BWT Adventure Guides: How to Decide on the Travel Adventure That’s Right for You

Adventure is a State of Mind

This article is a part of the BWT Adventure Guide series. The BWT Guides are designed to provide a quick and easy overview of information found on the Brave Wise Traveler website. They can be used as a guide in and of themselves. Or if you come across a topic and want to dive in deeper, there are links to articles that will help you to do just that. Hopefully this guide helps you to become a more confident and knowledgeable traveler – a Brave Wise Traveler!

Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life.

Steve Jobs

Understanding Your Travel Motivation

• Identify your travel goals
  • Identify and build on your inspiration
  • Pinpoint what you want to do (regardless of what others tell you to do)
  • Decide if you’ll take a Bucket List vs Quest approach

• Identify the types of experiences you want to have
  • Urban versus nature
  • Historical
  • Special interest, such as photography or genealogy
  • Getting to know one place well or seeing lots of places
  • Activity level and pace
  • Someplace new or someplace familiar
  • How far from home do you want to travel?
  • Popular versus “off the beaten path”

Develop a Plan

• Decide your travel planning approach
  • Guided tours
  • Independent travel
  • Mixed approach
  • Safety and health concerns

• Consider time and money limitations
  • Clarify your financial budget
  • Determine how much time you have available
• Decide what time of year you want to travel

Post-Mortem

• Consider changes you want to make from previous travel experiences
  • Your evolving preferences and style
  • Learning from past experiences

Pro Tip: Although the internet is a wonderful source of travel information, take time to visit a bookstore or library to find a guidebook about the area you plan to visit. Books tend to provide more detailed and in-depth information than most articles on the internet. They also often provide very thorough overviews of areas if you are trying to develop a general plan for your travel adventures before developing your daily itinerary.

In summary, knowing why you want to visit an area or plan to do a certain thing can help you to clarify your plans in achieving it. If you need to adjust your plans due to time or financial concerns, focusing on your why will also help you to make changes that will still result in a travel adventure you enjoy.

Sandi McCoy Kramos Clinical Psychologist

Sandi McCoy Kramos is a licensed clinical psychologist with a doctorate from the University of Virginia and over 30 years of experience as a therapist. She is also a lifelong traveler with years of experience planning and implementing individual travel adventures for herself and family and friends. When asked why she started this blog, Sandi said, "Over the years I've realized that when people say they want to travel but don't actually do it, it's often their own insecurities and lack of knowledge that get in the way. I want to give individuals the knowledge they need to actually make their travel dreams come true."

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