My work travel is almost 100% international. There are some very good pieces of advice on this thread that you can test out. The one thing I would add, after 13 years in this job, is RESIST THE TEMPTATION TO OVERSCHEDULE YOURSELF. That is the one thing that will really screw with your ability to stay connected with your loved ones, stay fit while on the road, and stay sane.

In my earlier days, I would say to myself, "I've flown all this way! It would be wasting the money spent on this plane ticket, and the time I spent flying, if I didn't pack in every bit of activity possible!" So I would book myself into meetings from breakfast through dinner, sightsee all day on the weekends I spent abroad, etc. It took me a long time to get to the point of saying no to things, but that is where I am now, and I am much happier and healthier for it.

With free time, I can go to the hotel gym (or go out for a run if I am in a country where a woman on the street in Lycra is acceptable behavior :p). I can come back to the hotel after a day of meetings, put on my pajamas and order a simple, healthy room service meal so I don't overeat/over-imbibe as I would if I went to a restaurant with others. I can call Mr. travelmad478 and have a nice conversation during which I am not passing out from exhaustion. I can read my New Yorker magazines or watch HBO GO on my iPad at 10 PM, prepping myself for sleep, rather than frantically prepping for my next day's meetings. And I can keep up with the zillion e-mails that come in (as they do every day--whether I am traveling or not) without having to stay up until midnight and wear myself out.

Excellent message, and I agree 100%. ^^^

I was just like you when I started. I wanted to be "out there" all day, every day. Any time in my hotel room, if not sleeping or bathing, was wasted time.

That drove me nuts.

Now I think of a day in thirds: Morning, Afternoon, Evening. I plan for unstructured R&R in one of those thirds. Typically, I'll see a customer in the morning and afternoon, then laze around the hotel in the evening. I'll spend that time talking to MrQ on the phone, reading a good book, whatever.

If I have to see the customer in the evening (or want to go to some evening activity, like a concert, etc), then I endeavor to have R&R time in the morning or afternoon.

It doesn't always work, but I strive for that ideal. Getting up and going out to the customer's place at 8 am, spending all day there, going out in the evening and coming back, exhausted, at 10:30 pm got real old real fast.

OP, if you don't mind me asking, what do you do for a living?

Accounting & Finance.. Travel for due diligence for M&A targets, post acquisition alignment, etc.

Great advice here.. should be fun.
Oh and I love photography so that'll be a good reason to go out, walk around, snap some shots and keep fit in the mean time ^

People say I take amazing pictures.

I say it's pretty easy if you have amazing subjects.

I've just switched jobs (redundancy but wound up with a MUCH better job :)) and now am travelling longhaul (mostly far East, SE Asia and East Africa from UK) and I am so tempted to try to pack as much as I can in - my first trip was 6 days in far East and fortunately it was a city I had visited three times already so I didn't feel that I had to do anything there, but next week I have my first trip to Vietnam and I know I will want to do some sight seeing. (I was originally scheduled to go to HK first but someone (rightly) decided that flying back from US (holiday) Fri and then out to HK on Mon for 3 days before 8 days in Vietnam and 2 days in London before coming back up north was probably too much - I was gutted at first as I haven't yet been to HK but I think it was probably the right decision (esp as it's all in economy class). At least the flight times and my commitments in Vietnam mean I have all day Saturday before a night flight so I can do a bit of sight seeing then.

I'd love to travel intl. I need to find a job that allows me to do that! -computergeek

try to keep out of the back of the plane. seattle to moscow in steerage is pure hell.

It's amazing to me how times have changed in the past 15 years since I started traveling for work. I wouldn't travel without my Kindle (now I don't have to lug `10-12 books for a two week overseas trip) or my laptop.

One big hint of mine for staying healthy is that in countries where the water supply is dodgy, I do not drink any drink that I do not open myself. In addition, I never ask for ice with my drinks. A lot of people forget that ice in those areas is not made with suitable water for drinking.

I also don't schedule my day. I'm the type that doesn't like to plan vacations other than the cities I will visit. When I get there, if it's a nice day I'll spend it on outdoor activities. If it's a poor day, it's time for indoor activities. This way, I never feel guilty if I just want to spend a day sleeping in a nice hotel room bed or luxuriating in the bathtub after a long day.

If you're a techie, why not just travel and work remotely? Be your own boss :cool:

Cut back
 

I agree. I have tried to cut back. I am now declining travel gigs and only selecting only ones that I think are the most important. Perhaps my career won't go as far, and perhaps I won't be as successful, but I'll have more time with family, more time exercising and preventing a heart attack, and more time to be sane.

Great topic. I'm relatively new to travelling for work myself. I've started to become more strict about not cleaning my plate, leaving the office at a reasonable hour to go to the gym, and ignoring the breakfast buffet goodies.

On travel days--still try to get exercise. My inclination at connections is to work as much as possible. Now I schedule in walk time. For example, the United concourse at Denver is pretty long. Do a fast walk up and down (and up and down perhaps) for 30 min or so. Skip the peoplemover things. Then head for the club and catch up on email, etc.

I find Star Alliance to work well for me out of SEA (I did a bunch of research...before choosing).

calling....
 

While skype, facetime, etc are great for talking to others who have that app, to call real phones isn't free. Find a phone (or hack your Iphone) that enables true wifi calling. My new (android) phone will make and receive regular calls over the wifi network of the hotel, coffee shop, etc. This saves a lot of international roaming charges and doesn't require the use of skype or other paid apps.