The art of travelling well

There can be a lot of pressure to make the most of a holiday, especially when you’ve been looking forward to it for months. You want to wear the clothes you’ve been saving and see the places on your list. But some of the best holidays don’t need quite so much planning. 

Taking clothes you genuinely enjoy wearing and giving yourself time to see where the day takes you can make travelling feel far more enjoyable. 

Pack with more intention

A lighter suitcase makes the practical side of travelling much easier. You can move through airports without wrestling with an oversized case and spend less time deciding what to wear each morning. Packing efficiently can also help you make better use of limited cabin luggage, particularly if you’re travelling between several destinations.

Choose clothes that work together rather than planning a completely separate outfit for every day. A linen shirt you wear over swimwear can come out again with tailored trousers for dinner, while comfortable loafers or sandals can work for sightseeing and drinks afterwards. 

Make your beauty routine travel-sized

Stick with products you already know suit you, rather than trying a new acid or retinol just before you leave. Decant cleanser and moisturiser into reusable containers, take your usual broad-spectrum sunscreen and choose make-up that can do more than one job. A cream tint that works on cheeks and lips, for example, saves space without forcing you to abandon your usual look.

Enjoy getting there

You don’t always have to rush towards a destination for the holiday to begin. Sometimes, the travelling itself gives you a chance to slow down, particularly when you choose a route where the journey is part of the experience.

A cruise is a good example. Rather than flying into one place and immediately starting a packed itinerary, you can spend time at sea between stops and experience several destinations within the same trip. Oceania cruises let you see more of the world while still having some slower days built into your holiday. 

Dress for the trip, but still feel like yourself

Start with your normal style and adapt it to the weather, local customs and what you’ll actually be doing. If you live in jeans, you might swap denim for wide-leg cotton trousers in a hot climate, keeping the same relaxed silhouette in a fabric that feels better at 30°C.

Bringing clothes you already know how to style also gives you more outfit options from a smaller suitcase, as you can easily re-wear pieces in different combinations.

Give yourself somewhere to go slowly

A packed itinerary can leave you needing a break from your break. Leaving a free afternoon gives you room to stay longer over lunch, wander into a shop you hadn’t planned to visit or simply return to the hotel when the heat becomes tiring.

You can still book the experiences that genuinely need advance planning, but avoid assigning something to every spare hour.