8 Amazing Ways You Can Practice Self-Care While Traveling

Looking for tips to improve your self-care while traveling? This post is for you!

It can be easy to overlook our physical well-being while traveling.

Have you ever been on a trip, or a few, and experienced these tendencies? (no judgement!)

• Increasing overindulgent foods and decreasing nutritious foods.
• Not getting enough sleep because of jetlag or simply enjoying the nightlife frequently.
• Not drinking enough water, etc.
• Exhausting your body with intense walks in different climates/altitudes…

There are many ways that our well being can fall through the cracks if we don’t take good care of it on the road.

Whether you’re traveling extensively, keeping yourself on the go, and constantly experiencing physical change, or traveling for 1 week to some destination and overworking yourself to fit everything in a small window, our bodies take the beating!

As a traveler for 10+ years, whether I’m road-tripping in the U.S. or boarding an 8+ flight with a full itinerary of walking to places, I know what it’s like to stress my body when I don’t listen to it properly.

Initially, I didn’t pay attention to what my body needed, both physically and mentally, especially with the increased reliance I had on my well-being while traveling.

I’ve burned out, gotten sick, and not enjoyed myself all because I pushed my body beyond and did not properly rest or eat right.

In today’s post, I want to share with you effective, practical self-care suggestions that I’ve learned and like to practice while traveling so that you can adopt them for your travel routines wherever you go.

And no, I don’t mean the face masks and bubble baths (although they are very useful, too ☝🏽).

We are going to explore ways to nourish yourself in more than one way.

Let’s get started!

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How To Practice Self-Care While Traveling

What is self-care?

Self-care looks different for everyone.

It has different meanings, and everyone does it a bit differently. It’s also become a bit of a buzzword amongst so many people, that sometimes it seems like the definition of the word gets lost amongst so many versions and definitions that get filtered throughout people.

According to various outlets online, self-care usually attests to the care of one’s health from physical, mental, and emotional well-being without the use of medical professionals.

There are many ways and many additional areas in life that would benefit from self-care, I believe, but these seem to be the most common areas where self-care is practiced.

In today’s post, I want to talk about it in the sense of ways to take care of your mind and body when traveling, which as we know that as fun as it is to travel, is oftentimes draining on the body and mind.

Why it’s important to implement a self-care routine while traveling

Our bodies are the vessel that we get to experience life, and allow us to fully experience beautiful things like travel.

I’ve said in previous posts that travel is very much like a sport. You’re running around airports at times, and you’re lugging around a few pounds on your back and arms through cobblestone streets, trying to find your accommodations.

Sweating in extreme heat or shaking in plunging temperatures.

It’s very much like a sport that you need to not only prep your body beforehand a little bit, but also know how to treat it well while traveling and being active.

Body

1. Eating well

2. Be conscious of your first few meals

One of my personal favorite ways to practice self-care while traveling comes from our food choices.

Start out with light meals in order to ease into the local foods, flavors, and ingredients of the culture you’re visiting.

Being more conscious of the foods you eat especially in the first few days of your trip could mean the difference between an upset stomach or feeling good and energized for that walking tour of the city, and the experiences you want to have.

Foods have different bacterias and are made with ingredients that we may not be used to eating where we are from, therefore it can be hard to determine how your stomach reacts and digest these new foods you eating after landing at your destination.

Monitor how your body reacts to the foods, your new sleeping schedule, and Jet-lag as these things in and of themselves take their toll on the body from messing up your sleeping schedule to your hunger/appetite and how your body reacts as a whole.

Choose lighter foods that are packed with more nutrients that can help support your body during a transition period where it’s trying to settle itself into its new rhythm and schedule.

Drink lots of water, whether it’s plain H2O or tea – keep your body hydrated, preferably with natural water.

Read More: 15 Travel Tips I’d Tell Any New Traveler

3. Check the tap water situation of the country you’re visiting

Speaking of water, something to research ahead of landing at your destination should also be the status of the tap water situation in the country/city that you will be visiting.

If you ever have questions on which countries are considered to have generally safe drinking water, and which don’t, check out online sources to help make a concise decision that will give you the peace of mind that you won’t experience any kind of negative consequences by drinking the tap water.

In my experience, countries such as Greece, Spain, Bulgaria, and Italy, have not only safe drinking water from the tap but also deliciously refreshing, quality drinking water.

It’s better drinking water than what the average American has in terms of drinkable tap water, so rest assured that even if you’re a foreigner, drinking water from the tap won’t make you sick.

Do your research, search specifically for the country/city you’re visiting, and bring a reusable water bottle.

4. Drink lots of water

Travel is so much fun, but man does it require energy, mental focus, and being alert and aware.

Also flying and the constant movement of travel can be dehydrating to your body.

I recommend bringing along a reusable water bottle to keep yourself hydrated during and throughout your travels. Bringing a reusable water bottle can save you money, limit your consumption of plastic, and makes it easier to stay hydrated throughout the day.

Nowadays, there are so many options when it comes to the different water bottles that you can buy, some that are collapsable and easy to travel with like this one, or ones that are skinny enough to fit into the small pockets of your day bag without it being a big and heavy jug.

