10 Easy Ways to Conquer Travel Decision Paralysis and Just GO!!
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Travel is fun, yes. Travel is rewarding, yes. Travel is a source of inspiration and relaxation and a breath of new life. Yes, of course. But…for a lot of people, travel just isn’t as easy as…doing it. Where do you even start? Travel, and traveling, is SO SO VAST, a lot of people find themselves freezing up in the beginning stages of planning. I like to call this phenomenon travel decision paralysis.
Before we get into the what and whys of travel decision paralysis, and ultimately the ‘well how the heck do I get rid of it?!?,’ I want to give a little insight on what prompted me to write this post.
If you couldn’t tell by the way I recklessly book trips on a whim, I do not personally deal with travel decision paralysis. In fact, in general, I don’t really have to work through decision paralysis in daily life. I make decisions the same way I make travel plans – immediately and without thought of future consequences. There are pros and cons to my…method, of course, but regardless of the outcome, a decision is made. So how did I get the idea of diving into this barrier to travel?
One of my closest friends deals with travel decision paralysis, which…initially surprised me. I mean, beauty, grace, intelligence, and wit aside, I’ve always found this friend to be very methodical and strategic. She also is “well-traveled” and has aspirations to see different places around the world.
But…she just doesn’t.
It’s not that she doesn’t want to, because trust me we have so many chats about future/hypothetical travel plans, but those plans very rarely come to fruition.
It’s frustrating. Both for her, because she doesn’t get to the destination, and for me, who wants to live and travel vicariously through my friends. Also, I really want my friends to get what they want in life. I WANT HER TO TRAVEL!!!!! So, I really tried to understand why travel decision paralysis happens so I could then help her, and others, get themselves on the road and seeing the world.
Table of Contents
What is Travel Decision Paralysis?
First things first, I’m the realest what is travel decision paralysis, at its core? I think to get down to the fundamentals, we should look at the term “decision paralysis” and then work backwards.
Or…work forward to how it relates to travel…
Whatever the term. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.
What is decision paralysis? It is literally the inability to choose. But, then, wouldn’t that just make someone indecisive? So, specifically, decision paralysis is the inability to choose due to an overwhelming amount of options or options that are incomparable.
Let’s look at some real life scenarios.
For the example, gonna use one of the characters from my novel “TW: Flatline,” Ricky. Ricky is in the produce aisle of the grocery store, and is looking for some fruits and veggies to buy. He is standing in front of the cucumbers and the green peppers. He knows he likes both cucumbers AND green peppers, but isn’t sure which one he wants today. Either would be good, honestly. Ricky is being indecisive.
But let’s say he is making a fruit salad and is now standing in front of kiwis and strawberries. Ricky doesn’t know if he likes kiwis OR strawberries, so he doesn’t know which one he would potentially like more, or which would work better in the salad. They are incomparable. Or, if he stepped back and looked at ALL of the fruits, there are just so many options that it’s physically impossible to choose. The potential negatives of “choosing wrong” could include making a terrible salad, or even finding out the hard way he’s allergic to his choice. It’s overwhelming.
That’s decision paralysis.
It’s stressful and panic-inducing, because while this was a pretty mundane example, often decision paralysis can come about on decisions that have very hefty price tags attached – financial or emotional.
When that happens, and the person truly can’t pick because they have no basis for comparing the options or there are too MANY options to compare, the person usually defaults to not choosing any of the options.
What does Travel Decision Paralysis look like?
When we put that in context of travel, let’s be real. The world is HUGE. With nearly 200 “official” countries, and then even MORE states and provinces and cities and regions and districts…yeah, that’s a lot of options. Should you book this thousand dollar trip or THIS thousand dollar trip? Are the sidewalks and attractions wheelchair accessible? Which hotel to stay at? Will you spend more in public transit and ubers than just renting a car? What are the best restaurants, and do you need reservations? What language do they speak, and is it easy to navigate without knowing it? Which destinations are the least racist???
What if you pick the wrong one?
There’s…a lot of variables when it comes to travel.
An overwhelming amount.
