Taking a trip might be an investment for your longevity.

A new study published in the Journal of Travel Research suggests that positive travel experiences could help slow biological aging. The researchers used the concept of entropy—a measure of disorder and chaos in physics—to explain how vacations impact health. Higher entropy, or more disorder in the body, can accelerate aging and lead to poor health, while lower entropy could do the opposite.

Travel often involves more socializing or physical activity than usual, both of which can help counter entropy increases and contribute to healthy aging, according to Fangli Hu, lead author of the study and a researcher and PhD candidate at the School of Medical and Health Sciences at Edith Cowan University in Australia.

“Overall, travel might offer a valuable opportunity to nurture both physical and mental health, potentially slowing down the biological aging process,” Hu told Verywell in an email.

Negative travel experiences—such as stress or illness—can lead to poor health outcomes. Finding ways to make travel a positive experience can offer some health benefits.

“Different types of travel might have varying effects on health and aging, and these impacts may differ across diverse populations,” Hu said. “It doesn’t have to be an international trip; local travel or weekend escapes might work well too. The key is to tailor travel plans to what best suits individuals’ lifestyle, personal preferences, and health status.”

Travel Can Teach You How to Relax

Stress can speed up aging, but travel often helps people forget their day-to-day responsibilities temporarily. Research shows that even a short, four-night vacation can help reduce stress.

However, many people experiencing chronic stress—especially due to factors like economic instability— don’t have the opportunity to travel. Even for those who have the means to travel, it’s important to recognize that a vacation won’t undo months or years of accumulated stress.

To make the most out of a vacation, try to immerse yourself in the experience and avoid fixating on the do-to list you left behind.

“Maybe you’ve had this experience where you’re traveling, and it’s kind of ruined by you thinking about all the stuff back home,” William Chopik, PhD, an associate professor of psychology at Michigan State University, told Verywell. “That’s not a travel experience—that’s you just being anxious in a different location.”

Taking a trip may also help you discover new ways to manage stress, Chopik added.

“One useful thing that maybe travel does is it will teach us how to relax,” he said. “Maybe you discover a hobby, or you discover a mindset that helps you deal with stress when you return.”

Staying Active While Traveling

Whether you decide to go hiking, bike, or explore a city on foot, traveling often leads to more physical activity than you might typically get at home. Exercise has many health benefits, including improving bone health, reducing heart disease risk, and lowering the chance of developing dementia.

During your travel, remember to pace yourself, wear appropriate footwear, and listen to your body, said Kristin Weible, PT, MS, ScD, an assistant professor of physical therapy at the University of Arizona College of Health Sciences.

“It’s always important to stay hydrated. We kind of forget that when we’re out and about, seeing new things and having fun. This will help with mental clarity and with your joint function,” Weible said.

Exercising on vacation provides immediate health benefits, even if it’s not as intense as a backpacking trip or yoga retreat. Just one session of physical activity can help you sleep better, feel less anxious, and lower blood pressure.

Regular exercise can help slow biological aging, support the immune system, and delay age-related immune decline. While one active vacation won’t keep you young, maintaining these physical activities after your trip can support healthy aging.

“As far as lasting effects, you’re going to need to come home and build on that. Perhaps you found a new activity that you enjoyed, you might find a club in your hometown that you can join for some accountability,” Weible said.

Staying regular when you’re away and out of your normal routine

Travel constipation is when you aren’t able to poop like you normally do when you are away from home. Alterations in your normal routine can affect the speed at which your digestive system works, causing you to become backed up.

Travel-related causes of constipation can include:

• Changes in the size and timing of your meals
• Changes to your internal body clock
• Lack of hydration
• Changes in the foods you eat
• Increased time spent sitting
• Changes in your exercise routine
• Travel-related stress affecting your digestive system
• Lack of immediate bathroom access disrupting bowel movements
• Jet lag effects as your body crosses time zones

With some preparation, you can avoid travel constipation and feel your best wherever your plans take you. Read on for 11 strategies worth trying.

1. Drink Plenty of Water

One of the biggest contributors to constipation is a state of dehydration. When your body doesn’t have enough fluids, it compensates by drawing water from fecal matter in the intestines. This can contribute to hard, difficult-to-pass stools.

The presence of harder stools seems to make bowels less responsive and reduces motility, or movement.

When trying to prevent travel constipation, it’s essential to make a conscious effort to drink plenty of fluids.

Milk also has a reputation for causing constipation.1 Your best beverage choices are plain water, fruit juices, and clear soups.

When traveling out of the country you must always drink bottled water so as to avoid the opposite problem—travelers’ diarrhea.

When flying, keep in mind that Transportation Security Administration (TSA) rules do not allow you to bring liquids through airport security. Once you are through security, you can buy a large water bottle to drink throughout your flight.

