3 Common Travel Fears and How You Can Deal With Them
Fear of flying, fear of being far from home, fear of traveling alone (solo)
INTRODUCTION
Whatever your reasons for wanting to travel abroad, that are some common fears that may be preventing you from going ahead with it. Read on for a discussion on ways you can mitigate these fears.
THE FEAR OF FLYING
Reasoning:
When it comes to flying we’ve all heard the stats that demonstrate that it is safer to fly in a plane than drive a car on the road when it comes to the likelihood of an accident.
I’ve personally flown a good bit both domestically and internationally and, truth be told, despite knowing about the fact mentioned above I still don’t love being in a plane for long hours above an ocean. Humans are naturally equipped for walking after all, not flying. So there’s no shame in having that feeling.
But I would say that the most important thing is to trust the technology and the crew’s training. Just as you would trust the medical team if you needed surgery.
But just in case you aren’t convinced, here are a few facts about planes:
- they can lose power in an engine and still continue flying
- they can lose power in both engines on one side, and fly with only the ones on the other side
- even if all engines were to fail on a plane, the pilots can still glide to the ground
Generally speaking, however, these scenarios almost never happen, with the likelihood of a plane’s engines all failing being exceedingly low. In any case, though, pilots are trained for those emergency situations as part of obtaining their license. Just like a surgeon is trained for medical emergencies that can arise during surgery.
Suggestions:
The first thing to be mindful of is to make sure that you are as comfortable as you can be. This is because the most comfortable you are, the more at ease and relaxed you will feel. You can do things such as…
- choose an aisle or window seat
- choose an emergency row to get more legroom if you don’t mind paying the extra fee (make sure to be in the same row as the door itself so that you can still recline your seat as desired), not in a row that is located “over” or immediately behind a wing because of potential engine noise
- pick a seat that is closer to the restroom if that’s important to you
- pick a seat that is as forward on the plane as possible to save time when it’s time to disembark
Combining all of the above will yield the best results for an economy class ticket.
- consider bringing a neck pillow that helps you to rest, and always bring earplugs and an eye mask so that you have the option to try and sleep regardless of the daylight and cabin lights
- bring things to listen to on your phone, such as audiobooks, songs, and music videos
- if you are on a long international flight, take the time to look at the entertainment console on the seatback in front of you. You’ll almost certainly be able to find a few movies that would be of interest to you, and you can cue these for later when you’re ready to watch
THE FEAR OF BEING FAR AWAY FROM HOME
Reasoning:
You love your creature comforts. That’s all right - Who doesn’t? But the fact that you’re thinking about traveling tells me that you may not feel as strongly about the status quo and that you’d rather change things up a little.
Several aspects of your life may be causing you to feel uncomfortable with the thought of being away from home and in another country for any period of time. Perhaps you have people or pets that rely on you, or things and places you’re responsible for looking after. Or it’s the other way around, and you are the person who receives help and services locally which causes you to worry about those if you are away. You may also be wondering how to get around in a place that you don’t know and where the language that is spoken might be different than yours.
Suggestions:
When it comes to people, pets, and places, you should view this as an opportunity to improve the way you organize and manage that aspect of your life even further. What I mean by this is that you need to develop a system that works for when you are away, or perhaps even all the time, regardless of whether you are there or not.
This could take the form of enlisting the assistance of a family member or friend in exchange for something that is valuable to them, whatever that may be. The most important part of it is that it must be someone that you trust to do what needs to be done reliably without you needing to check in on them during your absence.
If you don’t have someone you could call upon to do this, there are services that may exist to fulfill the same purpose. Using a pet as an example, there are pet daycares as well as home pet sitting services that could take care of your pet for you while you’re away. I’ve personally used both of these as well as family members coming over to live in my residence and watch over my pet while I was away. In all three of these cases, I paid a pre-agreed amount of money to have the peace of mind that things will be taken care of properly.
As far as needing some assistance yourself when you’re home, you will need to do the legwork required to find out what you can have access to wherever you’re going. Medicine is easy to bring with you, but keep in mind that you should have a copy of your prescriptions that you can show if requested by immigration when you enter a country in the rare case this might come up.
