Are you thinking about traveling the world? Do you want to travel the world as like an adventurer, not a run-of-the-mill tourist? This blog is to help you understand if adventure travel is right for you.
You're sick of your job, routine, and feeling generally unfulfilled by life. The old remedies like exercise, a drink, and a little extra rest aren't helping anymore either. And in your search for a better life you've theorized that traveling the world might be the best path to recovering a sense of enjoyment or meaning in day-to-day living.
But pulling the trigger on such a big trip is difficult- there are so many moving parts, so many risks, and so much to leave behind. Because of the pressure to maintain a secure, familiar life, the dream of travel seems far, far away. This blog is to give guidance on what to expect, and important questions to ask yourself for anyone thinking about taking the leap of faith to travel the world.
Is Adventure Travel What I really Want?
When you think of travel, what do you picture?
I picture myself in an adventure defined by self-growth, meeting new people, and satiating curiosities about the natural world. Anthropology, philosophy, and geography are my defining lenses for adventure travel (Indiana Jones may or may not be a personal hero).
These are my motives and while a perfect set of motives may not exist, there are some motives that can be warning signs you don't necessarily want the traveling experience of a minimalist backpacker. Read the following bullet points, then answer them to see if Adventure Travel is right for you.
Travel is often perceived as an escape. The same way people use alcohol to forget about problems, some travelers are running from a person or memory or responsibility. Consider what your true motives are. Do you want to escape reality, or do you want to have an adventure that changes your perception of reality? Adventure travel is meant to make you confront reality and make peace, not run from problems (unless the problem is a wild animal).
Many photos and videos paint travel as something glamorous and exotic; but have you ever heard of Paris Syndrome? Some travelers approach their journies with an expectation that it will change your life completely, the same way a 20% increase in your IQ might. But, sorry to tell you, travel will, at best, bestow upon you greater wisdom, and through wisdom comes transformation. Ask yourself: "Do I have realistic expectations for travel?" Remember, you'll get out of travel what you put in, things inevitably go wrong, and you'll need to deal with problems yourself. Travel is no fairy tale.
An Adventure Saga is different from vacationing. Both are traveling in the sense you go somewhere other than where you live, but different from one another in the sense that vacation's theme is relaxation by the water, mountains, or spa, while Adventure Travel's is personal growth from exposure to novel situations. If you just want a vacation, Adventure Travel might be too much for you. If you want immersion in nature, authentic experiences with locals, and an opportunity to change your paradigm about life and wellness, Adventure Travel is ideal. The important question: do I want a vacation or an adventure?
Am I Ready to Travel?
Psychologically: This is the big question "Am I ready to leave home, go somewhere foreign, and take care of yourself without the creature comforts I'm accustomed to?" This means saying goodbye (temporarily) to the familiarity of your bed, friends, and family. In return, you get the excitement of foreign cities and cultures, a constant stream of new people to know and learn about, as well as a a deeper connection with yourself.
If leaving those behind makes you nervous, that's OK & natural because leaving the place you know to confront the unknown can be stressful. Addressing the psychological strain of travel is as simple as acknowledging and accepting travel will test you, then taking in stride each obstacle. If you're mature enough to accept the discomfort as necessary and provocative of growth, you're probably ready to travel. From a psychological standpoint.
Physically: How's your health? Be honest with yourself, because you're the one who will suffer most if you plan poorly in relation to health. If you have chronic conditions, illness, or injury, you need to be prepared to care for yourself as a responsible adult- that means having stable supplies of a medication you might need, the correct supplements, and supportive braces/walking shoes.
Also, if you're intending to climb mountains, exert yourself physically, or expose yourself to nature's elements, train first. Take seriously your conditioning or suffer the debilitating consequences of fatigue. Not everyone needs fitness as a precursor to adventure, but if you plan on hiking, going to high altitudes, or partaking in sports, physicality is important.
Financially: Whether or not you like it, the world runs on money. You need it for food, shelter, and transportation (in many cases). You need to be financially secure to embark on Adventure Travel, but financial security doesn't necessarily mean you have an income. Rather, it means you've budgeted your time and money to ensure your expenses are covered for a certain time period, and that once the time elapses, you'll still have enough to reboot a sedentary style of life.
Other financial considerations should be travel credit cards with 0 foreign transaction fees and either cashback or miles, and effective systems to obtain cash. For the credit card, there are SO MANY accounts and blogs that will walk you through the best cards- or you can opt for a prepaid card.
