A Hawaii vacation should be fun, relaxing, and even transformational. Yet, Hawaii travel stress is real, and it’s more true now than ever before. We’re seeing it clearly in your comments. Moreover, travel isn’t exactly what it used to be in a myriad of ways. So welcome to the new world.
Whether you’re headed for a regular trip to the Hawaii you love, or the trip of a lifetime to the islands, anxiety, worry, tension, and raised blood pressure are at some level hard to avoid. Here’s why and what you can do about it.
Researchers think the most frequently stressful Hawaii travel experiences are associated with pre-trip planning and your itinerary choices. Once in Hawaii, stressors include weather, traffic, flight delays, and disagreements among travel partners.
Hawaii travel anxiety is to a large degree associated with fear of the unknown. As we just return to travel in a post-Covid world, things aren’t entirely familiar any longer either. There’s more stress, too, around trip planning and what to expect when you’re here. While some of this anxiety is unavoidable, it can also ruin your vacation, and that’s the last thing anyone wants.
We look at how to manage Hawaii travel stress: causes, symptoms, treatment.
Causes of Hawaii travel stress.
It’s different from person to person, of course. Jeff has been a world-traveler his entire life, but to this day, enclosed spaces, and, too many people in close proximity, set him off. Other people may find that Hawaii travel anxiety is their norm, and it may have emanated from a bad trip or from nothing obvious. Jeff once had an extremely turbulent Delta L-1011 flight from Los Angeles to Honolulu. He hasn’t totally forgotten it in over 30 years, and when there’s extreme turbulence, it brings that right back.
1. Apprehension around flying or about long, over-water flights. This is among the most common causes of Hawaii travel anxiety. Other aspects of flight fear include the take-off and landing experience, turbulence aloft, and fear associated with being up to three hours away from the nearest place to land on a Hawaii flight. Fear of airplane crashes, and of course, claustrophobia in general, or on long flights are other factors.
2. Agoraphobia or the fear of being in public places. Who hasn’t experienced some of that because of Covid? That’s said to have increased dramatically in the past two years and we have no doubt.
3. Anxiety about returning to daily life following your Hawaii vacation.
4. Anxiety about your Hawaii travel plans. This can include concerns about costs (oh yeah!), about experiences meeting your expectations, including accommodations, car rental, restaurants, activities, and shopping, and general interactions.
5. Jet lag. The long flight to Hawaii, from 5 to 10 hours, increases the possibility of anxiety, malaise, and of course, jet lag.
6. Changes in daily routines, Hawaii culture shock, and the unexpected can exacerbate stress. Also, perceived loss of control compared with normal life.
Symptoms of Hawaii travel anxiety.
1. Difficulty focusing.
2. Being more irritable.
3. Feeling tired.
4. Upset stomach.
5. Elevated pulse or blood pressure.
6. Headaches.
7. Shortness of breath.
8. General malaise.
9. Sleep disruption.
10. Mood swings.
Coping techniques for Hawaii travel stress
1. Know what your triggers are and deal with them proactively. For example, one of yours might mean having enough food with you when traveling to not be dependent on the airline or whether a restaurant is open and available. Exhaustion before your Hawaii vacation is also a formula for trouble. So do what you can to arrive rested, prepared, and ready to enjoy Hawaii.
2. Plan well, calmly and enjoyably. Have your ducks in a row, so to speak. Review online maps before you drive to your Hawaii accommodation rather than at the last minute. Research your trip enough to have many options. Take care of things at home so that you don’t have to worry excessively about what you leave behind. Pace your trip planning, to make it nearly as much fun as the trip to Hawaii itself. Immerse yourself in YouTube videos depicting where in Hawaii you are planning to go.
3. Come to Hawaii ready. That means being in physical shape to participate in the Hawaii activities you and your travel partners desire. Don’t become a travel statistic.
4. Make flights to Hawaii enjoyable. Book as direct a flight to your destination as possible. Saving a little, but having to make multiple stops with layovers isn’t a recipe for a good Hawaii vacation.
Once on-board, do things that you enjoy to help pass the time. Listening to Hawaii music comes to mind. And by way of planning for that flight, do you know how to access entertainment on your airline’s flight to Hawaii? It wouldn’t be a bad idea to check that out before leaving home.
5. Manage your expectations in Hawaii. While planning and anticipating having a great Hawaii vacation is normal, unrealistic expectations, especially now, can lead to disappointment and increased Hawaii travel stress. Set the bar low so as to avoid this phenomenon. Don’t plan to be on one end of an island, for one thing, and immediately rush across the island for something else. Do you realize the traffic here can be as bad as anywhere on the mainland? The same is true with changing islands mid-vacation, too. You lose a lot of time and encounter significant traffic issues changing islands, including airports, car rentals, and hotels. Plan accordingly.
6. Take time to enjoy the different pace of life in Hawaii.
We all know that time crunches are a huge stresser. So give yourself enough time and don’t rush things; it’s not the way here. Please come to Hawaii with a positive attitude and be accepting of things you find, even when they are exactly as you expected or had hoped. Get ready to enjoy people and new experiences that are different here than on the mainland.
