Are you a traveler or a tourist?

A “traveler” and a “tourist” are just titles that we give to people who travel. At the end of the day both had the courage to book a ticket and step outside their comfort zone. Some would even have the nerve to say that a traveller is a ‘pretentious tourist’. Regardless, we can’t deny that there are some fairly major differences that distinguish a traveller from a tourist.

1. Planning.

When it comes to planning, a tourist has almost everything planned. Be it the places or the hotel, all is considered in advance.

On the contrary, a traveler has almost nothing planned. It is in the nature of travelers to plunge in the element of surprise and uncertainty. Exploring alone without any agency or someone’s help is key for a traveler.

2. Connection with the locals.

Tourists roughly connect with locals due to many reasons. The main reason is the places they visit which are practically touristic–which means they are abundant in foreigners but deficient in locals.

The secondary reason is their lack of interest to actually meet locals–mainly because they don’t have enough time; they rather focus on the places and the history of the country than its people.

While tourists merely meet locals, travelers’ utmost interest is connecting with them. First they have enough time and second it is part of the whole traveling experience.

Somehow, travelers will need locals along their way and this in return will indirectly allow them to meet them. Being sort of nomads and far from planning, they need to ask about certain locations, transportation means and guest houses. And who does it better than a local?

3. Tourist places.

Tourists visit touristic places due to their cultural value. Since they don’t have enough time to explore all the country’s pivotal point attractions, they choose the ones with the most historical significance.

Travelers mainly stay away from those typical places as they love to visit locations not really explored.

4. Immersing in the culture.

Tourists try to immerse in the country’s culture as much as they can with the amount of time they have. They do it out of experience and curiosity.

Travelers do it out of experience and curiosity as well yet they love to delve in it more as it becomes an inherent part of them. It isn’t just an experience that passes by for travelers.

Whether the food, the language, the lifestyle or the clothes which locals wear, travelers become part of the culture even after leaving the country.

5. Goals are different.

As I mentioned above, both travelers and tourists book a ticket to travel to a different time zone; this, is solely fantastic. But each one of them is doing it for different purposes.

This point in fact, depends on the person. But mainly, everyone needs to travel to have some sort of an escape, to experience being alive again and to taste irreplaceable freedom.

Tourists travel and do experience the above yet as soon as the vacation is over they get back to the life they had before getting on the plane.

Travelers on the other hand not only experience escape, life and freedom, but they use it in order to change their life. Most of them do not get back to the life they lived before; there will be major altering in their lifestyles.

6. Time traveled.

Tourists usually have little time when abroad. It can range from seven to 20 days. They can’t travel more than this duration in one single month as they have jobs and responsibilities to get back to.

Travelers don’t set time for their trips. They can range from weeks to months without any specific date to return.

7. The look tells a lot.

You can always differentiate a traveler from a tourist.

Tourists usually dress the way they do in their hometown. You see them holding cameras, guides and maps. And more obviously they are rarely alone; usually with groups or at least with three other persons.

Travelers most of the time dress more loosely than tourists and mostly like locals. They never rely on guides and rarely on maps; their best guide are the locals. Few are the travelers who travel in large groups as they don’t deal with any agencies. They either go alone or with one or two individuals who fit into their lifestyle.

After all, you are the only one who can decide whether you wish to be a traveler or a tourist. Either way, it doesn’t really matter as long as travel brings you happiness and change.

At the end of the day, those who travel aren’t seeking to arrive at a particular destination somewhere in the world; their only true destination is inner transformation and peace.

This article can also be found on Backpackr.