15 Stress-Free Travel Tips (how I keep travel carefree)

I’m a laid-back traveler. Stress-free travel is my default state.

I don’t care if it rains or if my luggage gets misplaced. I stay chill when flights get delayed and when I miss the last train.

I’m a happy nomad and I really don’t stress about much. This means I enjoy everything else tenfold.

So I’m stoked to share this travel style with you.

This is my guide on laid-back traveling. Below are my top stress-free travel tips for more carefree exploring and chillness.

Let’s get to it!

Table of Contents Show

    What Is Stress-Free Travel?

    Stress-free travel is traveling with the intention of relaxation, carefreeness and keeping things chill. And it becomes a feedback loop.

    Travel supports a relaxed mindset – but at the same time, a relaxed mindset supports more carefree travel.

    Huzzah!

    Exploring the globe should improve your carefreeness and chillness in life. But sometimes it becomes stressful and uncomfortable.

    Becoming a laid-back traveler is a way to reset and control things.

    So let’s look at some more of the benefits.

    Why Be A Laid-Back Traveler? (the benefits)

    Travel on its own is already awesome. But stress-free travel is even better.

    Being a laid-back traveler means you can enjoy your time more fully, have more fun and take full advantage of adventuring around.

    Here are some awesome perks of carefree traveling:

    • Have more memorable and positive experiences

    • Live more “in the moment” and enjoy your time more fully

    • Be happier

    • Be a more flexible and resilient traveler

    • Improve your health and wellbeing

    • Make travel decisions easier and with more clarity

    • Handle obstacles and issues better

    • Inspire other travelers to be more carefree

    How to Be A Laid-Back Traveler (15 stress-free travel tips)

    Palm trees from a recent Hawaii trip I took :]

    Ready to join me and be a more chill traveler? Epic.

    Here are my favorite moves.

    1. Set the Intention

    Setting the intention to be more carefree and staying aware is step one.

    For this, it helps to get clarity on why you want to be a more laid-back traveler. Consider these questions:

    • How would you define laid-back traveling?

    • What are your goals for carefree traveling?

    • Why do you want to be more chill with your traveling?

    • What is your current traveling style like? Is it stressful? How come?

    Recommended:
    Types of Travelers (which one are you?)

    2. Don’t Plan So Much (be spontaneous)

    A great way to experience stress-free travel is to keep things loose and not plan so much.

    This means putting away the perfectly scripted itineraries and being more spontaneous. Talk to locals, leave room for intuitive exploring and go off course.

    Traveling is all about adventure, new experiences and throwing routine on its head. This can feel uncomfortable – but that’s what traveling is for.

    Of course, this is easier if you’re a solo traveler or exploring in smaller groups. But whatever your situation is, try adding some spontaneity and exploring into the mix.

    Recommended:
    How to Get Out of Your Comfort Zone

    3. Make Time for Nothingness

    Besides putting away the itineraries to make time for spontaneity, it’s helpful to also make time for doing nothing.

    Laid-back travel is all about relaxation, stressing less and just going with the flow. So a great way to do that is to do absolutely nothing and not feel bad about it.

    Here are some ways to do nothing while traveling:

    • Meditate

    • Try slow traveling

    • Just walk around with no destination in mind

    • Go to a cafe to read, write or do what makes you happy

    • Do things based on mood and intuition

    4. Love the Weather (rain or shine)

    A laid-back traveler doesn’t care if it’s sunny, raining, warm or cold.

    So even if you have a weather preference, accept everything and just embrace it. This gets rid of stress and disappointment.

    It can help to have backup plans for things to do if it rains (like museums or inside stuff). But either way, try to look forward to both situations with equal excitement.

    This takes practice, but it’s a great way to stay carefree.

    Recommended:
    What to do When it Rains on Vacation

    5. Be Flexible

    As my favorite quote says, “let go or be dragged.

    Flexibility means you stay chill, no matter what surprises pop up while traveling. Since life isn't always in our control, being able to adapt and pivot keeps you carefree.

    So here are some tips to stay flexible while traveling:

    • Keep your expectations and plans loose

    • If things fall apart, let them fall apart

    • Make backup plans

    • Don’t rely on any one thing

    • Don’t attach your trip’s success to things that can be canceled or changed

    • Have an adventure mindset with everything (even obstacles or problems)

    6. Avoid Serious Stressors

    Avoiding stressors is a great way to stay chill while traveling.

    Because while it’s helpful to keep a carefree mindset, some things are just too important. For example, avoid these stressors to stay chill while traveling:

    7. Travel Like An Artist (have a project)

    Traveling like an artist makes you more curious and creative.

    For me, this always translates to more carefreeness.

    My favorite way to travel like an artist is to have some creative project. This adds artistic purpose to your travels and distracts you from “normal” stresses or concerns. It makes the whole adventure feel more intuitive, free-flowing and engaging.

    For example, you could make a travel video or put together a cool photo collage.

    Or if you’re a musician like me, writing adventure-inspired songs while you travel is an awesome creative project.

    Alternatively, simply doing more artsy things and having an artistic perspective will reframe things as interesting creative points (which is always more carefree for me).

    So what artistic thing or project could you focus on while traveling?