Someone might have a vague wish to travel to a certain continent, or even just to go somewhere in general, but then that’s when the questions start to barge in at an unparalleled speed.
Someone without travel decision paralysis would…pick a place, even if the reason is just “cheap flight.”
But that doesn’t work for everyone. I’m not gonna sit here with a “just do it” attitude because clearly if that worked, there wouldn’t even be a need for this post. To get past the hump of travel decision paralysis, we first need to look at how the idea of travel overwhelming to a lot of folks. It may be one thing, it may be a combination of things, IT MAY BE ALL OF EM.
What Factors Contribute to Travel Decision Paralysis?
What is the root cause behind the overwhelming weight of travel? Unfortunately, it’s not just one simple thing. There are…a lot of reasons actually, and they affect people differently. Now that we’ve covered “what” travel decision paralysis is, we can touch on how travel decision paralysis can manifest and shake up your plans to see the world.
Trip Planning is a lot of Work
Let’s get this one right out of the bag, planning for a trip (unless it is an all-inclusive resort, and even then) can be a lot of work!! I feel like travel influencers especially don’t touch too much on this topic because, even though they are jetting off every other week to a new location, their trips are mostly planned out for them during press trips and they have to stick to a very specific schedule.
But the reality is, for most people, trip planning is a lot of work. First, there are the big three – flights, lodgings, transportation. Then there are everything else that goes into planning – food, attractions, tours, relaxing. Heck, there’s even a whole slew of things to do before traveling that you need to check off before you even leave.
Especially with a lot of us having more work and life stressors, it’s not surprising that piling trip planning on top of all of that can lead to travel decision paralysis. It’s not just you – travel planning is A LOT to deal with.
Life Priorities
Speaking of responsibilities and life stressors…that alone can lead to travel decision paralysis. This is especially true if you are going through a transition phase where your life priorities are shifting. This could be the case for having a child or pet join your household, switching jobs, or even moving where you live.
Those are all HUGE life events, that take a little extra precedence over traveling – so trying to simultaneously figure out future itineraries takes a back burner.
Even if it isn’t a new phase in your life, you still have other priorities…like the children and pets you already care for, the rainforest of plants that line your window sills, your parents who ask you to do their grocery shopping for them…like…we’ve got other things on our mind!! And that’s okay. You’re not a “bad traveler” just because it’s not your number one priority.
Honestly, it’s probably…more responsible that it isn’t. Yanno both for yourself and the environment.
BUT, the balancing act of splitting your mental space can make travel planning more taxing and stressful.
Financial Worries
Another big factor leading to travel decision paralysis? Finances. I mean, that’s kind of true for doing any kind of entertainment activity, not just travel, but unlike going to a comedy show or concert, travel comes with a lot of potential hidden costs.
What if you need to extend your stay because you get sick or even hospitalized? Or your flight gets delayed or canceled so you have to figure out an extra day of food and lodging. What if someone steals your wallet and you lose your cash and have to cancel all of your credit cards?
How much will a trip actually cost you??
It’s one thing to plan for a trip with all of the hidden costs, but a lot of folks don’t have a big safety net of emergency cash in case something unexpected happens – or even if they just accidentally spend to much on the trip because they are having fun. It happens. The potential cost of a potential trip can be enough of a worry that they can’t get over that one aspect. Who wants to go on a trip and come back in a relatively worse financial position and lead to even more stress down the line?
Outside Perceptions
Outside perceptions, either from your workplace, family, or friends, can also lead to travel decision paralysis. As unfortunate as it is, a lot of jobs do not foster a workplace environment that encourages or rewards employees for taking their (EARNED/DESERVED) time off. In fact, in some cases the people who have the most “face time” are rewarded and people who are “gone a lot” (at least compared to folks who waste their PTO) may be seen as slackers or less ambitious.
That’s terrible for workplace moral and employee health and retention for multiple reasons, but I’ll save that for another post. In short, jobs be judgin’ sometimes, and it’s not as black and white as “WELL GET ANOTHER JOB THEN!”
