Slow or fast traveling, backpacking, luxury or budget traveling, motorhome traveling, outdoor and adventure traveling, cruising, motorcycle traveling, volunteer traveling, bucket list traveling, solo or group traveling, business traveling… Whoa, SO MANY travel styles that head may explode from all the possibilities! And for sure these are not all of them… So how can you find the travel style? Especially the one that will fit you and your lifestyle perfectly?
In this Travelers Talks episode, you’ll read many inspiring stories from our fellow travelers on how they found their travel style and what advice they have for you to make the process easier. At the end of the post, you’ll also find our take on that topic. What makes this post super interesting is the fact that we managed to find quite a large selection of travelers so stories are very diverse, from many perspectives. Without further ado, let’s dive in and discover how to find the travel style.
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How to find the travel style? – Travelers’ stories & advice
Some time ago on Twitter and Facebook, we asked our fellow travelers for advice, and here it’s what we got in return.
Jami from Celiac Travel Pack
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
Hello! My name is Jami. I’m the creator and author of Celiac Travel Pack; a travel blog for those of us who have to eat gluten-free. I plan all of my own travel and do a lot of research. I love passing on my research on my blog. So, you can benefit even if you aren’t gluten-free!
I grew up in a small town in southern Kentucky and didn’t leave the country until I was 21 and headed off for a semester in Spain. It didn’t feel as bold then as it does now! I’ve traveled to 6 continents and almost 30 countries in the past 10 years. I don’t travel full time but I’m lucky to have a flexible schedule. Earlier this year, I spent 24 days bouncing around southeast Asia on a trip that I’d dreamed about for years.
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
I’ve cycled through so many travel styles; the typical American college student in Europe, van-living my way through National Parks and jetting around Europe. Now, I call myself a bucket list traveler and a travel hacker traveler.
I seek out bucket list trips (and sign my future self up for things that make me nervous later). So far I’ve spent 24 days in southeast Asia, slept in a tent in the Botswana bush, self-drove a Safari through Kruger National Park, experienced the northern lights, looked over the edge of Victoria Falls, and more. The goal I’m currently working toward is seeing all 7 of the World Wonders. Traveling this way is special. It requires me to dream bigger than anything I could have imagined for myself!
Think about the kind of trip you would take if you could go anywhere! Then, work backward to try to make it happen. You may have to book flights early, travel in a shoulder season, or save up but you’ll have a great time.
Second, I’m a travel hacker because bucket list trips are expensive! I’m a budget traveler at heart but the trips I want to take require me to be creative. So, I use frequent flier miles to pay for my flights and hotels as much as possible. I’ve used frequent flier miles on business-class flights to Asia and Africa. Some of my favorite uses have been stays at luxury hotels around the world. Walking into a super fancy hotel in Paris carrying my backpack on my back is one of my favorite travel memories.
If you want to get started with travel hacking, think about how you’d use the points and then research to find the card(s) that can make that happen. There are several sites on the internet detailing how to get started! Just make sure you always pay your credit card off!
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these.
First, it’s okay to be different. It took several years to finally wrap my head around the fact that I don’t necessarily love what other people love. For example, I don’t love the beach. It’s not relaxing for me and I get bored pretty fast. But, everyone I knew loved the beach. I’ve been to one all-inclusive resort and I’ve been on one cruise. They are not for me. Giving myself permission to do what I want and not what other people want changed everything!
Second, find people who dream big! When my husband and I had been married for several years he asked me where I’d go if I could go anywhere. That answer was easy; I wanted to go to Australia and hold a koala! But, that felt impossible! After I verbalized what I really wanted to do, I could figure out how to make it happen. I watched flight prices, looked at hotels, and researched to make the trip something we could afford. We learned to SCUBA dive because my husband wanted to dive into the Great Barrier Reef as his bucket list addition. So, I went to the great barrier reef and I got to hold a koala. I cried and went back a second day to hold another koala. It remains one of the best days of my life. Dream big. Don’t limit yourself.
Third, I’ve allowed myself to pivot and learn. It’s easy to get stuck in the way you’ve been. For a long time, I dreamed of having a van, living on nothing, and driving around to the best rock climbing areas in the United States. In all honesty, that’s still something I may get back to one day. But, when travel hacking became part of my life, my goals changed. Now, I want to get amazing flights and stay in epic hotels for free. It’s totally out of my comfort zone; I’m not a fancy traveler and I still pack in my backpack everywhere I go!
Travel hacking has been a steep learning curve. I knew I could learn and it took some time. I started out small. Just getting a little bit off on hotels. Then, I targeted a business-class flight to Japan. After years of learning, it’s easier now!
A bonus, it was life-changing for me when I learned that credit card companies in the United States pay a lot of rewards for the money you’re already spending if you just know where to look! It was like unlocking a secret level in a video game or being inducted into a club. So, if you’re in the USA, this is me telling you, credit card companies will reward you for money you will already spend! Do your research, read the terms, pay off your card, and see if it works for you. It has been a game-changer for me!
Carolin from Solo Travel Story
Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
Heya, I’m Carolin, an easy-going Gemini lady fuelled by sunshine, good house music, and lots of ice cream. I work as an Events Manager and make strategy, concepts, and execution for brand activations happen; but only the cool ones, so my clients are mostly from the fashion and lifestyle sector.
