Tips for Sensitive Travelers

As a magical human GIFTED with high sensitivity, I perceive the world in intense yet beautiful ways, so I’m sharing tips for sensitive travelers. Sensory stimulation can be a lot. I consider myself an extroverted introvert. Deep conversations give me energy, and I LOVE going out to dance, especially when it involves perreo, but I also require recharging at the end of the day by myself.

Traveling, especially traveling solo for months at a time, is something that I’ve gotten used to, but it is also challenging as a sensitive person. Being a digital nomad is life expanding because you get to make money while you’re seeing new places, but it can also feel lonely and/or overstimulating. Here are some tips that have helped me to travel as a highly sensitive person with a history of CPTSD (Childhood post traumatic stress disorder).

1. Get Noise Cancelling Headphones/earpods

I bought the Bose noise canceling ear buds because I’d heard about how great they were when cancelling noise, and now I don’t know what I’d do without them. They are as important to my as my cell phone. Just with a tap of the earbuds, I can change from hearing external noises to cancelling them out. They do a great job, as small as they are. I didn’t want to get the big headphones because that would have taken up more space in my luggage, and I’m happy with my choice!

I was nervous to get them, because they are hundreds of dollars. Growing up, I remember my dad saying, “Bose is the best brand but It’s the most expensive.” We never had any Bose products, so I carried that belief that Bose isn’t for me and is for “rich people.”

Then using the same mindset tools I use with my clients, I use on myself, and I said, okay, what’s this really about? Are you just not getting them because you think you don’t deserve them? Is it really gonna hit your finances? And it was the first one I thought I didn’t deserve them because I wasn’t wealthy.

I definitely had the money. And as a business owner, I know more and more about tax write-offs. So the money was not an issue. I can write off business expenses, so I pay less in taxes for my business. I can use them to save money on taxes. It wasn’t about the money. It was about my belief that I didn’t deserve these fancy headphones meant for rich people. I even mentioned this purchase on my podcast.

I’m becoming rich. I am going to be rich. That belief is within me. So, I got them.

I don’t have ADHD, but a friend who did have ADHD said that they changed her life because they helped her focus and not be distracted by all the outside noise that we take for granted because we’re so used to it.

These earbuds helped me realize how easily stimulated I am. That’s why I’m mentioning them in my tips for sensitive travelers. I’m able to focus a lot more and concentrate and I just feel like overall less of an angry person because I realize that outside noise, that vibration, that energy was really affecting me all my life. So I’ll put the noise canceling EarPods in and at the airport and I can just block out the bullshit.

I can block out the children screaming. The Karen’s Karening, the mansplaining, but you can still hear the announcements and things like that get very loud. I can also just like sit there and meditate in the middle of the airport. And when I board on the airplane, it feels like I go from economy to first class because I can just block out so many things. These have been a game changer for me.

My second tip for sensitive travelers is all about accomodations. As a long term traveler, I’m intentional about alternating between my accomodation types. I’ve realized that if I stay in airbnbs, I get a lot of work done and I’m able to have the privacy to record ig lives/podcasts, but it does get lonely. I like to stagger my work schedules to be one week on with client calls and one week off. In the week off, that’s when I’m more likely to stay in hostels.

I used to stay in hostels to save money, but now I do it to meet people. In Boracay, The Philippines, I stayed in a hostel (Kommons by Camino) my first few days and it was so nice to spend my breakfast with the awesome staff and be more social.

hostels are a great place for sensitive travelers to make friends — My new friends at Kommons Hostel in Boracay, The Philippines!

Then, I spent the rest of my time in my Airbnb, which had privacy, but I didn’t meet ANYONE. So, I ended up going back to Kommons and joining them for karaoke and trivia night! My airbnb ended up having privacy, but it was loud AF outside because of construction/roosters. This is why noise cancelling headphones are a lifesaver!

3. Rest to recharge your sensitive self

In Taiwan and the Philippines, I have gotten multiple massages a week. When I lived in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, for over a year, I would get massages every week or so. Here, I’m getting them 2-4 times a week.

I like the deep tissue massages because I hold a lot of stress in my body, especially in my shoulders. I see massages not only as self care, but as an investment in my meat suit. We’re all magical, spiritual humans with divine consciousness within, and we’re just wrapped up in meat suits. Why not take care of them?

We pressure ourselves to feel like we have to “earn rest” or to treat ourselves. I’m learning to just take care of myself just because I’m here on this planet. As a highly sensitive person, I’m realizing that I’m not “crazy” for “letting things get to me.” My wealth building journey has taught me that I don’t HAVE to put up with shi*t I don’t want to.

With all this time freedom I have, too, I have been creating a lot more on my rest days. I’ve made it a goal to draw each morning as soon as I wake up, and it’s been going well!