Family and friends can also be pretty harsh critics of traveling. I am currently working on an article about travel guilt, and what that means, but for now I’ll just say that it can be hard to justify travels when you know you could also be helping your family with that same time and money. On the flip side, your family might be looking at your proposed trip and wonder why you aren’t using that money to fix your AC or buy higher quality food and items for your every day health.
If you have kids, at least in my family, it’s pretty common for judgement to be thrown when you’re seemingly “prioritizing personal fun” over being with your kids or staying at home and saving money for the future. Yes, traveling with kids is great, but that isn’t always possible with some trips (weddings, bachlor/ette parties, etc) and your family might not want to babysit – at least not without chiming in their two cents on the situation first.
Not enough confidence
Sometimes, it’s our own self-image that causes travel decision paralysis. Sometimes we think, oh, I’ll travel when I’m skinnier. I’ll travel when I look cuter. Is such-and-such destination fat-friendly?
After visiting Denver where practically everyone I saw was fit or straight-framed, and hearing two of my friends put off vacations they had been excited about because they had either gained weight or they were worried there wouldn’t be equipment available that would fit them, I started to understand this perspective a bit more.
The world can be fatphobic, and that has the possibility of being met with hostility, prejudice, judgment, and exclusion – especially doing any kind of outdoor activity. It can be at the very least intimidating, and that alone can make someone go back and forth on whether or not a certain trip is a good choice for them. Would another destination be more welcoming?
Now I know we’re just going over problems first, then we’ll dive into solutions for travel decision paralysis in the next section, I wanted to address this specific point now.
My friend Mally from Broke Ass Girl Travel is a FLY world traveler (no pun intended) and has spoken on traveling around the world in a body that doesn’t fit “typical beauty standards.”
You don’t have to be skinny to travel. You don’t have to be skinny – period.
She also runs group trips which help with travel decision paralysis (more on that later), but if you’re still struggling with that aspect of travel decision paralysis, join one of hers and know that you will feel comfortable and supported in your body.
Too Many Options
Perhaps the single most common reason that people get travel decision paralysis is simply…there are an overwhelming amount of options with no real way of qualifying which option would be the best decision.
This is probably the most straight-forward travel decision paralysis…but the hardest to address because it really is all subjective. It’s natural, especially since many of use have limited time off and limit funds to travel, we want to get the BEST bang for our buck. And if you don’t really know where is the bang for your buck, it can be stressful trying to decide between a bunch of places that you don’t know much about.
Organizing a Group Trip
And lastly, another thing that can cause travel decision paralysis in even the most confident of travelers is…trying to organize a group trip.
Yes, everyone’s favorite (but simultaneously least favorite) form of travel. Group trips can be a hassle for a number of reasons, and between people -who are supposed to be HELPING with the decision making- dragging their feet, seeming uninterested and disengaged in the discussions, and even completely bailing on the trip altogether, how are you supposed to make any executive decisions??
In this situation, travel decision paralysis takes the form of procrastinating on booking tickets, getting distracted with side chatter, and wasting time by repeating information and rehashing decisions that were already made. And since they’re your friends, you don’t want to step on anyone’s toes by trying to rush them or continuously follow up.
How to Overcome Travel Decision Paralysis
Now that we’ve talked through some of the underlying causes or contributors to travel decision paralysis, and maybe you’ve identified some that are a barrier for your own trip planning, let’s dive into solutions.
So – you can’t make a decision on where to go. How do we effectively get around that?
Tackle Priorities
Let’s take care of the necessary things first. Unfortunately, this is often needed at least a few months in advance to accommodate schedules. It doesn’t give you as much freedom for spontaneous last-minute trips, but hey, any travel is better than no travel.
If you have children or pets, you will need to secure a caretaker if you are unable to take them with you. The most cost-effective would be a friend or family member that could watch them free of charge, but even in that scenario you would want to give some sort of gesture of appreciation (flowers, a souvenir, cash…) so that it doesn’t start to feel like unappreciated labor on their end.
If you plan to travel frequently (more than twice-ish a year), you might want to look into having a backup contact in case they are busy and to avoid feeling like a burden. And, in exchange when they want to travel or have something going on in their life, be available to return the favor if possible.