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
On my travels, I value style and comfort. I never stay in hostels and splurge on unusual activities or quirky boutique 4 or 5-star hotels. Bonus points if these have extra services such as a concierge, bike rental, or rooftop bar with exquisite views over the destination. I travel frequently and let my intuition guide me to the next destination. This wasn’t always the case. In the beginning, I wasn’t too bothered with traveling.
I used to live in Leipzig, a super nice city with a high quality of life. Even though it has an airport, I never felt the urge to leave and explore because I had pretty much everything I needed on my doorstep. This changed when I moved to London. Suddenly I felt burnt out all the time and like I had to plan my next “escape”. It was easier and cheaper to access remote destinations from London and now I’m spoiled for choices.
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these.
The three most important factors that helped shape my travel style are prototype experiences, reflecting on previous trips, and traveling solo.
Prototype Experience: this is the concept of traveling for a short time, maybe a weekend, before committing fully to it. This helps finding out if you like a certain type of travel style, accommodation or destination. The prototype experience is not perfect and is allowed to fail (or succeed) for you to learn and improve.
Reflection & Multiple Visits: Having takeaways from previous trips have helped me get to know myself and what I value in a destination and generally in traveling. This way, I learned that I vibe well with places of high quality of life, culture, and affluence e.g. San Sebastian, Brisbane, Vienna are some of my fav places as they perfectly serve my interests and excite me just thinking about them. Berlin, Porto, or Naples with a rougher nature on the other hand made me uncomfortable and couldn’t engage me much, even during a second visit. This is important to me because if a destination can’t engage my senses again for another it usually means I’ve seen it all and it is time to move on. A place that can keep you excited and still holds some secrets is way more attractive to return to.
Solo Travel: staying single and not having to compromise with a partner. My previous partners were all travel-lazy and made sure to spoil the trip resulting in many unhappy travel memories for me. Now that I travel on my terms, I can do whatever I want, when I want and spend my money on fancy hotels, cool adventures, and tonnes of pasteis de natas. Win, win.
Natalie from Camping Kiddos
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
I’m Natalie Vereen-Davis, an adventurer, an educator, and a mom of 2 who’s always planning our next trip! After working as a college English professor for a decade, I recently made the life-changing decision to step away from the classroom so that my family and I could travel more. I’m still busy teaching–just my 2 kiddos these days!–and navigating our way around the US in our travel trailer.
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
I’ve been traveling since before I can remember as my parents put a high value on exposing my sister and I to new places and cultures. When I was a kid, I spent a lot of time in my grandparents’ RV exploring the Southeast, which was a great intro to travel. As I got older, we started taking longer road trips to places like Boston, Maine, and Canada, until my parents took us to Europe for the first time when I was in high school.
I did a significant amount of international travel in my college and young adult years, but I always loved camping, hiking, and the outdoors. When I started my own family, I knew I wanted travel to be a priority for them, so my husband and I have taken them all over! We transitioned from tent camping to RV camping a few years ago when I decided to renovate a 2002 Coleman pop-up. That experience was so much fun that we decided to lean into RV camping fully and buy a smaller Winnebago travel trailer, which I’m obsessed with.
Now, we spend anywhere from 3-6 weeks at a time doing big loops of the US in our travel trailer. We still have a home base in South Carolina—a 1910 farmhouse that we’re restoring–so we don’t travel full-time. Yet, we’re able to see and do SO much on our longer loops, and our kids are getting an amazing, hands-on education while on the road.
This year alone, we’ve been to, or are planning to visit, another 11 national parks and 16 states over the course of 3-4 big loops.
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these.
When my husband and I were stuck at home because of Covid, we kept coming back to this idea of working to live versus living to work. Our crazy work schedules and the kids’ school schedules meant that we often saw one another for a few hours a day, and that didn’t seem right. Our big shifts in careers and kids’ education were motivated by our desire to spend more quality time together, and everything else is a result of that.
The second most important thing that we focus on while traveling is experiencing the unique beauty of our country. We love traveling internationally, but we’re trying to appreciate what’s in our own backyard these days! To accomplish that, we stay in state park campgrounds whenever possible (or boondock!), visit national parks, and hit as many trails as our kids’ little legs can handle.
Finally, the third thing we focus on while traveling in the way that we do is education. As a lifelong learner, this aspect is particularly important to me, and I am constantly fascinated with non-traditional ways to teach and learn. Relearning what school can be has been huge for our kids’ outlook on learning, and they truly have the world as their classroom. What better way to learn about colonial America than to visit Jamestown, Virginia, or discuss geology than by going to Monument Valley?
Kiki from RooKiExplorers
Website | Instagram | Instagram 2
Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
I am Kiki, a full-time software developer and hardcore travel enthusiast who is always up for a new adventure and the author of RooKiExplorers. I love to travel the world and enjoy talking about it, helping everyone around me plan their trips, and avoiding making the mistakes I made.
One day I got this crazy idea about actually sharing everything about my travels in the hopes of helping and inspiring new travelers to take that first step in exploring the world. I told my husband, Roopesh (also my travel partner and the one behind the photographs and the technical work of our blog), that we should probably create a travel blog. He encouraged me to start writing right away, and we created our blog together. We traveled to more than 7 countries last year, and more are planned for this year. We love sharing our experiences with the world, connecting with like-minded people, and hearing about their adventures. (Don’t hesitate to reach out to us!)
