Flightster

Are you a real traveler?

• by Shannon Albert
• on October 6th, 2010
• 1 Comment

Earlier this year, I had some life coach sessions with Tim Brownson. I was at a crossroads and wanted some help figuring out how to move forward. I’ve always worked in technical jobs but wanted to do something different. As my love of travel kept coming up, it became apparent I should probably try to focus on doing something with that. I had one major issue with that though – the insecurity in not knowing if I’m a real traveler? And what does that even mean?

I’ve known people who lived around the world who would routinely categorize other people and say “but she isn’t really a traveler.” I have no idea what they meant but what if I wasn’t either?

I’m not going to pack everything up and take my family on the road to travel full-time like ManVsDebt, SoulTravelers3 or the Woodwards of LocationIndependent.com. They have done really well with that arrangement but it’s just not what I think would work best for my family.

When the kids are grown, we’re also not going to travel as a couple like Warren and Betsy of MarriedwithLuggage. Though I’m crazy excited that they’ve begun their round the world trip, my husband is happy with the work he does which requires that he stay put. I don’t want to change that.

Nor do I want to leave my husband for long periods of time like the awesome Chris Guillebeau. It works for him. It’s not what would work for me.

And then there’s the fact that I’m a huge fan of theme parks. Our honeymoon was at Cedar Point. I’ve been to a Disney theme park 5 times and have a 6th trip planned for next year. Do real travelers go to theme parks?

I’ve never stayed in a hostel. Haven’t most real travelers done this at one point in their lives? In the years that most people backpacked and stayed in hostels, I was taking care of my family. If I travel now, I have a little money to spend on a hotel so I probably wouldn’t choose to stay in a hostel.

What about the trend toward extremely light packing? Don’t real travelers take as little as possible like Mr. Travel himself, Rolf Potts, who is traveling the world with no luggage? That will never be me. I like having stuff with me and have never regretted bringing it.

I love a good, well researched itinerary. Real travelers are spontaneous, right?

Don’t many travelers become sort of experts on certain destinations? I’m not sure I’ll ever know enough to be an expert on a specific place.

Despite all of those questions and insecurities, I’ve figured out what I do know.

I know how to plan and research a trip. I know the tools to use and I know where to go to find what I’m looking for.

I know that I read about travel obsessively and know things about places I’ve never been. It sometimes takes me a few seconds to remember if I’ve been somewhere because I often know so much about it that it feels like maybe I have. I’ve planned entire trips for people without ever having been there but people never realize that.

I also know that although I do love a well researched itinerary, I try to include non-touristy things right along with the touristy ones. Living like a local for a bit is one of my favorite things to do. I also make sure to build in flexibility so we can adjust as necessary and have unplanned time.

I know that I try really hard to not act like the stereotype of an American traveler. We try to learn some of the language before we go, we don’t expect things to be like they are in the United States and we try to be conscientious of all cultures.

I know that I try to travel as often as possible. Some years that means traveling 4 times, other times just 1.

I know that I love traveling to a new place and absorbing everything about the culture, the food and the people.

I know that there must be many kinds of travelers. The kind that stay at luxury resorts. The kind that backpack and stay in hostels. The kind that travel full-time and try to visit as many countries as possible. The kind who choose their destinations based on the food. And the kind like me that likes to do a combination of many different kinds of travel.

Most of all, I know that I have a huge passion for travel and isn’t that all you really need to be a real traveler?

Shannon Albert

Shannon loves to share awesome, fun and hopefully useful info that she's collected and to connect with other travel freaks. She loves the planning part of travel as much as the traveling itself. Shannon's background includes working as a web developer and as a digital producer for an advertising agency. She lives in Texas with her husband, 2 kids and dog. New York City is her favorite city. Her blog is shannonalbert.com.