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As you probably know very well, every person is different, with his or her unique set of characteristics. Therefore, it only makes sense that people have various ways to travel.

There is no right or wrong way, it is just different preferences that determine how you enjoy to travel. 

Why is it important to talk about it? 

Because your travel style has a direct impact on your wallet while traveling. 

Have you ever thought about it?

Your preferences will impact directly how much money you’ll need to travel the world, be it of a short while or a longer time. 

The good news is that unlike your personal traits. Your travel preferences have evolved according to what you are used to. And you can consciously force to change them if you wanted to.  

In this post, we’ll map out the key travel styles that influence your expenses. Below are the different preferences you should consider when setting your budget. Lonely Planet has a nice article about how to budget for a big trip. 

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Which kind of traveller are you? Your travel type has a significant impact on your travel budget. There are 3 main aspects to consider when planning a long term travel budget. You travel habits and travel preferences influence your daily travel cost and expenses. If you understand yourself better as traveller, you can plan your travel budget smarter and save money!

 

Glamorous vs. Penny-pinching traveller

Are you ok with flying with moderate leg space, or do you need to stretch out your joints the entire time? Is a 5 star hotel compulsory or will a hostel bunk bed do for the night?

Travelling luxury or budget will obviously impact your world trip financial plan. It is important to consciously set yourself the right expectations ahead of your world trip, and be aware of the costs involved for the various options. 

For long term travel, the question is really how much comfort are you willing to sacrifice? Are you ok with a shared bathroom or do you always need a private bathroom? Are you willing to spend more time on the way somewhere to save or do you want to get to your destination as fast as possible?

As much as these are mere travel preferences, they are actually adopted based on your personality. 

Let’s face it, some of us can endure more discomfort than others. Nobody will complain about additional comfort and luxury, but everyone has their limits when it comes to diminishing comfort. 

Travel is meant to be a pleasant experience, therefore you should decide on where you draw the line between tolerable and intolerable ways of travel. 

As mentioned, travel preferences are spin offs from our personality, so don’t feel guilty for needing more luxury than other travellers. You should be happy and enjoy traveling.

Slow paced travel vs. Fast paced travel

This is a topic that you might often hear long term travellers talk about. It is the speed in which you move around from one destination to the next.

Slow paced travellers prefer to stay in one location for a long period of time and experience it unhurriedly. While on the other hand, fast paced travellers prefer the “veni, vidi, vici” (I came, I saw, I conquered) approach. You arrive in a destination with a list of things to do and see, you tick them off within a few days, or even hours, and you move on to the next one. 

Slow paced travellers could easily spend a month at a single location, while fast paced travellers stay a few days at most, depending on the location. 

Being slow paced or fast paced is highly dependent on your personality. 

Are you someone that needs action all the time? Do you get bored from a routine? Then fast paced travel is more likely to be your preference. 

If you prefer taking time to do things, and the journey is more important than the destination for you, then you are more of a slow paced traveller.

Of course, you might also be somewhere in between, and like both fast and slow paced travel under different circumstances during your trip. Nonetheless, you will still have a preference for one over the other. 

Now you must be thinking, this is interesting, but why is this important for my travel budget?

The more you move around between places, the more expensive your trip is likely to be. Transportation is one of the biggest expenses of travellers. The less you plan to move, the lower your overall travel budget will be. 

FOMO vs. JOMO traveller

We’ll keep this one short and crisp, as we have already discussed the topic of Fear Of Missing Out and Joy Of Missing Out in another post. 

Do you need to visit every site in your destination or are you ok with visiting two of the ten sites?

Are you the kind of person that cannot avoid a single attraction at your destination just because someone mentioned it or you read it in a travel blog? Then you are a FOMO traveller that will need loads of money for getting to all those sites and paying for entrance fees, tours, etc.

On the other hand, you might be the kind of traveller that likes to take it easy and enjoy the moment, rather than fearing that your trip wouldn’t be complete because of a certain waterfall that you didn’t make it to. Then you are a JOMO traveller, and you will spend less of your travel cash on attractions and sightseeing trips. 

Your travel preference and your wallet

Your travel preferences are a combination of your subconscious and conscious mind at work. Choices you make are, to a certain extent, directly linked to your personality traits. 

Being aware of how you like to travel will help you determine your travel budget ahead of your trip. Considering your comfort level, pace of travel, and goals are three key determinants of your travel budget plan. 

Take these things into consideration when planning your trip to avoid an expensive surprise later. If you are travelling with a partner, make sure that your preferences are aligned and you know where each of you will be willing to compensate. 

The most important thing is that there is no right or wrong preference, just like choosing between the colors yellow and blue – they’re equally good choices. 

You should travel in the way that makes the trip most enjoyable to you.