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
We have always liked to travel often, but we used to go on short vacations. We both have full-time jobs and a cute little fur baby waiting for us to return – Sunshine, a happy little Golden Retriever.
I love prepping up for the trips as much as the trips themselves (the anticipation makes it better). Initially, we used to travel around 3 to 4 days every month. We never researched in depth about the places we were visiting, and mostly, we used to travel freestyle on the go. But more recently, we have been going for one-week trips once every 1 to 2 months and have more solid plans on what we will explore.
There is nothing wrong with traveling freestyle. However, we realized that for a better experience, we should know more about the country or the city we travel to, especially the weather during our visit, public transport availability, and finding the best times to visit popular places. Also, these have become more important to us because we like to explore primarily using public transport and are not big fans of crowded places. So we plan our visits to ensure we don’t spend hours together standing in queues.
That said, you can never be fully prepared when exploring new places. We only learn by making mistakes, and sometimes nature just unleashes itself. But all these experiences, good, bad, and crazy, make your travels more memorable, and you will have dozens of stories to tell.
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these.
We kept experimenting, visiting different places and things to do, and seeing what worked for us and what didn’t. We also played around with the duration of our visits and modes of travel. We mostly plan our trips based on solid research, including reading about other travelers’ experiences. Still, sometimes what one person suggests might not be our cup of tea, and in the worst cases, we realize it only after visiting the place. But that gives us a learning opportunity.
The next is being in a comfort zone and trying to expand it at the same time. We don’t like being confined to doing similar activities or visiting similar kinds of places. At the same time, we feel really uncomfortable when we are put in a strange environment. So we try to keep a balance and ensure that we try different things to the extent that it doesn’t make us feel like running back home. Doing it over a period of time actually lets us expand our comfort zone. Sometimes we have to try something just to see if it fits us.
The third is budget; this is important to us as we travel quite often. We like to plan our trips in such a way that we don’t feel like absolute backpackers. At the same time, we usually don’t go for luxurious experiences. It is just my personal feeling that I don’t feel very comfortable spending a lot on luxurious accommodation. I am the type that spends most of the day exploring the place outside rather than staying inside the hotel. So choosing that point between budget and luxury helped us find our travel style. Hope our story helps you find yours too!
Kristin from Tiny Footsteps Travel
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
My name is Kristin, I’m a lifelong travel enthusiast and the owner of a family-travel blog called Tiny Footsteps Travel. I have two kids who I love to travel with, but I’ve been traveling long before they were born. To this date, I’ve been to over 30 countries. My first trip abroad was at the age of 12, when I went to Sweden to visit family. From that trip, I realized that it wasn’t just the vacation that excited me – I enjoyed being able to experience what it felt like to live in a different country.
In high school, I was an exchange student in France and in Germany. In my early 20s, I spent 6 months in Mexico, one year in South Korea and another year in Australia. These experiences to live and experience life like a local made me realize that I love ‘slow’ travel and am passionate about soaking up the way of life in different countries around the globe. I continue to plan these kinds of experiences with my family.
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
When I was younger, I pursued a lot of opportunities to live and work abroad. It is more complicated to do these things now, with a family, however, I continue to plan trips that allow my family the opportunity to experience the way of life and culture of different countries.
Many people were surprised when I took my older daughter to Italy for one month – they thought that sounded like a long time to spend in one place (you could see dozens of European countries in that timeframe!) However, I wanted the whole month in Italy so we could experience and take in the culture and explore at a slow pace. The month in Italy was an immersive experience that allowed us to appreciate the food, atmosphere, and way of life and have time to take it all in. I still love touristy sites, but I also like to go off the beaten path; visit places that are popular with locals, practice the language, and even cook with local ingredients.
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these.
Finding out what inspired me about travel. The most important part of finding your travel style is to find out what interests you. For me, what inspires and interests me about traveling to another country is being able to experience what it’s like to live there. This made me realize that I enjoy slow travel and immersive cultural experiences.
Identifying my ‘why’. The reason you want to travel will often connect to the style of trip you want to take. Different reasons for traveling could be: to relax, to escape, to eat authentic food, to see rugged, natural landscapes. For me, I wanted to experience different cultures and live like a local – this made me realize that my travel style is a slower type of travel. It means I see fewer countries, but I see more of those countries.
Considering my time, budget, and priorities. Different budgets and times people can set aside for travel will look different for everyone. Your ‘why’ and interests are important, but how you prioritize your time and money plays into it too. I’ve been working as a teacher for the past decade, which gave me almost two months off every summer. Bearing my budget in mind as well, this allowed me to spend 3-4 weeks abroad each year. Some people might have less time or a bigger budget – it all depends. I plan trips that combine my interests, budget, and length of time that I can set aside.
Kathy from Solo Women RV
Podcast | Website | Facebook Group
Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
I’m Kathy, a solo woman RV traveler, blogger, and podcast host. I’m a lifelong camper and outdoors lover. I enjoy telling the stories of women solo RVers, van lifers, and campers to inspire others to make their travel dreams a reality. I travel in my Class B (van) RV with my cat Tucker. We love to hike and explore beautiful places. I work odd jobs and side hustles to pay for my travels. I volunteer at public campgrounds for a free place to stay. I started solo RV travel in 2018 with my Alaskan malamute, Olive. She passed away in 2022 and now I travel with my adventure kitty, Tucker.
