Can Travel Make You Happier? That all depends. Surprisingly, happiness doesn’t depend on where you go. Nor does it depend on how long you go. A longer vacation doesn’t necessarily automatically mean more happiness. There are only two factors that matter when it comes to whether travel makes you happy – travel planning and how relaxing the trip is.
Travel Planning & HappIness
A study from the Applied Research on Quality of Life indicates that the highest spike of happiness actually comes from the planning stage of your vacation. In fact, the study shows that this boost can last for as much as 8 weeks! Additionally, the Institute for Applied Positive Research even found that 71% of people had greater levels of energy when they have a trip planned within in the next 6 months.
January 24th is Plan your vacation day. Certainly, is it practical to be thinking about your vacation since now is the time to book beach rentals and such. But I don’t know about you but boosting happiness and energy levels for several weeks is a great way to get through the blah winter days.
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Relaxing Travel & Happiness
As noted, the biggest boost in happiness came in the planning stage of travel. But happiness didn’t necessarily last upon the return from the trip. The level of relaxation of the trip directly influences the post-trip happiness benefits. The studied showed that those who had stressful to neutral trips has no post-trip happiness benefits. It really makes you think twice about who you travel with.
For those who had a relaxing trip, they often showed minimal post-trip happiness because of the stress of returning to work. We’ve all been there, right? Emails and coworkers and to-do’s from being out for a week can make our vacation feel like a distant memory on our first day back to the office.
But one group in the study actually boosted their happiness post trip, despite a return to the office. That group were those who experience a deeply relaxing vacation. And their post-trip happiness benefit lasted by as much as two weeks after their return! Relaxation really does have such an impact on our health and wellbeing and even happiness.
This is why my busy and stressed super mamas get so much benefit when they take some time for themselves with a trip to a destination spa or wellness retreat!
Travel Duration & Happiness
And the beauty of that for all my busy and stressed super moms out there is you don’t have to go for a full week. The same study found that duration didn’t not impact happiness. It was the degree of relaxation only. So, this suggests that shorter and frequent trips throughout the year can keep you in a state of travel planning happiness throughout the year. And if one of those trips is a deeply relaxing get away without the kids (and maybe even without the hubby), you can really boost your happiness post your trip!
So How Do You Achieve Happiness Through Travel:
Boost your travel planning happiness by taking several trips (even if they are a little shorter) more frequently throughout the year. Begin by planning a deeply relaxing trip such as to a destination spa or mindfulness or yoga retreat. And keep that post trip happiness bounce going by working with a coach after your return.
Why Wellness Travel and Destinations Spas Can Help Make You Happier
An AmEx TrendEx poll found that two-thirds of all respondents (68%) of people say they are likely to improve mental wellbeing by taking a vacation in 2022. After two years of extraordinary stress my clients are looking to heal their minds and bodies at wellness destinations. In fact, Wellness Travel is a huge trend this year. I’ll be covering more about Wellness Travel in my upcoming 2022 Wellness Trends Post.
Here’s why wellness travel can also make you happier too:
1. Relaxation
At a day spa, you have an escape for a few hours, but then you get back into your car to go home. Don’t get me wrong, a day spa has many great benefits and it’s a vital part of regular stress management and wellbeing. But destination spas give you a prolonged period in an immersive environment. This gives you the deeply relaxing vacation that can boost your happiness by up to two weeks after you get back.
2. Planning
A key element of destination spas is that you must plan the specifics of your visit ahead of time. So, this really boosts your happiness that comes from travel planning. This includes deciding what treatments you want to sign up for and what activities. Planning your daily destination spa itinerary is sure to boost your happiness
Even if you are going to a resort, and want a spa day, demand is currently so high that spa reservations are becoming as sought after as exclusive dining reservations. So, people need to make their spa reservations in advance, which gives a travel planning happiness boost.
3. Shorter Stays
Many destination spas know that life is busy and it’s hard to get away. So, they often offer shorter stays of 3-4 days in addition to full weeklong stays. So, you can add in a mini trip, where you have shorter but more frequent trips throughout the year. This keeps you in a state of travel planning all year long.
Travel Planning: My Happiness Secret
Now that I reflect on this, it turns out, this may be my happiness secret. I always worked a spa visit into any of my business trips for my corporate job. And so, I was always planning some spa time, along with planning other aspects of my trips. I knew I had a spa visit to look forward to.
