The Rainbow Of Travelers
There is an argument that not all travelers are made equal. There is a distinction between travelers and tourists, self-proclaimed travelers assert, as they sneer upon innocent tourists who have no idea that they have been allotted a lowly class. You see, tourists are those who room up in hotels with their 20+kg of rolling luggage, get about in high-class coaches and pay at least $15 each for a meal. On the other hand, travelers carry their backpacks from town to town via chicken buses and eat where the locals do.
There are different levels from extreme travelers to hard-core tourists, of course. Here are some I've come up with on the fly. What kind of traveler are you?
The Super Traveler is someone who immerses himself in the culture by taking public transport, eating where and what the locals do, sleeping in cheap hostels or homestays, and befriending the locals. He usually packs minimally and hangs around the same area for long periods, including places off the gringo trail. So he becomes intimately familiar with the towns and lifestyle and speaks the language quite well. He is usually on a tight budget and must sometimes find work to support his travels. Much of the time he is just winging it and doesn't know where or when he will be next.
The Traveler is someone who takes public transport much of the time and eats where and what the locals do, though on occasion will treat himself to familiar food at tourist restaurants. He sleeps in cheap hostels when he can and is not afraid to converse with the locals. He usually packs minimally and takes his time in each place, seeing more than the usual attractions and straying off the beaten path occasionally. He has a general idea where he will be headed next, though he has the freedom to change his mind.
The Super Tourist is someone who usually takes private transport like first class coaches and taxicabs, eats at tourist restaurants and sleeps in popular hostels or cheap hotels. He overpacks a 65+L backpack to own some credibility even though a 20kg suitcase would suit him just as well, and usually only experiences the big attractions of the main towns, especially sampling the night life.
The Tourist is someone who has booked accommodation and transport ahead, stays in hotels or private hostel rooms and, though he eats in tourist restaurants quite a bit, is a little more adventurous in trying the local delicacies. He doesn't travel to many places, preferring instead to concentrate on one or two cities to explore, usually independently or with a couple of short tours.
The Vacationer is someone who has everything planned before they hop on a plane, from hotel bookings to domestic flights and tours. It is all packaged and to an itinerary. He stays in 3+star hotels, eats all meals at the hotel or in nice restaurants and travels exclusively by coach, taxis and hotel shuttles. He doesn't usually see more than a few cities in the trip and flies where there are airports instead of taking long distance coaches. He only sees the biggest and most famous sights, walks around in tour groups, has very little independence and will rarely interact with the locals outside of the souvenir shops. Included in this group is the all-inclusive tourist who travels to a place only to never venture outside the walls of the resort.
I started off as a Super Tourist in this trip, and transformed into a Traveler about two months in, occasionally reaching the coveted status of the Super Traveler but other days dropping back to the expensive creature comforts of the Tourist, depending on my mood and what time I had available. I hadn't realized my growth as a traveler until I was nearly eight months into my trip.
I was in Cuba doing the Super Tourist thing since it was difficult there to have a lot of independence with the little time I had. During the tour of Viñales, I was talking to another tourist about the other places in Cuba I had visited. At the mention of having stayed at casas particulares, suddenly, the half dozen people around me joined the conversation, asking questions about my experiences at non-hotel accommodation options. I answered their queries, realizing just how far I had grown away from the Tourists and Vacationers. I had graduated to bona fide traveler.
There are different levels from extreme travelers to hard-core tourists, of course. Here are some I've come up with on the fly. What kind of traveler are you?
The Super Traveler is someone who immerses himself in the culture by taking public transport, eating where and what the locals do, sleeping in cheap hostels or homestays, and befriending the locals. He usually packs minimally and hangs around the same area for long periods, including places off the gringo trail. So he becomes intimately familiar with the towns and lifestyle and speaks the language quite well. He is usually on a tight budget and must sometimes find work to support his travels. Much of the time he is just winging it and doesn't know where or when he will be next.
The Traveler is someone who takes public transport much of the time and eats where and what the locals do, though on occasion will treat himself to familiar food at tourist restaurants. He sleeps in cheap hostels when he can and is not afraid to converse with the locals. He usually packs minimally and takes his time in each place, seeing more than the usual attractions and straying off the beaten path occasionally. He has a general idea where he will be headed next, though he has the freedom to change his mind.
The Super Tourist is someone who usually takes private transport like first class coaches and taxicabs, eats at tourist restaurants and sleeps in popular hostels or cheap hotels. He overpacks a 65+L backpack to own some credibility even though a 20kg suitcase would suit him just as well, and usually only experiences the big attractions of the main towns, especially sampling the night life.
The Tourist is someone who has booked accommodation and transport ahead, stays in hotels or private hostel rooms and, though he eats in tourist restaurants quite a bit, is a little more adventurous in trying the local delicacies. He doesn't travel to many places, preferring instead to concentrate on one or two cities to explore, usually independently or with a couple of short tours.
The Vacationer is someone who has everything planned before they hop on a plane, from hotel bookings to domestic flights and tours. It is all packaged and to an itinerary. He stays in 3+star hotels, eats all meals at the hotel or in nice restaurants and travels exclusively by coach, taxis and hotel shuttles. He doesn't usually see more than a few cities in the trip and flies where there are airports instead of taking long distance coaches. He only sees the biggest and most famous sights, walks around in tour groups, has very little independence and will rarely interact with the locals outside of the souvenir shops. Included in this group is the all-inclusive tourist who travels to a place only to never venture outside the walls of the resort.
The Traveler I Became
I started off as a Super Tourist in this trip, and transformed into a Traveler about two months in, occasionally reaching the coveted status of the Super Traveler but other days dropping back to the expensive creature comforts of the Tourist, depending on my mood and what time I had available. I hadn't realized my growth as a traveler until I was nearly eight months into my trip.
I was in Cuba doing the Super Tourist thing since it was difficult there to have a lot of independence with the little time I had. During the tour of Viñales, I was talking to another tourist about the other places in Cuba I had visited. At the mention of having stayed at casas particulares, suddenly, the half dozen people around me joined the conversation, asking questions about my experiences at non-hotel accommodation options. I answered their queries, realizing just how far I had grown away from the Tourists and Vacationers. I had graduated to bona fide traveler.
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