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
I quit my job in March 2020 to travel solo in the US in my RV with my dog Olive. My last day of work was literally the day the whole country started to shut down from the Covid 19 pandemic. Many of the places I planned to visit—state and national parks, small towns, and tourist attractions—were closed to the public. I knew I needed to pivot.
I stayed at my home in Portland, Oregon until mid-June, 2020, unsure of what to do next. One of my friends suggested I try volunteering as a camp host with Oregon State Parks. The state parks were just starting to open up and they needed camp hosts since some of their regular hosts were either unable or unwilling to host due to the pandemic.
I have a background in customer service and love working with the public, being outdoors, and doing physical work. It seemed like a perfect fit. I applied for a volunteer position with Oregon State Parks and was accepted as a camp host at Wallowa Lake State Park, a gorgeous location in Eastern, Oregon.
Now I try to volunteer every year. Volunteer stints are one month at a time and approximately 20 hours a week. In exchange for greeting campers, cleaning campsites, and light landscaping work, I get a free full hook-up site for my RV. I love it because I get to spend enough time in an area to get to know it. I build community with the other camp hosts and park rangers and help other campers to have their best experience in our campground. I get to live in some amazingly beautiful places and can live really cheaply.
My kitty Tucker is very social and gets a lot of attention. I walk her in a backpack or on a leash. She doesn’t like to hike as far as my dog, but we still have a lot of fun together.
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these.
I didn’t know what my travel style was going to be when I planned to head out in 2020. I was in my RV and planning to drive from the West Coast to the East, visiting national and state parks and friends along the way.
When the Covid 19 pandemic halted travel for a time, I had to pivot and figure out what I was going to do. RV travel seemed relatively safe, but to go clear cross country seemed a bit risky. I wasn’t going to be able to visit friends in their homes as I had hoped. I hadn’t planned on volunteering as a camp host, but when the opportunity arose, it seemed perfect. And it was. We were able to keep social distance outside and still interact with the public. A lot of friends came to visit me at my campground because they too were itchy to get out and explore.
So I guess I stumbled upon my travel style by accident. I was disappointed when Covid halted my travel plans, but I was thankful to have my health and some money saved up. I explored a lot of different options and volunteering just seemed to be the best fit for the time.
Now I make it a point to volunteer every year, usually at the beginning of my travel year each Spring. I travel 5-8 months each year and start the year with a month of volunteer time at a different Oregon state park. It helps me explore different parts of the state, get my travel legs under me for the year and I love giving back and sharing my appreciation for our beautiful state with travelers.
Callie from Counting Our Footsteps
Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
My name is Callie, I’m from the UK and I am currently full time traveling the world with my Fiancé. We actually met whilst both traveling solo. Then not long after, I moved to the Netherlands to live with him for a while.
We both love traveling and adventures, so it wasn’t long before we were planning our next big trip. I ended up quitting my job in customer service and we sold our house. Off we went with just our backpacks to go and explore the world some more. The plan for us now is to grow our online business to allow us to continue this travel lifestyle until we decide to find somewhere more permanent to live.
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
My travel style has always been budget, backpacking. I love the freedom of living the minimalist life, with just what I can carry on my back (and front). When I left for my very first solo adventure when I was 21, I was so excited and absolutely terrified at the same time.
Back then I chose to join group volunteering projects or work away so that I would always have structure and company. Of course, looking for the best opportunities for the least amount of money, volunteering definitely doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.
These days, 10 years on, I still love to volunteer when I find the right opportunity but I travel with far fewer plans. I love to be able to change my mind and go somewhere last minute or leave if I’m not fully feeling a place. A concept that would’ve freaked me out 10 years ago. Although throughout the years one thing hasn’t changed. My love of finding the cheapest ways to explore new places.
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these.
I have always had a very strong longing for freedom. So far I have yet to find any lifestyle more freeing than backpacking from one place to the next with no fixed plans or timeline.
Probably the main deciding factor on my travel style is budget. To put it simply, the jobs I have had over the years haven’t always been high paying because I keep quitting to travel. Then I have to start all over again.
When income is limited, you can only save so much. This then plays a big part in how you can travel. Especially if like me, you always want to go on longer trips. The money I had saved had to be able to stretch out as long as I wanted to stay away.
I love to meet other travelers. This for me is an invaluable part of traveling and even how I met my Partner Guido. I believe backpacking and staying in Hostels is one of the best and easiest ways to meet other like-minded people.
Kshitij from Rustic Wanderer
Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
I’m Rustic Wanderer, a part-time solo backpacker who loves to explore the world and document my experiences through vlogs on YouTube. When I’m not traveling, I’m a website developer and SEO expert, constantly working to optimize websites to rank high on search engine results pages.
But that’s not all – I’m also a skilled Taekwondo athlete who began training at the young age of 6. I’ve trained with some of the best coaches around the globe and my ultimate dream is to open my own training center where I can teach not just Taekwondo, but also Krav Maga and Kalaripayattu – a traditional Indian Martial Arts form.
Despite all the martial arts training, I’m also a foodie and extrovert, always looking to make new friends and explore local cuisines wherever I go. And when I’m back home, I try to recreate some of the dishes to relive my travel memories and satisfy my inner adventurer. Follow along on my journey as the Rustic Wanderer and get inspired to explore the world, one adventure at a time!
