May 12, 2025 • 16 mins
What kind of traveler are you at heart? Do you pinch pennies to extend your journey, or do you splurge on luxury experiences? Are you drawn to cultural immersion, or do you crave heart-pounding adventure?
We all have natural tendencies that shape our travel experiences, yet many of us try to force ourselves into travel styles that don't authentically reflect who we are. In this eye-opening exploration of travel personalities, we break down six distinct traveler types - from the budget-conscious backpacker to the comfort-seeking luxury traveler, the thrill-seeking adventurer to the history-loving cultural enthusiast, the unhurried slow traveler to the freedom-chasing road tripper.
Each travel style comes with recommended destinations and valuable resources to help you embrace your authentic travel self. The budget traveler might thrive in Thailand or Vietnam, utilizing apps like Going to score affordable flights. Luxury travelers might set their sights on Dubai or an upscale African safari. Adventure seekers could plan expeditions to Iceland's glaciers or Patagonia's rugged terrain, while cultural enthusiasts might immerse themselves in Italy's art scene or Scotland's rich history.
Your travel style isn't a fixed identity - it can evolve with life's seasons or adjust when traveling with companions. What matters most is recognizing and honoring your true preferences rather than forcing yourself to travel like someone else. When you align your journeys with your authentic self, travel becomes not just enjoyable but transformative.
Follow @solotraveladventures50 on Instagram to see how I incorporate budget-friendly local adventures into everyday life. Have questions about finding your travel style? Message me there or book a personal consultation to discover the traveler you're meant to be.
BOOK A CALL:
https://calendly.com/solotraveladventures/book-a-call
GOING: Cheap Flight Deals
LUXURY TRAVEL MAGAZINE https://www.luxurytravelmagazine.com
GREETHER: https://greether.com Book local walking tours with a woman guide.
NOMAD LIFESTYLE: https://eatwalklearn.com
ROADTRIPS IN US: https://www.wonderbingtravel.com
Instagram @solotraveladventures50
Facebook community: Solo Travel for Women Over 50
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Have you ever taken a personality test such as the
Myers-Briggs DISC or Enneagram?
Or maybe you remember thoseyears when you had Seventeen
Magazine and you took one ofthose tests inside the magazine
or nowadays, on Facebook, theyhave similar tests, testing
(00:21):
different quizzes, to see whereyou score.
Well, what if you could takeone that determined your travel
style?
I'm Cheryl Esch, your host ofSolo Travel Adventures, and in
today's episode we will look atthe different styles of
travelers out there, and whichone are you.
Maybe you already have a senseof how you like to travel, based
(00:45):
on your personality, maybe whatyou enjoy doing, what your
interests are or your priorities.
But we're going to break downat least these are based on my
observations and others as well.
But I want to impress upon youfirst that you may relate to
more than one of these styles,and then some of them do
(01:08):
crossover.
Keep that in mind and I'llbring that up as I identify each
one.
And secondly, you may find yourstyle of travel changes
depending on your season in yourlife, or it could change if
you're traveling with someoneelse.
Now I don't technically have aquiz for you, but these styles
(01:31):
are again something I'veobserved and others have also
pointed out and identified thesetypes of travelers.
So let's dive right in thatfirst one I identify with.
This one is the budget traveler, or at least I try to in most
seasons of my life.
So this is a person that willstretch the dollar and they
(01:54):
often give up the comforts formore experiences.
They're okay staying in hostelscheaper hotels, camping in
hostels cheaper hotels, campingusing local transportation,
maybe eating street food or evencooking on their own, all to
save money so they canexperience maybe more in their
(02:15):
travels.
And I will.
In each travel style, I willalso identify maybe some ideal
destinations based on thattraveler, and most of them I'm
offering a resource as well,which will also be in the show
notes.
So budget traveler also mightbe somebody who backpacks, you
(02:38):
know, carrying a backpack sothey can move around more freely
.
They might travel by train,even because that's less
expensive, or they might camp.
Camping is also abudget-friendly way to travel.
Some ideal destinations thatare kind of fit with a budget
traveler mentality is Thailandand Vietnam, and that is of
(03:03):
course.
We know that things are lessexpensive there, so your dollar
will go further.
