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Exploring the World: A Guide for Stress-Free Travel Planning

To plan a stress-free trip might sound difficult, and let’s be serious, no travel is ever without stress, but you certainly can make it less so. If you need to take some pressure off yourself for an upcoming trip, start with these practical tips.

Manage your transportation needs.

Any vacation will require at least a small amount of transportation. For starters, you will need to get to the airport. Change the way you travel there by booking a limo service near me online. You will get to ride in style and comfort, but most importantly, you won’t have to drive or look for parking. Book the same service for your ride home, as well, and you can avoid looking for a rideshare or a taxi when you are jetlagged.

Another necessity in transportation planning to give you a less stressful experience is to research the travel options at your destination. Learn about the subway systems, bus timestables, and any other forms of public transportation. Download their schedules to your smartphone and consider purchasing passes before leaving home so you can hop on the train as soon as you land.

Know before you go.

Regardless of where you are off to, it is important to research the destination beforehand. That way, you can learn about local customs, learn about the transportation systems (see above), and download maps to your smartphone, just in case you lose your connection.

Advanced planning gives you a chance to sign up for alerts through the State Department, too. Look for your destination’s tourism center online and check out their calendar of events. There might be some great activities planned that you would otherwise miss out on if you did not do a little research.

Let it go.

Since travel of any type is inherently filled with stress, it will be helpful if you can adopt a more relaxed mindset and learn to let a few things go. Of course, when anything happens, such as a misdirected bag or a missed train, there are ramifications that you need to deal with, but if you can take a deep breath and try to take it all in stride while handling the issue at hand, you will feel better in the process.

As for other things that may occur on your travels, if you receive a black coffee instead of a cappuccino due to a language barrier, so be it. If you take a wrong turn while navigating the city on foot, shrug it off and see what treasures you might find along the way. Travel is more fun when you have an explorer’s mindset and enjoy the moments, stress, and all.

Listen to this short three-minute video to learn how you can practice mindful breathing anywhere.


Now that you have some realistic and easy ways to reduce travel tension and make your trip almost stress-free both before you depart from your home and while you are on vacation, you can start preparing right away. Book your limo for the ride to and from the airport, research your destination, and just breathe.

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Karen LeBlanc

Karen LeBlanc is an award-winning travel journalist and storyteller, honored with two Telly Awards and four North American Travel Journalists Association (NATJA) awards for The Design Tourist travel show. As the show’s host, producer, and writer, Karen takes viewers beyond the guidebooks to explore the culture, craft, cuisine, and creativity that define the world’s most fascinating destinations.

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