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
When I first started traveling, I was influenced by my parents and their idea of being prepared for anything. I lugged around multiple huge suitcases and packed way too much food, just in case I got homesick. But as I’ve gained more experience, I’ve come to embrace minimalism as a key part of my travel style. With my tendency to relocate every 2-3 years, I’ve learned that the fewer personal belongings I have, the easier my life becomes.
These days, I travel with only a backpack, having said goodbye to the suitcase-style of travel. I prefer to keep my hands free so I can vlog, grab a quick bite, and engage with locals. And after visiting over 30 countries, I’ve learned the hard way that different terrains can be a serious pain for dragging a suitcase. Can you imagine trying to haul one up an inclined cobbled street in Lisbon or Malta? It’s no wonder I ditched the suitcases and never looked back!
As the Rustic Wanderer, I may have embraced minimalism but that doesn’t mean I’m not prepared for any scenario. While I may have scaled down my belongings, I’ve learned to heavily improvise on the road. Because let’s face it, no matter how detailed your plan is, things can and will go wrong. That’s why I thrive on being adaptable and channeling my inner MacGyver to make the most out of every situation. I focus on creating memories and experiences rather than getting bogged down by challenges along the way.
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these.
As the Rustic Wanderer, I have found that the three most important things that have helped me find my travel style are adaptability, keeping an open mind, and being approachable while I travel.
Adaptability has been crucial in helping me cope with unexpected situations and challenges that can arise while traveling. Whether it’s a sudden change in plans or a language barrier, being able to adapt quickly has helped me make the most of my experiences on the road.
Keeping an open mind has also been key in shaping my travel style. It has allowed me to approach each new place with a fresh perspective and not rely on stereotypes or preconceived notions. By being open to new experiences, I have been able to discover hidden gems and unique cultural aspects that I may have otherwise overlooked.
Lastly, being approachable while I travel has allowed me to interact with locals and fellow travelers in a meaningful way. While solo travel can be a solitary experience, it doesn’t mean I have to be alone all the time. By being approachable, I have been able to make connections and forge friendships that have enriched my travel experiences.
These three qualities have also helped me venture out to some of the lesser-known locations with little to no help. I have discovered hidden gems that most people miss out on because they stick to the usual touristy spots. Being adaptable and open-minded has allowed me to embrace different cultures and lifestyles while being approachable has enabled me to connect with locals and learn more about the place I’m visiting. I believe that experiences are personal and stereotypes should not limit them. By keeping an open mind, I have been able to break down cultural barriers and create meaningful connections. And as a result, I have had some of the most enriching and memorable experiences of my life.
Overall, my travel style has been shaped by my willingness to adapt, my open-mindedness, and my approachability. These qualities have allowed me to embrace the unexpected, discover new perspectives, and make meaningful connections on my solo travel adventures.
Amber from Get Lost in Wanderlust
Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
Hi, my name is Amber, and I’m a content creator and writer for the travel blog Get Lost in Wanderlust. I currently work a full-time 9-5 job as a counselor in higher education, but my true passion is traveling the world. I love experiencing the culture and history of new places and meeting new people. I started a blog as a creative outlet, and as a way to inspire others to travel, as I believe travel has so many benefits. When I’m not traveling, I enjoy reading, writing, photography, and exploring locally in my home state of Florida.
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
My current travel style is fast-paced, meaning I typically stay only 2-3 days in one location before moving on to somewhere new. While this may not sound ideal, it can actually be quite exciting. In a way, I’ve always been a fast-paced traveler, from short weekend trips in the US to my first-ever multi-country backpacking trip around Europe when I was in college. During the past several years, I have taken many slower-paced trips, especially during Covid times when it was harder to move around to multiple places in a short time. However, I’ve found that I enjoy the fast-paced travel style. Each day is something new, and every day is full of adventure.
Today, I still travel fast but I do limit my travel time between places. For example, instead of visiting multiple countries in Europe, I might choose one country for a 2-week trip, but visit several cities or towns and stay 1-3 days in each. This allows me to move fast and experience a lot, without taking up too much time on transportation. Traveling fast also puts my focus on the present moment, and I’m able to really enjoy each day.
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these.
What started me on a fast-paced travel style was my reality of being an American with a full-time job and limited vacation time. As much as I would love to spend weeks or months in a new place soaking up all the culture and history, it just isn’t my reality. Instead, I’ve adapted my travel style to be fast-paced but full of fun and adventure.
The second most important thing in helping me find my travel style was experiencing traveling. I realized through my travel experiences that traveling gives me endless amounts of energy. I enjoy waking up early, exploring all day, and doing a lot of things in a short time. I don’t feel tired when I travel, instead, I feel energized and ready to be on the go. This makes it enjoyable to travel at a fast pace, as I get to experience so much.
Lastly, I’ve found that traveling at a fast pace is great for improving mental health. I don’t have time to stress about work, worry about problems, or spend time on social media. Instead, traveling fast puts my focus only on the present. It’s a great way to practice mindfulness and truly enjoy the moment.
Linn from Brainy Backpackers
Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
I am a full-time blogger with four blogs within the travel and hiking niches and an accompanying Youtube channel. I love helping people to travel more sustainably and to get out on the hiking trails. Currently, I slowly travel full time with my fiancé and our dog Ayla in our non-build van Persistence, a 23-year-old Ford Transit. We live a humble lifestyle on a low budget focusing on hiking and the simple life.
