How do you have the energy to travel?

Most people have a bucket list of places they wish to travel, but even when they do have the chance to visit somewhere new, they may wonder how they’ll have the energy to get by a week (or several weeks) jam packed with fun activities, restaurants to eat at, and sights to see, starting at sunrise and ending past sunset, just to make the most of their time there.

Having the energy to travel starts with being intentional about where you want to go and why. Not every trip has to be planned hour by hour to make sure you see every possible thing the city has to offer - in fact that would be impossible, and also tiring to even attempt to do so. If you reflect on why you’re going somewhere, but I mean really reflect, it’s easier to figure out how long to book your flight and hotel, and to plan an itinerary that fulfills your purpose for going.

Reflecting on your “why” before booking a trip is important because going somewhere to dance and have fun vs. relax and unwind vs. visit family and eat good food vs. learn and immerse yourself in a new culture are all very different reasons to travel to another city.

When I made the decision to go to Barcelona for three weeks, it was because I wanted to explore without feeling rushed. I had studied abroad there for grad school, but didn’t make the time to visit different parts of the city the first semester and then the pandemic happened, so this was my chance to really experience Barcelona again.

Most people can stop by and see everything they want in less than a week (this is for any city, not just Barcelona), but I wanted to go with the flow, walk around, and do what felt right, day to day. Did I need to plan anything? Besides booking an Airbnb, not really. But I definitely brainstormed some places I wanted to visit and slowly checked them off my list.

Some days I walked miles, ate at cute restaurants, and found a unique activity to do, like explore a new art museum or take a fun cooking class or watch a traditional dance show. Other days, I simply walked down the street from my Airbnb to eat a meal at a family-owned restaurant and called it a day.

However, not all of my travels to Europe are structured in this way, since I’m usually traveling with others with much less time in each city. In fact, after my solo trip in Barcelona, I met up with my family in London, where we would then be exploring a new city every couple of days. In my experience, two weeks of this type of traveling requires a week of rest when you fly back home (which is exactly what happened).

The adrenaline, wonder, and inspiration you get when exploring new places is a beautiful thing, but it’s challenging to continue at the same pace after a certain number of days or weeks, depending on the person. To stay energized in the morning, I made sure to prioritize a healthy breakfast, and fresh coffee didn’t hurt either! And in the afternoon, walking and having fun things scheduled always helps keep things exciting.

If you’re struggling with energy in your daily life and scared you won’t have enough energy when traveling, don't worry because your mindset will most likely be very different, since you (hopefully) won’t have stressful work to do, and you’ll have so much you do want to do that even if you’re tired it’s still worth it to continue experiencing everything you can. After all, unless you're living on passive income and have no responsibilities back home, your time is limited wherever you’re traveling to!

So to answer the question of how one can have the energy to travel, it has to do with the structure and length of your trip, your personality and the plans you decide to make, and whether you continue healthy habits like getting enough sleep and eating well.