2. Listen to Your Body

Try to use a bathroom as soon as you feel the need for a bowel movement. Ignoring the urge can lead to travel constipation as the stool material stays in your rectum and gets harder. The harder the stool, the more difficult it is to pass.

If you are uncomfortable using a public facility for a bowel movement, try listening to music through earphones or reading a magazine to help you to relax.

Try not to strain. If you find that sitting on the toilet does not produce a bowel movement within five to 10 minutes, it is best to get up and wait to try again later.

3. Try to Stay on Schedule

Many people have a sense of an inner clock that determines routine life patterns about hunger, sleep, and bathroom needs.

Keeping your body on a schedule as close to your home life may help your bowels move predictably when you travel.

Whenever possible, try to make sure that there is time for a relaxed bathroom visit when traveling that’s similar to the unpressured experience at home.

4. Take Time for Meals

Many people who travel eat their meals on the run. The problem is that your digestive system may not register these on-the-go snacks as a meal.

Larger meals can stimulate gut contractions, thus prompting a timely bowel movement. So whenever possible, sit down, slow down, and enjoy a full meal.

5. Eat a Good Breakfast

For many people, bowel movements are more likely to occur in the morning. You can enhance this natural boost and fend of travel constipation by eating a large breakfast, preferably consuming foods that contain healthy fats.

Large meals and dietary fat intake can both stimulate the release of certain hormones within your body that can trigger the urge for a bowel movement. Staying on track with your morning routine can help you to enjoy your trip for the rest of the day.

6. Drink Something Warm

Another way to encourage your bowels to empty at the beginning of your day is to drink a warm liquid in the morning. This warm drink could be coffee, tea, or soup.

If you are a coffee drinker, have that morning coffee. There are compounds in coffee, both caffeinated and decaffeinated, that can serve to stimulate a bowel movement.

However, you may want to avoid drinking caffeinated coffee through the rest of the day, as caffeine can be dehydrating. This could lead to excess water being drawn from your stool, which may contribute to travel constipation.

7. Eat Plenty of Fiber

Dietary fiber is so important to keep your bowels moving consistently so you can avoid travel constipation.

Eating high-fiber foods when traveling can be a bit of a challenge, but with effort and attention, you can find what you need.

Whenever possible, it may help to pack such foods for yourself. Fruits, high-fiber protein bars, trail mixes, cereals, and granolas all travel well.

When traveling abroad, you need to be careful about eating raw vegetables, fruits, and salads so as to avoid bacterial infections that can lead to travelers’ diarrhea. It is safer to eat only cooked fruits and vegetables. Fruits that have thick skins you can peel for yourself are also a safe option.

8. Take a Pass on Junk Food

People tend to eat more junk food while traveling for two reasons: The first is that choices for healthy, whole foods are more limited. The second is the “vacation mindset” that leads people to eat things they might normally avoid or limit.

Junk food typically tends to be low in fiber, which can contribute to the problem of travel constipation. Try to avoid fast food, processed meats, chips, and baked goods.

Instead, look for salads, whole grain options like oatmeal, and lean meats. Yogurt is an especially good choice as it contains some probiotics that may boost your digestive system function.

9. Move Your Body

Travel often requires a lot of time sitting, whether that be in the car, on trains, in airports, or on airplanes. Moving your body can help your digestive system to keep moving as well.

While waiting for your plane, you can walk the perimeter of the airport. If traveling by car, try to plan for road stops so that you can stretch your body and perhaps do a little walking.

While away, take advantage of hotel pools and gyms to keep up your exercise routine.

10. Stay Relaxed

Travel itself can be stressful. Try to follow the rule that “the journey is part of the vacation.” Be prepared for delays, traffic, and other hassles. Make sure that you bring along favorite reading materials, books on tape, music, or game apps.

It may help to use relaxation exercises such as deep breathing techniques, yoga poses, meditation, and muscle relaxation to deal with travel stress.

Keeping your body in a state of relaxation, as opposed to its stress response changes, will help to keep your digestive system functioning as it should.

11. Talk to Your Healthcare Provider

If you know that you are likely to have bowel habit changes when traveling, speak with your healthcare provider before you go. They may recommend travel constipation medicine, such as a laxative or other product to take with you should you become constipated.

Either way, choose a product based on your healthcare provider’s recommendation. It’s a smart option when compared with limited or unfamiliar options in a strange or remote destination.

Many people are venturing out on solo journeys, unlocking new experiences and redefining what travel means to them. However, as glamourous as it sounds, solo travel can be intimidating and liberating at the same time. Introspection, research and planning can help in preparing for this duality.

The first step is to know why you want to travel solo and what you are expecting out of the trip. Embarking on a solo journey just because it’s the trend isn’t always the best option.