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
I have basically traveled my whole life, but when I started out traveling independently, I went out in the big world as a full-time budget backpacker without a clue of what I was to expect. When I “settled” with full-time work for a few years, I still spent all my money and free time traveling as far and wide as I could. It was just before the pandemic that I decided on swapping out the car for a van and travel full-time again. I thought it would be the easiest way with my dog. We were going from Portugal to Asia.
Pandemic came, plans got pushed aside, the pandemic passed, I finally quit my daytime job to blog full-time, and did some panic traveling after being stuck in Spain for way too long. Then I slowed down, went to Italy to spend time with family, and then solo to Malta for a total of 3 months. I finally started finding myself again and could focus on my slow travel plans. I returned home to my dog and got organized to start the big journey. I met the love of my life 2 days before I was going to leave. He left his life behind and we are now traveling in the Iberian Peninsula while we wait for his paperwork to go through so we can embark on a larger journey. I would say that I started traveling with the flow, and that is where I am today after a long time of being forced to plan because of limited vacation days.
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these.
I learned from backpacking that when you go with the flow, the world opens up amazing travel opportunities for you. Secondly, trust people you meet when you travel and you will get an amazing insight into human kindness and local cultures. Finally, traveling slowly gives you the opportunity to experience places like a local. Traveling by van really gives the opportunity to do all this. We travel in our home and can park her up wherever and whenever we want to.
Sarah from Slow Travel
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
I am Sarah and I run the website Slow Travel. Before the pandemic I worked as a travel writer for an archaeological travel site, writing articles about visiting historical sites. There were times I wanted to write about other travel experiences and found that charging around between historical sites ruined some of the joys of travel for my family who often came with me. With the pandemic I took the opportunity to set up my own site and to look at the other aspects of travel I enjoyed, such as finding the hidden spots without all of the crowds, exploring the countryside, and making a better connection with the place I was visiting. Slow travel was the answer I had been looking for.
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
Previously I had always rushed from site to site, visiting everywhere that was on standard bucket lists and ‘must-see’ places and trying to fit as much as I could into any trip. I found though that everywhere I visited was full of other tourists, gift shops, crowd control barriers, signage, audio guides, and the rest – it all seemed so packaged, inauthentic, and stressful. It took the pandemic for me to realize just how much was on offer when you step away from what the tourist boards advertise.
Although I still love historical travel, I try to avoid the big sites and instead will actively look for places that hardly anyone has written about. I study maps to find random monuments and places that are off the beaten path and that have few visitors. I also love to look for unique ways to see the big sites such as after-hours visits or behind-the-scenes tours – it makes such a difference to the travel experience and really helps you to connect with a place. Slow Travel has been far more of an adventure than fast travel ever was.
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these.
It was the pandemic that helped me find Slow Travel – our worlds shrunk down to what was on our doorstep, which forced me to look around for local places to visit that I knew I would enjoy. One of the earliest articles on my site was about some witches’ trees in a forest near me. I’ve lived near them most of my life and never really given them much thought, but my article was a huge success and it was swiftly viewed by thousands. It made me aware that there is more to travel than long-distance flights and hours sitting in an airport, and that others must feel the same.
The second thing that brought me to Slow Travel was also due to the pandemic – the already wealthy multinational businesses were getting government handouts and were allowed to keep trading, while small businesses were being forced to close down, often for good. The injustice of it got to me and I vowed to always stay, shop and eat locally so that my money was going to people who really needed it, not to help a distant CEO buy another superyacht. This approach really enriches travel – gone are the bland hotels and uniformed staff, instead, I meet diverse local people and stay in often quirky places.
Finally I have had to tell myself that it doesn’t matter that I can’t see everything on a trip and it forces me to choose the sites which are most important to me. Quality over quantity is the priority.
Victoria from Guide Your Travel
Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
I’m Victoria, a full-time writer, and photographer who gets to travel around South East Asia and Central America, with Bali being my current home. For years, I ignored my desire to work in a more creative field, telling myself that I couldn’t get paid to travel the world. But after spending four years at a university in Scotland, I decided to at least give it a shot.
I gradually began building my portfolio and diversifying the content I was creating. In 2018, I finally launched my first blog which I later rebranded and focused on full-time blogging. Guide your Travel is the result of years of work behind the scenes. I’m fortunate enough to have been able to see a lot of incredible places around the world, but my favorite places to be are close to the water in warm climates. Southern Spain will forever feel like home to me, and Bali is a close second – which is why I currently live there!
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
I travel full-time as a backpacker and digital nomad which is a travel type I don’t really see too much. It’s not for everyone and can be challenging at times but it’s also an incredibly rewarding experience. As a backpacker, you get to explore new places, meet new people and immerse yourself in different cultures. As a digital nomad, you have the freedom to work from anywhere with an internet connection, which means you can extend your trip and travel for longer periods of time.
This lifestyle allows for a perfect balance between work and play. It can also be more cost-effective than traditional travel, as backpackers tend to stick to a tight budget and digital nomads can save money by avoiding the expenses associated with renting an office space and working 9 to 5. But you also have to find that delicate balance between working and having fun. As a backpacker, it can be tempting to go out a lot and have fun with new friends but work also has to be a priority.
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these.
