Young Adult Travel Group Way to Overcome Travel Anxiety
Last fall, I returned from a long-awaited trip to Iceland using a young adult travel group. I booked an excursion with my sister, which helped with any travel anxiety, and it was fun to see the environment of another country so very different from there I live (in Texas).
Iceland is filled with gorgeous glaciers, geysers, volcano tubes, and hot springs, as well as good food, including some delicious things with names I can’t even pronounce. I especially enjoyed the people, both natives as well as participants in the young adult travel group, as they were all kind and friendly.
I’m glad and proud I went on this trip with others in the young adult travel group and overcame any travel anxiety I had, and will have memories to carry forever. But, with that being said, as an individual with autism, there were definitely annoying and frustrating parts about this vacation and travel in general.
Travel can be an amazing experience full of adventure, new discoveries, and lasting memories. However, as much as I love traveling, it definitely has its frustrating moments. No matter how well you plan, and the excellent itineraries planned with a young adult travel group, international trips almost always involve irritations, big and small, that can heighten travel anxiety.
Here are some of the things that can be bothersome when traveling, regardless of whether you book with a young adult travel group.
Top 10 Frustrations That Can Add to Travel Anxiety
- Waiting in Lines
One of the biggest annoyances of travel and a source of travel anxiety is all the waiting in lines. From airport security to checking into hotels, you often have to stand in line after line. The lines move slowly, and there’s nothing you can do except patiently wait your turn.Security lines at airports are one of the worst offenders. Taking off your shoes, removing laptops from bags, throwing away beverages – it’s a whole tedious routine. Then you have to shuffle along at a snail’s pace while agents meticulously screen each person. And woe to the individuals who get selected for a random additional screening.
And if you’re traveling internationally, you get the joy of going through border control lines after your long flight, anxiously waiting as agents inspect passports and ask questions. Those conditions and delays can certainly add to travel anxiety.
Even at tourist attractions, you’re not free from lines. Want to see the Mona Lisa at The Louvre or Michelangelo’s David in Florence? Get ready to queue up for hours. There’s no fast pass for the most iconic sites. Waiting in travel lines is tiring and eats up precious time that you could spend enjoying your destination.
The next time I travel abroad, I may look into services that assist with navigating customs and immigration.
- Lost Luggage
Having your checked bags get lost by the airline is incredibly frustrating. Even if the bags show up eventually, those first few hours or days without your stuff can really put a damper on your trip and cause travel anxiety. You show up at your hotel excited to start your vacation only to find that your suitcase with all your carefully chosen outfits and travel necessities didn’t make it with you.Not only do you waste time filling out baggage claim forms and checking for bag status updates, but you also have to scramble to buy replacement toiletries and clothing. If you pack anything essential like medications or electronics, it’s a major setback to be without them.
There are countless stories of bags lost on a trip of a lifetime. One involved a person going a full day in sweatpants because none of the shops nearby sold affordable clothing. The young adult travel group recommended traveling light and choosing a carry-on, or at least packing a few essentials in your carry-on – underwear, phone charger, and prescriptions. You’ll be glad you did if your checked luggage gets misrouted.
- Disorganization and Confusion
Keeping track of travel plans, reservations, transportation schedules, directions, and more can be a challenge. When you’re jet-lagged, can’t speak the local language, or just have information overload, it’s easy to get confused and disoriented and add to travel anxiety. Trying to get your bearings and figure out how to get to your hotel or where your young adult travel group is meeting takes time and patience.A young adult traveling solo mistakenly got on the wrong train departing from a station in Rome and ended up halfway to Naples before realizing his error. It took hours to get back to where he needed to be and ended up missing a scheduled walking tour with the young adult travel group. Talk about extra travel anxiety!
Disorganization leads to frustration when you’re traveling. Keep all your confirmations, maps, addresses, etc. organized in one place. Screenshot or print out the details so you have them handy when internet access is spotty. Knowing where you need to be and how to get there makes travel far less stressful.
- Tourist Traps and Scams
You have to be wary of tourist traps and scams designed to take advantage of unsuspecting foreign visitors. Unethical vendors will inflate prices for souvenirs and other goods knowing that tourists won’t know better.
Taxi drivers may quote outrageously high fares or take roundabout routes to drive up the meter. Pickpockets target crowded areas knowing that travelers carry money and valuables. I’ve heard countless stories of young adults getting pickpocketed on the metro system in Barcelona and other European cities because they weren’t being vigilant about belongings. Losing your cash and ID when you’re far from home is beyond frustrating and a reason for huge trip anxiety.
Beyond financial rip-offs, some popular destinations are plagued with people posing as police officers or false tour guides who prey on visitors. Do your research to avoid the worst tourist traps. Ask hotel staff for recommendations on fair vendors. Utilize hotel safes and wear a money pouch under your clothes to deter theft. It’s disheartening to have your trip tainted by being scammed.
- Transportation Delays and Cancellations
From delayed flights to crashed trains to canceled buses, transportation disruptions can completely derail your travel plans and schedule. Weather delays due to snow, hurricanes, or other extreme conditions frequently cause flights to be grounded. Mechanical issues with planes and trains inevitably crop up and take time to repair. Overbooked flights bump passengers from their seats. Public transportation goes on strike.There are so many potential wrenches that can be thrown into your travels. There’s nothing more frustrating than having an important reservation or anticipated tour with your young adult travel group that you miss because your plane was three hours late taking off. Build ample time cushions into your itinerary so minor delays don’t ruin the trip and contribute to travel anxiety.
