Claudia’s Travel Style

Dear Lauren,

We recently chatted about traveling around with other people and I mentioned that I find being flexible when traveling with others as being the key to getting along throughout the journey and having fun too. That being said, I am wary about traveling with people who don’t really fit my way of exploring new (or revisited) places. What does that mean? Check out this article to figure out your own travel style.

To give you an idea if we would be a travel match, Dani and I are sharing our travel styles with you. We hope that this will also help you better understand the questions and discover what aspects are most important to you when choosing your next adventure. Like Dani said, personal fulfillment is better found once you really know what is important to you.

1.) How do you prepare for a trip? I am a planner to the point where I like to know where I am sleeping for the next few nights…and maybe how to get there too. If I am traveling with a super-planner I really enjoy that he or she took on the responsibility of making all of those decisions. However, if I am traveling alone my biggest worry is to make sure I inform the people who I want to visit that I am coming and I am happy to build my trip as I go. The main research I do about a city is either asking people before I go or asking google/hosts once I get there. I might miss out on the best restaurant in town, but unless that is really important to my travel buddy, I’m not too fussed.

2.) What kind of tourism do you like to do? I love museums so much that I recently just went to Paris for four days with the intention to spend all of my time in museums. It was a trip planned just for me (read about how I travel alone here)and I was happy to hang out with pictures and sculptures instead of people for a few days. At the same time, if I am traveling with others I keep my museum time light (in my experience it is hard to visit museums in pairs or groups), opting instead for time outdoors, seeing the sights, or just having a beer at a plaza or mirador. If I don’t see the top sights it doesn’t bother me, but if you want to go I am usually in!

3.) Where do you like to stay? I just had my first five-star hotel experience and let me just say―wow! While it was super cool to hang out in a massive bed and take a bath in my huge bathroom, it is not my personal travel style. I am lucky enough to know enough people in different places that most of the time I leave home I can stay with someone I know. I also tend to build my personal traveling around people instead of places (hence the low need to tick off top sights), making it easier to go where I have a couch. I have also been known to use Couchsurfing and don’t mind forking over the money for an Airbnb, hostel, or inexpensive hotel if necessary. However, that usually happens when I am traveling with a friend/to a conference and I have to fit someone else’s plans too.

4.) What do you like to eat and drink? While I love to eat out, I don’t like to do it for three meals a day, for days on end. I actually get tired of eating out and get a lot of pleasure out of making food too. When I am traveling I try to cook at least once for my host (or take him/her/them out). However, I also like to try local cuisine. I would say I am ‘pretty’ adventurous when it comes to food and drink which means I am willing to try most things, but things like pig ears and snails are not something I ever need to eat again.

5.) What is your splurge? Even though I like to eat in, which is usually associated with saving money, my splurge is probably food (a close second being museums)! I love to eat all meals and snacks possible (and even have a drink before dinner if that is on the schedule). I am happy to spend more on good food―both if I am cooking or if we are going out―because it fills me up emotionally as well as physically and makes me smile. I like it even more if I can share it with someone I care about. So let’s eat together sometime!

Sincerely,
Spain