7. Plan time to decompress on returning from your Hawaii vacation. Can you set aside a day or two off after returning to fully soak in the benefits of having been in Hawaii?
And in conclusion, if you’ve experienced Hawaii travel anxiety before, do take it seriously. We want you to enjoy your trip and return to Hawaii again.
What are your tips to have a stress-free Hawaii vacation now? Please add your comments below.
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This is a question that only you can really answer. Will it ruin your day / trip if you do have to deal with obnoxious locals? If the answer to that is yes then look elsewhere.
But more useful – just ignore the locals who think the island belongs exclusively them. You will find plenty of locals who will be helpful and happy to see you and appreciate your business. Hawaii is no different than any other vacation destination from the perspective that insufferable fools can be found anywhere.
Best of luck with whatever you decide.
We have a trip coming up in February 2023. We have saved for 3 years to get to come to Maui. The anxiety we have isn’t any of the things you spoke of above. It is all the hostile comments from the locals that we are reading in some Hawaiian blogs. Yes, I get it, some people don’t respect the land or customs. We are not part of that crowd. If tourism is important to Hawaii, why do I feel anxious for my safety or enjoying your beautiful island? Would another destination be better, more pleasurable? #havingmydoubts
BoH Guys;
Great article.
I may hace mentioned this before.
1) Pack light, you don’t need evening wear, lugging a bunch of suitcases around the airport and to and from a hotel is the pits.
2) Don’t try to visit three islands in one week.
3) Don’t eat out all the time if you can help it. This is probably the most stressful and time consuming activity of all, (at least in my opinion).
Hi Mike.
Thanks.
Great suggestions!
Aloha.
The most helpful tip when traveling to the Big Island of Hawaii is never mentioned. Restrooms are few and far between. Turn your Locations On on your phone and Google all State and County parks while out and about during the day. Those are public restrooms. Majority of gas stations do not have public access to restrooms. Safeway, Costco, Target, Walmart & most shopping malls have restrooms for use. And have toilet paper or napkins handy on your journey. Know ‘where to go’
You have some great advise here, but if you’re traveling to Hawaii during summer crush you deserve to be stressed up and have anxiety.
I’ve read some early June travel reviews to Maui and Oahu it’s already a crap show over their. Brutal reports of delayed & canceled flights, pool & beach over crowding, no resort room service, hours long check in to then find your room not made up, 2-3 hour waits to eat and on and on.
I’m wondering what travel is going to like as this economy goes to crap we might be looking at some sweet deals 6 months to a year from.
We lived in Hawaii for the first 7 years of our marriage. Then the cost of living and the distance from our families caused us to return to the mainland. However, our love for the islands and appreciation of the people have caused us to return many times. Renewing friendships and revisiting our favorite places has been a huge factor in our enjoyment of each visit. One of the major things that we try to do and it has worked for us very well–be early to “any” scheduled activity connected to your vacation. Be it a flight, dinner reservation, luau, or any activity that happens at a specific time be there ahead of time. We have witnessed over and over the stress and frustration of being late. Be early and be blessed!
Wow….i didn’t even think of some of those things! Lol…now am actually stressed.
I am one that experiences anxiety when flying but I have found that doing the following helps me immensely. Our flight to Hawaii is 6 hours..so as we take off I look at my watch and say ” we land in Las Vegas in one hr”…and then in one hr I say “we just landed” I do this six times and before I know it I finally get to say “one hr before we land in Hawaii”. It is easier to take six one hr flights than one long six hr flight. I know it sounds crazy but it definitely works for me.
Whatever works for you, but I would constantly be worried about missed connections between all those flights. Then there’s all the getting on and off planes, using public bathrooms a high-priced meal or two at the airports. Exposure to hundreds (thousands?) of more people at all those airports. Not to mention the added cost of 6 flights vs one or two. I suggest a therapist who can help you with meditation and/or medication.
I think you missed the whole point of my suggestion.
I have been traveling to Hawaii often over the past 50 years. I am sorry but this article is blowing up this anxiety/stress topic. It was a little stressful waiting to be sure you tested negative to fly during Covid but that is not an issue now. Getting to the airport on time might be stressful but being in Hawaii is certainly not stressful.
Maybe this was just our experience, but we found the 5 hour time shift when traveling west to be very beneficial for us as it allowed us to more easily get up early in the morning and take advantage of the better weather and less crowded beaches.
Now traveling east…..not so much fun as all of this works in reverse.
Also, we had never previously flown on Hawaiian Airlines and I can say that experience was an entirely positive one – even compared to Southwest Airlines. If we return to Hawaii, it will most certainly be on Hawaiian Airlines. For those who have never traveled on HA, consider it for your next trip!
My advice is just chill. You’re not the only person that is uncomfortable on the crowded, cramped plane. If it’s too much for you to handle, don’t go. Mahalo Rob and Jeff for your great articles. I always enjoy reading.
Hi Pam.
Thanks. It’s mutual. We both look forward to your comments!
Aloha.