I don’t know about you, but travel and drinking used to go hand in hand for me.
It didn’t matter whether I was going on a weekend break, a camping trip or lying by a pool somewhere… I just couldn’t imagine staying sober.
Even though my drinking had created many problems, for a long time I was convinced that without booze I’d be unable to enjoy myself properly. Do you know what I mean?
If you’re trying to decide whether or not to drink during your next trip, I wanted to share something that’ll help you get unstuck, decide on your next steps and feel good about it all!
Key points
You have a choice here. You can do whatever you like… but first, you just need to answer these three questions.
1. What didn’t you like about drinking during your last trip?
Your brain will want to gloss over this part, but you wouldn’t be here if it’d all been sunshine and daisies. Write this stuff down so you can see it in black and white. Perhaps you hate waking up with a hangover when it’s really hot outside. Or you noticed you were irritable with your kids or grandkids. Perhaps you missed out on some activities or picked a fight with a loved one because you drunkenly misunderstood something. Maybe you came home feeling tired and exhausted – and craving another holiday just to get over the first one. Note this stuff down.
2. What are the benefits of you being alcohol-free during this trip?
I know – it sounds kind of obvious to reflect on this, but if you’re not intentional about it, all your attention will go on your doubts about doing something different. So what will you gain from staying sober? Perhaps you know you’ll be more present for the people you care about. Maybe they prefer the alcohol-free version of you because you’re more energetic and fun to be around. Maybe you sleep better and say yes to things more readily. When alcohol isn’t controlling the day, it’s amazing how much more enthusiastic you are about walking, sightseeing and exploring somewhere new.
3. Are you willing to take a chance and experiment with something different this time?
This is how you’ve got to view it – as an experiment. You’re not making a forever commitment here or a decision about the rest of your whole entire life. It’s just this trip. Are you willing to experiment with something different, based on your reflections so far? Don’t forget, there will always be other trips. If you experiment and don’t like it, you can revert back to drinking next time. But if you allow yourself to take the risk of doing something different this one time, you might just have a breakthrough and discover something amazing about yourself!
Ready to create an alcohol-free life you love? Click here to learn more about my Getting Unstuck course
14 responses
Wow… we are away camping this weekend. So this was certainly meant for me. Doing well but was already anxious about going away and been a misery !!! Or suffering feeling under parr. Hadn’t decided but this has made my mind up for me.
Perfect timing for you to have an alcohol-free experiment on your camping trip! Nobody ever regrets not drinking, so have a fabulous time. 🙂
I intended have an alcohol-free trip to Hawaii this past spring with my husband. I ended up drinking all ten days and while it wasn’t excessive, what ate at me was my hypocrisy. I kept reminding him about sticking to our budget, nagging him if he had a second beer at a restaurant. Meanwhile, I’d drink two much pricier cocktails, then later dip into the liquor I’d bought to have as a “nightcap” back where we stayed. The vacation was lovely, but I did feel ashamed for both letting myself down and the ridiculous amount of money I spent on booze. Such good advice to think of it in terms of an experiment. I already know what drinking on a holiday is like, so why not give the alternative a try?
Hi Colleen, that’s exactly right, you know how drinking on holiday goes. Giving an alcohol-free holiday a try next time would be a great experiment to gather the evidence from. If you need any more support, my online coaching programme would be a great fit for you. Here are some more details: https://thesoberschool.com/course/
The last time I went on holiday I felt I was on a perpetual conveyor belt of drinking and I didn’t gain anything from it. So hopefully this time I will gain something by not drinking!
Hi Claire, I’m sure you will. It will be a great experiment for you to notice the difference, particularly how much better rested you feel afterwards. After all that’s what holidays are for.
To reassure anyone who is just about to try this experiment, I just came back from a sober holiday in Norway and confirm it was so worth it and I had much better time without the booze. It was quite an active one for us for a change. I felt much better and more refreshed on our return as well.
Thanks for sharing your alcohol-free holiday experience – they truly are an upgrade without any cost!
I am at 11 weeks sober, but I’m going on a holiday soon that requires long overnight airplane trips, and I’m a nervous flier. I need a glass or two of wine to get over takeoff, and turbulence makes me extremely uncomfortable–and they say turbulence is increasing due to climate change. What about flying when you’re not such an enthusiastic flyer?
Well done on 11 weeks alcohol-free, you must be feeling the benefits. 🙂 Alcohol is not a reliable drug to ease nerves. It cannot make you less nervous, brave or confident as my blog here explains: https://thesoberschool.com/alcohol-the-drug-that-claims-to-do-everything/ Getting advice on how to manage your fears would be a good option so you can enjoy the flights as part of your holiday experience.
I have had a reverse holiday – my inlaws came to stay for 2.5 weeks and I stayed sober. WOW it was brilliant, sobriety allowed me to keep everyone managed during all the days out, enjoy the trips without feeling rough. Could do all the catering, cleaning and handling the interfamily squabble without getting involved or saying something I’d regret. Usually I run to a bottle at the end of the day (or lunch) but being sober was so much better – couldn’t recommend it enough.
I am 4 weeks AF and had a holiday 2 weeks ago. I had a couple of times when I thought….’oh I would love a glass of wine’, but once the feeling passed, I felt so happy that I hadn’t given in. By day 3 those thoughts had gone completely and I enjoyed doing so much more. Being active all day, enjoying food and getting into bed cosy and reading was lovely. I have never come back from a holiday and felt refreshed at work. No Monday blues. Your saying of ‘no one wakes regretting the decision not to drink’ is something I remind myself of when the thoughts come, which they haven’t for over a week now. The odd AF beer helped, but I dont even fancy those now. Xx
Hi Siobhan, That’s fantastic. Alcohol-free holidays are the best aren’t they?
I was sceptical at first but I would definitely agree….especially when you have kids. We were up at 5:30, fresh. But I can imagine any holiday now being so much better without alcohol.