I acknowledge that every traveller is an individual with different interests and needs, and we all have a particular style of travelling that is unique to us or our party. A person’s style of travel will influence how long they will require in any particular place. To keep things simple though, I have identified three basic groups of travellers. Each category has their own speed of travelling which I think we can all identify with to some degree or other. I therefore construct a different itinerary for each category. Depending on how long you can afford to spend in each place, you may find your style alternating between the three categories.
Globetrotters
These kind of travellers don’t have much time on their hands because they have a lot of ground to cover. They’re not on holiday, they’re on an adventure! They want to see as much as they can in as little amount of time as possible, as there’s so many more places that they have yet to see and fit in. They need to structure their itinerary rather tightly and are interested in knowing the minimum time frame they’ll need in each place to see all of the main sights and get a basic introduction to the culture. They typically may also be on a fairly tight budget and therefore won’t want to splash out by visiting every museum, gallery and theatre in town.
Vacationers
These travellers have a little bit more time on their hands. They are after all on a holiday. But they don’t have all the time in the world as most vacationers have a job to go back home to. Their priority is to have a good time, to be happy, relax and enjoy their vacation. Time is precious to them, but after seeing most of the essential sights they can afford a little bit more time just to soak up the atmosphere, wonder around, relax at a cafe, get more of a feel for each place and sample the culture before heading off to their next destination.
Culture Buffs
These kinds of travellers arrive at their destination with the intention to satisfy their curiosity in the history and culture of their destination, or perhaps they have a personal interest that they wish to immerse themselves in and diversify their appreciation for, whether that be art, music, festivals, food, etc. Their priority is to learn and be inspired. Perhaps they have a specific interest in the history of their destination and require more time to discover it’s historical significance. Perhaps there is a particular festival they have planned to go to, a particular museum, concert, or sporting event. The culture buffs are typically quite independent, like to take their time and often need to dedicate extra days for the events, museums and places that other travellers may or may not include in their itineraries, or might sample in smaller doses. They might only travel to a very select few places in their trip, or just one, as they want to live, breathe and experience everything that each of their destinations offer.