The socialite, the explorer, the lounger

Writing this on the back of my recent trip in July 2023

One of the things I wanted to do better is understand the different ways I can go on holiday. I think there are 3 modes of holidays. I’ll frame them as 3 travel archetypes.

The socialite

I lead with this simply because this how I spent most of my time on this trip. This involves going on holiday somewhere where you know people. Essentially, I see it as a catch up with friends and family in the area. Reminiscing about the past, understanding the present, and exploring possible futures.

The explorer

The explorer goes somewhere to do something that can only be done there. Sightseeing. Mountaineering. Deep sea diving. I think this archetype covers the broadest spectrum. Everything from classic tourism to going on adventures. Meeting new people falls under this category.

The lounger

The lounger wants to relax. Spa days, staycations, beach tans. An emphasis on doing as little as possible. Unwinding and disconnecting.

A few notes on these holiday archetypes:

1. For how I envision these archetypes, each holiday can have a combination of any or all archetypes, or focus solely on one.
2. I think it will be helpful for me to plan future trips along the lines of these archetypes. It can help set expectations for what I aim to get out of the trip. And will allow me to adopt the best ‘regret-minimisation’ mechanism. For example, my recent trip was primarily skewed towards the socialite. With that expectation in mind, I was happy to overlook many of the traditional ‘tourist to -dos’ in the area, as I felt I was meeting my primary purpose. If I placed heavier emphasis on being an explorer, I would be somewhat disappointed in this trip as I mainly went from restaurant to bar to restaurant to catch up over dinner. For example, I missed an affordable talk from a YouTuber I follow. Didn't feel much regret. (Obviously we can plan trips to maximise more than one archetype. Something I’ll definitely consider for future holidays.).
3. How does this extend to travel companions? I think it is essential to have a conversation about holiday archetypes with travel buddies. Frustration tends to boil from a discrepancy between expectations and reality. If we’re not on the same page about how you and I want the trip to play out, things could be less fun for at least one of us.

Bonus archetype: The simulator

Strictly speaking I don’t believe this is a holiday archetype per se. But if we treat holidays* as a broad concept of taking time off our regularly scheduled lives, then this fits into the explorer archetype. The simulator experiences a different lifestyle for a period of time. Consider this a trial run of a new way of living, before committing to it. Covered in the highly recommended book The Pathless Path.

*A friend offered another perspective. Instead of needing to take time off from our regularly scheduled lives, why not structure a life where regular breaks to 'escape' are not necessary? Reflections for another time