Types of Travel
1. The Weekend Break
So you love to travel, but you also love your 9-5 job and you don’t want to give it all up to travel around the world for 6 months? Don’t worry, you can still travel by taking short weekend getaways. Look for cheap airfare deals, fly out on Friday evening and return on Sunday and make the most of the short time you have.
The ultimate expert on this is Justin from 48 Hour Adventure. He is an Australian living in London and working in IT and he spends his weekends jetting off to different destinations throughout Europe. Check out his fantastic blog for 48 hour guides to lots of different cities.
2. The Package Holiday
The beauty of a package holiday is that all the work is done for you. You simply pick which beautiful beach you would like to be lounging on and your travel agent will make sure that everything is arranged so that your hardest decision is whether to order a Pina Colada or a Margarita from your sun lounger.
Although the package holiday is sometimes looked down upon by hardcore backpackers, there is nothing wrong with wanted to spend your hard earned two weeks holiday on a sunny beach partying with friends and family.
This is not one of the types of travel where you learn a lot about another culture or get to know the locals. It’s all about spending a week or two having the time of your life in paradise!
3. The Group Tour
Group tours can describe busloads of 20-year-olds who want to drink and party to groups of 80 year olds who want to visit historical monuments and everything in between. No matter what your interest, from art history to ghosts to cheese-making to fishing, there is a group tour out there for you. Your itinerary is usually packed with many different activities so you will never be bored.
The advantage of a group tour is that you will be automatically thrown into the mix with a lot of people who share your interests and you will probably make some new friends. However, some people just can’t stand the thought of having all of their activities laid out for them and prefer the freedom of independent travel.
4. The Caravan/RV Road Trip
Buckle your seat-belt, put on some great tunes and hit the open road for a road trip!
When you own a caravan you will always have the option for a cheap holiday and whenever you get a free weekend you can pack up and drive somewhere new. This is a great way to explore the natural beauty that lies close to home and is also one of the most child friendly types of travel.
5. Volunteer Travel
Whether you are helping to build a school in Africa, volunteering on an organic farm in Italy or working in an orphanage in Cambodia, volunteering around the world is another one of the popular types of travel.
While volunteering can be an incredibly rewarding experience, it’s important to know that your efforts are really adding value to the community that you are visiting. Read this interesting piece about “Voluntourism” by one of our guest authors for a more in depth perspective on this.
6. Long Term Slow Travel
This describes the style of travel that Lee and I do most of the time. Long term slow travel is when you take several months or years to make your way around the world, staying in each location for long enough to really soak up the culture.
Long term travelers are often budget backpackers, trying to make their travel fund stretch for as long as possible by staying in hostels and looking for cheap food and attractions. Rather than other short term types of travel, long term travel often becomes more of a lifestyle choice.
Sometimes these types of travel experiences are funded by savings, or sometimes long term travel can be funded by working on the road.
To find out more, check out our post Is Long Term Travel For You?
7. The Gap Year
A Gap Year is when you take a year off usually to work, volunteer or study in another country.
When you hear the words “Gap Year” you might think of a University student trekking around before they join the “real world”. However, there is no reason why you can’t take a “Gap Year” and travel at any point in your career no matter how old you are.
A Gap Year trip isn’t as much about what you do on your trip, it’s the fact that you are traveling for a longer period of time that differentiates it from other types of travel.
Obtaining a working holiday visa is a great way to spend a Gap Year because you will be able to earn money while abroad in order to fund your travels. Here are some great resources if you want to learn more about working holiday resources.
8. Visiting Friends or Relatives
Another one of the many types of travel is when you go to visit friends and family who live abroad. Because you have someone to stay with, you can probably afford to stay a longer than you could otherwise.
Your friends and family abroad are always offering for you to stay. So, why not take them up on the offer? Plus, the more you travel the more great people you meet around the world. You’ll start to have many options for where to stay.
You’ll get the insider perspective on the culture that comes with staying with a local. The only downside is when you are a guest in someone’s home you won’t always have the freedom to explore on your own.
9. Event Travel
This is when you travel to a destination specifically to attend an event. For example, it might be the Olympics, the World Cup, the Full Moon Party or Rio Carnaval. It might also include attending a music festival or following your favorite band around on tour.
Plus, you’ll be visiting alongside thousands of people who share the same interest as you. You’re sure to make new friends!
10. Business Travel
The best thing about traveling for business is that usually your company is footing the bill. Being paid to fly first class and stay in luxurious hotels is a great way to see the world.
You won’t have a choice of where you go and you will be spending a lot of your time working. However, getting paid to travel rather than being stuck in a cubicle is still pretty great. You may consider adding on an extra day to your trip at your own expense. That way, you can spend more time exploring the city and combine your business trip with a mini-vacation.