For as long as i can remember, travel has made me nervous and excited in equal amounts. There is something to be said about the comfort of familiarity — knowing your surroundings, knowing what to expect from your day, knowing where everything is. Travel takes all of that away and replaces it with the unknown. And for a lot of people, including me, that can cause real real anxiety.
I’m sure this is why many people never travel at all. It’s easier to stay home and do what you do every day because that’s comfortable. That’s safe. I get it.
How travel anxiety affects me
Over the years i’ve slowly gotten better at dealing with it. But even after visiting over 45 countries, the anxiety still creeps up on me before every single trip. Travel anxiety shows up differently for different people. For me it looks like this:
- I pull the car over on the way to the airport to check if we’ve got the passports, knowing very well that the last thing I did before closing the door at home was check that they were in my bag.
- Being at the airport a minimum of three hours before departure because, as you know, there could be a cyclone or a massive sinkhole on the way that could cause us to miss our flights.
- I weigh my luggage every day for a week before departure to make sure an extra two kilos haven’t stowed away in my bag and put me over the weight limit.
Look, i know how that sounds. But i also know i’m not alone in this. Travel anxiety for midlife couples is more common than people admit — and the fact that you still get on the plane is what matters.
Things that actually help with travel anxiety
Technology has made travel a lot less stressful over the last decade or so. Here are some things that genuinely help us.
Before you book your hotel, put the address into Google Street View and look around. You can see what restaurants and shops are nearby, what the street looks like, whether it feels safe. It sounds simple but arriving somewhere that already looks familiar — even from a screen — makes a real difference to how you feel when you get there.
YouTube is an incredible resource for managing travel anxiety. Someone has almost certainly flown your airline, stayed in your hotel or visited your attraction and made a video about it. Watch it. It takes the unknown out of the equation.
Book your accommodation through reputable sites like Booking.com and guided tours through Viator. For flights, go direct through the airline rather than a third-party site.
Don’t be put off by people saying “why would you want to go there?” or “it’s not safe there.” There’s a fair chance these people have never been and have had their opinions formed by what someone else said. Make your own mind up.
If planning the trip itself triggers the anxiety, get someone else to do it. A travel agent gives a lot of people extra comfort and safety when booking. My wife has me book all our trips because she doesn’t want that stress. I actually like booking travel i include Bec in the decisions on accommodation and flight times and that shared process helps both of us feel more prepared. It can also help to talk about travel with people who get it.
Either way, don’t let your fears hold you hostage. There’s a big world out there and you should experience it. You can manage travel anxiety and still have an incredible trip. I know we do, and so can you.
We’ve been giving straight-up travel advice for midlife couples since our journey began 26 years ago. Take a look at the story behind Street Eats & Window Seats.
Is it normal to feel anxious about travelling?
Yes — completely normal. Even experienced travellers feel it. The anxiety usually comes from the unknown — not knowing what the destination is really like, whether the hotel is safe, or how to get around. The more you travel, the better you get at managing it, but it rarely disappears completely.
What are the best tips for dealing with travel anxiety?
A few things that genuinely help: look up your hotel on Google Street View before you go so the area feels familiar when you arrive, watch YouTube videos of your destination, airline or hotel so you know what to expect, book through reputable sites, and make sure you have travel insurance sorted before you leave. Preparation is the best cure for travel anxiety.
Does travel anxiety get better with experience?
Generally yes — the more you travel, the more you trust that things will work out. But even after visiting 45+ countries, the anxiety still shows up before every trip. The difference is you learn to recognise it and not let it stop you from going.
How can couples manage travel anxiety together?
Include each other in the planning process — even if one person does the actual booking, making decisions together about accommodation and flights helps both people feel prepared and in control. Talk about what you’re worried about. Often just saying it out loud makes it feel more manageable.
Is travel anxiety more common in midlife?
It can be. As you get older you often have more responsibilities, more to lose, and more awareness of what can go wrong. But midlife is also when a lot of people find travel becomes more meaningful — and the anxiety is worth pushing through.