I would also get away to the The Lodge at Woodloch for a couple of days around my birthday every year. And then plan another 3-4 day spa getaway at a destination spa for a personal getaway. So, between work trips and personal vacations, I had plenty of small but frequent trips and spa visits to plan and keep me happy!
In fact, destination spas can really support all aspects of travel planning happiness. First, needing to make itineraries in advance of your trip. Two, fitting into a shorter but more frequent trips. And third, offering a deeply relaxing experience to boost your happiness even after you get back.
How working with a travel coach helps boost your happiness
1. More planning
Travel planning is a happiness boost but also the very foundation of our partnership. We begin talking about your potential trip from the first moment we connect. You see, there are so many factors that go into choosing the right wellness destination or retreat for you. They offer a wide variety of programs and classes, from fitness to dance, healthy cooking, painting, you name it. Choosing an appealing setting to meet your goals based on your personal preferences can help narrow down the vast array of options. And kicks-off the travel planning.
2. Intention Setting
We’ll also discuss your intentions for your journey. What it is that you NEED or want from your trip. Perhaps you want to do some soul-searching, or maybe mend a broken heart. Maybe you want to disconnect from technology and reconnect with yourself or a loved one. Maybe you just want to reach a fitness goal or jump start some weight loss or bust through a plateau. Together we explore what needs to happen during the trip for you to get out of it what you want.
3. Re-entry
I mentioned earlier that the hardest part of any trip is the re-entry. Returning to your life and daily routines. And this is really 
where coaching makes a huge impact in your return. We spend most of our sessions after you return, talking about your experiences and how to integrate them into your life on your return. Two things happen here. First, we look at what needs to happen now that you are back to continue the benefits of your trip and keep you on the path to reach your goals.
But second, and perhaps most importantly as it relates to post-travel happiness is we look at ways to make your return less stressful. This can include options for how to keep the magic of your trip going after you come home. Giving you less stress and a post-trip happiness boost, that you normally don’t get just coming back from vacation.
Tips for Travel Planning Happiness When You Can’t Travel
The travel industry is optimistic that people will be returning to travel more than ever in 2022. In fact, 81% of people in the Amex TrendEx survey said they value the ability to travel more now than before the pandemic. So boost your happiness and start planning your travel. But even if you are still a little hesitant to book travel plans right now, here are some tips for boosting your travel planning happiness:
1. Virtual Pre-Planning (aka Research)
You don’t have to have dates or start making airline and hotel reservations to be in travel planning mode. Just exploring options and taking some virtual tours can put you into that travel planning mindset. Explore tourism boards, or a magazine like Conde Nast Traveler can give you plenty of inspiration. Read travel blogs, and shameless plug, here on LovetoSpa.com you can read about destination spas and reviews, which get you into a planning mode of where you might like to go when you are ready to book travel again.
2. Bucket Lists
If you haven’t formed a bucket list for travel, then now is the time to make one. Travel experts are seeing that there is pent up demand from years of lost travel. And people are finally planning and booking those bucket list trips and experiences. So, give your travel planning a boost with all the places you might like to go. African Safari? Paris fashion and shopping spree? Visit all the continents? Put it all down. And you know I’ve got you covered with spas wherever you go with my own personal Spa Bucket List!
3. Reflection
Spend some time thinking about what it is you would like to accomplish in life and how travel might help you. As I said, destination spas and wellness retreats offer lasting lifestyle enrichment. Something LovetoSpa.com and the Love to Spa community is committed to. These totally immersive experiences have the power to transform you from the inside out. Reflect on and journal about what transformative travel experience you might like to have?
- Solo Travel
- Support with Life Changes
- Broken Hearts or Grief
- Spiritual Journey
- Relax & Rejuvenate
- Reconnect with Nature
Summary
Travel can make you happier, but studies show the biggest boost comes from the travel planning stages. So, stay in a perpetual state of travel planning with frequent but shorter trips throughout the year. And the more relaxing the trip is, the more happiness boost you will have post trip. Working with a travel coach is another way to help keep that boost going after you get back. Wellness Destination spas are a great opportunity to put all of these into practice. And even if you aren’t quite ready to book a trip yet, there’s plenty of travel planning you can still do now.
Ready to get happy with some travel planning? Grab my free travel planner here.
If you want to go a step further planning a transformative travel experience, book your free-20 minutes call with me, here.
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