Being a traveler with motionsickness is probably one of the world’s cruelest ironies. To go anywhere, you’ve got to travel long distances on some sort of vehicle, which involves of course – motion. I don’t get airsick or seasick, so today I’m going to be talking about only one particular type of motion sickness – car sickness. In particular, bus tours.

Bus tours are my least favorite type of tour. You’ve got next to no leg room, a tour guide talking into a ridiculously loud speaker, and of course, the car sickness. Here are a few tips that I use to keep the carsickness at bay to survive these long and dreaded bus tours.

1. Look out the window

Studies have shown that often carsickness comes from when your body senses something different from your eyes. Your entire body feels the bus accelerating, but your eyes see the interior of the bus and this can make you feel sick. To remedy this issue, simply look out the window at the scenery passing by, so your body and eyes will sense the same thing.

2. Rest your head against part of the bus

This is based on my own experience and not scientific reasoning, but I often feel carsick when my head is feeling something different from the rest of my body; for example, if we’re traveling down a bumpy road and my butt is moving around but my head’s swinging freely in the air, I start feeling sick. To fix this, I usually rest my head on something attached to the bus, be that a seat, the window, or my elbow resting on a part of the bus, so my head will move in union with the rest of my body.

3. Sleep!

You can’t feel sick if you’re not awake. I usually try to get as comfortable as possible given the situation (using my friend or family member as a pillow) and drifting off to dreamland. Obviously this works best during the long journeys between tourist attractions, where there’s nothing to see.

4. Sit near the front

Studies have shown that sitting closer to the front will make you less carsick, for some reason.

5. Don’t eat too much

Obviously, you’ve got to eat, but is now really the time for that decadent cheesecake? Stick to light and easily digestible foods, which will make you less likely to hurl.

6. Don’t read or look down at your phone

In my experience, this will make you way more carsick than you were before, so avoid looking down at anything in your lap and instead, look out the window as mentioned in tip #1.

7. Buy medication

I’ve never done this, but there are medicines out there claiming to cure motion sickness. Check out some reviews online or ask a sales person before making a purchase, then try the medicine just before the bus tour starts. It might work, it might not. But it’s worth a try.

8. If all else fails…

If you’ve tried everything and still can’t stomach a bus tour, try a different kind of tour. Bike tours are becoming increasingly popular, you simply rent a bike and bike along behind your biking tour guide. A walking tour might suit your fancy. Or take a train to the places you want to go and explore the place yourself. Being carsick sucks, but don’t let it stop you from seeing everything you want to!