The Chronic Traveler’s Pre-Trip Energy Planning Checklist
How to Plan Travel That Works With Your Energy
Travel looks effortless from the outside. But if you’re living with a chronic illness, fatigue, or fluctuating energy levels, you know the truth: travel isn’t just about where you go—it’s about how you manage your energy along the way. Pre-trip energy planning is critical to a low stress trip.
Over time, I’ve learned that the difference between a trip that feels empowering and one that leads to burnout often comes down to one thing:
This guide walks through my Pre-Trip Energy Planning Checklist—the same framework I now use for every trip. And if you want a simple version you can use right away, you can download it below.
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Download the Printable Checklist
Want a simple, printable version of this?
Use it before every trip to plan smarter, reduce flare risks, and make travel feel manageable again.
👉 Download the Chronic Traveler’s Pre-Trip Energy Planning Checklist
Why Energy Planning Matters More Than Itinerary Planning
Most travel advice focuses on:
- where to go
- what to see
- how to maximize your time
But for chronic travelers, the real question is:
👉 How will this trip feel?
Energy is your most limited resource.
And unlike time, you can’t just “add more later.”
When you plan around energy, you:
- reduce the risk of flares
- potentially avoid post-trip crashes
- actually enjoy the moments you’ve planned
This is one of the most important aspects of How to Travel with Chronic Illness.
The Pre-Trip Energy Planning Checklist
1. Pick the Right Type of Trip
Before booking anything, ask:
- Will this trip and destination allow me to move at my own pace?
- Are there built-in rest opportunities?
- Can I adjust plans if needed?
✔ Look for:
- walkable towns
- easy access to nature (think coastal paths, lakes, viewpoints, scenic drives, in addition to more challenging activities in nature)
- destinations with flexible activity options (outdoor activities, museums, culinary activities, etc.)
If traveling with others, look for a location where you can participate for part of the day, resting during the other part of the day while the others continue with their activities.
A great example of picking the right destination was a trip to Évora, Portugal. During my 1st visit, I stayed for 4 nights at a wonderful guesthouse right in the heart of this university city. I traveled solo on this trip, and this location allowed me to walk to all of the major sights and to take trains or buses to neighboring towns. If I was tired, I took a short walk back to the guest house, took a break, and headed back out in the afternoon or evening. I was also able to used the kitchen to cook my own meals if I didn’t have the energy to go out in the evening for dinner.
💡 The best trips aren’t the most ambitious—they’re the most adaptable.
2. Rethink Your Daily Capacity
Instead of planning full days, think about and define your energy limits first.
Ask yourself:
- How many “active” hours can I realistically handle? Keep in mind this may vary by type of activity you’re doing.
- What time of day do I feel best? Is there a time of day that I need down time.
- If I plan a very active or challenging day, what can I realistically enjoy doing the next day(s)? Is it worth the trade off or not?
- How much recovery time do I need between activities and between busy days?
✔ Plan:
- 1–2 priority activities per day
- schedule your priority activities at times when you typically have the most energy
- built-in rest windows
- early endings to your day
- easy days after more challenging ones
I attended the Crested Butte Wildflower Festival this past July. The festival offers a wide variety of classes, ranging from photography to garden tours and hikes. I signed up for one activity each day, typically in the mornings, which work best for me. I even planned one very early morning, knowing I’d be quite tired later in the day.
Knowing that these 4 hour workshops in the sun would tire me out, I left afternoons free for relaxing. Late afternoons and evenings were spent dropping in on concerts, visiting art galleries in town, or driving up to viewpoints to see the sunset, whatever I felt up to doing. Instead of feeling disappointed that I couldn’t do everything, I was happy when I felt up to joining in on some of the “bonus” activities on my list in the evenings.
💡 Underplanning is one of the most powerful tools you have.
3. Build a Flexible (Not Fixed) Itinerary
Rigid itineraries don’t work well with unpredictable energy.
Instead:
✔ Create a “menu” of options rather than a schedule
✔ Group activities by location
✔ Identify low-effort alternatives nearby
Example from our recent time in Cascais, Portugal:
- Option A: bike ride from town to Guincho Beach (with regular or e-bikes), lunch at the beach
- Option B: walk along the coastal promenade and enjoy lunch in town
- Option C: take a bus or drive to the beach, enjoy lunch at the beach
One of the advantages of taking this approach is that you can customize your plans based, not only on how you feel, but also based on the weather. Even if you don’t have chronic illness, this is a way to reduce the stress that travel can create.
💡 Flexibility isn’t a backup plan—it’s the plan.
READ NEXT: How to Plan a Travel Itinerary with Chronic Illness
4. Reduce Friction Before You Go
The more decisions you make ahead of time, the less energy you spend during your trip.
