beat yourself up. As I stated at the beginning, we need to allow for randomness in our life.

Links that I enjoyed this week 💥 

• Travel destination ideas for introverts (link)

• How much social interaction do you actually need? (link)

• 10 parabolas of moderation (link)

That’s it for today - hope you enjoyed this weeks newsletter!

Best,

BG