The five essential travel tips to help introverts avoid travel stress will help ease overwhelm and make for happier vacation experiences for everyone involved. Trust ME. Introverts, like extroverts, are happier on vacations that lean into places, plans, and activities that feed and energize their introverted desires.
Five Essential Travel Tips to help Introvert Avoid Travel Stress
First, let’s define an introvert just to make sure we are all on the same page. OK, we can’t really define an introvert because no two introverts are exactly alike. But in general, introverts tend to be reflective, think before they speak, have a few close friends and do enjoy being with a loved one and family members, despite their need to be alone.
Introverts tend to get excited and energized when involved with ideas and images while being reflective. They also bring a calming energy to those around them. Like all of the preferences related to Myers-Briggs Type® Indicator, introverts tend to have innate preferences aka what you use most often.
Tip One
SPEAK up! You need to make your vacation needs are apparent, especially if you are traveling with a tribe of extroverts. They happily plan activity after activity at dizzying speeds. It’s not that an extrovert doesn’t care about what you like, they just assume you would love to be at a music festival with 10,000 fans! If you want to avoid extreme extrovert activities, you’ll need to make your desires known ahead of time to have a happier vacation experience.
Tip Two
It’s harder for an introvert to take action when they don’t have any idea of what they’ll be doing. They prefer to have a CLEAR plan and then take action. Let’s be honest, it can’t always be all about you so understand some experiences won’t be defined, but knowing this upfront can relieve a bit of vacation stress. A frank discussion on this topic is needed with your family, friends or lover before packing up the car.
Tip Three
Schedule ALONE time. This doesn’t mean isolating yourself from the entire holiday experience. What it does me is giving yourself a few hours of downtime after extroverted-induced socializing. It’s a good thing and everyone will win because you choose YOU. You may need to explain that you do like spending time with your extroverted family or loved ones, but too many activities, people, and on-the-go adventures leave you drained. Communicate to your family your need for a few hours to recharge, hug them, and be on your way.
Tip Four
Plan for ONE-ON-ONE experiences whenever possible. These experiences work best for introverts as they like to focus on one thing at a time. There is nothing better than creating memories around unique shared adventures with a loved one. Why do you think Mother/daughter or Father/son vacations and vice versa are so popular? If you’re an introvert parent traveling with an extrovert child or a lover, it’s OK to let them plan the adventure. Trust me, you’ll enjoy reflecting on the experience for many years to come, and the memories will be cherished ones. Again, SPEAK UP, if they are the energizing bunny, and it’s too much for you. If you don’t, you’ll probably get cranky, and your kids will be like, ” What’s wrong,” thinking they are at fault. Nobody WINS.
Tip Five
Explain to your family the drivers behind blissful vacations for introverted, YOU. Discuss it in detail, because people can’t READ your MIND. This means pulling your ideas out of your head and onto the table for everyone to plainly see. I know this can be hard but it’s important. Educate your family on why it’s essential for you to be REFLECTIVE, to slowly take in the world around you as opposed to a flurry of non-stop activities. A few places to spot an introvert on vacation: a museum tour, a solo hike, paddle, walk, solo sports activities…
Introverts Can Travel Deeper
Travel for introverts can be about self-exploration and personal growth. And please, let’s forego the idea of losing your authentic self to satisfy everyone in your travel party. That my friends is total insanity, plus it causes all kinds of stress and strain, not only for you but for your travel mates, too.
Once you understand and connect with your innate INNER TRAVEL GUIDE and the inner guides of your loved ones, traveling deeper comes naturally. This approach to travel comes from your soul self and allows time to reach below the surface, to throw out what’s no longing working and adopt the new. It can support self-improvement. Instead of coming home and uttering the words, I need a vacation from my vacation, you’ll return home renewed, replenished, and rejuvenated.
Vacation Planning
It’s much simpler to plan vacations when you understand each other’s type. Vacations become more blissful and less stressful because you take into consideration each other’s desires, wants, and needs on a broader level. It helps to let go of the surface stuff which when looked at closly is not all that important.
It is my hope you found these five essential tips to help introverts avoid travel useful. Let me know if you use these tips to plan your next vacation. If you do share how they worked; the good, bad and ugly! Also if you feel like it, share these tips with an introverted friend who may also find them useful.
Wanna Discover Your Travel Personality Type?
If you haven’t had a chance, and you want to learn more, give a listen to my radio interview on the topic of, Discover Your Travel Personality; Let Your Inner Guide Be Your Travel Guide. Here’s the direct link to the podcast. The interview aired on Speaking of Travel on iHeart Radio with host Marilyn Ball. Or you can visit here where I share more information on this revolutionary way to travel.
Sharing is caring, share away – #WYTP! Find me everywhere @ninazapala