Now that resource this is one Ipersonally use and I love it.
It is the Going app.
So G-O-I-N-G it used to becalled Scott's Cheap Flights and
(03:23):
they send me notices on a dailybasis of cheap flights that are
out there.
You can choose differentairports you want them to send
notices to you and they alsohave an app.
Now in the show notes I alsohave a link which is sort of it
is my affiliate link, so feelfree to click on that, and there
(03:47):
are different levels ofmembership for that to get those
notices.
But great, great, I just I'm.
I get enticed by a lot of thoseemails.
So do be careful with that oryou may find yourself booking
and not being a budget traveleranymore.
So number two is the luxurytraveler.
(04:08):
So this is someone who indulgesin comfort, kind of almost the
complete opposite of that budgettraveler.
They're going to have maybeexclusive locations.
They're looking at five-staraccommodations, top tier service
.
These are typically you'll finda lot of the luxury kind of
(04:29):
trips are part of a package.
They're like an all-inclusive.
It might be an all-inclusiveresort or just an all-inclusive
package where they obviouslythey have the accommodations and
anything else that's needed andthat could be even considered.
Transport might be included inthat as well.
(04:50):
So you could be a luxurytraveler.
If you want to save up yourmoney, say, for example, maybe,
as I said, I'm a budget traveler, but maybe there is this luxury
trip that I am dying to go onand I will admit, one of the
(05:10):
recommended places is someplaceI want to go.
So there may be a time in mylife where I will maybe start to
just save up and save up sothat I can indulge and take this
luxury trip.
So recommended places if youare a luxury traveler and there
are many, these are just a fewis Dubai, very opulent, and an
(05:36):
African safari?
There are some that are reallyluxury and that is a trip I
would love to do.
You know, they put you up inthese beautiful whether they're
kind of like these lodges oryurts that are luxury yurts Okay
, not these budget or, um,outdoor camping type of feeling,
(05:57):
but everything it's.
I've seen some gorgeouspictures, but a resource and
again, there's lots of differentluxury travel agents and travel
groups, but a main resourcethat you could check out, if
this is something you'reinterested in, is it's called
Luxury Travel Magazine andthey're going to have more
(06:19):
resources for you in regards toall things luxury travel.
All right.
So number three adventuretraveler.
Now, I will have to say anadventure traveler crosses over
the lines of it could either bea budget trip or a luxury trip
(06:40):
You'll understand in a momentbut an adventure traveler, they
are a thrill seeker.
They are hiking maybe thoserugged landscapes, they thrive
in nature.
Examples would be maybe a caveexploration like Iceland's
glaciers.
Other examples Antarctica.
(07:02):
That's a huge adventure trip,but that is on sort of the high
end of luxury, uh, price tag Uh,but it is an adventure for sure
.
Um, if you're more into thosehikes, uh, patagonia, uh, places
like that are going to also beconsidered more of that
(07:24):
adventure, uh, traveler trip,and so the budget on those can
traveler trip, and so the budgeton those can fluctuate.
It can be, you know, it couldbe pretty expensive or it could
be on the lower end of a budget,but this person specifically
seeks out adventure, all right.
Number four is your culturaltraveler, and this is for those
(07:48):
who are drawn to history, artand the cultural traditions of
other countries.
They enjoy seeing ancient ruins, going to museums.
They are typically historybuffs.
They will engage with thelocals, immersing firsthand.
A great way to do that is to doa local walking tour, and so my
(08:15):
resource here if you want to doa local walking tour, there's a
great organization it is GreetHer, and that I'll have that in
the show notes but this is anorganization where it's women
only.
So, ladies, you're out theresolo traveling and you want to
do a walking tour?
Um, you want to feel safe andcause sometimes it could just be
(08:38):
you and the guide, and so theseare just women that do these
local walking tours so you canfeel more comfortable.
So some suggested places thathave well, there are tons that
have so much culture out there,but the ones that stand out in
my mind is, of course, italy somuch so much culture and art,
(09:01):
especially art and history there.
Um, france of course, has a lotof history and and Scotland as
well has a lot of history, butyou may find other places that
you are more drawn to that youcan engage in that cultural
aspect.
Number five is the slow traveler.
