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11 Signs You’re an Experienced Traveler
Would you consider yourself an experienced traveler? You know what I’m talking about. You’re someone who has an unending bucket list, who travels as often and as frequently as they can, who feels at home waking up in a new destination. As an experienced traveler myself, I thought it’d be fun to look at the kind of signs that indicate who we are.
Use this list to play “Put a finger down…” with your fellow traveling friends next time you-all find yourself in one place at the same time!
11 Signs that You’re an Experienced Traveler
1. Your Friends Never Know Where You Are
Have your family and friends joked that they need to put an air tag on you? Whenever you post a story to Instagram or an update to Facebook, do you get at least one comment saying, “Wait, weren’t you just somewhere else?!” Most families and friends of experienced travelers have this ongoing joke – mine included!
2. You Primarily Use a Travel Credit Card
We all use credit cards in our day to day lives, but I’ve noticed experienced travelers tend to have a few of the same ones to maximize their travel points. These are the kind of cards that have no foreign transaction fees, incredible rates for gas, restaurants, and flights, and even have sweet benefits like a free Priority Pass and/or travel reimbursements. There are a few different types, but, let’s be honest, if you haven’t already gotten a Chase Sapphire Reserve card, you’ve been meaning to.
3. You Definitely Have TSA PreCheck or Global Entry
After a few too many times getting stuck in long TSA or customs lines, an experienced traveler finally sits down to fill out their application for TSA PreCheck or Global Entry. Heck, they probably did it as soon as they got the aforementioned credit card, knowing the fee would be reimbursed!
Now they fly through TSA in an entirely separate line and when they’re returning from abroad, they can skip right to the Global Entry kiosks.
4. You Know How to Get through TSA as Fast as Possible
Speaking of TSA, one of the biggest signs someone is an experienced traveler is when they have to go through security. These travelers seemingly glide through, already knowing exactly what to do. Laptops, clear liquids bag, and other electronics are already out and ready to be placed in a bin. Their shoes are easy to slide on and off, and they know to remove belts, jackets, and pocket items as they set up their bins. The only thing that slows them down is if someone in front of them is shuffling around their luggage or they randomly get pulled aside for a pat down.
It’s truly an art form if you ever witness someone do it!
5. You’ve Developed Traditions & Routines Despite the Destination
Because we all crave some sort of stability no matter what lives we choose to lead, the experienced traveler finds theirs in small traditions and routines. Do you frequent the same city year after year and make time to visit your favorite cafe or restaurant while you’re there? Is there a morning or evening routine you stick to regardless of the locale? We all have our little traditions and mine is to bring tea and my tea cup with me wherever I go.
6. You Have a Jet Lag Routine
Speaking of routines, an experienced traveler knows exactly how jet lag affects them and have long since developed a way of dealing with it. Some people give themselves a full day to sleep and reset. Others drop their bags and immediately hit the fitness center or go for a run. Everyone is different and an experienced traveler has figured out what works for them after one too many sudden 3:00 AM starts or 6:00 PM naps.
7. You Know How to Go with the Flow
This is the tell-tale sign of a really experienced traveler. While they are headed in one direction, they are perfectly happy (thrilled even) to end up somewhere else completely. Yes, the pros find their way to travel bliss by inviting chaos and searching out the unexpected. They are masters of traveling “in the moment” and have a sixth sense for how to have a great time in a new land. Follow along, you will learn!
8. You Know How to Take Just Enough
I can spot this type of traveler a mile away. They have the sweet smile and confidence of someone who has packed the right things and just enough for the perfect getaway. They usually have a single carry-on bag and a small single suitcase as opposed to having a suitcase for every day of their trip. They optimize their stuff, minimizing baggage fees. By focusing on efficiency, they take only what they need. What a concept even I haven’t quite mastered yet!
9. You Understand True Value
Experienced travelers learn by repetition. They build skills that help them travel smarter and study their failures to understand how they could have done things differently. What happens as part of this process is that they understand the TRUE value of an experience. What is worth the time, money and effort and what’s not. By being able to place a realistic value on virtually any aspect of travel, they are more successful than most at weeding out the time wasters and money suckers.
10. You Always Have a Plan
Have you ever traveled on a big, expensive vacation and something went horribly wrong? Umm, yes it happens all the time. I’m pretty sure that’s why social media was invented so we could all share our horror stories. This is why you need Mr. or Ms. Experienced Traveler. Why? Because they always have a plan formulated to slay the beast that would ruin most vacations. My plan is clearly written down with phone numbers and contact names to use in case of emergency. Only the strong survive!!
11. You Walk the Walk
Some infrequent travelers talk a good game. You hear about their fantastic deals, first-class upgrades, and how they saw all of Rome in a day. The experienced traveler walks the walk. They take the time to really soak in a new culture so that it almost feels familiar. At some point they’ve picked up a few handy phrases, witnessed a local custom or two, and have enjoyed more than one tiny local spot that’s often left out of travel guides.
How many of these apply to you? Let me know below!