    Recommended:
    How to Create A Travel Project

    8. Do What You Want (not what you “should”)

    Traveling takes time, money and planning.

    So when you’re off visiting epic new places, you might feel like you need to do everything, explore all the local gems and see all the “must-see” recommended spots.

    If this feels more like a travel obligation (not what you genuinely want to do), it can cause stress. So let’s put carefreeness back into your travel experience.

    Because if you truly don’t enjoy doing something, then don’t do it.

    Vacations and holidays should be a time to indulge in all of your guilty pleasures and doing stuff that brings you closer to chillness.

    Of course, I’m all for pushing your comfort zones, but not all the time or every single day.

    So if you want to just stay in some nights to binge watch your favorite shows, then do it.

    Recommended:
    How to Have A “Guilty Pleasures” Holiday

    9. Travel With Chill People

    I’m as good as the company I keep.

    So if you want to be a more laid-back traveler, then spend more time with chill travelers.

    While it’s not always possible to travel with who you want to, there are plenty of ways to meet people while abroad.

    Here are some tips for finding more chill people to travel with:

    10. Keep Your Super Important Stuff Close

    There are some things while traveling (especially overseas) that are super important.

    And losing them is going to be stressful – even for the most chillest of travelers.

    So, in the event that your luggage gets lost, theft or something similar, it’s a lot easier to stay chill if you still have all your critical stuff (like your passport) with you.

    You can also make copies of important documents and have multiple credits cards or methods of payment.

    This is part of travel planning. Preparing things so you don’t have any single point of failure is a great way to stay chill.

    You can read my checklist on the most important international travel essentials here for more info!

    11. Go to Chill Places + Do Chill Stuff

    Want a more stress-free travel experience? Then go to stress-free places and do more stress-free things.

    Makes sense.

    Unless your goal is adventure travel, planning a slow trip is a simple (obvious) way to stay chill.

    For example, my favorite chill things to do include:

    • Self care stuff (like yoga)

    • Nature (hikes, parks, beaches)

    • Snowboarding

    • Thrifting

    • Spending time in cafes (especially chill ones)

    12. Be A Minimalist Traveler

    Being more minimalist means you have less to worry about.

    This is a great segue to more stress-free travel.

    Travel minimalism means you focus on the things that are either most essential or most important to you.

    For example, a few of my non-negotiables are my guitar and music production equipment. But for someone else, these would obviously be unnecessary.

    So narrow down your non-negotiables and prioritize those. And be honest with how much you actually need to bring.

    Less is more (carefreeness).

    Recommended:
    My Minimalist Travel Strategy

    13. Travel More

    Traveling more makes it a regular part of your life.

    This helps you become a carefree traveler because you’ll feel less urgency to try and make everything perfect (more trips = less pressure to make each one “perfect”).

    For example, if you only take one vacation per year, there’s added pressure to “make it good”. This can have the opposite effect of relaxation and chillness.

    So learning how to change your lifestyle, budget differently and plan for more travel is a great way to become a more carefree adventurer.

    Here are some quick tips:

    • Explore closer or cheaper destinations

    • Travel during shoulder seasons

    • Find remote work or way to make money while traveling

    • Earn travel rewards with credit cards

    Recommended:
    How to Travel More In Life

    14. Get Travel Insurance for Peace of Mind

    Travel insurance protects you against financial windfalls, injuries, lost baggage and other emergencies.

    And know that you’ve got some protection on your side gives you peace of mind and helps make things less stressful. So if you haven’t picked up travel insurance before, it may be a good idea to research your options.

    There are plenty of flexible options, but choosing the best policy depends on your trip duration, goals and budget (among other things).

    I recently wrote a whole article on the best long-term travel insurance options, which you can read in the recommend link just below!

    Recommended:
    The Best Travel Insurance (+ what I use)

    15. Practice A Chill Mindset + Lifestyle

    Whether you’re traveling through a foreign city or just driving to the grocery store, carefreeness is a way of life.

    So becoming more chill before you ever go traveling is a smart way to be a more laidback traveler.

    This means practicing patience, present moment awareness and other stress-reduction techniques to develop a stronger chill mindset.

    Having a chill mindset is a modern asset (that goes well beyond travel).

    Recommended:
    How to Be More Chill

    Later ✌️

    Travel is enjoying life to its fullest. It’s supposed to make you relax, wonder, wander and have fun.

    But things can get stressful – unless you plan ahead and you’re intentional about staying chill.

    For me, stress-free travel means being carefree, staying flexible, embracing the ups and downs, having creative projects, practicing minimalism and avoiding major stressor events.

    Carefree travel leads to a better time exploring and a more chill life in general.

    So enjoy and stay chill out there!


    Want More? Okay. Here’s More.

    quin

    Hey. My name is Quin.

    I’m an artist, musician, blogger and digital creator who loves to travel. And I’m on a mission to inspire more creativity, adventure and carefreeness.

    I also spend a lot of time in Japan and drink too much coffee.

    Through my websites and passions, I’m building a personal multi-brand. It’s all a creative project and I’m loving every minute of it — everything is art…

    So welcome, I’m stoked you’re here! Drop me an email to say what’s up :]

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