“I have wandered all my life, and I have also traveled; the difference between the two being this, that we wander for distraction, but we travel for fulfillment.” - Hiliare Belloc

Introduction:

During a person's life, they can be five types of travelers.  Since I've traveled through all of them, let me give you a little bit of explanation. 

Traveler 1: Young Traveler 

Young or young-and-in-love is the first traveling experience a person can have.  This stage occurs between graduating high school and when you have your first child.  During this phase, it's all about excitement, entertainment, and enjoying all the fun that you can have traveling to as many places as possible on your limited days off.  My husband and I went through this stage from the age of 23 to 30.  During this time, it was about how we get to a beach and where we are going to find the best bars and dance clubs. Our trips were not glamorous, but they were full of life, excitement, and laughs. 

Traveler 2: Family Travelers, Especially with Young Kids 

These travelers have an overabundance of stress and amazing memories bundled into each trip.  Do you think that young parents are tired at home? Try taking a six-month-old on a 36-hour plane trip to Malaysia.  This is the time of life when adults look haphazard, frazzled, and just plain worn out. All you must do is look at a parent at Disney World with 4-year-olds or on a long airplane trip, and you can see in their eyes they're not sure this was the best choice to travel. When they returned home, they were more exhausted than when they left, but the memories they made when their child saw the ocean or tasted snow for the first time were worth all the discomfort of traveling as a family.  

Traveler 3:  Empty Nester Traveler 

This stage of travel begins the moment the last child leaves your house. It is exciting to be an empty nester. You feel alive again, and travel makes this stage in life even more exciting.   There's no more having to think about having two double beds in a hotel room or whether your child will enjoy doing this or that activity.  It's now just about you and your partner. All the mischief and fun you want to experience again, just at a little bit slower pace than when you were a couple of decades younger but with the bonus on a larger bank account. For us, it was the amazing trip to Amsterdam, where we experienced the tulips at Keukenhof Gardens and the fantastic food of the red-light district, that we truly began feeling like empty nesters. 

Traveler 4: Caregiver Traveler 

Being a caregiver to elderly parents or a disabled child while traveling is a challenging but truly rewarding experience.  As a traveling caregiver, you know that the trips are not about you but about your loved one. The trip is about allowing your elderly family member or disabled child to experience those places they've dreamed about all their lives.   Many times, these trips have to be pre-planned extensively to the most minute details because of mental or mobility issues.   Every detail must be thought through, whether your parent is going to be able to walk on that cobblestone street, if your child can get up the stairs for that ride, or if an activity is going to be too chaotic and noisy for your loved one.  These trips are very important to caregivers.  Always in the back of their mind is knowing that this may be the last time your loved one can travel.   This may be the last time they get to experience someplace new, and this might be the last major time you get to make memories with them. 

Traveler 5: Solo Traveler 

This type of travel can fall anywhere between all the rest of them at any point in someone’s life.  A solo traveler can be someone young, just out of college, and backpacking across Asia. A solo traveler may also be an empty nester that is tired of taking care of everyone else, including their partner, and just wants to feel truly free.  You may also become a solo traveler after a trauma such as a divorce or the death of your partner.  During this type of trip, the experiences are all about you, the places you've always dreamed of going to, and the things you want to do. It is about personal growth and healing.  Solo travel is about embracing the quiet moments and truly becoming centered and at peace with yourself.    

Each of these stages of travel shares one common theme: the need to see and experience more of the world. Each time is a chance to create memories for yourself or with the ones you love. Doesn’t that sound amazing? 

I love sending postcards home. During my Travels, I send a postcard home every day to one lucky person. Click the link below, and you might receive a postcard from my next adventure.

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