01 Nov Five things to do when you return from a travel adventure

They say all good things must come to an end and that has never felt truer than when you’re heading back to the airport after months of travelling. No responsibilities, no time schedules, endless fun and culture, new friends, new faces and exciting places – it’s hard to give that all up.

From my experience, the best thing you can do to tackle those post-trip blues is to keep busy and focus on your next steps, whether you’re planning a new adventure or settling back into a more static routine. With that in mind, here are six things to tackle when you return home from travelling.

Frame your travel adventure

We’ve accumulated thousands of photos documenting our travel adventures over the last seven years. Once we’ve saved enough money to build our Tiny Home, we’ll definitely be printing our best shots to display on the walls. If you don’t have anywhere to hang your photos right now, create a travel scrapbook or memory box, or even edit your own travel video if you took clips on the road.

Check your credit card statements

After a trip we always check through our bank statements to see how much we’ve spent. This helps us figure out where we are financially, as well as create detailed travel cost break downs that we publish on the blog to help fellow travellers. It’s always worth scanning your bank statements for anything suspicious too, just in case your card may have been duplicated without you realising it.

Listen to your body

We often return from a trip mentally rejuvenated but physically wrecked. That was especially true after our trekking journey in Nepal, when we came back blistered, with missing toenails and lingering stomach complaints. It’s important to take some time to rest and recover after a big adventure so we try and plan some transition time between trips so we can sleep, eat a healthy vegan diet and get in some dog walks (or runs in Andrew’s case).

Plan a new adventure

I find the best way to quash the post-travel depression is to start planning our next adventure. At the moment we might be stuck in the UK working and saving but we’re already plotting a campervan trip through Europe at Easter. I also have my Canada Rough Guide sat on my desk, as we’re planning a seven-week summer trip to the west coast, with a side-trip to Seattle and Yellowstone.

Find a new goal

If you’re taking a break from travel, like we are at the moment, it can be hard to adjust to a static lifestyle back in your home country. As well as planning future trips, we try to set new goals to keep us occupied. At the moment, we’re focusing on housesitting, freelance work and teaching, as well as researching and saving money to build our future Tiny Home. So, take some time to foster new interests. Take a class, start a new business or take time to research exciting projects.