For work, either time your trips between your busiest periods/time sensitive project, or schedule your time off well in advance so there is time for the rest of the team to prepare and schedule their vacations as well. If you’re “always on” at work, make sure you have a back up or alternative in place and they are caught up to speed to more easily manage your coverage when you are gone – and YOU can concentrate on your trip without being worried. It’s not necessary, but a gesture of appreciation for them would be nice as well.
For all other life things, make a list in advance of things you need to sort out before you travel. You can use my Pre-Travel Checklist as a starting point, or make you own. It will help with the anxiety of trying to wrap up your life before you leave.
Figure Out Your Travel Style
Your “travel style” is basically…how you want to experience travel or your travel experience. It’s kinda your “travel personality” if you will. Are you someone would likes museums and visiting historical sites? Or you more of an outdoorsy person who would enjoy new hikes and nature-based adventures? Are you a big food person and want to plan your trip around the best restaurants in your destination? Are you traveling to relax and de-stress, and might prioritize sleeping in a nice hotel with a spa day or reading poolside?
How do you like to travel?
I will admit honing in on your travel style takes a bit of trial and error. But, it might give you some comfort to know that you don’t have to do everything EVERYONE ELSE does because…it might not be something you’d actually enjoy. And knowing that can help you filter out the overwhelming amount of activities and lessen the chances of travel decision paralysis during trip planning. For fun, you could take my travel style personality quiz to get a starting idea (coming soon).
Visit during an event
If you have a hard time choosing a destination or committing to actually going on the trip at all, try visiting a place during an event or festival. That way, you already have the time, location, and things to do figured out – you just have to go. Bonus points if it is a paid event, so it’s harder to back out.
For example, I’ve always wanted to visit Michigan, USA (all the states really), but since I never had an idea of what to do in Michigan…I never had the push to actually follow through. UNTIL one of my favorite artists announced a concert there, and it happened that they didn’t have any closer locations…so I decided to turn it into a trip! I’ve traveled to a few places specifically for an event or festival, and ended up loving the destination and now would go back just to hang out there. Liiike:
- Palm Springs, California (Coachella, Desert X 2019 & 2021)
- Oaxaca City, Oaxaca (Dia de los Muertos/Day of the Dead)
- Fairbanks, Alaska (Aurora Borealis/Northern Lights in Winter)
And there are even more places I’d love to visit during their local festivals and events! So it’s a pretty great motivator to get you out of your travel decision paralysis.
Visit a Faraway Friend
We live in the digital age – it’s more likely than not that you have a friend SOMEWHERE around the world. And, as we get older, it’s more common for us or our friends to move and spread out. Visiting someone is a more than valid reason to travel. Plus, the part that helps with travel decision paralysis, you’ve already got a destination picked out – and a date depending on your friend’s availability!
I’ve traveled to sooo many amazing places just because I happened to have friends based there. One of my first “real” traveling experiences was going to visit an old friend from high school while she attended grad school in Hawai’i! I’ve also met up with dozens of travel blogging friends over the years that have truly taken me around the globe: Aneesa from Expat Panda in Dubai (and soon – Doha!!), Cassie from Mexico Cassie in Mérida, Wynee from Wynee’s World in Charlotte, and Sojourner from Sojournies in Milwaukee!
The best thing about planning a trip to visit someone in their hometown is that they already know the best season to visit, the best places to eat, and the best things to do. They literally got chu covered – all you have to do is book the ticket and show up!
Join a Group Trip
This next solution to travel decision paralysis may not be the option for some folks, but hear me out. Group trips can come in clutch. Before you completely write the idea off, I do want to point out that there are groups for literally ANY and EVERY travel style.