Research the destinations you can visit, suitable accommodations, weather, safety considerations, etc., before you set out on the trip to avoid any inconvenience that might land you in trouble, especially if you are alone.

Always carry a fully-charged battery pack for your phone and don’t share your number and other information with people you don’t need to. Additionally, download Google maps offline for convenient navigation.

Share all information – hotel phone numbers, itinerary, flight/bus/train schedules, etc. with a trusted family member and a friend back home. If you’re using a local or global ride-sharing app, make sure to share your ride each time with someone you trust.

Always carry a sling bag or fanny pack to carry cash and important documents like passports, especially while travelling abroad. Also make sure to pack personal hygiene essentials.

Everything you need to know about traveling to Rapa Nui, Chile.

Located more than 2,000 miles west of South America in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island, is one of Earth’s most remote inhabited places. It marks the southeast corner of the Polynesian triangle, with Hawaii to the north and New Zealand to the southwest.

The island covers 63 square miles of land, nearly half of which is in Rapa Nui National Park, and it’s home to approximately 900 mesmerizing moai statues, often called the “Easter Island heads.” The giant, monolithic carvings are scattered around the island, some standing proudly against the backdrop of the Pacific, while others are buried up to their necks in soil.

Though the statues are an obvious draw, there are other reasons to travel to Easter Island. The remote island offers a calm atmosphere, and though typical amenities like air conditioning and Wi-Fi are lacking, the wild horses roaming the hills and dinners spent gazing out over the ocean make up for it.

“There’s a point on Rapa Nui, it’s the tallest mountain that you can go to the very top, and you can look 360 degrees and just see the ocean,” Sergio Mata’u Rapu, a documentary filmmaker, told Travel + Leisure in our podcast Lost Cultures about what makes it such a special place to visit. “It’s at that point that you can see sort of the limits of your island, right? You can see the limits of your world, your solid world.”

It’s long been thought that the first people to come to Rapa Nui arrived between 300 and 400 C.E. But recent studies are questioning this line of thought, suggesting instead that people didn’t come until several hundred years later. It’s believed that, as resources began to dwindle on the island, starvation and warfare nearly caused the population to go extinct.

On Easter Sunday in 1772, Dutch explorers landed on the island and dubbed it Paaseiland, meaning Easter Island. The next hundred years were not kind to the people of Rapa Nui: It’s thought that soon after, there was a civil war, then a slave raid, and then an outbreak of smallpox.

In the 19th century, Chile annexed Rapa Nui (or Isla de Pascua as it’s known to Chileans), and in 1965, the people of Rapa Nui became Chilean citizens. Today, many mainland Chileans live on the island as well, with Rapa Nui (the name of the Indigenous people as well as the island) making up only about half of the approximately 8,500-person population.

Ready to visit? Here’s everything you need to plan an epic adventure to Easter Island.

Best Hotels & Resorts

Hare Uta Hotel

Hare Uta Hotel is a few minutes’ walk from the center of Rapa Nui’s main town, Hanga Roa, and it overlooks the water. Friendly staff members go out of their way to make guests feel at home, and the poolside spa offers traditional treatments featuring local banana leaves and volcanic soil. The restaurant is also a favorite, both for guests and for those staying elsewhere.

Altiplanico Easter Island

Another favorite for visitors is Altiplanico Easter Island. The bungalows here are about a 30-minute walk from central Hanga Roa, but the coastal views along the way — and welcome drinks upon arrival — make up for any inconvenience. Rooms are bright and airy, with open-air showers and private terraces.

Nayara Hangaroa

Located near the center of town, Nayara Hanagroa provides another option for visitors. The hotel offers individual thatched-roof huts sprinkled across 17 private acres overlooking the ocean. Take part in the hotel’s cultural programming, or book an adventure to explore more of Rapa Nui via hiking, biking, or even diving into its crystalline waters.

Best Things to Do

Explore the island’s history.

An excellent place to start your trip is the Rapa Nui Museum. It’s the only museum on the island, and, though small, it boasts an impressive collection, including ancient fishing hooks, a white coral moai eye, and mata (obsidian stone tools). In addition to housing artifacts, it walks visitors through the history of the island and of the museum’s collection. Visits are free, although donations are accepted. Opening hours can vary, so check before arrival.

See the moai.

The most recognized features of Rapa Nui are the moai — those giant stone shrines that punctuate the island. But the carvings aren’t just heads. Because some of the most widely photographed figures are those buried up to their necks, many people don’t know the moai are monolithic, full-body carvings. The statues, some of which stand up to 32 feet in height, were carved to honor important people after their deaths. Moai were carved using a toki (a chisel made of rock). The best-quality toki were made from a very hard stone known as hawaiite, only found in the Rua Toki-Toki quarry. One of the biggest enigmas of Easter Island is how people in ancient Rapa Nui were able to move the gigantic stone statues from their carving site to the places they would eventually stand.

