Have you ever felt the need to abandon in the middle of a trip because of the company? Have you ever felt that it was a wrong decision to make travel plans with your relatives? Have you ever taken a decision to never go on a holiday again with someone close to you?
Well if your answer is YES, you probably have not been able to understand the personality of your co-traveler. I once read somewhere that you should go on a trip only with the person you love. I would go a step ahead and say, forget the love you should go on a trip only with someone that shares the same travel goals as you do.
But how do you decipher that? After all, travellers are an incredibly diverse species.
After travelling with a variety of travellers and observing them closely, I have identified 10 types. Presenting the 10 type of travellers to you below!:
- THE BACKPACKER: Someone whose travel plans are made in a jiffy and with an almost negligible budget. His backpack is always ready and his travel agenda is always WIP. Doesn’t shy away from meeting new people, trying out new things, exploring new destinations, satiating his gastronomy with local cuisines, and learning about new cultures and customs. His sleeping bag would be his best friend and Maggi his favourite food. Wouldn’t think twice to hitchhike from a truck or self-invite to locals’ house. New experiences are key to him.
- THE PLANNER: Someone who doesn’t believe in serendipity. He doesn’t travel too often. Would take few trips in a year and would meticulously plan for each of them. He would generally travel in a group or with a family. He would read a lot of blogs, download travel guides, and talk to various travel agents, friends and family members before zeroing his destination. His travel will be planned to the T. Hassle-free Travel is key to him.
- THE EXTRAVAGANT: Someone who would travel for luxury sake. Travel is both – a means to indulgence and escapism. Would only stay in air-conditioned rooms, would only travel in ‘A’ class airlines, would only go to exotic destinations, would spend a fortune on getting the new vacation wardrobe. Would spend more time indoors than outdoors. God forbid, if he or she joins you on an adventure trip then he would insist on taking a bath in -30 degree where water is as scarce as a diamond. Luxury is key to him.
- THE DP HUNGRY: Someone who travels not to absorb the beauty of the place but for bragging rights. Capturing the awesomeness of place is more important than being in the moment. Would carry a DSLR for sure even if he doesn’t know how to operate it. Would click every single thing multiple times from multiple angles. The objective of his travel is to have a HUGE Facebook album gallery. Social likes is key to him,
- THE TAGALONGS: Someone who accidentally or deliberately tags along with his friends or family. He would not know anything about the place he is visiting. He wouldn’t have a point of view on things they should explore. He would travel not for the love of travelling but for the pestering of his friends and family. The company is key to him.
- THE ENVIOUS: Someone whose plans are made to compete with others. If his friend went to Singapore for holidays, he would go to Malaysia. If they take two vacations in a year then he’d take more than two. For him travelling is very a one-upmanship weapon. His travel tales would always have a competitive flavor to it. The impression is key to him.
- THE EXPLORER: Someone who travels to discover not just the place but himself. Would go and explore offbeat places. Would make friends with locals to get an insight into their culture. Travel is an antidote for his existence. Travel is not an expense but an investment. Will explore the unexplored places to enrich his soul and delight his heart. Adventure is key to him.
- THE COMPLAINT BOX: Someone who would complain no matter what. Would have a problem with the weather, cuisine, language, transportation, peopleyou’llbasically everything. Essentially a house rat who doesn’t like travelling but is forced to travel. He would be a nightmare for both co-travelers and travel service providers. Unrealistic expectations are key to him.
- THE ROLLING STONE: Someone whose travel mantra is “chai…chillum…chapatti…challo parvati”. Someone who would be busy rolling joints and exploring the crevices of nature. Travel and rolling joints go hand in hand for such traveller. He would climb any mountain, cross any river or walk for hours without getting tired. Would be lost in his world. Facilities would be of least concern to him. Getting high is key to him.
- THE PASSIONISTA: Someone who marries his passion with travel – cycling, sports, culture, heritage, marathon etc. He would go up to any length to follow his passion. Travel works as a rejuvenator for him. Travelling luxuriously or frugally is not a matter of concern. Getting best out of his passion is. Passion is the key word for him.
So next time when you travel don’t forget to quiz your fellow travellers before committing to go away with them. But before doing that, do share with us which one are you from these different type of travellers?
This is interesting, not sure if I would categories myself.. =) What are you?
Thanks Jessica for reading and liking it. Well i think I would fit in multiple categories. This post is purely from my first hand experience with various travellers I met in my journeys. I am sure there would be lot many categories. Also, I believe people can co-exist in various categories and can upgrade too.
Whatsay?
