Have you just had an amazing trip and returned home, back to work, back to the drudgery of the every day? Do you feel like you’re getting sucked into a black hole of routine?  Does your awesome holiday feel like a distant memory, but you’ve only been back one week? Feel guilty that you’re not happy to be home?

I’m sorry to say, you’ve got the post-travel blues.

Common symptoms:

• A feeling of ‘I just can’t be bothered’
• Not wanting to get out of bed
• Finding any excuse not to get out of bed (it’s too cold!)
• Not wanting to talk about anything except your recent trip
• Feeling as if no one else cares about your recent trip (they probably don’t)
• Being bored with every sport, every event, every outing. What am I even doing here?
• The only time you feel enthusiasm for life is scrolling through your holiday photos or facebooking the friends you made while you were travelling
• You find yourself trawling through travel blogs, commenting on posts about places you’ve been, and lingering on travel websites as you day dream and wish you could go back in time

It’s a terrible diagnosis and I’ve been a sufferer of post travel blues plenty of times. The worst time I was hit was in 2007 after spending seven months overseas, and for six of those months I fulfilled a dream and lived in the heart of Rome. At that time, I didn’t want to return home to my ordinary life, a Government job, rented accommodation, and the daily hum-drum of the familiar. I suppose I could have stayed in Rome, taken a risk, quit the job that was waiting for me in Perth, given up my rental place, and got myself further into debt but I didn’t want that either. I was a bit too sensible for that at the ripe old age of 35. It’s true, taking silly risks gets harder as you get older, well, that’s true in my case.

The good news is, there’s an antidote. Yes, you can beat post-travel blues. But be warned, this antidote requires a credit card.

The cure is simple: Plan another trip and get something booked.  

Planning alone won’t abate the blues. Statements like “I’ll go back to Europe next winter” won’t cut it. Set dates, choose destinations, be specific, and book something – your annual leave, flights, a tour, a place to stay, or whatever. Once something is booked, you can be sure that your travel blues will dissipate.

Seems easy doesn’t it? Well, it really is.

Once you’ve been bitten by the travel bug there’s nothing you can do. Consider yourself addicted to travel. There’s no point trying to fight it, you’ll just end up miserable. Instead, see it as an opportunity to live a life full of adventures. Change your mindset and just accept that whenever you save enough money, you’ll be spending it in some awesome far flung place. That’s pretty cool. Know that when you’re older, you’ll be really interesting to talk to because you’ll have had so many memorable experiences and will have a whole bag of travel stories to tell. Even the disastrous most stressful experiences will make great stories down the track, like the time we were stranded in Panama through no fault of our own and were told we were going to miss the Italy v England FIFA World Cup match in Brazil.

Have you ever talked to someone to who has never travelled, but more importantly, has no appetite to travel or have adventures? Did you stay awake? One word of advice, just be mindful of your audience when you’re talking travel – if you are in Australia and around non-travellers, try not to patronise or sound like a wanker. No one likes a show-off or a black cat – you know, if you have a black cat, their cat is blacker – do know what the type I’m talking about?

Half of the fun of travelling is the anticipation of it. Researching what to do when you get there, planning the events you’ll go to in during your trip (Glastonbury, Wimbledon, Monte Carlo Grand Prix, Cannes Film Festival, Octoberfest, etc.), and searching out the best accommodation for your budget in the best location you can afford all contributes to stamping out post travel blues.  It can be time consuming and you should be warned, it can be a major distraction (especially when you’re supposed to be working).

I know many of you are just like me and love nothing more than travelling. What’s the point in working for a living if you don’t take holidays? Right?

I always have a trip booked, always. Even if it’s just a weekend in Margaret River or long weekend to Melbourne. I always know when my next trip will be. After almost 20 years of regular travel, it’s just how I roll now. Actually, I’m heading back to Margaret River in a few weeks.

Here’s some handy links to book your next trip

Where’s your next trip to?