Be prepared for cancellations by having backup plans. Sign up for travel provider text alerts about delays. Travel involves uncertainties, so be ready to roll with the punches when your transportation goes awry.
- Lost Travel Documents
Having a passport, visa, driver’s license, or other essential travel document lost or stolen can completely wreck a trip. Replacing them in a foreign country takes time and loads of bureaucracy. Individuals who can’t locate their passport briefly or all-together face extreme travel anxiety.My young adult travel group recommended keeping physical copies of your important documents in both your main luggage and a carry-on. Digital copies can also be a lifesaver if you run into trouble. Leave copies of your passport with someone at home too. Avoid carrying your actual passport around day to day while traveling if you can. The hassle of replacing lost travel documents is massive.
- Language Barriers
When you don’t speak the local language fluently, simple everyday tasks become frustratingly difficult. Ordering food, asking directions, reading signs – everything takes longer and requires patience. Individuals have talked about the travel challenges of taking trips to places like Japan without knowing any Japanese.While many can navigate their way using a mix of hand gestures, Google Translate, and pointing at menus, not being able to understand store employees, street signs, and announcements can be isolating and cause travel anxiety. That’s where traveling with a young adult travel group can be especially valuable.
Without knowing the language, a person can miss nuances and local insights and wandering in a foreign land, especially solo, may feel more like survival than genuine immersion. Language barriers lead to misunderstandings and make you rely heavily on translations. Brush up on a destination’s language or bring a translation guide to minimize frustration and travel anxiety.
- Health Issues
Getting sick or injured while traveling can ruin the whole travel experience. Consuming unfamiliar food and water or contracting a virus can lead to gastrointestinal issues. Walking long distances and jet lag take a toll. Allergies and respiratory illnesses crop up in new environments. You might even have a real medical emergency like a broken bone or appendicitis.Finding medical care in an unfamiliar place is scary. Especially if you don’t understand the local language, if you have a medical emergency you can’t tell someone to call an ambulance or ask the way to the hospital because you don’t know their language and they don’t know yours.
Keep prescriptions filled, pack motion sickness remedies, and know where nearby hospitals and clinics are. Don’t let an illness derail your travels.
Taking a big trip through a young adult travel group can help provide some reassurance in this matter, as tour guides are well-versed about what to do and where to go in case an unexpected health emergency occurs.
Travel can be risky for many reasons but to live a good life you have to take risks or else you will be consumed with boredom and when you reach old age you will realize that you have wasted your life, and no one should have to suffer that.
- Technology Fails
We’ve become so reliant on technology when traveling. So when that technology fails, it’s massively inconvenient. Your cell phone gets lost or stolen. Your laptop breaks. Your tablet won’t connect to sketchy airport WiFi. The power goes out in your hotel, leaving you without charge. You run out of backup chargers or storage space. You forget adapters that allow your devices to work abroad.Dead phones and cameras mean no travel photos and inability to access maps, reservations, etc. Technology makes travel easier but also provides one more thing that can go wrong. Bring backups of everything and pack extra chargers and memory cards. Print physical copies of reservations in case you can’t access them digitally. Don’t let tech woes ruin your trip and add to travel anxiety.
- Your Own Mistakes
I misplaced my wallet while in Iceland and I didn’t even notice it until I landed in Detroit because I had a layover there. I thought I had lost it so I searched my suitcase and my backpack at least ten times. I was feeling very embarrassed, annoyed, and frustrated, and I went through all the effort of locking my credit cards and all the steps you do when you lose your wallet. My sister had already gone to her date (we live in different cities) so I suffered from travel anxiety alone.Luckily, when I got home back in Texas, I found it. Turns out it was in my backpack but I didn’t notice it the first ten times I searched for it because it was buried under a bunch of charging super long cables. When I found it I was relieved and embarrassed because I went through all the effort of locking my credit cards even though I didn’t need to.
But weirdly, I’m glad I had the experience, because it’s important to go through this process when you lose your wallet (even if you find it later), and I’m relieved that all this was unnecessary and there was no problem.
You might run into the same problem and if you do don’t freak out; just stay calm and lock your cards and then try to find your wallet. However, if you’re in another country by the time you realize it’s gone, you should buy a new wallet and try to replace your credit cards through your credit card company. Like the young adult travel group recommended, the process is easier if you make copies of your card information with a toll-free number to call.
You might make your own mistakes, but don’t worry as everyone does; it’s just a part of being human. The key is to stay calm and fix your problems while keeping your travel anxiety low. If you can do that, you have nothing to worry about. You just need to remember to take it from a guy (me!) who did the same thing.
Don’t Hesitate to Go With A Young Adult Travel Group: Do Travel!
Though frustrating at times, these issues are all part of the travel experience. Annoyances and inconveniences will inevitably happen. With preparation and a sense of humor, the frustrations can be handled. Focusing on the rewarding aspects of exploring a new destination makes it all worthwhile. Travel challenges become funny stories you can look back on.
Stay positive, be patient, and make the most of every trip despite any irritations that pop up! The memories of enjoyment far outweigh the occasional frustrations and annoyances. I’ll gladly deal with a few travel hassles, including travel anxiety, in exchange for the chance to experience amazing new places and cultures.
And, by the way, I highly recommend traveling with a young adult travel group, especially if traveling solo. I am already planning for my next big adventure, this time truly solo, and headed for the United Kingdom. I’ll let you know how it goes!
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