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Types of travel

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Wondering what everyone likes and doesnt like...
11 years ago, December 24th 2012 No: 1 Msg: #164583  
I love reading other peoples blogs especially those to places i want to go or places ive been to see how others did it. These days it is also interesting for me to see how others with toddlers cope and what they get up too. But, i also read some of these and think, wow that is an amazing blog, but i have absolutly no interest in doing what that person just did or seeing what they saw 😊

So i was wondering if youve ever thought of the type of travel that you like to do, or dont like to do?

And i guess more importantly, will you still give it a go? Reply to this

11 years ago, December 24th 2012 No: 2 Msg: #164584  
I live in Perth Australia so i like to go to places that arent like Perth... places that are hectic and cosmopolitan with huge amounts of things to do or places that are tropical and islandish with a relaxing atmostphere. I really like different cultures, learning about new tasty foods, looking at different architecture, seeing what others do, and sometimes a bit of history thrown in to explain why they got to where they are at. And i also love big big cities...where there are pockets of different cultures and soooo many things to do and see from cafes to museums to markets.

But i do know, i am not one for landscapes.... or cold. I will give cold a go (lived in Pennsylvania in snow for two winters) but i think it is more a once every 10 years type of trip going forward. And landscapes, i am happy to go and see something but not matter how i try, my thought is "yep, thats a canyon alright" and i'm happy to move on.

hmmm definitly short attention span for me there but luckily matching the rest of the family 😊 Anyhoo, i know there are definitly people on here who would be the absolute opposite, so just wanted to see how many different types there are out there
tam

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11 years ago, December 24th 2012 No: 3 Msg: #164587  
B Posts: 897
Maybe its a side effect of living in Perth Tam..we need somewhere green every now and then to keep us alive. Im not a big city person, I like islands and peace and quiet...I am also a bit like..Geike Gorge, yep, pretty gorge ok lets go find an ocean. I love cultures, so im never at a ''cultural show'' im off finding some locals to hang with and find the real culture. I would rather be attacked by honeybadgers than spend day after day visiting malls.

I know i dont want to be the person who comes out with..Ive travelled a lot of asia (1 x china 3 day organised tour, 1 x vietnam organised tour for 5 days, 4 day organised tour to HK, 4 drunken yobbo trips to bali)....oh, ive just described a flight centre attendant :p

Off the beaten track is my style I think. Reply to this

11 years ago, December 25th 2012 No: 4 Msg: #164600  
Oh I'm right the opposite Tam! I love new and different landscapes - trees, rocks, birds, dirt, sky, earth. And food. Supermarkets, open air markets, restaurants, cafes, food stalls, street vendors, agricultural areas - love it.

Museums are where I start to lose interest. Especially the "universal" museums that acquire artifacts from other countries. Places like the Louve or Met I can appreciate for their own architectural reasons, but... otherwise I would rather be outside, or at "day-to-day" places.

But to answer you real question: I'll always "give it a go" unless I have a good solid reason why it's a waste of money (ie: eating at a chain restaurant in Times Square). Usually, even the most dully constructed and packaged experience can still tell you things about how a place wants to represent itself (or what the tourism industry believes visitors expect).
[Edited: 2012 Dec 25 01:12 - Stephanie and Andras:35953 ]
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11 years ago, December 25th 2012 No: 5 Msg: #164615  
I love how you refer to your 'short attention span'. I have always felt like this and now I can adequately describe it! At the Grand Canyon, I was happy I saw it but I didn't need to stay for too long. My husband is the complete opposite. He loves the great outdoors, but once I've hiked up the mountain, all I keep thinking about is that I'm going to be seeing the same thing down again! We've been travelling for three months now, with one more to go, and have tried to fit all our interests in (mine, my husbands and my 10 year old daughters). So, our holiday has been full of weird and wonderful sights, sounds and foods. Reply to this

11 years ago, December 27th 2012 No: 6 Msg: #164681  
B Posts: 2,064
I live in the US, so road trips are part of my DNA. I love to pull out a map, find several interesting places, and drive there. I usually have a general location planned beforehand in case I need to prebook accomodation, but I make up the rest on the fly. I tend to travel solo too.

The type of travel I wouldn't like is the opposite, a package tour with a preset itenerary of popular (and always crowded) sites. Reply to this

11 years ago, December 28th 2012 No: 7 Msg: #164728  
Great question Tam,

We like variety. The first decade Dave and I were married we traveled to beaches almost every trip. We loved to dive and time off work meant we would go diving. We were happy.

Then one year we took a trip to England and discovered that we loved that too. We went to the theatre, explored Abbey Road and on that trip we walked and walked and walked and walked. We took a day tour of London and Stonehenge. We headed south to Rye and stayed in an ancient hotel that had charm and history.

Since then we've had a variety of trips and that is best for us.

We didn't think we would like a cruise but we took one in Alaska so we could experience the inside passage along with a 5 day land exploration. It was great. We enjoyed it more than we expected. That was a decade ago and we have not been on another one yet but we were surprised that it was not what we pictured. We would take another cruise.

Dave took me to Peru to celebrate my 50th birthday and we spent more money than usual. In general things are less expensive in South America so we hired a private guide. We enjoyed it and learned a great deal about the people and the country. Since then we have hired guides for three other locations. It is a great way to learn about the country if you have limited time to spend in the location.

Most often we go without any solid plan but a list of options depending on the mood we are in. We like to wing it and explore whatever we find on any given day. We enjoy both mountains and beaches.

Recently, we've been in a couple of locations that had some amazing birds. I'm not sure we will ever become "birders" but birds are amazing and when you get to see the condors flying over the Colca Canyon or the Puffins in the Faroe Islands.