I found my travel style because I was traveling on a budget so backpacking was the smart choice. This means staying in hostels, using public transport to get around, and generally seeking other travelers to travel with. But once I ran out of money I had to make a decision whether I wanted to go home or find a remote job so I could keep traveling.
I started my travel blogs and they, together with freelance writing jobs, gave me an income that I could rely on. I still travel a lot but now find myself spending a bit more time in places so I can also get some work done while sightseeing and having fun. At least two weeks, ideally 1 month is the best amount of time to stay in one place I have found. It’s also important to have a home base you can return to like Bali has become for me.
Shandos from Travelnuity
Website | Facebook | Instagram
Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
I’m Shandos and I run a travel blog about dog-friendly travel, Travelnuity. I started it back in 2015. I used to work in IT as a programmer and project manager but had a career break and started my blog at that point.
Travelnuity is short for “travel ingenuity”, and initially my focus was on affordable boutique travel, not dog-friendly one. When I started my blog I never used to travel with my dog.
I’m from Australia and it has not in the past been an especially dog-friendly country, at least when it comes to holidaying with pets. And that’s before getting into the difficulty of flying dogs in and out of the country, including quarantine.
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
As you can guess from my blog now being focused on dog-friendly travel, my traveling style has changed. While previously I never traveled with my dog, not even on short trips, I now regularly travel with my dog and write about my experiences.
The big impetus for the change came during my career break. My husband and I wanted to head overseas for almost a year and had planned to leave my dog with my parents. However, they wanted to travel by themselves. So, I thought, why don’t we travel with our dog?
We started traveling around Europe, one of the easiest places in the world to travel with a dog. Since then we’ve also traveled in the USA and around our home country of Australia.
Most of our trips have been road trips. We’ve usually stayed in a mixture of pet-friendly Airbnbs and hotels, but in Australia, we have mainly traveled in a campervan. Traveling with a dog means that you need to travel differently. You need to research what attractions allow dogs – museums are out, but strolling through historic towns and hikes are in.
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these.
There’s nothing like having an external event force you to change your travel style out of necessity. When it came down to choosing between not traveling or traveling with my dog, there was no question that we’d make it work.
Something else that has also helped is that it’s become more acceptable in recent years to travel with pets, at least here in Australia. During the last few years, thanks to border closures and limited business travel, many more Australian hotels have become pet-friendly.
Another important factor has been the ability to find information about traveling with a pet. While there are not many websites that provide information on pet-friendly travel, hence why I started writing about it on my blog, there is a growing number. There are also some fantastic Facebook groups, usually focused on single topics or regions, that are a great source of inspiration and assistance.
Paulina from Ukeveryday
Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
My name is Paulina and I began blogging in 2019 to encourage others to travel by sharing my own experiences. I created the blog UK Every Day after falling in love with the British scenery, which is filled with rolling hills and glacial landforms. I have lived in various locations in the country including Surrey, Wales, and northwest England. The UK’s diverse landscape motivates me to explore new places and create local guides to show some of the best-hidden gems in the UK. However, I also love traveling abroad and I have visited nearly 20 different countries. From hiking glaciers in Iceland to exploring Mayan ruins in Mexico, I have come back with a lot of stories to tell.
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
I’ve been traveling since I was a kid, but I’m not as spontaneous as I used to be. Most of my trips are well-planned now and I try to take at least one big trip a year to a unique location. I want to have the experience of a lifetime and make sure that I can rest after a long day of exploring.
Staying in one of the world’s finest hotels on the Yucatan Peninsula and swimming with whale sharks is a great way to experience luxury travel. The truth is that luxury travel can be addictive. But, the addiction isn’t necessarily bad – in fact, it can be quite good. As soon as I started treating myself better, my whole experience of traveling changed forever. Luxury travel allows me to get away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and spend quality time with my partner. It also gives me an opportunity to reflect on what’s important in life and appreciate what really matters most – family, friends, and health.
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these.
Working abroad, researching destinations, and traveling with my partner are the most important things that helped me find my travel style. The most obvious benefit of working abroad is that you can afford luxury travel. If you’re not afraid of moving around and don’t mind starting a new life in another country like me, you can make your dream come true.
Before booking a trip, I always research the destination and find unique hotels that provide a luxury travel experience. Reading reviews give me insight into what other travelers think about various places and make me want to visit them as well.
I’ve always been a staunch defender of the all-inclusive hotel, a place where you don’t have to worry about anything other than what time dinner is served. However, once my partner convinced me to choose a different hotel with these higher-end options, it made all the difference in how we experience traveling now.
Lena from Not Another Backpacker
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Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
My name is Lena and I’m from Germany. In 2016, I first left my home country to go backpacking around Australia. By now, I’ve been traveling the world for more than six years as a long-term traveler. I go home here and there to visit family but mostly you’ll find me on the road. For the first year, I traveled solo. Since then I’ve been traveling with my partner whom I met while doing my favorite thing in the world – traveling.
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
I am a long-term traveler and nowadays, I travel as a digital nomad. However, my travel style has changed a lot since I started traveling. I started out as a backpacker on a very tight budget and did work in between on working holiday visas in Australia and New Zealand.
Most of the time, I travel around using public transport, but I’ve also lived the van life for a while in New Zealand, exploring the country with my own vehicle and sleeping in my van-home at night. In Southeast Asia, I’ve also done a lot of motorbike trips around countries like Vietnam and Laos, which is a great way to see a place in-depth and save money at the same time.