If you have a physical disability and require a wheelchair, most airlines or airports can provide one for you to use until it’s time to board your flight, including service to bring you there for a small fee or for free. You will still need to check with your airline when you purchase a ticket, as well as with your place of stay in your destination country to make sure that accessibility services such as ramps, and so on are available.
Another option if you have mobility issues would be to sign up for a group tour where everything is taken care of for you and you have the option to simply select those types of services to be built into the tour package.
I’ve also seen assistance being provided on trains, and there’s normally enough space to store a wheelchair, crutches, and similar things there along with your suitcase as you travel.
In terms of handling a different locale, it’s always a good idea to learn a few useful sentences in the target language before you get there. “Hello” and ”Thank you” are obligatory ones in my book, and you should strive to learn several more, based on your individual interests and goals when traveling there. Beyond that just know where you can buy a SIM card when you get in the country (usually there are booths somewhere in the arrival terminal). This will allow you to use Google Translate, Google Maps, taxi-booking apps, etc, which should be enough to get you to where you need to go throughout your trip.
THE FEAR OF TRAVELING ALONE (SOLO)
Reasoning:
This one likely stems from one of two reasons. It’s either caused by you questioning how self-reliant you are capable of being in another country, or it’s related to your impression that it would be unsafe to travel alone, and I’ve heard this coming from both women and men.
Suggestions:
Preparation is key, and your self-reliance will come from how well you prepare for your trip ahead of time, including how long you spend researching and choosing your destination. And when you couple good preparation with some efforts to learn basic words and sentences, and that desire to break the status quo of your life to have these rich new experiences, this is all you need to trust yourself and move forward with confidence.
As for the security aspect of traveling solo, a good place to start is to look up the online blogs and vlogs from solo (and other) travelers that have visited your destination country. You can also go to Wikitravel to find good information on how to avoid some common local scams for many popular tourist destinations.
Aside from that, use common sense and take basic measures to protect yourself:
- keep the contact information on your luggage hidden from view while walking around airports and down the street looking for your hotel
- don’t stand in line at the gate with your passport pages exposed
- don’t get into any unmarked cars presenting themselves at taxis at an airport or while in-country, or those that don’t want to use a meter
- don’t make yourself a target by wearing overly flashy or noticeable clothing or jewelry
- when you go out of your hotel to visit, keep your valuables (passport, wallet, etc) in a small backpack that you can wear in front if you are standing in or moving through crowded places, or a dry bag (my personal favorite) that doesn’t have a zippered pocket and also has the benefit of keeping your belongings safe from the rain
- register with your local embassy prior to departure
- let close family members and friends know about your trip, including flight dates and times
- avoid venturing out late at night by yourself
- don’t pick fights with the locals no matter the reason — just walk away before something happens
- don’t get drunk while abroad
- avoid staying in dormitories: spend a few extra dollars to get your own private bedroom, even if there’s a shared bathroom. That way you can be guaranteed that no one will rifle through your things and steal from you during the night
- Etc
TWO BONUS TRAVEL ABROAD TIPS
#1: When you get to your destination, and you venture out of your hotel for the first time, don’t try and replicate your life back home!!!
- make your experience count and be memorable: Q. Is going on a “pub crawl” really why you traveled to another country, or the only way for you to meet people who are staying in the same hostel as you (if that’s your intention)?
- choose who you associate and spend time with, and what you do with them carefully, whether they are another foreigner or a local (see the previous point)
#2: Step out of your comfort zone (related story)
CONCLUSION
You can turn your dream of traveling abroad from a daunting prospect into an exciting one by taking a few simple steps:
- create the ideal conditions to be comfortable and at ease while on the plane
- get your house in order before you leave (set up processes that do not require your intervention to take care of people, pets, and places)
- find out what your options are if you need special services or assistance during your trip
- learn basic greetings and sentences in the country’s language, and equip yourself with a local SIM card as soon as you land
- trust in your preparation and ability for being self-reliant
- seek out information from other travelers who have gone to the same place before
- follow simple and common-sense measures to keep yourself, your information, and your belongings safe
I hope that this article helps inspire those of you who have been hesitant to launch into your first trip abroad to do so now.
All the best,
Pascal
PS: You can go here for more travel stories and articles or here to read more about me.
