We all seek to get away from our day to day lives for different reasons, but whatever the reason may be, travel can be one of the most enriching experiences. Traveling often speaks to us in ways we could never imagine, but we all have a unique travel style that truly tells the story of what makes us happy when we see the world. Take the quiz to find out what your travel language is!
WHILE THE QUIZ MAY GIVE YOU A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF YOUR TRAVEL LANGUAGE, HERE ARE THE FULL DESCRIPTIONS FOR THE FIVE TRAVEL LANGUAGES.
IMMERSION
Travel speaks to you through deep mental involvement.
For those whose travel language is spoken with Immersion, your goal with a getaway is to fully become one with a destination. You’re very likely to extensively research a place beforehand, pack a lot of books to bring with you and to return with even more, because you're rarely finished with a place when you return home. You don’t need a guide book because you’ve already memorized three of them. When you’re actually there, you are up at the crack of dawn to start soaking up anything and everything you can about the local culture. You spend more time speaking to the locals than you do to with other travelers. You love the idea of staying with a host family, or spending a day doing something uniquely traditional. In fact, you try to avoid everything you can that could possibly expose you as a tourist. You’re first in line for cooking classes, museums, and anything that feeds the student inside of you. You gain from experiences by becoming the experience. A weekend trip is often too short for you, as you never feel like you’ve gotten a true taste of a place in such a short time. As a traveler, you spend more time in slow motion, resting up and absorbing the heart and vibe of a place. You only include the nightlife in your trip if it’s something the locals consider important.
Your ideal travel partner is someone who will balance your love of being true to a destination’s roots with their penchant for adventure and spontaneity.
EXPLORATION
Travel speaks to you through adventure and discovery.
Not one to sit idly on the beach and read, you think of vacation as a time to rediscover your playful side—bungee jumping, skiing, ATVs in the desert, or even trying out that zip line are all up your alley. The world is your oyster… but you’ll only take it with a hit of hot sauce!
You don’t care for the tourist trail at all. When you step foot in a new place, you are keen to explore everything it has to offer. You don’t want a vacation – you want an adventure. You can often be found hiking up active volcanoes, running with the bulls, and jumping at the chance to camp somewhere in the deep unknown. With Exploration as your travel language, you enjoy a certain amount of freedom, and tend to spend time moving around place to place slowly, seeking out its hidden, lesser known treasures. The action of traveling in or through an unfamiliar area in order to learn about it excites you. You tend to appreciate everything as it comes to you. Friends and family often shy away from traveling with you, as you don’t plan much of your trip. You have a general idea of where you want to stay and what you want to see, but you often tell people you’ll “figure it out when you get there.” Once you’re there, you spend time speaking to other travelers and locals always asking questions that allow you to find the best way of getting to your next destination. You are not concerned with the type of lodging you’ll have, and have no qualms with resting your bones at a hostel or budget hotel after a long day. You tend to spend at least a week when you head somewhere, but can find the adrenaline in blowing your way through a town in a weekend with no room for anything that won’t cause your heart to skip a beat. You’re fulfilled when you return home, but you’re already planning your next trip. As it turns out, that bite you got during your trek in the Amazon was actually the travel bug!
Your ideal travel partner is someone who is up for the challenge and excited by spur of the moment thrill-seeking. Essentially, another you.
STIMULATION
Travel speaks to you through the senses.
You’ll travel to Belgium just for a waffle, to Colombia for the coffee, and Mexico for the tacos. Your trip to Iceland was fueled by a curiosity to find out how a dip in the Blue Lagoon would make your skin feel. You vividly remember the fragrant smell of the spices and oils from your stroll in the souks of Dubai, and recalling the sounds of the nightly rains in Costa Rica often ease you to into slumber. You are more concerned with sensory defined experiences, and this is often how you frame your travel memories when you share with your friends and family. Your photos are filled with shots that evoke a spark of the senses and your friends always seek advice from you before they take a trip to figure out where the best restaurants are.
You tend to spend no more than 5 days in a place, as that’s often all you need to feel satisfied with a getaway. You almost aways book the room with a view and leave the curtains open so that the sights and sounds wake you in the morning.
Your ideal travel partner is someone who is adventurous, as they will help you out in two ways; by convincing you to try things you’d never think of to truly stimulate the senses, making sure you burn calories through physical activities, such as hiking, wind-surfing, or a run with the bulls.
REFLECTION
Travel speaks to you by allowing you to speak to yourself.
You take a minimalist approach to travel. If it doesn’t fit in your backpack, you don’t need it. Rarely do you take a trip for social purposes. Group trips and activities tend to bore and annoy you. You’d much rather listen to the waves crash as you dive into the next chapter of your current self-help book. You’re more interested in collecting peace, not things. When planning your trip, you seek therapeutic lodging, such as desert spas, small boutique hotels on tranquil waters, and options with soothing views and the sound of nature. When you land, you don’t take your phone out of airplane mode. Your parents freak out if you don’t check in back home every few days, but your trips are for the preservation of you. Friends and family get really pissed when you return home with less than ten pictures from your trip to Bali, and none of the souvenirs they asked for. Often, no one knows you’ve gone somewhere until you return, because your Facebook & Instagram pages are void of any evidence of you being away. The escapist in you drives your travel choices. You seek places that are known for clearing the mind and aligning the chakras.
Solo travel always works best for you, because you don’t have to worry about adhering to anyone’s schedule but your own. There is no ideal amount of time for your getaways, and you often book a one-way flight, because you’re staying away until you’ve found your zen, whether it takes a day or a month.
Your ideal travel partner is no one, and you like it that way. At most, you’ll consider taking the significant other, but no one else.
INCLUSION
Travel only speaks to you, when you can have others in on the conversation.
You’re either the meticulous planner or the tag-along who only agrees to a trip once you know there’s a set itinerary. You tend to seek out touristy locales, and that’s perfectly fine, as they generally go over well with groups. Although the package holiday is sometimes looked down upon by hardcore travelers, there is nothing wrong with wanting to spend your hard earned vacation time on a sunny beach partying with friends and family. Learning a lot about another culture or getting to know the locals ranks low on your list. It’s all about having the time of your life in paradise! Your major concern is whether everyone is having a good time. It doesn’t matter where, just as long as those around you are happy. You tend to enjoy destination weddings, amusement parks, and booze cruises, as these places are prime for laughter and joy.
Your vacations are always a socially shared experience. The first thing you do when you land is post a selfie on Instagram from the baggage claim. From then on, your friends and family that didn’t make it won’t know the difference, because your posts on social media will let them know every single thing you did. And when you get home, everyone gets a souvenir from you; the entire team at work, the mailman, and the guy at Starbucks that never charges you for the extra shot of expresso. It’s just in your nature to want to include everyone on your vacations and it’s also why you’re never short on invites to take a group trip somewhere!
You often stay at all-inclusive resorts and large chain hotels because they are designed to entertain large groups. You’ve taken trips where you’ve had no interest in leaving the hotel you booked because they supplied all of the food and activities you needed for a good time. Your travel is often centered around annual family trips to the same location.
When you arrive back home you’ll breathe a sigh of relief as you curl up in your own bed and breathe in the familiarity, but completely fulfilled as you’ve gotten memories that’ll last you forever. You utilize holiday weekends often for vacation time because you know that’s when most are available. Three days of vacation is the minimum for you, but you often shoot for at least a week.
Your ideal travel partners are your family, your college buddies, and several sets of other couples, as you enjoy the ability to share the experience with others.
