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There are lots of ways that you can travel, and I think that most if not all ways of traveling are fine, if that’s what you want to do. Generally speaking, I am a fan of the philosophy of “you travel how you want, and you let me travel how I want

(SEE ALSO: I have 2 rules of traveling (for when things go wrong))

Today I wanted to talk a little bit about what I am calling “busy” travel and “relaxing” travel, and make a case for each one and mention which type of travel I usually end up doing. Of course, you travel however you want 🙂

a man running on a sidewalk

The Case For “Busy” Travel

My son and I recently got back from a pretty fast-paced trip around the world using Aeroplan miles. We spent a day in Egypt, a few days at Universal Studios Japan, a day in Tokyo and a lot of (business class) flying.

two men standing next to a stone wall

I totally get that this kind of fast-paced travel is not for everyone. While flying business class (and therefore being able to sleep on the plane) makes it a bit more manageable, I can see how traveling like this might make you super tired and not be able to relax or enjoy your trip.

For me, I think the benefit is just being able to see more things. That is something that I value in traveling, but I understand that’s not everyone’s bag. For this particular trip, it came down to what my son wanted (since this was more of a trip for him). When I asked him whether he would rather spend more time in Japan or be able to see more places like Egypt and Abu Dhabi, he chose the latter.

The Case For “Relaxing” Travel

The other side of the coin is more “relaxing” travel. I’m sure any traveler has been in a situation where you get back home from a vacation and you realize that you need a vacation from your vacation. Sometimes, it’s just nice to sit at the beach and relax (though it does help if your beach bench is not at a huge angle)

a man sitting on a bench in the sand

As I mentioned earlier, I don’t often travel like this, but we have done a few trips like this where it was more relaxing. Earlier this year, we went to Hawaii for 10 days as a family and half of our time was spent in a “2 bedroom” condo right on the beach in Maui. It was fun to just relax and do whatever we wanted. Though I will say that at least for me personally, after a few days of this, I was itching to actually DO something 🙂

The Bottom Line – Which One Do You Prefer?

I can see pros and cons to both busy and relaxing travel, and I think you can decide for yourself as to which one works best for you. But above all, let other people travel how they want and don’t judge them or tell them that they “should” travel differently.

Do you prefer busy travel or relaxing travel? Leave your thoughts in the comments below


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