Wow cool article! I wrote something like that for tour groups. I totally recognize some of the types there. I used to be a planner but threw that over board because planning just reduces the fun and possibilites and am now a backpacker for practicality but an actual explorer. Cool types!
ere’s my article if you like to check it out: https://travelonthebrain.net/types-people-tour-group/
Cheers,
Annemarie
Thanks Anne for reading and liking it.
You are bang on saying planning just reduces the fun and possibilities.
I myself migrated from planner to a backpacker cum explorer.
checking your blog right away.
Keep travelling. Keep seeing. Keep writing.
Cheers!
The article about Types of Travelers is really wonderful and informative.
And the best one is ”chai…chillum…chapatti…challo parvati”.
🙂
Thanks a lot Ankit for liking it. Really appreciate the gesture 🙂
Cheers!
Archana,nice category of travellers you have introduced.
I think, I am at present a planner, wanting to become explorer and then graduating to become a passionista…..
Thanks Kshama for liking it.
Don’t wait. Just jump into the water. You can’t learn swimming by standing at the shore 😛
Cheers!
I travel to be with forests and nature. What does that make me?
Hi Param,
Thanks for reading it. Maybe you’ll probably fit in the Explorer category. Whatsay?
Superb article and good observation. I think trips become memorable because of the people you go with and time you share with them. Also, we should always avoid going with no. 3 and no 8 type of traveller. They caused me lot of headache in my previous trips 😀
Heartfelt gratitude for taking out time and sharing your feedback on the article. I totally concur with you when you say that trips become memorable because of your co-travellers.
And hope you don’t get to deal with ‘the Extravagants’ and ‘the Complaint box’ travellers. Though from marketers POV, the former is a delight whereas the latter is a nightmare 🙂
Looking forward to seeing you more on the blog!
Cheers!
Travel. See. Write
Thnx Archana
Its been great reading. Rather than judging my co travellers surely its gonna help me change a lot my own attitude to best fit with my co travellers & enjoy a lot my travelling.
Hi Prakash,
Thanks for dropping in and sharing your valuable feedback. Much appreciated.
That’s a great philosophy to enjoy your travels and that’s what even I do. I am the most hassle free traveller and all those who have travelled with me would vouch for it.
Also, this blogpost was a mere observation not passing any judgement towards anybody.
Looking forward to hearing your travel experiences.
Cheers!
Superb article! In fact being a rolling stone traveller there’s nothing in brains before leaving and anything about tours…liked very much
Thanks a lot Sukant. Sorry for an extremely delayed response.
This is very interesting blog
Thanks a lot Mukesh. I am glad you liked it 🙂
I Think i am the backpacker.
Interesting. I travel to little known destinations mostly out of references from other blogs. And my thumb rule is if it looks good on a photo, 9 out of 10 times it looks good in person too. Lesser the crowd better it is. But I plan a little extensively since I have a 6 year old with me on all these travels.
That’s a good strategy. I am just the opposite. I don’t plan much in advance. I just book my in and out travel. Once I land I go by the flow. I am a sucker for serendipity 😋
Cool words used.
Good Post………..
Haha this was very entertaining to read since I could either identify or I’ve met travelers that fit into some of these categories. In your opinion, do you think groups of travelers should be similar types or do you think they would mesh better if they were different types?
While I think you did a great job of describing a lot of travelers, I don’t think I fit in to one category and neither do a lot of my friends. They’re kind of a mixture of many of these descriptions. You bring up a very important point however and that is to make sure you pick the right travel partner. In some cases having a very different partner can help you expand your horizons a bit. Really enjoyed reading the post.
I think I am into The Explorer.
Nice article Archana .
Hi. Great post 🙂 we’ve been travelling and working abroad for nearly 5 years and we’ve come across plenty from these categories. Not sure what id categories myself as though. I’d even say complaint box from time to time especially when transportations concerned 🙂 thanks for sharing 🙂
I fit in multiple categories. Very well written Archana.
I’d mostly fit in the Explorer category, with bits of a few others thrown in. Though, of course, I’d like to think I don’t fit into any category at all 🙂
Excellent article, very well distinguished and after this we can very easily find out where we stand. I believe I my self fall in the planner category I will surely want to be a bit improved and avoid facilities which kills adventure but generally traveling or planning is to be done with families in cases like ours so to become a planner is very much type of compulsion. I think due to this reason many of us will stick to the planner.
These are goods examples of the different types of travelers. I have met every type of traveler you mentioned. The Planner, I met a couple who had an excel chart they continuously updated with expenses and a document they updated with plans etc.. My brother would count as a Tag Along, I once took him to Mexico and he had no idea where it was. I think I would be a passionista.