(09:23):
This is someone who loves totake their time.
They're going to have extendedstays I'm talking several weeks
probably at a time.
They want to have meaningfulconnections with locals.
They're likely going to stayamong the locals as well, and
they're just moving slowly.
(09:43):
They're not rushing to go seethis site or this site, or
jetting off and doing tons ofthings every day.
They're relaxing, they'retaking it easy, they're almost
becoming like the locals intheir travel and staying maybe
in one area for an extendedperiod of time to fully, really
(10:06):
absorb that place and get toknow it, and this is typically
those that you know might be.
You might see a lot of retireesor digital nomads that travel
this way.
Places that are great for thistype of travel there's many, but
one that comes to my mind isthe English countryside.
(10:27):
I just can imagine, you know,just slowly maybe spending
staying in a you know a B&B,possibly, or even renting, since
you're going to have extendedstay.
You might even just rent aplace, a house or apartment, so
that you can stay among thelocals there, a resource that
(10:48):
I'm recommending.
These are folks that I admireand I follow.
They are digital nomads andtheir names are Chris and Steve.
They have a website and theyalso have three books which you
can check out.
It's called eatwalklearncom andtheir books will take you
(11:10):
through, and they also have aYouTube channel.
They have some great resourcesthat help people that maybe want
to become digital nomads, andso they do a lot of slow travel.
They've been all over the world.
Highly recommend grabbing upmaybe one of their books.
Highly recommend grabbing upmaybe one of their books.
(11:33):
If this is the type of travelyou want to do at some point,
grab up one of their books there.
And number six I have a roadtripper, someone who strictly
just loves to get on the road.
They are freedom.
Freedom to them equals openroad, because they have that
flexibility to do what they want, stop when they want, change
(11:53):
their plans on a dime, they lovescenic overlooks and they tend
to be rather flexible in theirplanning and so they just hit
the road, which, again, a roadtrip could be.
More on the budget side, sinceyou are typically you know you
don't have airfare to worryabout, you do have gas and you
(12:19):
can likely stay uh,inexpensively.
Most road trippers do enjoy,you know national parks.
So examples would be the USNational Parks.
We have 63 incredible parks andAustralia has the East Coast,
also great place.
I think Australia in general itwould be a great place to do a
(12:41):
road trip, even from east towest, although there'll be
sections where there's not much.
So that would require someplanning, but road trips can be
tend to be more on the budgetside, but that also depends on,
maybe, where you go, if you'rehaving to rent a vehicle or
(13:01):
using your own.
So, but definitely it equalsfreedom in my mind and resource
a lady who I did have onpreviously on my podcast.
Her name is Beth Bing and shedoes road trips exclusively in
the US, so she's got some goodresources.
I will include her informationin the show notes as well.
(13:24):
So, question is, which one areyou out of all those that I
mentioned, or do you feel likeyou are a combination of some?
Or you ebb and flow, again,like I mentioned, depending on
the season of your life.
And it doesn't mean I need toalso preface this that I want
(13:45):
you to listen to yourpersonality, your personality,
your style, your interest, andnot try to be.
For example, I love watchingChris and Steve and their
nomadic life that they have, andI see many other travel
influencers out there, whetherit's they're doing these luxury
(14:07):
kind of trips or they're doingthe nomadic thing or road
tripping, and and for me it'sall exciting because it's just
travel right and but I have toremind myself that that's that's
them and that I don't want totry to be like them.
I want to be myself.
So I'm encouraging you to figureout what fits your personality,
(14:30):
your interest, best and letyourself be that type of
traveler.
Maybe even consider that, asyou are looking to book your
next travels, keeping that inmind.
You know, maybe you truly are acultural traveler and you just
(14:50):
never had the opportunity to dothat because maybe you've
traveled with other people andthere wasn't that freedom or
availability to do that.
I would encourage you, if that,if that really pulled on your
heart and you're like, yeah,that's me, I really like that
kind of stuff, then maybe planyour next trip based around that
, based around those culturalthings.
(15:11):
Pick a place that offers a lotof that cultural stuff, and I
hope that this helps you fullylive into who you are as a
person and as a traveler and trynot to be like somebody else.
