travel fatigue - how to avoid travel-weary at longterm journeys
 

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Most of us are not satisfied with just working, we take care of our relationship, we meet family and friends, do hobbies and participate in clubs, go dancing on the weekend, to the theater, cinema, fine dining, and do sports.

If you think that a long-term trip automatically brings a good balance, and analyze the whole thing a bit, you will quickly realize that there are also some things to consider when traveling.

Our mind requires a certain amount of stimulation in order to feel fulfilled. This is where the work-life balance analyses that have been explored more deeply with the increasing burnout/boreout syndromes in our modern society help us.

Of course, these are not issues that come up when traveling for 2-3 months. But that can happen quickly on longer trips.

Article: travel fatigue - how to avoid travel-weary at longterm journeys

I hope it helps some traveler out there. Hard to say in which category this topics fits at best, probably an moderator has a better idea of the placement than here. But this topic is worth to discuss between other longterm travellers.

Surfy

It's like everything else, if you don't toss things up a bit every now and then, things become mundane and dreary. Too much action, you wear out as well.

A life without responsibilities, may seem blissful - for a while. In time a sense of uselessness and meaninglessness may creep in - with fatigue, regret, longing, resentment, and depression...

We are social creatures. We need to feel that we are making a positive difference in the world, that we are doing someone some good. We need it to mean something. It can't just be all about ourselves. We need feedback and recognition, from people that not only care for what we do, but that care for us, and that understands us. A long time being on the move, it is easy to loose touch with these basic needs.

Taking "time off" to take on some duties and responsibilities (work or charity): to build close relations with both clients and coworkers, to have someone depend on and appreciate our contribution, get recognition... share stories, thoughts, ideas and feelings, with someone who is truly interested and cares, and where you have equal interest the other way... To get a sense of belonging...

Maybe work in a bar, farm or on a construction site? Maybe go home and care for family or help a friend refurbishing a home? Taking time to get off the road to go on an expedition with new friends you have met along the way - like climbing a really tall mountain? Maybe take a course to educate yourself - or educate others? Hold presentations about your travel? Point is, to take a break, and do some good, and let people truly get to indulge you and your interests, and vice versa.

While traveling, take time to educate yourself or get better at something and keep yourself busy - even while on the move. Do something useful. Maybe a learn a language, an instrument or singing, videography or writing, media editing, history or culture, mechanics, cooking or becoming a better rider? Give yourself routines and responsibilities, i e. working out every day, eat healthy, cook good food and not just something just quick and dirty to fill up (and invite someone to share), maintain your vehicle and even improve upon it, always keep yourself clean and tidy even when you are alone, get up early even if you don't have to. Call home often. Go out and socialize often.

Most importantly, travel efficiently, but slow. By this I mean. Get on the move before traffic sets in (with vehicle fuelled, serviced, and your packed food and the days itinerary prepped and ready). Ride at a speed that doesn't put much of a strain on your head, body or vehicle, or which can get you into an accident (both are quicker to avoid than to recover from - meaning ride slow!). Take many breaks throughout the day, but short and efficient (avoiding services that eat up time). Frequent stops will not only keep physical and mental fatigue at bay, but give you frequent time to process your indulgencies - taking it all in and refuel your soul. Get to where you are going well ahead of dinner, and take care of all your errands and "have to do's" before you sit down. Make dinner a great and slow meal -relax, you've done it! Reflect, indulge! Spend the rest of the day to explore, chill, socialize and play with your hobbies - with nothing hanging over you!

The longer you travel, the more time off you need. I have myself never truly been gone for a very long time (only a few months at most), but I intend to once I'm free of responsibilities like kids, etc. I would then maybe go about it as follows: Take a day or two off every week. Take a short week off every month or so. Take a few weeks off after every few months. Take a few months off every year. Take a year off every few years. Take a few years off every decade... or take the final dirt nap.

