After discussing travel planning, vacation recaps, and itinerary help with many, I’ve found that there are 4 distinct types of vacationers out there. Not one is better or worse, since in the end you are taking a break from the mundane and getting to relax, explore and eat your way through a new or familiar retreat.
We as humans innately love to categorize ourselves into buckets. So here is what I’ve found to be the unprofessional guide to the “Myers–Briggs” of traveler personalities, broken out into 2 categories or 4 personality types.
How one actually spends time on vacation is broken up into 2 groups of people:
Planner – An itinerary creator (loose or detailed) because who wants to work on vacation?
OR
Spontaneous – Fly by the seat of your pants type of crowd. Will have fun no matter what.
Early – They may get upset when hotels can only book rooms up to a year in advance.
OR
Late – The later the better. Who has time to think in advance about disengaging?
Now let’s look at each. Can you identify your type/s?
PE – The PE (my type,) loves to get every second of their time away planned out so that there are no regrets. That does not mean that the vacation is planned far in advance however. An PE likes to know what could happen each day, however the thrill of finding last minute deals, destinations and escapes is the main driver of the trip. A wander the city or free day may be a large part of the itinerary. Doesn’t matter how fast or slow paced the vacation is as long as there is a plan in stone or loosely set in advance.
PL – Like the PE, this traveler personality type loves to get each detail ironed out. However the more in advance the better for this type A organized traveler! They want to review and research each and every option as soon as possible. Having a vacation or 2 set up a year out is ideal. Costs are more likely to be minimized, and options on hotels, activities, flights and transportation are abundant looking this far in advance.
SE – This type of vacationer is the most rare but they do exist! The SE want to know well in advance where there are going and lock in where they will be spending each overnight accommodation at. The basics must be thought out since they have busy lives and many weekends accounted for. However once the SE is on the plane that is as far as the planning goes. The day to day on vacation is unknown. They take things as they come – dinner reservations, outings, activities – all these can be thought of the day before. If something is booked? Oh well they have a nice comfortable accommodation that was booked at a great rate a year ago so no problem!
SL – You know an SL when you speak to one. They are notorious for living each day as it comes and planning is not part of their DNA. The SL is a spontaneous, free-spirited, open minded traveler. This is a must when vacation plans are booked like brunch plans next weekend. This type of traveler does not purposefully vacation for the destination, swanky hotel pool, or must see ticketed entry (although if they are lucky enough to snag a hot ticket item all the better!) SL’s travel for the sake of visiting a new destination, meeting fellow tourists, and taking advantage of the unknown.
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