Recently, I started working online, and now I’m living the digital nomad life. I’m still traveling on a budget most of the time, but it’s certainly nice to have a consistent flow of income to fund the travels.
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these.
Time is one of the most important things that helped me find my travel style. Every person changes over time, and what works in the beginning might not excite you anymore a few years down the road. Over time, I’ve tried different travel styles, and now I’m living a balanced travel style as a digital nomad, which is more sustainable than just being a backpacker for years.
Another thing that has helped me find my travel style is Covid. I’ve thought about working online while traveling before Covid started, but I never made it happen. However, when I got stuck in the Philippines during the pandemic, I had a lot of time on my hand to learn new skills and look for clients. So, without Covid, I’m honestly not sure if I would be where I am today.
Last but not least, my travel style has been influenced by my partner, whom I met in my first year of traveling Australia. Traveling as a couple is a different thing than traveling solo, and although we’re on the same page on pretty much everything, both our travel styles have evolved over time. When we met, we were both budget travelers but over the years, now we are both digital nomads. I’m not sure what my travel style would look like today, if I was still traveling solo, but I’m sure some things would be different.
Jess from Uprooted Traveler
Write a few words about yourself – who you are, and what you do.
I’m Jess, a corporate attorney by day, but on nights and weekends, my husband, Justin, and I run a travel blog together. We live in the stunning Pacific Northwest, which is kind of perfect for the travel or adventure lover- you can find beaches, rainforests, and some of the most dramatic mountains on the planet within a few hours’ radius of my home. You can find me trying to sniff out the best microbrewery that a city has to offer or planning my next road trip to nearby national parks.
How do you travel now and how much has it changed since the beginning?
Before COVID, my husband and I spent every free moment we had from our professional jobs, traveling abroad, from the cobblestone streets of Havana to markets in a teeny town in India. Once COVID struck, we were relegated to exploring our own backyard in the Pacific Northwest, and I fell head over heels in love with hiking and camping.
Now, I seek out any and all experiences that get me outside and explore the great outdoors, whether that’s hiking the Dolomites in Italy, scuba diving in Indonesia, or swimming with humpback whales in French Polynesia.
Write 3 most important things that helped you find your travel style and explain why these
Be open-minded. If you would’ve asked me three years ago whether I would be interested in RVing or backcountry camping, I almost certainly would’ve simply said no. For a long time, I categorized myself a certain way- a city girl who had seen and done pretty much everything the U.S. has to offer. After the last couple of years, though, I’m a completely different person- I could spend a lifetime exploring my home country and all of the beautiful landscapes it offers.
Try traveling in different ways. I usually try to travel as economically as possible, but lately have been experimenting with splurging on accommodations or experiences here and there. While I don’t think I’ll ever be a luxury traveler, dabbling in different types of travel styles helps me recalibrate and make sure I’m spending my precious time, energy, and money on the right things.
Research. I’ve read that people can derive even more satisfaction from planning a trip than actually going on it and I can totally believe it! Beyond just dreaming of your getaway, you’ll prepare yourself for your destination and will be able to plan the best trip you possibly can. By investing on the front end in plenty of research, you’ll eventually be able to identify a pattern of accommodations and other travel experiences that you enjoy and align with your travel style.
Our story and advice on how to find the travel style
We’ve been traveling since 2011. Over the years we evolved from fast travelers who traveled a few times a year for a max a few days with a fully packed schedule for each day to full-time slow travelers and digital nomads. Currently, we travel by car and live in one area for a few weeks slowly discovering it. If you want to read a detailed story about how we travel, and our traveling journey please take a look at the “Retrospective On The First Year Of Living As Digital Nomads”.
What helped us find our travel style? First of all, we discovered that we didn’t want to rush anymore and be in a new place every few days. We had enough of driving like crazy from one place to another because of time chasing us or the tour guide telling us that it was time to move to the next point of interest. We wanted to see more than just classic touristy spots, we wanted to hunt for hidden gems! Also, we didn’t want to feel constantly exhausted and annoyed again.
Secondly, we got inspired by watching all the freedom and amazing experiences other travelers were sharing over the internet. We wanted to try it as well as we led mostly stationary life and it was about time to introduce some big changes to it. We realized that life is short and there is no better time than now to start doing things. So with a bit of research and getting all necessary things in order we started something we’ve never done before – slow traveling.
Lastly, after detailed calculations and later from practice, we found out that slow traveling won’t cost us much more than living in Wrocław, Poland. Sure, a little more but totally acceptable. And that was just a confirmation that what we aimed to do is the right thing for us! We also took a look at previous costs of our max 10-day travels, and discovered that for that we can live about 1-2 months in one place in a private apartment (depending on the country/area)! Amazing, right? If you’re interested in our costs of living as digital nomads check out our “Costs Of Living Series”.
How to find the travel style? – Summing up
So many inspiring stories and useful advice, right? Most important conclusion? The more we travel, the more we get to learn about ourselves and how we want to travel. Also, there isn’t just one proper way of discovering the world, and travel style might change throughout life. Which is totally fine and normal! What works now, might not work in 5 or 20 years.
We really hope that this Travelers Talks episode pointed you in the right direction, and now finding a travel style will be easier for you. If you’re a novice traveler – share in the comments which travel style appeals to you the most now. If you’re an experienced traveler – feel free to share your story. Happy traveling!
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