There are rowdier groups for people who like to party. There are groups who love focusing on learning the history and culture of a place. There’s group tours that combine both of those things! Whether you want to scale mountains, party on a yacht, eat the BEST food, relax and look cute on the beach, visit museums and cultural sites….yeah, there’s something out there for ya. Here are a few really awesome travel groups that I would recommend looking into:
- The Roaming Republic (lively, adventurous, bonding)
- Escaping NY (down-to-Earth, culturally informative, non-traditional)
- Broke Ass Girl Travel (relaxing, inspiring, affordably luxurious)
If you follow travel influencers on social media, you may have also seen some of them lead their own group tours. If you like that influencer’s travel style, there’s a good chance you’d enjoy their trip as well. It may also be preferable to folks who are a little shy or socially anxious – the other people probably have similar interests and personalities as you. Below are some of my fav influencers who also lead dope group trips!
- The Partying Traveler (active, outdoorsy, good humored fun)
- Just Rioba (well-rounded, adaptable, Africa-focused)
- One Girl Wandering (casual paced, friendly and conversational, private/solo time allotted)
Travel with a Frequent Flyer
If joining a group trip isn’t up your alley, then just finding one or two friends in your area who are also travel enthusiasts will definitely break you out of your travel decision paralysis. You can just tag along with whatever their travel plans are. My friend Kayla, travel writer and photographer extraordinaire, is that person for me. She is wonderful and one of the most well-traveled people I know (in person). If there’s anyone who is ALWAYS down for a trip, it’s Kayla. And, she always extends an invite for me to join in on her travels as well. Absolutely love tha girl.
Making friends as an adult can be challenging enough, but finding a Kayla can be even harder. One of the best ways to find people in your area who enjoy travel is on social media, that’s how Kayla and I met! Check out hashtag and location tags for your hometown and start up conversations from there to get to know them and even see if you vibe with each other before meeting in person. Also – safety reasons. Facebook travel groups for your hometown are great for this!
When you do meet up, I’d recommend meeting somewhere public with a good amount of foot traffic. That way, if it turns out you probably don’t vibe as well in person than as online, you can make a less-awkward exit from your friendship date. Also – safety reasons.
Hire a Travel Planner
If the main reason for your travel decision paralysis is that you don’t have the time, energy, or interest in doing the actual planning and organizing of a trip – you luckily have a pretty straightforward solution. Hire a travel planner! They can build (and even book!) your entire travel itinerary for you, from the second you leave the house to the moment you’re back. Plus, they can accommodate for solo travel, group getaways with friends, or even romantic baecations. It’s not free, but it is super convenient.
Unfortunately, I have not personally used a travel planner before on a trip, so I don’t have recommendations, but I will update this section once I find/hear of great travel agents! If you know of any, please drop your recommendations in the comments below!
Follow Relatable (to you!) Travel Influencers
Another reason that can cause travel decision paralysis – that I’m now realizing I didn’t cover before – is the travel content you see…just doesn’t feel relatable. You’ve seen HOW many people basking on the terrace of a Greek island villa with a indoor/outdoor private pool, but you took one look at your bank account and realized that’s not a feasible travel option for you. You might also see multiple people (both in person and online) sing high praises of certain destinations, but have also heard of racist or xenophobic instances that would have applied to you. What’s the real story??
For that, I would suggest finding and following travel influencers who are relatable to you and can tell of their experiences in certain destinations. Representation in ANY industry is not only important from an equity standpoint, but also for inspiring and encouraging other folks from their community. Don’t feel discouraged if it takes you some time to find folks that speak to you – after all, fitting a diversity quota isn’t the requirement, finding someone you can relate to AND enjoy is the objective!
I have a few posts of recommendations of some of my favorite influencers (apologies in advance that there aren’t many men on these lists), so I’ll link those below. Hopefully you find at least one or two that you connect with!
Confide in an Enthusiastic Friend
Finally, sometimes all you need to break through travel decision paralysis is a little extra confidence boost. For this, the solution is to confide in an enthusiastic friend. They don’t have to be necessarily OBSESSED with travel (though, that’ll do it haha), but choosing a friend who is a least level-headed and emotionally supportive.
Not that having erratic and/or blunt friends is inherently a bad thing, but texting them about travel your travel decision paralysis and then receiving a “B**** if you dont just book the trip 🙄” may not be helpful for everyone.
Remember, if it were that easy for everyone to “just do it,” then there wouldn’t be travel decision paralysis at all haha.