✔ Book accommodations in central, walkable areas (allows you to go back and rest)
✔ Save locations in Google Maps (be sure to download these in case you are out of cell range)
✔ Pre-research transportation options (from the airport to accommodations, from there to main sights)
✔ Know where you can easily rest
💡 Every small decision you remove is energy you get back.
READ MORE: Where to Stay when Traveling with Chronic Illness
5. Plan for Recovery (Before You Need It)
Most people wait until they’re exhausted to slow down. With chronic illness, it’s typically harder to recover from exhaustion.
I’ve slowly increased my activities over the years, to the point that, on good days, I can hike longer distances. Hiking the Fisherman’s Trail in Portugal was the perfect opportunity to test out how to best approach these longer treks while managing my energy. The keys to successfully completing this hike were:
Instead:
- Planning rest breaks during the days (for me, in the afternoon)
- Scheduling lighter days between more active ones (either off or shorter distances)
- Identifying restful activities (beach, kayaking, easy walks, scenic drives) to include in your plans
- Staying at accommodations where I could cook my own meals
- Building in a recovery buffer after my trip
If possible, plan a day or two off on your return, before diving back into your day-to-day activities and work. This can help to prevent post-travel fatigue and flares.
💡 Recovery isn’t optional—it’s part of the itinerary.
6. Pack for Energy Support
What you bring can directly affect how you feel. Some of the things that I rely on while traveling are:
- Comfortable and supportive shoes (while style is important, being comfortable is equally important)
- Layers for temperature regulation, including rain jackets
- Snacks to stabilize energy, and hold you over until your next meal
- Water bottles and electrolytes
- Compression socks or tights (especially while flying or taking long drives)
- Any supports or tools you rely on at home
Because of my dietary restrictions, I don’t just bring along extra snacks when I travel. I often bring a cooler pack and enough food for a meal on the go, in case I can’t find food that meets my needs.
💡 Packing isn’t just about convenience—it’s about function.
READ MORE: How to Eat While Traveling with Food Sensitivities
7. Simplify Transportation
Transportation is one of the biggest hidden energy drains. Whether traffic jams or flight delays, even a simple travel day can turn into a stressful experience.
While you can’t prevent all travel complications, you can minimize these by:
- Minimizing long travel days
- Avoiding complex transfers
- Choosing direct routes when possible
- Taking ferries from location to location vs driving (where possible)
- Considering slower travel over fewer locations
If you do have a complex travel itinerary, consider breaking this over a few days. For example, after a long flight, spend a night before heading out on a drive or train to your final destination.
We’ve enjoyed wonderful vacations in locations that many people visit for just a day. After spending well over a week in São Miguel, in the Azores, we had more of a chance to get to know the culture, enjoy the cuisine, and hike trails well often the main tourist path. Check out more of our recommendations on top bases for slow travel in Portugal.
💡 How you move matters as much as where you go.
READ NEXT: Guide to Flying with Chronic Illness
8. Give Yourself Permission to Adjust
This might be the most important part of all.
Even with perfect planning:
- your energy may change
- your body may need more rest
- you may react to new foods or climates
- your plans may shift
What works best for me:
- Let go of the pressure to do it all
- Undercommit, leaving plenty of room in the schedule to rest or add activities
- Celebrate and enjoy what you do experience
- Plan what you’ll do the next day the night before
- Try not to feel guilty when you do have to adjust plans
Traveling with chronic illness, there will be times where you can’t do what you’ve planned, even when you follow these steps. Getting upset with yourself and your body simply adds to your stress.
Sometimes this is easier said than done, but try to give yourself grace to take that rest day when you need it.
💡 A successful trip isn’t one where you did everything—it’s one where you felt okay doing it.
What Changed When I Started Planning This Way
When I stopped planning trips around expectations and started planning around energy:
- I stopped dreading travel days
- I started living in the moment, enjoying the activities I could do
- I came home feeling more fulfilled
And perhaps most importantly:
👉 travel became something I could sustain—not just survive.
There are times when I do feel depleted after returning home, especially when traveling from Europe back to the US. While I have few issues traveling west to east, the incredibly long day returning home is often challenging for me. Having that rest day planned the next day is key to getting back to my baseline levels of energy.
READ NEXT: How to Pick the Best Destinations for Slower Travel
Final Thought
You don’t need to travel less.
You just need to travel differently.
Get the Checklist
If you want a simple version of this you can use before every trip:
👉 Download the Chronic Traveler’s Pre-Trip Energy Planning Checklist
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Thanks for sharing, this looks a good set of tips for pre trip planning, I tend to quite anxious before planning going on any trip, as I tend to forget things to bring, then have a panic attack about them which is not good, hopefully with these tips I will become less anxoius 🙂
Thank you for the feedback. Planning from a list up front tends to reduce stress for us, so I hope it will help you be less anxious prior to traveling too.