5. Create and maintain a doable workout regime 

Before you shut this one down with images of a gym popping into your head when you read the title, hold on and hear me out.

When you’re traveling, in movement, and experiencing changes in a variety of ways, doing something to bring your mind and body together can do wonders for you.

Something like taking walks to explore your new surroundings, or a swim or a hike to the nearest nature trail can help you shake off any jet lag and brain fog.

Take a walking tour the first few days you’re at your destination, I always recommend this not only for exercise purposes but also to get to know your surroundings better with a local guide and their insight.

However, you can also totally do your own thing, and go on your own self-guided tour of the city.

Any form of movement that doesn’t feel like actually working out (unless you want that) is what you should aim for.

Go for self-care morning walks when the city is starting to wake up, pop in a walking meditation, and enjoy this movement and moment.

Or make it a point to walk to dinner every night instead of taking the metro or an Uber—little things like this.

Read more: 18 SUPER Useful Things To Pack For Your Next Trip

Mind

6. Prioritize resting

Sleep and rest are as essential for our survival as eating and drinking water are.

This does not only mean resting at night but also during the day with naps or even just chilling back at your Airbnb or hotel because you’re tired and have low energy to keep walking.

I promise that the city and all the things you want to see will still be there after your nap.

But no, really, travel FOMO is a thing and a sneaky one at that.

FOMO—fear of missing out—means the fear of not being able to see and do all the things you may have planned for each day of your trip. For some people, this can bring on some kind of guilt and/or anxiety at the thought of having to rearrange their plans just because they may need to take a longer break.

I’ve heard some stories…

Oftentimes, we come to the question, do I want to see x,y,z, or do I want to take a nap?

If you asked me, I would say go for the latter. You’ll thank yourself later for it.

As someone who is always excited to see places and have experiences, pushing through my tiredness to sightsee has backfired on me because even if you go see the sights, you may not enjoy it the same. Actually, you won’t.

Don’t worry about feeling “guilty” for not seeing x,y, or z while you were in a certain city. Instead, listen to what your body needs from you to sustain and feel your optimal best later on so that you can see more things!

Maybe you are reading this, and you actually do rest, but for those who find it harder to take more breaks, this one is for you. Practice this self-care tip if anything on this list!

7. Be present as you travel

What does that mean? It’s such a buzzword these days, but really, it just means to do something to appreciate and observe the present moment—to really be in it.

Some of my favorite ways of becoming present are to sit down at a local coffee shop with a coffee and look around at what I have nearby.

People watch

• What are human interactions like here, and what can they tell me about the local culture?
• What does the local language sound like?
• Is the coffee here any different from where I’m from?
• Where am I sitting, and who is sitting around me?
• There is nothing like sitting at a coffee shop and letting your surroundings sink in. It’s quite exciting.

Another way to enjoy the moment is to have at least one picnic (if the weather permits).

I usually have a picnic lunch or picnic dinner, depending on where I am.

Go to a local grocery store, buy a few snacks or a sandwich, find a place to sit at a park, and enjoy!

I often love doing this instead of eating at a sit-down restaurant because I get to be outside.

I feel included in the local culture, I get to observe more of my surroundings, I can meet people, and again, it kind of forces you to stay in the present as you eat your sandwich and stare into some seriously beautiful views of the city.

8. Do something to keep you grounded

Whether it’s bringing a travel journal with you to document the things you see and learn every day of your trip, or it’s a gratitude journal that you keep up with, or practicing a grounding meditation to set the tone for the day, whatever kind of practice that you do at home, bring it with you while you travel.

Adjust it if need be, it doesn’t have to be perfect, the idea here is that whatever practice you do at home that makes you feel good, bring it with you on your travels to continue the good feels and the right mindset.

Especially as you navigate new things every day on your travels.

Now, do you have to do it every day?

No.

But it’s something consistent you can bring with you to give you that stability as you navigate foreign cities and places.

Bring your favorite meditation, and start your day off with moments of inner peace within before you go into full travel mode, experiencing the world outside of you.

My longtime favorite meditations are Superhuman because of their walking and running meditations (which I didn’t even know was a thing until I found these meditations a few years ago).

>> Read More: 3 Ways To Make Travel Less Intimidating

Concluding thoughts on 8 ways to practice self-care while traveling

Self-care may be different for everyone, but some of the themes are pretty constant, I’d say when it comes to this topic.

Creating comfort while you’re experiencing so much change and shifting around you while you’re traveling can not only offer you support but also improve your physical health, mood, and emotional well-being.

Whether you travel alone or in a group, I strongly suggest paying attention to your body and what it is trying to tell you about what it needs.

Do it for yourself.

As a recap, here are the 8 best ways to practice self-care while traveling.

• Eat well
• Be conscious of your first few meals
• Check the tap water situation of the country you’re visiting
• Drink lots of water
• Create/maintain a doable workout regime 
• Rest
• Get present
• Do something to keep you grounded

Let me know in the comments below how you practice self-care while traveling and if there is something that you do that I didn’t mention.

To many more travel moments like these,

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