Be Flexible

• The first and most important step in traveling is to be flexible. Whether you're going to Outer Mongolia, inner-city Los Angeles or on a three-day mini-break to Cleveland, plans are probably going to have to change. It's inevitable; traveling is a chaotic situation, and the odds of every bus, plane and train arriving on time and every hotel having room are infinitesimally lower than the odds of one or more of your carefully lined up ducks falling out of alignment.
  
  The mark of a successful trip, then, is not how well you stick to your plan, but how well you adapt when it changes. So be aware, even before you leave, of your alternatives. If you're going to a beach resort, what will you do if it rains? Are there alternative forms of entertainment on-site? If not, will it be costly to leave and find something with more indoor activities? Knowing the answers to questions like these can make once-stressful situations a walk in the park.
  
  Even though it is important to be prepared to change a plan, it is equally important to have one in the first place. This is not such a priority when traveling alone, but if you're traveling with friends or family -- like most people do -- it is important to have at least a rough idea of who will be where and when. Not only does this save a lot of headaches when trying to organize to meet people in foreign cities, it also gives an idea of when to start worrying. Nobody can be three hours late meeting you if there was no meeting time in the first place.
  
  

Triage

• Stay focused on what's important. While it's fine to be laid-back in your traveling, it is not fine to be so laid-back that you mislay your passport, room key or a similarly important item. However, if you're so uptight that you're constantly looking over your shoulder and arguing with locals, your time will be equally unpleasant. To have a successful vacation, it is important to be able to triage stress -- to know what is worth the trouble. A lost passport is a very big deal; getting overcharged for fruit is not.
  
  

Have Fun

• It's odd that this needs to be specified. Often, travelers, due to exhaustion, stress or too many changing plans, aren't having any fun, and are secretly counting down the time until they can go home. Some stress, fighting and other negative experiences are par for the course, but don't ever allow them to become anything more than a small part of your experience. So if it's all becoming too much, take some time for yourself, breathe in and relax -- and never forget why you went traveling in the first place.