101 Ways to be a Happy Traveler

Too many travelers I meet on the road don’t seem happy. They have endless complaints about the food, the people, the service or the pace of life. I’m not just talking about budget travelers either. Even travel professionals who are lucky enough to enjoy free overseas trips, stay in great hotels, visit the best travel hot spots and get paid to write about them seem to moan.

Do you want to feel happier than you already are when you travel? Do you find that most happiness tips are too long, detailed, embarrassing or complicated?
The simple solution is these 101 quick, easy and free ways to make you feel happy right now, whether you’re currently traveling or at home.

They’ll help you see how to be a happy traveler, and from there you can start to add more ideas of your own. Make sure you get your daily dose of happiness, because life’s too short to be miserable and there are infinite ways to feel happy. It’s just a case of finding those things and doing them.

I’ve read enough self-help and personal development books to fill a couple of tea chests, and I’ve traveled all over the world in search of happiness and fulfillment. So now you don’t have too.

If you haven’t already had your happy fix today, or if you want to feel even happier, try these 101 quick, simple ideas. Just maybe not all on the same day!

Please, dip in to these ways to feel happy, try them out one by one and start to feel happier day by day.

How to Feel Happy

1. Smile.
2. Connect with nature.
3. Surround yourself with positive people in person or online.
4. Do something you’ve always enjoyed.
5. Do something you’ve never done before but have always wanted to try.
6. Learn something new. There are endless opportunities when you’re traveling to learn a new local recipe, a dance style or take up a new sport or hobby be it painting or surfing.
7. Smell something that makes you happy: a mandarin, your lover’s perfume, chocolate, you decide.
8. Reward yourself for your good habits.
9. Eat something that makes you happy, but not too much if it’s fattening. If you’re missing food from home get hold of some of it, even if you do have to pay a bit more by shopping in a store for expats.
10. Spend time with a good friend. It’s easier to keep in touch with people when you’re traveling but make sure you take time to speak to your good friends back home on Skype.
11. Touch something that makes you happy: a cat, velvet, the bark of a tree? Take time to notice.
12. Don’t worry now, worry later.
13. Say, or sing, something that makes you happy.
14. Challenge yourself, I dare you. Try traveling along, traveling by chicken bus in India or creating a blog about your travels and sharing them with the world.
15. Look at something that makes you happy.
16. Stop procrastinating, do something. Travel can be a way of delaying things and if that’s true for you tackle issues you’ve been putting off. Make lists and start planning so you can act.
17. Take a small step towards your travel goals. Not by checking another destination off your bucket list but by enjoying where you are right now.
18. Congratulate yourself on all the challenges you’ve come up against while traveling and overcome.
19. Tell someone you love them. If you’re away from home send a postcard to a loved one telling them you love them and are thinking of them. It will make both of you happy.
20. Do a good deed. Spend a morning picking up litter from the beach, helping out in a local school and showing compassion for those around you.
21. Face your travel fears and tackle them head on.
22. Read a book you love.
23. Get outside.
24. Spend time with inspiring travelers or read a travel book by someone who inspires you or makes you laugh.
25. Clear out your junk, literally and lighten your load of all the things you’ve brought with you that you don’t really need.
26. Let go of negative memories.
27. Dwell on positive things from your past.
28. Be creative.
29. Dare yourself to do something.
30. Give someone an unexpected gift.
31. Change your habits and do something unexpected. Go to a restaurant you’d never  normally try, go skinny dipping or go for a walk at night with your torch.
32. Watch the sunset.
33. Get up for sunrise.
34. Think about how to start saving for more travels.
35. Be active. Even when you’re traveling take time to look after your body by stretching and excercising. Fit that in whenever you can.
36. Plan for success in your travels  if things aren’t working out as planned decide how you can make it better next time.
37. Eat something healthy. It’s often hard to eat enough fresh food when travelling. Buy a knife, a plate and eat fresh fruit from local markets or make yourself a big salad.
38. Trust your instincts.
39. Follow your passion.
40. Throw a party at the beach, a local restaurant or wherever you’re staying and invite some other travelers.
41. Avoid drama queens and energy suckers, you know who they are.
42. Write your travel adventures down, keep a diary.
43. Spend time taking new photos and deleting all the bad ones.
44. Treat yourself to a day at a local spa or visit a waterfall or beach where you can spend time quietly and come out feeling recharged.
45. Say no to things you don’t want to do.
46. Spend a day alone. Often when you’re traveling you’re never really alone, work out how you can get that much needed me time.
47. Devote a day to family and friends back home, updating Facebook, sending them photos and emailing them.
48. Pick up the phone and call someone you haven’t spoken to for a while.
49. Wear your favourite outfit, no matter where you are.
50. Be present in the moment.
51. Take a fun mode of transport. Hire a bike and go for a bike ride, take an elephant ride or enjoy a boat trip.
52. Do something you loved as a kid that you haven’t done for years.
53. Forgive someone, especially yourself.
54. Travel slowly and don’t keep rushing to see the next thing.
55. Have a meal somewhere different: try a picnic. When in France the best food is a baguette, some fine cheese and a ripe tomato enjoyed outside.
56. Avoid advertisements that make you want  more stuff than you need.
57. Pick a bunch of flowers and put them in your room.
58. Ban all media for the day.
59. Let something slide.
60. But some local jewellery and wear it.
61. Be romantic. Even if you’re alone you can enjoy the sunset or go out for an evening stroll.
62. Play a game: uno, chess, poker to make new friends.
63. Eat some thing you’ve never eaten before.
64. Have a siesta.
65. Do something you’ve been putting off.
66. Dream big.
67. Start small.
68. Seek out supportive and like-minded people when you travel.
69. Understand that all things come to an end.
70. Feed the ducks.
71. Persevere: pick up something you gave up on.
72. Start a new habit, a good one.
73. Look at yourself in the mirror, pick what you like best and flaunt it.
74. Seek sensuous activities and enjoy them.
75. Look for the funny things about travel and laugh about them.
76. Rest up.
77. Ask a stranger to take a photo of you and take one of them too.
78. Look at favourite old travel photos.
79. Challenge your body with a new form of exercise or hobby.
80. Meditate.
81. Write a mantra.
82. Focus.
83. Don’t buy something, see if you miss it. Put the cash in a savings account for your next trip instead.
84. Notice what makes you happy and use it in sad times.
85. Ignore people who annoy you, stop being with them.
86. Play hide and seek or build a sandcastle with some local kids.
87. Put a picture of someone you love in your wallet.
88. Tell someone your dreams.
89. Love yourself.
90. Be grateful.
91. Visualise a life full of many long and happy travels.
92. Unblock.
93. Use your brain: try a crossword or sudoku.
94. Make a good choice.
95. Acknowledge your feelings.
96. Go on a walk, long or short.
97. Talk to someone you wouldn’t normally connect with.
98. Be grateful for life.
99. Write a poem.
100. Teach someone something you know well.
101. Choose to be happy every day you’re traveling.

What makes you happy when you travel?

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