For those of you who are avid travelers, it's likely that you've encountered every one of these types throughout your travels. Knowing where you fall in the list and why you are traveling, however, can be one of the most important steps to planning a trip. See my post about the 5 Questions to Ask yourself before Planning a Trip to find more useful tips. This is written for travelers to Europe, but is common around the world. You're likely to self-identify with many of these traits of each, keep in mind that a lot of these come from unresolved issues in our lives, but that doesn't make the reason bad. Truth is - life's hard, and we travel to get away and enjoy it for a change.
1-The Boaster-You want to say you've been somewhere-This is probably the most common reason we hear from travelers because this type is so vocal, but it is something most don't really want to admit to themselves. We want to say we travel because they enjoy cultures, etc. but all too often, we travel because we just plain want to say we've been somewhere. We want to come home and talk up a place with friends to show how cultured or traveled we are, and as much as I hate to admit it, I think everyone does this at some point. If, however, this is your main reason for traveling, stick to main cities, and maybe go to a smaller city at some point. So for example, go to Rome and maybe take a trip down to Pompeii. Or, if you're a niche traveler, like a war buff, for example, go to all the WWI or II sites in Europe.
Make sure to have that big purpose throughout your travels so you can show off later to your friends with how much you know about this or that because you've been there. My guess is, however, if you are one of these people, you probably already know exactly the kind of trip you want to go on.
2-The Assurer-You want to say to yourself that you've been somewhere-I think this kind of traveler is completely different than the first type. The first, you're checking things off to your friends as a status symbol. The second, you're checking things off as kind of a testament of life. You want to go somewhere not to tell people about it, but to just reassure yourself like a monument to your own life. A way to find out if you're this type of traveler is ask if you don't go somewhere, will you regret it? My mom, for example, went to Paris when she was young and didn't go in the Eiffel Tower. She spent years wishing she had gone. Finally, years later, she went back and was able to go to the top, and she loved it! I, on the other hand, didn't go the tower the first three times I was in Paris, and I didn't regret it one bit, but then I finally went with her, and I loved the little cafe halfway up(In case you want to look at top things to do in France), but still didn't see any reason to go all the way up. So we did the same thing, and we both enjoyed it, but for different reasons.
3-The Adventurer-You want adventure-If this is not you, you are sure to encounter quite a few of these throughout your trip in Europe. These are the ones that really want to get away. They want to party, to run with the bulls, to white water raft, to cliff dive, etc. If this is you, your trip shouldn't be too hard to plan, pick the hardest partying spots in Europe like Ibiza, Prague, Croatia, Greece, St. Tropez, Monaco and go have some fun. If this is not you, keep an eye out for these in your group if you're traveling with a group. They can be a lot of fun, but they can get bored and have a horrible trip if you spend your days in art galleries.
The adventurer can also be the sort of people that just want to try new things. They want to eat new foods, climb new heights, and just all around get lost. This type of adventurer can be a little different than the above and you may need to plan differently by allowing opportunities for all the new experiences travel affords.
4-The Connoisseur-You want culture-Perhaps you are a wine connoisseur or a great foodie. You should plan your trip around your tastes. Maybe you like to visit art galleries, maybe you just want complete immersion in a culture. If this is you, then you're trip should focus on that. You want to become Spanish, stop worrying about what city you're going to and focus on talking Spanish with Spaniards, eating like a Spaniard, spend your whole trip in Spain. You want food, find the greatest places to eat, figure out foods to try etc.
5-The Collector-You're a collector-We often think of these as trinket collectors. The ones who go places and always return with tons of things to remind themselves of the trip. This, however, can also include photographers, who want something of their own of all the places they've been. If this is you, the more places you go, the better. Get into photography, if you haven't already (Click here for my Photography Guide).
6.The Relaxer-You want to lie on a beach in the sun all day-This is the guy/girl who works a 90 hour work week for his bank or consulting firm and just wants to sit out in the sun, enjoying glass pools, ivory coasts, and hot sand in their toes. If this is you, don't worry one bit about doing too much during your trip, vacations can be exhausting, read my post about the Dark Side of Travel if you don't believe me. Be ready to pay the extra money to make your vacation run smoothly. Book a travel agent, get a fancy hotel, and don't be ashamed to go to one town and spend your whole time there. Take a break, you deserve it.
If you're not a relaxer, beware having one in your group. You can tell because they won't really want to plan. They'll say things like "I'm ok with whatever." And if plans go south on a day of, they're likely to say they're fine with hanging out in the hotel room for the day. Don't just ditch them in a hotel room! They're not ok, what they really mean is, why don't you just plan something chill for the day, like eating at a cafe, or go to the beach if it's close enough. But don't give up on them because they don't want to travel across town to see a museum, maybe you need a break too, but you can take a break without putting a halt to travel. You may not think this situation will arise, but get married, and you'll notice an extreme increase in the appearance of the relaxer.
7-The Newbie-This is your first trip-If this is your first time planning a trip, the above reasons may be completely confusing for you because you kind of want to travel for all of those reasons. You want to come home and tell your friends, you want souvenirs, you want to eat and taste the culture, have adventure and relaxation, so where do you begin? Well if this is you, make your plan flexible. Make a plan that can change and be willing to try new things when they come up.
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