And another example is you know, if you are not a budget
backpacker and you like to havesuitcases when you travel, bring
(15:34):
everything you want.
Kind of traveler, that's okay.
Be that person.
Don't try to get yourself intoa mold.
That's not you.
Be that traveler that fits you.
I encourage you to.
If you have not been followingme on Instagram, go ahead and
join it's solo travel adventures50, and this is where I am
(15:59):
posting my adventures speakingof adventures, because I'm not
just a budget traveler but I dolike adventure as well.
But these are all localadventures that I'm trying to do
and I'm also trying to keep itfairly inexpensive, so some of
these are free events.
Nothing so far has cost me morethan $50.
(16:22):
So kind of keeping it alsobudget friendly, and these are
things that you could even do inyour location or near your
where you live.
So just follow me on Instagramthere.
You could also message methrough Instagram and, as I've
been saying these past few weeks, I encourage you.
Maybe you're still stuck onwhat type of traveler you are.
(16:45):
You want to book a call with meand we can even figure that out
together.
Ladies, go out there and havethat adventure and be yourself.
Have you ever taken a personality test such as the
Myers-Briggs DISC or Enneagram?
Or maybe you remember thoseyears when you had Seventeen
Magazine and you took one ofthose tests inside the magazine
or nowadays, on Facebook, theyhave similar tests, testing
(00:21):
different quizzes, to see whereyou score.
Well, what if you could takeone that determined your travel
style?
I'm Cheryl Esch, your host ofSolo Travel Adventures, and in
today's episode we will look atthe different styles of
travelers out there, and whichone are you.
Maybe you already have a senseof how you like to travel, based
(00:45):
on your personality, maybe whatyou enjoy doing, what your
interests are or your priorities.
But we're going to break downat least these are based on my
observations and others as well.
But I want to impress upon youfirst that you may relate to
more than one of these styles,and then some of them do
(01:08):
crossover.
Keep that in mind and I'llbring that up as I identify each
one.
And secondly, you may find yourstyle of travel changes
depending on your season in yourlife, or it could change if
you're traveling with someoneelse.
Now I don't technically have aquiz for you, but these styles
(01:31):
are again something I'veobserved and others have also
pointed out and identified thesetypes of travelers.
So let's dive right in thatfirst one I identify with.
This one is the budget traveler, or at least I try to in most
seasons of my life.
So this is a person that willstretch the dollar and they
(01:54):
often give up the comforts formore experiences.
They're okay staying in hostelscheaper hotels, camping in
hostels cheaper hotels, campingusing local transportation,
maybe eating street food or evencooking on their own, all to
save money so they canexperience maybe more in their
(02:15):
travels.
And I will.
In each travel style, I willalso identify maybe some ideal
destinations based on thattraveler, and most of them I'm
offering a resource as well,which will also be in the show
notes.
So budget traveler also mightbe somebody who backpacks, you
(02:38):
know, carrying a backpack sothey can move around more freely
.
They might travel by train,even because that's less
expensive, or they might camp.
Camping is also abudget-friendly way to travel.
Some ideal destinations thatare kind of fit with a budget
traveler mentality is Thailandand Vietnam, and that is of
(03:03):
course.
We know that things are lessexpensive there, so your dollar
will go further.
Now that resource this is one Ipersonally use and I love it.
It is the Going app.
So G-O-I-N-G it used to becalled Scott's Cheap Flights and
(03:23):
they send me notices on a dailybasis of cheap flights that are
out there.
You can choose differentairports you want them to send
notices to you and they alsohave an app.
Now in the show notes I alsohave a link which is sort of it
is my affiliate link, so feelfree to click on that, and there
(03:47):
are different levels ofmembership for that to get those
notices.
But great, great, I just I'm.
I get enticed by a lot of thoseemails.
So do be careful with that oryou may find yourself booking
and not being a budget traveleranymore.
So number two is the luxurytraveler.
(04:08):
So this is someone who indulgesin comfort, kind of almost the
complete opposite of that budgettraveler.
They're going to have maybeexclusive locations.
They're looking at five-staraccommodations, top tier service
.
These are typically you'll finda lot of the luxury kind of
(04:29):
trips are part of a package.
They're like an all-inclusive.
