health, travel, Wellness

9 Healthy Travel Tips

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Traveling is the ultimate wellness practice! Am I right? It feeds your mind, body and soul like nothing else. If you do it correctly, you should feel renewed and inspired upon arriving home. Do it wrong and you end up needing another vacation.

For me, doing it right starts before I even leave the house and culminates when arriving home. Here are some of my travel tips for maintaining wellness while away:

Pack on hangers + bring a steamer:

This isn’t for everyone, but for me, packing on hangers keeps me hyper-organized and makes packing and unpacking super simple. Once outfits are planned, I lay them right into my case on hangers (alternating which sides the hangers face every five hangers or so) and when I arrive, I immediately unpack and hang things up. This allows the clothes to unwrinkle, I can see everything I have all in one space and it makes packing back up a cinch. Bonus tip: Pack a travel-size steamer (I love this one which I also use just about everyday at home, too). You won’t regret it!

TSA pre-check + known traveler:

Applying for TSA pre-check and a Known Traveler ID for Global Entry takes time and a little bit of money, but it’s worth it. Once you have it, you will save valuable time by skipping unreasonably long lines and ultimately every trip you take will be less stressful.

Hard cases:

Pack in hard cases with wheels that spin in all directions (AWAY makes some great ones AND they have a built in charger for your cell phone – genius!). That goes for carry-ons and checked luggage. The hard cases protect your stuff and they’re much easier to zoom around (a high priority for me). Just one less thing to worry about as you’re walking around an airport or once you’re at your destination.

Pouches + bags:

Use different small pouches and bags like it’s your job! That goes for everything: toiletries, plugs (major key right here – I always pack extra cords for all my devices and a minimum of two portable chargers), lingerie, shoes, medications (I always travel with Quinton and a few herbal supplements), accessories, handbags, etc. I find that giving everything its own little home keeps all the goods from getting scuffs and it’s easier to find what you’re looking for in a rummage.

In-flight essentials:

Staying happy, healthy and hydrated on the flight makes hitting the ground running upon arrival that much easier. Here are three things that I always carry on to help with that:

A blanket: I’m always cold, but wary of airplane blankets, so I bring my own. I invested in a cashmere travel blanket which is big enough to cover my whole body but small enough to wrap around my neck as a scarf – life changing! It keeps me incredibly warm but isn’t bulky enough to crowd my entire bag.

Face mist: I try to wear minimal makeup while in-flight and keep my skin hydrated with a face mist like Herbivore’s Rose Hibiscus Coconut Water. I’ve never masked on a plane but am a little envious of the girls who have no shame and do.

Hand-sanitizer: Is it just me or do airports bring out the grossness in people? I always, always have wipes (currently obsessed with Herban Essentials Cleansing Towelettes in lemon) and an organic hand sanitizer on-hand while traveling and love the EO Organics lavender spray. Pro-tip: Spray it a few times around you if someone near you is sick, it will help fight germs.

Submit:

“When in Rome!” But seriously! When I’m in a new place and trying new things, I try to put all of my rules aside to get the most out of the experience. Diet, especially. But with that said… see the next tip.

Honor you practice:

You get from your wellness practice what you put into it and while traveling it’s easy to let it fall by the wayside. But don’t! Make time for whatever it is that you need: yoga, hot water with lemon every morning, meditation, supplements, journaling, etc. Just because you’re not at home doesn’t mean your body doesn’t want to feel good. Let it!

Avoid the gym:

There’s something about going into a gym and running on a treadmill while I’m in a foreign place that feels so wrong. I feel like I’m missing out on everything I want to see and do, so I try to avoid going into a hotel gym while I’m traveling. Instead, I run outside, swim, walk everywhere to clock 10,000 steps or try a workout class in the area.

I also always pack a lightweight jump rope so that if I do need to get in a harder workout, I can do it efficiently. I like to do two minutes on the rope followed by 50 abs of choice and 20 push-ups, repeated five times. It’s quick but hard.

End on a relaxing note:

If I’m traveling for ten or more days, I always come home one day early to allow myself time to acclimate, unpack, and get my life in order before re-entering the real world. It makes such a difference!

​What are your go-to travel tips?​

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30 comments

  10. Pouches are my luggage’s saving grace! When a makeup powder breaks loose or a lotion cap dislodges, having it in a pouch minimizes the effort of cleaning up after.

    I also like to make sure that I leave at least one day of allowance after a trip. Once I didn’t follow this and the next day at work was the hardest!

    Reply

  21. Packing a skipping rope is such a great idea! I am not sure why I never thought of it before. You’re right, it is so easy to fit in your luggage without taking up space or weight and it can really make you sweat.

    Emily | http://emilytrinh.com

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  23. I really love some of the ideas. Like packing on hangers. SO easy but clever. I have myself two pure wool blanket scarfs which are amazing. Wear them as a scarf outside and as a blanket on the long car trips. And I also avoid gym on holidays. There is so much to enjoy and I walk everywhere as it keeps me active and you can explore the new place much better. Love the post!

    Reply

  27. Totally agree with the getting outside to exercise.
    I just try to do a whole bunch of walking in every place I go rather than getting transport. I find the most amazing places that way; things that you would never find if you took transport to the sightseeing hotspots.
    Kiri
    Set to Glow
    http://www.settoglow.com.au

    Reply
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