Rapa Nui National Park, which covers nearly half the island, is the best place to see the imposing carvings. UNESCO lists the park as a World Heritage Site, describing its contents as “one of the most remarkable cultural phenomena in the world.”

The best way to learn about the moai is touring the national park with a knowledgeable local guide. Independently, a 10-day ticket to access the park costs around $80.

Though you can see moai all over the park, there are a few must-sees for any visitor. Ahu Tongariki, an ancient stone platform on the southeast shore, is home to 15 moai standing shoulder-to-shoulder and silhouetted against the sky. A short ways inland from there, Rano Raraku is an impressive volcano where hundreds more moai, in various stages of carving, still stand. It’s also a great spot to hike, as it offers stunning views of the island. Finally, though much of the coastline is rocky, the north coast of the island is home to Playa de Anakena, a beautiful, white-sand beach with turquoise water.

Meet the local wildlife.

Another great spot for adults and children to enjoy their vacation is in town — especially since the Hanga Roa harbor is a perfect place to see sea turtles. If you stop by while fishermen are hauling in their catch and cleaning the fish, you can spot the turtles floating just beneath the surface, waiting to snack.

Best Restaurants

There are plenty of places to dine on the island, and most restaurants are in town. Be prepared for slow service, and plan accordingly if you are eating before joining a timed tour.

La Kaleta

La Kaleta, which sits right on the coast and has a great view, is a visitor favorite. The menu is written on a chalkboard outside and changes daily, so pop by to see if what’s on offer interests your tastebuds.

Te Moana

Te Moana also offers beautiful ocean views. Portion sizes are slightly larger than many other restaurants in town, and prices are more expensive. The restaurant specializes in fresh seafood dishes, including oysters and ceviche, making it a great spot for a more upscale night.

Neptune’s Island Restaurant

Another favorite for visitors is Neptune’s Island Restaurant (also known as Neptuno Sunset). Guests can dine on the veranda or inside the restaurant and enjoy views of the Pacific from either spot. The staff here is friendly, and prices are modest.

Best Time to Visit

The best time to visit Easter Island is during its summer season, between December and March. During this warm, humid season, the temperatures typically hover just below 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Winter, however, is similarly mild, with temperatures rarely dipping below the mid-60s. Because the island is located in the middle of the Pacific, visitors will find there’s often a cool ocean breeze in addition to the fairly consistent year-round temperatures.

In short, there’s no bad time of year to visit Easter Island — though, if you want to stay dry, avoid traveling in April when the island gets most of its rainfall. The driest months are between October and February.

In addition to the great weather, there’s another reason to travel to Easter Island in February: Tapati Rapa Nui. The island’s namesake festival began in the 1970s to celebrate culture and heritage, and it’s held each year at the beginning of February. Over the course of the two-week celebration, there are several competitions, including dancing, canoeing, and horse racing, plus a chance to try Haka Pei — a sport where people use a banana leaf to sled down Rapa Nui’s steepest hillside.

How to Get There

By air: Though getting to Easter Island isn’t hard, per se, it is a long journey. After all, it’s one of the world’s most remote inhabited islands. The only airline that flies here is the Chilean carrier LATAM, which means travelers must fly through Santiago, Chile.

It takes around 10 and a half hours to reach Santiago from New York or Los Angeles and nine hours from Atlanta. The flight from Santiago to Hanga Roa — the capital of Easter Island — takes about five and a half hours and runs about a dozen times a week. U.S. passport holders don’t need a visa as long as they plan to stay for less than 90 days.

By boat: Another way to get to Easter Island is by cruise. Several cruise lines, such as Seabourn and Silversea, offer sailings that include Rapa Nui, but these trips will cost you a pretty penny.

How to Get Around

Taxi: Getting around on Easter Island can require some pre-planning since very little of the island has cell phone reception. While taxis often drive around looking for passengers, it’s a good idea to pre-book your transportation before setting out on your daily adventure. The same applies to pick-ups from the airport, which can help you avoid scams.

Rental cars: Rental cars are also available on the island, but few companies offer insurance, and the roads can be rough.

Tour: One of the best ways to see the island — for both convenience and an insider perspective — is to book a tour. There are many options for both private and group tours (the latter being more environmentally friendly), lasting anywhere from a few hours to a few days.

By foot or by hoof: If you’re up for an adventure (and a workout), you can also travel by bike, foot, or horseback. Some places aren’t accessible by car, so going by horse or on foot can allow you to reach some of the island’s hidden treasures.