It might be an all-inclusiveresort or just an all-inclusive
package where they obviouslythey have the accommodations and
anything else that's needed andthat could be even considered.
Transport might be included inthat as well.
(04:50):
So you could be a luxurytraveler.
If you want to save up yourmoney, say, for example, maybe,
as I said, I'm a budget traveler, but maybe there is this luxury
trip that I am dying to go onand I will admit, one of the
(05:10):
recommended places is someplaceI want to go.
So there may be a time in mylife where I will maybe start to
just save up and save up sothat I can indulge and take this
luxury trip.
So recommended places if youare a luxury traveler and there
are many, these are just a fewis Dubai, very opulent, and an
(05:36):
African safari?
There are some that are reallyluxury and that is a trip I
would love to do.
You know, they put you up inthese beautiful whether they're
kind of like these lodges oryurts that are luxury yurts Okay
, not these budget or, um,outdoor camping type of feeling,
(05:57):
but everything it's.
I've seen some gorgeouspictures, but a resource and
again, there's lots of differentluxury travel agents and travel
groups, but a main resourcethat you could check out, if
this is something you'reinterested in, is it's called
Luxury Travel Magazine andthey're going to have more
(06:19):
resources for you in regards toall things luxury travel.
All right.
So number three adventuretraveler.
Now, I will have to say anadventure traveler crosses over
the lines of it could either bea budget trip or a luxury trip
(06:40):
You'll understand in a momentbut an adventure traveler, they
are a thrill seeker.
They are hiking maybe thoserugged landscapes, they thrive
in nature.
Examples would be maybe a caveexploration like Iceland's
glaciers.
Other examples Antarctica.
(07:02):
That's a huge adventure trip,but that is on sort of the high
end of luxury, uh, price tag Uh,but it is an adventure for sure
.
Um, if you're more into thosehikes, uh, patagonia, uh, places
like that are going to also beconsidered more of that
(07:24):
adventure, uh, traveler trip,and so the budget on those can
traveler trip, and so the budgeton those can fluctuate.
It can be, you know, it couldbe pretty expensive or it could
be on the lower end of a budget,but this person specifically
seeks out adventure, all right.
Number four is your culturaltraveler, and this is for those
(07:48):
who are drawn to history, artand the cultural traditions of
other countries.
They enjoy seeing ancient ruins, going to museums.
They are typically historybuffs.
They will engage with thelocals, immersing firsthand.
A great way to do that is to doa local walking tour, and so my
(08:15):
resource here if you want to doa local walking tour, there's a
great organization it is GreetHer, and that I'll have that in
the show notes but this is anorganization where it's women
only.
So, ladies, you're out theresolo traveling and you want to
do a walking tour?
Um, you want to feel safe andcause sometimes it could just be
(08:38):
you and the guide, and so theseare just women that do these
local walking tours so you canfeel more comfortable.
So some suggested places thathave well, there are tons that
have so much culture out there,but the ones that stand out in
my mind is, of course, italy somuch so much culture and art,
(09:01):
especially art and history there.
Um, france of course, has a lotof history and and Scotland as
well has a lot of history, butyou may find other places that
you are more drawn to that youcan engage in that cultural
aspect.
Number five is the slow traveler.
(09:23):
This is someone who loves totake their time.
They're going to have extendedstays I'm talking several weeks
probably at a time.
They want to have meaningfulconnections with locals.
They're likely going to stayamong the locals as well, and
they're just moving slowly.
(09:43):
They're not rushing to go seethis site or this site, or
jetting off and doing tons ofthings every day.
They're relaxing, they'retaking it easy, they're almost
becoming like the locals intheir travel and staying maybe
in one area for an extendedperiod of time to fully, really
(10:06):
absorb that place and get toknow it, and this is typically
those that you know might be.
You might see a lot of retireesor digital nomads that travel
this way.
Places that are great for thistype of travel there's many, but
one that comes to my mind isthe English countryside.
(10:27):
I just can imagine, you know,just slowly maybe spending
staying in a you know a B&B,possibly, or even renting, since
you're going to have extendedstay.
You might even just rent aplace, a house or apartment, so
that you can stay among thelocals there, a resource that
(10:48):
I'm recommending.
These are folks that I admireand I follow.
