Travel

You are not alone. I always research travel options and details about my destinations. I think it is best to know what's up when you travel. I find that the research helps me navigate the destination better without being overwhelmed with questions and surprises. I love adventure, but I hate not having what I need with me if I come across a situation where I need them. If I am going overseas, I get currency, research public transportation, address language concerns, and scan the history of the place. I feel I get more from a visit by knowing some major information before I leave. I also bring printouts of pages from encyclopedias to keep me learning and to entertain me during down times. It means I don't have to start at square 1. Being on the spectrum, I can get confused easily by too much input from too many sources at the same time. Less to be concerned with helps me enjoy the experience. It gives me a clear head, knowing I am properly prepared.

Your experience resonates with mine. I avoided traveling for longtime, but after my diagnosis, which revealed the very source of my problems and anxieties I headed for adventure and started to enjoy it. Mostly I'm well prepared, collecting information (love doing that ), reading about the country, scanning google-earth and so on. I'm now aware, that with sensory and/or emotional overflow I loose my capacity to cope with reality and that my autistic traits will surface more easily outside of my routines.
So I'm looking for quiet places where I can rest, if needed and I do things at my own pace.
Sometimes I challenge myself by doing less preparation and letting coincidence happen. Functions surprisingly well, if it's not overwhelming.

I've slept on a plane for the entire 2-hour flight, even through turbulence. It was mostly because the engine sound from inside the plane was calming to me. However, when my family travels together in my mom's minivan, I get uncomfortable. It's cramped in there with all of the people and stuff, and the AC and heat in that van doesn't even work properly.

I used to be like that, planning everything down to the detail... But sometimes with travel it's good to let go of control and see where the 'wind takes you' as it were.. A few years ago my partner and I went driving around Europe. We had the Eurostar booked and the first destination hotel. After that, we decided on the day what is a drivable distance and booked the hotel for that night. It was an interesting experience - but I did look into possible towns and what's there before we drove off. That said, the trip was unique as we had the comfort of our car which isn't always possible. If we're going for a city break then we'll earmark a few places we'd like to see, but have a map at hand if we want to walk around and explore. I think I've been forced out of making rigid plans by living with an NT who's excitable and adventurous. That said, while I love to see new places, I come home exhausted and overwhelmed...

I'm usually chill when traveling especially going to Disney/Universal (or any theme parks), national parks, Vegas or any other places that take a 2-3 hour drive. I listen to my music/audiobooks/podcasts on the way to each trip to relax and helps take my mind off. I'm always prepared with everything I'm taking with me and listen whatever we're doing each day whenever we are gone for a weekend or more.

I recently took a chance and started traveling for the first time out of the country solo a few years ago. At my age, all the people in my life are either married with children or too tied down to have as a travel companion. Living in Washington, D.C. (where I was born), I always wanted to go to England; where my folks lived for years before they came to the states, but didnt have the time or courage to travel solo. When I went for the 1st time three years ago, I did it on a whim; also I finally had some vacation hrs I needed to burn. Before embarking on the trip, I purchased travel guides to find out where to stay, eat and go for entertainment in London. Also obtained British currency at the local exchange ahead of time to be safe and got telephone #s of long lost relatives from my folks to visit during my stay. All this preparation made me feel emboldened all the way up through the 12hr+ flight to London; until the point of landing at London Heathrow in the wee moments before dawn and getting of the plane to the airport terminal. At that point, my previously found courage had waned. Despite all the travel preparation I had done to date, I realized I didnt have any local cell phone service or a transportation route to get to the hotel. I havent been medically diagnosed on the "spectrum" (yet), but all my life Ive gotten flustered when I find myself in new and unfamiliar environments around new people outside of my usual routine. I then found myself sitting in the airport terminal on a bench for the next hr catatonic and paralyzed looking out at the flushed pink sky terrified with the idea of embarking into this unfamiliar country......

..... After the first sign of daylight, I finally mustered the courage to get a local cell phone contract (from a terminal salesbooth) and ask one of the airport attendants for bus routes and locations. It also helped knowing that I started my maiden voyage in an English speaking country (although sometimes with a strange cockney accent or maybe my Yankee accent is the strange one). Long story short, I ended up spending the wk traveling the whole city of London by foot and mass transit using my travel guides and also on a whim exploring places I didnt prepare for as well; turned out to be one of the best vacations I ever took in my life to date and I realized that with uncertainty during travel, you use your preparation to get you through some tough spots, but also develop the strength and courage along the journey to realize you can figure out the things you dont already know or havent prepared for. Since that trip, I have taken a solo trip to Greece and the Greek isles and am in the process of planning my next solo vacation as I again find myself in the enviable position of being stuck with a lot of vacation hrs to burn this winter.