At the very least, even if they don’t give any direct advice and just listen, confiding in them can be a great brainstorming exercise. In fact, a lot of the times, saying it out loud can help you reason out your concerns and be very reassuring.
Preventing Travel Decision Paralysis in the Future
Now that you’ve hopefully identified what causes your travel decision paralysis, as well as some methods to help get yourself out of it, is there a way to prevent travel decision paralysis altogether?
Good question.
Unfortunately, I don’t have a good answer. Mostly because it depends on what leads to your travel decision paralysis in the first place. So, for some people, the answer might be yes. If you feel stifled from traveling because you feel overwhelmed with the travel planning process in general, finding a reliable and long-term travel agent can be your fix. Similarly, falling in love with a group tour company can also be your go-to method for traveling with very little planning involved.
However, feeling apprehensive about your safety abroad doesn’t go away over night, it really takes time to become comfortable and confident. Wanting to ensure you get the best “bang” for your buck is a valid concern. Sometimes your life and other priorities do take precedence and leisure activities like travel fall to the backburner. It happens.
Aside from the above tricks and solutions to travel decision paralysis, I’d also recommend just getting more comfortable and knowledgeable about the travel industry in general. The more you know about why flights get abruptly canceled, or how to best earn hotel points, or how to meet other travelers abroad, you’ll hopefully have less anxiety around travel and less contributing factors to travel decision paralysis.
Tackling Travel Decision Paralysis: Conclusion
Aaaand – that’s it! Wow, I had a lot more to say about travel decision paralysis than I initially thought when I first started planning this blog post. If you sometimes struggle with travel planning and travel decision paralysis, did you find any of these tips helpful – or have any of your own that worked for you? Let me know in the comments below!
And, if you’re like me and you want to encourage your friends to travel more, but they just can’t seem to get over the travel decision paralysis hurdle themselves, please send this their way! Thanks for reading, and I’ll catch ya on the flip side!
I am suffering from this right now. I have 15 days to go somewhere and I’m at a complete loss. My issue is that I have so many places that I want to see that I can’t decide. It’s nice to know that I’m not the only one.
Not at all! Thank you for reading!
We travel a lot but before we get a trip planned we often get bogged down in travel decision paralysis. Our list of places we want to visit is long but not prioritized well. Once we decide where we want to go, we are ok with the vast amount of work for travel planning. I must admit that the pandemic has added complexities to deciding what are feasible places to go. A good look at travel decision paralysis.
Thank you so much for reading!!
Good topic! Yes, we all get travel decision paralysis sometime or other. Apart from all the tips you have mentioned, today we do not know the ever-changing Covid rules – whether to take a PCR or not, whether there are new rules and forms. It’s always a stress. The decision of how many days to spend in each place is always debatable and there’s something you could not fit in because your plan was not perfect. 🙂
YESS!! COVID is such a big factor now! Good point!!
Great and pertinent topic! Thankfully, I don’t suffer from this problem, BUT I do know many that do. Planning the details of a trip is certainly overwhelming to many. Group travel is a good recommendation for people who struggle with that.
Yayy! Thank you so much for reading!
I love this post! I get travel paralysis easily, especially when my husband and I want to go to different places. We went to London and Paris in 2019, and he loves French food but we couldn’t taste it because we got sick on our trip. And now he wants to go back and have a do-over while going to Italy (which I have been to before). I would like to do those things too but there are other countries I haven’t explored and want to go to.
And I love how you are representing us minorities and those of a plus/mid-size. I gained a lot of weight being on prednisone for lupus, and it’s hard not to compare myself to those typical conventionally attractive travel influencers, which is why I try to not follow them as much. It’s hard because I feel like if I fit that mold I would get a lot more followers and brands not wanting to work with me. But I just try to be thankful for who I am.
Thank you so so much for reading! It’s SO HARD to pick when there are so many places and options!! Most of my immediate family members have lupus (and it might be in my future too), so I get it. And a lot of my friends do the same where they’ve stopped following so many influencers who don’t represent the extra headaches that might come with traveling in as mid/plus sized person. And YES – it also plays a factor in opportunities as a blogger/influencer!!