Instead of quitting your job, selling it all of, and doing all of it in one go. Another option would be to keep your home and your job, and doing a few weeks or months of travel every few years. Sure it will cost more to ship you and your vehicle in and out every time, but it is likely still the most financially sound way to do it. Further still, it is a good strategy to keep you pumped up for all of it!

Thx for sharing your point of view; not that I agree or disagree with some of the postulates. For one there isn't such thing as longterm travel; in reality it is just a set of short trips strung together. Most of people I met who had been on the road for a while would tell you this maybe not in exact same words.

What you call fatigue is actually inability to deal with enormous weight of long journey; planning, uncontrollable variables, etc. It's entirely different matter if you happen to take one day trips 309 times a year.

It seems to me that the same factors pay a role (positively and negatively) whether travelling or staying at home. If you're trying to do too much, you wear out. If you're focussed on only one thing you get bored, etc.

On long trips (many months) we have many interests to explore (art, craft, music, dance, food, drink, language, history, drink...), take the time to explore these (average 170 km/day, which often means several days in one place), and periodically take a break (could simply be a rest day or two somewhere or perhaps a flight/boat to an island for a few days). In terms of daily fatigue, change driver and take a 20 minute break every two hours, take enough time for a relaxed lunch, avoid trips of more than 5/6 hours. This is for travel in a vehicle, when solo on a bikes (or 2 on 2 bikes), take a break every hour for 10 minutes, take the time to have a relaxing lunch, avoid more than 4 hour legs.

My longest trip was 7-8 months without a break.

But I definitely rested more days than I rode.

Surely the reason to travel is to find the places that you want to spend time in.

Take time off. Relax. Swing in a hammock. Read some books. Sleep.

When you get bored of the view, get on your bike and find another place on route to do the same thing. And when you get bored of being lazy, plan your route through some more exciting places.

Live cheap and think free. You won't get tired like this.

I've found that people vary widely in their capacity for long-term travel (not to mention their mode of locomotion, budget, interests, travel style, etc.). I've discovered that I reliably grow weary at about 11 1/2 months--almost without warning. Right around that time something which wouldn't have phased me earlier in my trip somehow looms so large that I end up heading home--an illness or injury, a minor crisis at home or a reassessment of my finances, whatever. And if I try to push it longer, I definitely get tired and grumpy, reluctant to take in anything new.

I'm mystified by people who travel with apparent pleasure for years on end, but I'm equally perplexed at those who, after one month or six, seem jaded and numb--just as I'm hitting my stride. Of course, I recognize that I'm me and that's them. As long as I time it right--again, a personal thing--I can return home happily, and after shaking off some bits of culture shock and any remnant disease or malnourishment I can resume ordinary life.

It's been working for me for many decades. What remains to be seen is whether the balance has shifted in some way while I've been limited to short (3 week) road trips during the pandemic.

Mark

Interesting point - our longest trip during the pandemic was 5 weeks camping in Iceland (with a couple of days in NY on the way there, and a couple of weeks in the UK on the way back, because we discovered that we couldn't return via the USA, as we had outbound, owing to a ban on Schengen arrivals (despite the fact that the total number of cases in Iceland in the entire pandemic was less than the average day in NY...). We also spent 6 weeks in Patagonia, although this was for work, with travel during the first 5 days (waiting on client pandemic protocol, during the weekends, and over one long weekend). The rest of our travels has been locally, for anything from a weekend to a month.

We are definitely missing our long trips. When I reflect on Mark's point I don't think the pandemic will have changed our approach or experience on long trips, once we can embark on these again, however it is thought-provoking to wonder...

Yes, and at this point idle speculation is all that's available--at least to me, given my levels of vulnerability and risk tolerance.

Another reason I'm wondering whether my perceptions may have changed during the past couple of years is that I've somehow grown significantly older and more fragile. Age-related health issues like this vary hugely from person to person, and mine seem to have accelerated recently. I don't want to catastrophize, but I'm trying to allow for a range of possibilities.

Mark