Some cards, like Charles Schwab, will even reimburse atm fees. Other services, like Remitly, allow you to send large sums of money to yourself sometimes at no cost, but always at a great exchange rate. If you sign up with my link, we'll both get $25 upon your first successful transaction.
Remember: Just because you're not ready to adventure travel this precise instant, that doesn't mean you won't be ready in the future. Deciding you'll venture out into the unknown will require preparations like building a healthy mentality, being strong enough to handle the physical stress of exploring, and having your finances in order.
Preparations take time, so retaining a positive outlook while working towards your life-transforming trip is essential to morale. You may not have satisfied all conditions indicative of travel readiness, but that doesn't mean you can't work towards them in getting ready for a future trip.
Will I lose all the Stuff I Can't Take with me?
Stuff is a source of simultaneous distress and comfort. People love stuff, but suffer when their things are disorganized, endangered or ruined, and taken away from them.
"Stuff" is an umbrella term for personal belongings like clothing, electronics, and accessories, but also applies to things like an apartment lease, a car, and anything generally that you can't take with you traveling. This section is especially important to people considering longer term travel like a gap year.
If the sanctity of your "stuff" is of concern, then plan ahead to obtain a storage unit or coordinate family/friends to take your stuff while you're away. This way, you can travel with peace of mind. Or, just continue paying rent on an apartment and don't move your stuff--but this is not financially savvy.
Residences: sublease or rent your home, find a house sitter, sell your place, or leave once contractual obligations are fulfilled and travel with one less expense. Figuring out what to do with living space before a departure if often the most anxiety producing step of traveling. Just keep calm and execute whatever option is best for you! I recomend the storage unit option, or giving belongings to friends.
Cars: sell your car or wait for the lease to expire. This is simpler because because you can cancel insurance and save yourself the effort of organizing safe keeping for a big, expensive item. You could probably find some longer term storage for a car and pay for it, or you could give your car to someone else. Either way, just acknowledge the higher likelihood of car damage or engine rot upon your return, and evaluate if those risks outweigh your attachment or need to immediately have a car upon return.
Miscellaneous "stuff" & belongings: get a storage unit/give to a friend, sell things on Facebook-Marketplace/eBay, or throw it away. Many people end up doing a mixture of all three options. If you sit down and go through all your belongings, you might even find that you've been living in excess and gain satisfaction from all the discarding.
On a side note, when you come back from adventure backpacking, you'll find the high volume of possessions overwhelming.
Jobs: For many people, leaving work might be the most difficult in terms of behavior. What to do with all this free time? How do I relate to the world not through work? If you're ready to answer these questions via experimentation, adventure travel is right for you because the only deadlines in travel are nightfall and transportation departures!
If you're on good terms with your parents or family members and they have room, you can also leave some of your belongings at their residences. I've met people who give their family cars, boxes, furniture, and pretty much everything they need to restart a life in their home country. And this alternative is probably free!
Why You Should Embark on Adventure Travel
Adventure Travel is a life-changing journey that few people in the world ever experience fully. Exposing yourself to novel situations while traveling gives you no option other than to grow as a person into a more collected, serene version of yourself. So if being a better, more collected version of yourself isn't enough evidence to sway you, here are three more points to consider.
A few different beneficial aspects of the Adventure Travel experience are:
Awe, an inspirational force that reminds you of your own smallness. Usually experienced in nature while looking at something gigantic or old, this sensation helps people put into perspective their lives, revealing many worries to be minor whereas before they seemed major.
Transformation, the changing of your paradigm into something you couldn't previously imagine was possible. This is an internal, mystical experience unique to each individual. Improved gratitude, present-ness, and courage are some possible transformations of paradigm!
Fortitude, for the adventure trail is not a place for the weak; you'll become stronger, mentally and physically, if you go on an adventure. Fortitude is the result of you interacting more genuinely with your environment.
If developing yourself in the direction of Awe, openness to transformation, and fortitude appeal to you, adventure travel is the best way to capitalize!
So what are you waiting for? Start your saga today!-- I can help.
If you really want the experience of traveling, but are still on the fence about it being a good match, consider investing in yourself via enrollment in the Mental Sweat Official Mini-Course designed to make you travel-ready. The 4 lessons are filmed in exotic locations in South America, and you'll learn more about the patented Mental Sweat Official "Adventure Saga" style of traveling.