They are digital nomads andtheir names are Chris and Steve.
They have a website and theyalso have three books which you
can check out.
It's called eatwalklearncom andtheir books will take you
(11:10):
through, and they also have aYouTube channel.
They have some great resourcesthat help people that maybe want
to become digital nomads, andso they do a lot of slow travel.
They've been all over the world.
Highly recommend grabbing upmaybe one of their books.
Highly recommend grabbing upmaybe one of their books.
(11:33):
If this is the type of travelyou want to do at some point,
grab up one of their books there.
And number six I have a roadtripper, someone who strictly
just loves to get on the road.
They are freedom.
Freedom to them equals openroad, because they have that
flexibility to do what they want, stop when they want, change
(11:53):
their plans on a dime, they lovescenic overlooks and they tend
to be rather flexible in theirplanning and so they just hit
the road, which, again, a roadtrip could be.
More on the budget side, sinceyou are typically you know you
don't have airfare to worryabout, you do have gas and you
(12:19):
can likely stay uh,inexpensively.
Most road trippers do enjoy,you know national parks.
So examples would be the USNational Parks.
We have 63 incredible parks andAustralia has the East Coast,
also great place.
I think Australia in general itwould be a great place to do a
(12:41):
road trip, even from east towest, although there'll be
sections where there's not much.
So that would require someplanning, but road trips can be
tend to be more on the budgetside, but that also depends on,
maybe, where you go, if you'rehaving to rent a vehicle or
(13:01):
using your own.
So, but definitely it equalsfreedom in my mind and resource
a lady who I did have onpreviously on my podcast.
Her name is Beth Bing and shedoes road trips exclusively in
the US, so she's got some goodresources.
I will include her informationin the show notes as well.
(13:24):
So, question is, which one areyou out of all those that I
mentioned, or do you feel likeyou are a combination of some?
Or you ebb and flow, again,like I mentioned, depending on
the season of your life.
And it doesn't mean I need toalso preface this that I want
(13:45):
you to listen to yourpersonality, your personality,
your style, your interest, andnot try to be.
For example, I love watchingChris and Steve and their
nomadic life that they have, andI see many other travel
influencers out there, whetherit's they're doing these luxury
(14:07):
kind of trips or they're doingthe nomadic thing or road
tripping, and and for me it'sall exciting because it's just
travel right and but I have toremind myself that that's that's
them and that I don't want totry to be like them.
I want to be myself.
So I'm encouraging you to figureout what fits your personality,
(14:30):
your interest, best and letyourself be that type of
traveler.
Maybe even consider that, asyou are looking to book your
next travels, keeping that inmind.
You know, maybe you truly are acultural traveler and you just
(14:50):
never had the opportunity to dothat because maybe you've
traveled with other people andthere wasn't that freedom or
availability to do that.
I would encourage you, if that,if that really pulled on your
heart and you're like, yeah,that's me, I really like that
kind of stuff, then maybe planyour next trip based around that
, based around those culturalthings.
(15:11):
Pick a place that offers a lotof that cultural stuff, and I
hope that this helps you fullylive into who you are as a
person and as a traveler and trynot to be like somebody else.
And another example is you know, if you are not a budget
backpacker and you like to havesuitcases when you travel, bring
(15:34):
everything you want.
Kind of traveler, that's okay.
Be that person.
Don't try to get yourself intoa mold.
That's not you.
Be that traveler that fits you.
I encourage you to.
If you have not been followingme on Instagram, go ahead and
join it's solo travel adventures50, and this is where I am
(15:59):
posting my adventures speakingof adventures, because I'm not
just a budget traveler but I dolike adventure as well.
But these are all localadventures that I'm trying to do
and I'm also trying to keep itfairly inexpensive, so some of
these are free events.
Nothing so far has cost me morethan $50.
(16:22):
So kind of keeping it alsobudget friendly, and these are
things that you could even do inyour location or near your
where you live.
So just follow me on Instagramthere.
You could also message methrough Instagram and, as I've
been saying these past few weeks, I encourage you.
Maybe you're still stuck onwhat type of traveler you are.
(16:45):
You want to book a call with meand we can even figure that out
together.
Ladies, go out there and havethat adventure and be yourself.
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