Travel, I love it! There is something about visiting a new location or a location you have visited before. Researching, planning itineraries, organizing transportation, budgeting, and booking tickets I enjoy it all. Well, maybe not the cost. One of the best feelings is landing in a location I have never been to and thinking, “Wow, I am doing this!”
However, travel and everything that goes along with it has its challenges, especially with ADHD. Things like planning, organizing, and budgeting can be tricky for us. I decided to put together a blog series on travel. I want to share some planning tips about what works for me when I travel, and maybe they will work for you too. The series starts with talking about choosing a destination, and next will be research tips for your chosen destination. After that, posts will discuss tips for particular types of travel (e.g. cruises, resorts, road trips), travel organization, surviving jetlag, and sightseeing.
People who know me know I have this habit of planning my trips far in advance, up to a year or more in some cases. The main reason I do this is that it ties into my budget and gives me something to look forward to in the future. I have also gone on spur-of-the-moment trips; for example, I planned a trip to Japan in February 2010 and went there in May 2010. My planning strategy works for either. Plus, it works for solo travellers, couples, and small groups.
Determining how many days you have to travel plays a big part in your travel options. This does factor in when choosing a destination. Since I like to play it safe, I usually include one day for travel to my destination and one day for the trip back home in the total number of days. This works for my ADHD because I usually hyperfocus on one big event daily, and everything else goes by the wayside. For countries that are more than eight hours away by flight, I typically plan a minimum of at least ten days, usually more. This is what works for me and my schedule. You know what works best for your schedule, but my most significant advice is don’t do what I have done before and try to fit everything in over a short period; this can be overwhelming for some people with ADHD, especially me.
Narrow down where you want to go. It seems obvious, but it can be overwhelming. The world is a big place with tons to see. Saying you are going to Europe is great, but do you know which countries you will visit? What about the cities within the country? I usually want to do it all because I don’t want to miss out.
Have you picked a destination? Now ask yourself, “Why do I want to go here?”, “What draws me to this place?”, “Do I know anything about this place, or does it just an impulse?” These questions help determine where in the location you may want to visit.
Destination selected? Great! Now determine where you want to visit while you are there. Do you want to experience the cities, the countryside, or both? For example, when I travelled to Japan in 2010, it was strictly the cities. I knew I wanted to see Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, and Osaka.
The next step is determining how many days you want to spend in each locality and what you plan to do. Determining what you want to do and how long you want to stay in one place involves research which is next up in my travel series. Stay tuned for research tips about required travel documentation, safety, the best times to travel, and determining what to do at a location.