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Probably the one thing that has been most responsible for enriching my travel experiences was learning the Spanish language. Even when traveling in countries where Spanish was not the principal language, invariably I would run into Spanish-speaking tourists wherever I went. Also, Spanish has been a lingua franca that I have been able to use with people from other countries who don’t know English but who know Spanish.
I think it also plays out in the level of need to have everything lined up and in place. My husband is much more of a person who likes to have every detail of a trip planned. But over the last few years, he’s become more comfortable in allowing less schedule and more impromptu decisions. We generally try to book accommodations ahead of time, but having had to make last minute changes on past trips, we’ve both become more confident that we can do it again of needed. So there’s less pressure and stress.
Emphasis has to be on the last tip ” walk the walk”. In this day and age of constant connectivity & self promotion, most people just take selfies & post on fb / instagram throughout the trip such as sunbathing on the beach with tongue-in-cheek captions such as “how’s your Monday”…for whatever lame reason! The whole point of travelling is to savor every moment as an experience and participating in local activities one doesn’t usually do at home – one can’t do this while being constantly instagraming.
Also , savvy travelers know that not all places they go to have efficient forex & credit card facilities , specially the ones off the beaten track. So take enough cash.
Emphasis has to be on the last tip ” walk the walk”. In this day and age of constant connectivity & self promotion, most people just take selfies & post on fb / instagram throughout the trip such as sunbathing on the beach with tongue-in-cheek captions such as “how’s your Monday”…for whatever lame reason! The whole point of travelling is to savor every moment as an experience and participating in local activities one doesn’t usually do at home – one can’t do this while constantly instagraming.
Also , savvy travelers know that not all places they go to have efficient forex & credit card facilities , specially the ones off the beaten track. So take enough cash.
Love your practical approach. The world is filled with opportunities to experience and travel is one way to blend education with adventure, an open mind is required.
And EAT THE FOOD!!!” Not to mention, drink whatever the locals drink and, for God’s sake, don’t ask for a Budweiser. One thing more, be grateful from time to time. When in a foreign land and the restaurant is serving you their local Yak Surprise, thank them for the meal, be effusive how wonderful it was even if it was awful, and use your smile on them. You’ll set foreign relations ahead far more than the morons who ask the local tavern keep for a burger and a Bud.
I believe in balance. For every place I travel, I take with me memories, lessons and connections to new people. But I also try to leave something behind – a contribution to a museum, gallery or charity; a random act of kindness to a stranger, from a stranger from afar; an invite to my homeland to those who have welcomed me to theirs. My hope is that the people I have encountered are as appreciative that I was there as I was to be there.
“Always have a plan”…things going horribly wrong? How does getting on a train in Florence, heading for Genoa, then discovering that back pack you slid off your shoulders on the Florence city bus got left there, and you can’t get back, sound?
It took a couple weeks to find out, with the help of an Italian speaking restaurant manager in Lauterbrunnen , Switzerland, of all places, that it was turned in untouched at the bus lost and found. We had to cut Lauterbrunnen short, take another train back to Florence, and retrieve it before wending our way back through Switzerland and up through Germany and Denmark to land in Norway to visit relatives. Quite the experience, and hopefully I learned my lesson! But the lure of Europe is still strong. We hope to see the Oberammergau Passion Play next year… a once in 10 year event that had gone on for 400 years!
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I do all 11🙂. I really enjoy your shows (and Rick S’s shows). [As fyi, I have a trip planned the end of next month to see Petra, my 7th and last of the 7 new wonders of the world to visit, and visit other historic sites in that region. However, with the 07Oct2023 uprising, I need wait and see if things settle 😕.]
Our family adopted the ‘When you shift from expectation to appreciation your whole life changes’ motto long ago and it helps us go with the flow. Even the best laid plans must pivot sometimes. Thanks for the great post.
I always plan and plan B. By the way. Nice blouse on #10
I know how to ‘go with the flow’. One does not survive and thrive for 9 years in Africa, without that.
I can ‘walk the walk’. Be it Africa or China. Eat the food, with the people. Drink the coffee, beer, wine, tea…. just not the water!
But my last time for international travel was December 2001. Thus, I have no experience with the current B.S. in travel. Nowadays, I’ll make every effort not to fly, but rather drive.
Every unexpected issue that develops, we just say, it’s part of the adventure. Over 15 years ago I took grown children on our last family vacation to Greece. as they were all going off in different directions for work or school. The airlines had a strike and we were in London for 3 days before greeting to Greece. There were other bumps along the way, getting lost at night in Athens, late or canceled ferry boats and missing out on meeting up with our family in Greece. Eventually, we just admitted we were on an adventure more so than a vacation. I think that is when I began to feel like a seasoned traveler.
At ages 75 and 76, my wife and I fully qualify as experienced travelers. We are both very lucky to be married to someone who still enjoys hopping on a plane and going someplace, an activity which fewer and fewer of our peers are willing and able to do. My advice is to travel as much as you can, as soon as you can.