Essential Travel Tips

Here are essential travel tips for stress-free single travel. Why do you need them? Traveling is an amazing thing. It’s an escape from daily life, an adventure, and a learning experience. It can open your mind to new possibilities and your heart to new places and people.

But traveling can also be stressful.

Missed flights, choosing the wrong hotel, packing the wrong stuff, not giving yourself enough time for all you want to do, and lost luggage are just some of the things than can ruin a vacation. But there are solutions for all of these than can help you have a stress-free and completely relaxing singles vacation in any destination.

Plan Ahead

First, you’ll want choose a destination carefully. Pick a place that you’ve always wanted to visit – or a trip centered on an activity that you love. Think: skiing, camping, learning about history and culture, or simply relaxing. Base your vacation around something completely enjoyable for you. When you go into a vacation knowing this, any negative experience can be counterbalanced easily.

Next, you should sit down and map out your itinerary. What places do you want to visit in the city or country you’ve chosen? How much skiing or scuba diving do you want to get in each day? Think about your “musts” for the trip – and then go from there. Choose a hotel based its proximity to what you most want to do. And read the reviews! A bad hotel in an amazing location is still a bad hotel.

One of the easiest ways to plan ahead is to let someone else do it for you! When you join a hosted singles vacation for groups, the tour operator will have done all of the research and planning for you. Hotels will be vetted, itineraries will be carefully curated, and flights will be thoughtfully chosen to provide optimal time in each location. At Singles Travel Service, we offer a range of hosted tours for single travelers. There is something for everyone.

Pack Right

And pack as lightly as possible. No matter where you are going – a beach, a mountain, or a city – you will want to put some thought into how you can only pack the essential clothing and gear that you need for the trip. You do not want to lug around more than you need. I made this mistake once years ago by taking 8 pairs of shoes to a Caribbean island. Sure each sundress had matching sandals, but this was completely unnecessary. I could have been fine with good flip flops, one pair of go-with-everything sandals, and a pair of sneakers for my morning run.

Also: do not forget that layers work. Temperatures can change quickly, air conditioned rooms can get really cold even if the destination is warm, and some locales are more conservative than others and vice versa.

Arrive Early

One of our favorite quotes here at Singles Travel Service is “Better three hours too soon than a minute too late.” William Shakespeare was a wise man. Never be late. Lateness can be so stressful for a traveler and your traveling companions. It can cause you to miss flights at worst, dinner reservations at best – and everything in between from guided tour departures to tee times to happy hour cocktails. And when you are part of a hosted trip on a singles vacation, it is simply poor travel etiquette to make the group wait.

Embrace Being Away

In this modern age, it is nearly impossible to disconnect completely. We are tied to our devices – smart phones, tablets, and lap tops. In many ways, this modern technology makes traveling so much smoother. You can receive up-to-the-minute flight updates, quickly get directions, find exactly the type of restaurant you want in the neighborhood you find yourself in after a day of exploring, and more.

It also enables you to check in back home or at work – for better or worse. But this can cause stress so give yourself a break. Turn off the news, forget work email for a few days, and take time to look up from your phone to see the new place that surrounds you.

Purchase Travel Insurance

We actually wrote an entire blog about how travel insurance can create peace of mind on a trip. Check it out. You might not need it on every vacation, but travel insurance is often a very good idea.

Did these essential travel tips help? At Singles Travel Service, we are known for hosting expertly planned and stress-free singles group vacations.  Contact us to learn more.