In 2007, on our RTW trip 90% of the accommodations we hostels, guest houses and budget hotels. This year we took an extended trip and our budget allowed us more comfort and only about 15% were guest houses and budget hotels. Our other locations were more moderate.

Variety is our pleasure.

We both love to cook so in the future we plan on renting from homeaway.com and staying in homes or apartments so we have a kitchen available to us. We want to stay longer in each location and do day trips. We look forward to that experience.

We enjoy taking cooking classes when we travel.

We have learned that our pre-conceived notions of what we would and would not like have not always turned about to be accurate.



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11 years ago, January 11th 2013 No: 8 Msg: #165076  
I am in excellent health and make every reasonable effort to stay that way. I like to take long walks in a beautiful place. The part of Texas that my Mother and family lives in (College Station, Texas) has all the essentials for a very comfortable life. Also the cost of living is reasonable. But there is no real scenic beauty or cultural assets. And there is a super abundance of food.
In 2010 I took early retirement. If I stayed home I would just get fatter and fatter since food is always immediately available. I would just eat and work on my computer, or eat while watching TV, or eat while visiting family.
In College Station there are no beautiful places to take a walk. In addition most of the year it is too hot and humid for an enjoyable walk.
So I literally have to travel to save my life. I seek out locations where I can take a walk in a beautiful location where the weather is not hot and humid. As I explore the sites and walks of a new location I get more than enough exercise.
Traveling also helps me keep my mind sharp. Being basically picked up and plopped down into a totally different environment is a great mental exercise. I have to constantly deal with new situations and figure out how to get from here to there at a reasonable cost, and find a place to stay at a reasonable cost. At the end of the day I go over my maps, notes, transportation schedules and routes etc. and organize my thoughts into a coherent Word File. This I copy and paste on emails home, Facebook, and my travel blog. This also provides me with a nice “journal” for later.
Basically it comes down to the old “use it or lose it” so I am sure I will keep on traveling off and on till the day I die, usually going 6 weeks at home and 6 weeks out.
I figure once my mother passes on I will move to the Colorado Springs, Colorado area as it is ideally situated for a good “home base” being centrally located in Colorado with excellent access to some of the most scenic areas in the US such as Colorado, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, etc. as well as near the airline hub city of Denver for flying to places I wish to visit.
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11 years ago, January 17th 2013 No: 9 Msg: #165213  
We seem to do a bit of everything, but we love to go to places with a sea, partially because we love the sea so much, and partially because live inland. We enjoy a bit of relaxation and a bit of travelling, exploring and sightseeing.
We are not so much interested in visiting museums, art galleries, etc., although it sometimes has its place.
I love just walking around a place, whether it be in a city, or in the country, on a beach, and observe the life around that particular area. Strange enough, I also enjoy the odd meander in a supermarket, to see what is available in other countries, regarding food, supplies, etc.

What we haven't done is travel in extremely cold, snow conditions - probably because we are not used to that and not sure if we would be able to cope. We also tend to travel in a country when it is heading towards warmer weather.

Wherever we are we try to make the best of that country and its people. Reply to this

11 years ago, January 17th 2013 No: 10 Msg: #165216  

In response to: Msg #165213

You might want to plan one cold weather trip to try something new and get you out of your comfort zone. You might find you love it. You could see the Northern lights or the polar bears.

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11 years ago, January 19th 2013 No: 11 Msg: #165270  

In response to: Msg #165216 That's certainly on my wish list. Would also love to do a cruise to the Antartica, but not sure if the roaring forties would agree with me! Two other things on my wish list is cruising through the fjords in New Zealand and Norway (I suppose the latter would fall under your Northern lights suggestion!) So many things I would still love to see, but will probably have to wait for Paul to retire, and hopefully our money won't run out!! Reply to this

11 years ago, January 23rd 2013 No: 12 Msg: #165417  

In response to: Msg #164584

Hi,
I have a option for you. You can choose India . Very Best for Cultural and more religious various Festivals,villages and Modern India You can See ,Like Adventure Tourism, Beaches, Medical Tourism,Fun And Even More... Reply to this

11 years ago, March 8th 2013 No: 13 Msg: #167137  
B Posts: 11
i enjoy diversity as well, actually looking to travel to India soon. but i can't be bothered anymore organizing everything myself. used to be a hardcore backpacker but i'm older and don't have so much time, also don't want to do India by myself as a girl... i'd like to be taken care of but don't like large tour groups. and finding a local operator can be a hassle.
Roger Binny: you have any suggestion of a small tour operator i could use in India? i'd have 2-3 weeks... thanks 😊 Reply to this

11 years ago, March 12th 2013 No: 14 Msg: #167234  
B Posts: 1,309

In response to: Msg #167137

Hi Delfin, we travel with Intrepid Travel and love their trips and general travel ethos, however there are many others to choose from as well. From conversations I've had with other travellers Peregrine, Gecko and Gap are a few others that also offer good diverse trips through India.

The definition of 'small group' can vary from 5 to 21 depending on the company, so I would check that; also check the inclusions in the trip notes as they tend to be more specific than in the general marketing blurb for each trip.

Looking forward to your blogs from India 😊 Reply to this

11 years ago, March 18th 2013 No: 15 Msg: #167500  
Ren and Drew,

The only trip we have been a part of a tour group was when we were doing the land portion of a trip in Alaska. We rode the bus with about 60 people for about two hours. It was a very nice presentation.

We prefer to travel with friends or alone and generally travel independently. Although in recent years our finances have allowed us to hire private guides in a few countries like Peru, Nepal, Bhutan (no one has a choice), Burma and Iceland. I love having a private guide. We have learned so much for the experiences.

I have friends who have traveled with Rick Steves, Elderhostel, Gap and a couple of others. They always seem pleased with their trips. I enjoyed reading all of these postings and like William's philosophy.
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