My 5 top tips for travelling as an ADHDer

Last month I had a week’s holiday in the amazing city of Venice. My husband and I had been planning a return trip for quite a while (we last visited Venice 20+ years ago) and to say I was excited is putting it lightly!

As our first trip abroad since I discovered my ADHD I thought about what stress points there had been in previous travels and how I could take a different approach with this better understanding of myself. While we were there I also learned what helped and allowed me to really enjoy our holiday so I thought I’d share a few of them with you.

Easing in

Reflecting on previous overseas holidays I realised they all had one thing in common – by the time we reached our accommodation I was close to if not in meltdown. As these occasions were all before my ADHD discovery I put it down to being over-anxious, over-tired and generally a bit crap at travelling. My husband didn’t understand why I was freaking out, I beat myself up over it and it soured the start of the holiday.

What I now know is that the meltdowns were a result of extreme overstimulation. There’s so much to navigate and negotiate when travelling through train stations, ferry ports or airports (anyone else brace themselves for being in trouble going through security even though you’ve done absolutely nothing wrong?), so much for all your senses to process.

Plus it can be easy to forget to eat and hydrate properly because of fitting in with timetables, time zone changes, excitement and/or anxiety, which means your blood sugar can plummet with your body lacking the fuel it needs to keep going.

Having shared my realisation with my husband we’ve now agreed that on arrival at a holiday destination we don’t go exploring or out for dinner but instead gather basic supplies, have a quiet meal and decompress. The result was no meltdown and waking the first morning of the holiday raring to go!

Wearing noise-cancelling ear buds

When travelling by anything other than your own vehicle you’re going to encounter other people and with that a lot of noise. Wearing my ear buds in noise-cancelling mode was so effective in reducing the sound level without cutting me off from the world. (I don’t find replacing environmental noise with music or a podcast all that helpful if what my brain needs is quiet rather than a different type of sound.)

The ear buds were invaluable for the airport, the airplane (have they always been so loud?!) and for reducing the hubbub of staying in a busy city when I wanted a rest.

Paying attention to myself

In the past if I started to feel tired or just a bit ‘off’ while exploring our holiday destination I would have probably told myself to stop being pathetic, I’d been looking forward to this, we hadn’t been walking long enough to warrant needing a rest, it’s too soon to stop for lunch… so snap out of it and keep going.

This time I took a different tack.

When I noticed I was being (more) indecisive, not enjoying myself as much as I was a little while earlier, just feeling a bit heavier, instead of pushing on I’d tell my husband that I could do with a bit of time out. Resting and refuelling with a drink or something to eat, sitting back rather than being in the thick of it for a little while allowed me to manage my energy and stimulation levels.

 

Finding greenery

I live in a national park in Wales in the UK and I’m surrounded by a LOT of greenery. My desk at home overlooks a field, trees and a hill, drive in any direction and you’re faced with mountains, and I walk the dog through wooded areas, across fields and along rivers every day so my brain and nervous system are used to being soothed by nature.

A city like Venice has incredibly beautiful buildings every which way you walk, and as a collection of tiny islands there are no road vehicles or even bicycles (everything is moved by boat and they provide their own version of traffic), but it’s not abundant in greenery.

So, we sought out nature.

We found a beautifully quiet enclosed garden just moments from the madly tourist-packed St Mark’s Square, public parks in the Arsenale district and hidden courtyard gardens. Every day we spent time in a patch of greenery for a nervous system nature fix as well as looking out for flowers and herbs hanging precariously from high windows and balconies.

Taking afternoon naps

We spent hours every day walking all over Venice, wandering through streets, people-watching, admiring the crumbling beauty, and riding on the Vaporetti (waterbuses). Which meant that by late afternoon I was not only a little weary physically but also reaching maximum stimulation levels from all the sights, sounds, smells, heat, sun, negotiating other people…

Taking a couple of hours to lie down with ear buds in and eye mask on to sleep or just be still in the calm, quiet and dark was exactly the replenishment I needed.

I appreciate that what I’ve described here isn’t going to be applicable to everyone or every holiday or travel experience, and I acknowledge the privilege in being able to take this holiday. It may sound like I made a lot of demands and my husband had to fit in with me but here’s the thing: this holiday went more smoothly and was more enjoyable for both of us because of this new approach, because of working with my brain rather than fighting it.

If you’re planning travels of any kind why not reflect on past trips and what contributed to your enjoyment AND what contributed to feelings of anxiety, stress or overwhelm? It could be an overly-busy itinerary, having sole responsibility for the family’s travel documents and timetabling, the type or location of accommodation, not speaking up when you need rest… whatever you identify consider how you can take a different approach this time around.