Travel Personality // A Mish Mash

Lately, the post going around blog land is all about travel personalities. As much as I'd love to say that I have one, let's be honest... I don't. I'm a complete mish mash of every personality out there. I'm a little bit adventurous, romantic, intellectual, touristy, wanderer, the list of different types goes on. If I had to sum it all up, I'd say I'm a pretty easygoing traveler. So for today, let's take a deeper look at each of the different personalities and how they make me into a pretty easygoing traveler!

Adventurous

Taking Nick scuba diving for his first time this past spring while in Punta Cana!

I love exploring new places, and ones that are slightly off the beaten path. Even in those places, I like to do interesting things. A great example I can think of is with Nick and I- he loves Cancun (because Cancun really does have everything, and you know what you are getting into every time) while I love exploring new places. As such, on our most recent trip I got to choose the destination- Dominican Republic- while he chose an activity, which was supposed to be snorkeling. After a few brief minutes with the awesome staff of Passion Paradise Adventures, he was quickly convinced to try scuba diving, loved it, and now has joined me on my desire to go shark diving in South Africa or Australia!

Organized

When it comes to traveling, I'm 1000% organized. Prior to leaving the house, I will have made a checklist, made a checklist to remind myself to do everything on that checklist, and made about six revised copies of both said checklists....and this is just when it comes to packing and leaving the house. Throw in trying to plan a trip, and I can be a little bit...

Indecisive

The first time I traveled to Oktoberfest 2 years ago was my brothers choice....but we both loved it
so much we decided to go back with more of our family this past year!

I can never pick a destination. Give me a few options, and I will sort through the pros and cons for several days, to perhaps either add a few more options to the list or finally make a selection. When traveling, I actually prefer if Nick selects the destination (and the hotel!) while I decide on the activities once we are there.

Budget Conscious

We selected Thailand for our honeymoon because
of how cheap the country (overall) is!

I'll be the first to admit, I'm pretty budget conscious when it comes to traveling. I would rather have multiple budget-friendly trips a year than one grand trip per year. As of yet, time has not really been my constraint while traveling- so I've tended to pick countries that have a cheaper daily cost of living (such as my honeymoon in Thailand!) in order to extend my stay. At the same time, I'm certainly willing to splurge on the things that I deem truly necessary...

Classical Dreamer

visited a vineyard in Des Moines prior to heading to Napa Valley!

If you ask Nick, I've been dying to go to Napa Valley, and reminded him of that every chance I have had over the last few years. As such, we will finally be doing that this coming week! The only thing that has really thrown a wrench in our Napa plans over the last several years has been my cheapness. When it comes to more pricey things (like trips to Napa, purchasing new cars, and other expensive things!) I would almost not know how much they cost. For my trip next week though, I'm willing to dole out the dough to have this experience crossed off my bucket list!

I love relaxing...

Taking advantage of the swim-up bar while at the all-inclusive Chic Punta Cana this spring!

Vacations are my off days, and the primary days of the year in which I get to relax with Nick (or my friends and family) without having to worry about nine million things that need to be accomplished. For this type of traveler, all inclusive resorts can be ideal- you get to sit back with unlimited cocktails in your hand, waiting for somebody to cater to your every need. Living my entire life in cooler climates - think Minnesota (-20C) or Sweden (0C) in the winters, the beach is always something that seems to be calling my name for vacations. However, I can never seem to relax, because...

But I hate "sitting still"

Spending an entire day (or more!) laying on the beach is just not me. If I am laying on the beach, I need a book in my hand, music in my ears, somebody to talk to, and a cocktail in my other hand...if not more things to do. While relaxing on vacation is great, I want to explore the new places I am seeing, meet some of the people, and overall just enjoy the new place! After all, if I'm just going to lounge around and not get out, what is the point in even leaving the house? And I'll be honest, writing a travel blog has certainly influenced this travel characteristic of mine. I don't think anyone here is reading my blog to see daily bikini pictures of me while on vacation- I know that's not what I look for when reading blogs- so let's get out and have some great adventures!

Greece, just one of the many places on my list (hint, hint, hubby!)

Overall, if I had to sum all of this up...I'd say that I'm a pretty easygoing traveler. I don't mind handing the reins over and letting somebody else plan the trip, but I also like to participate in the planning at times. I like the old, the new, the relaxing, the adventurous, the cheap, and the expensive. The best quote I can think of for myself when it comes to traveling is "I haven't been everywhere, but it is on my list!" What type of traveler are you?