8 Types of travelers you meet on the road…
(…and some stereotypes that are kinda true)
Traveling opens the door to countless experiences, and when you travel long enough, you start noticing patterns among fellow adventurers. Sure, there are amazing, kind-hearted people everywhere, but there are also obnoxious, judgemental, and loud people everywhere, too.
Some of these stereotypes are more true than we'd like to admit, and I’ve encountered enough of them to start recognizing these familiar types. Let’s dive into some fun (and perhaps a little snarky) generalizations of the most common types of travelers you’ll meet on your journeys.
1. The hippie nomad: searching for enlightenment... or escaping something?
You’ve probably met the ‘hippie nomad’—the backpacker who’s on a spiritual journey, always seeking new cultures, experiences, and self-enlightenment (all worthy endeavors, I think). They’re on a quest to ‘find themselves,’ often abandoning conventional living to roam the world. However, while their pursuit of knowledge is admirable, it often feels like they’re running away from something.
Hippie nomad-types book one-way flights, traveling until their visas (or funds) run out. Whether hitchhiking along the Silk Road or sleeping in squats and seeking out the locals for chats, they usually avoid tourist traps and activities. I met one such traveler on what turned out to be a very touristy trip to the Sahara desert.
We wanted to see the desert on our last visit to Morocco but didn’t have a lot of time or money left. The riad we were staying in arranged for us a naff, one-night package tour that included the eight-hour car ride to and from Fes to the very edge of the Sahara, accommodation in a blazingly hot tent, a dodgy dinner of what I’m pretty sure was camel meat, and a brief camel ride on a cranky, overworked beast for a photo op, all for about £125 ($160). (The best part of the trip was actually chatting with the other passengers on the long car journey).
One of our fellow tourists was a harem-trousered Australian school teacher who said she’d always been drawn to Morocco and was there to ‘find herself’. She planned to stay at least a few months, and exclaimed several times to our good-natured Moroccan driver, ‘you’re so lucky. Your country is so beautiful!’ By the time we were heading back to Fes the next morning, she’d collected the phone numbers of at least two of our ‘Berber’ tour guides (which I found surprising—I just assumed they were too busy herding flocks in the desert to carry around cell phones) and I got the distinct feeling she was fulfilling her own sort of ‘Eat, Pray, Love’-type quest.
2. The smug Canadian: proud to be different
The first time I traveled abroad I was on a solo backpacking trip around Western Europe, and was curious as to why every Canadian traveler I encountered had a Canadian flag patch sewn on their rucksacks. I spotted loads of them in the six weeks I was on the road—in groups on the train and in the museums, everywhere, Canadian flags on bags and shirts. It was obvious they were trying to separate themselves from their American counterparts, announcing to everyone that they are from the ‘nicest’ country on the planet. And Canada does have much to be proud of: socialized healthcare, legalized marijuana, and lower rates of gun violence than the U.S.
I spent a day touring London with a friendly Canadian medical student and jovial Australian I’d met in the hostel that morning; the medical student admitted that his mom had insisted he sew the flag on his backpack so he wouldn’t be mistaken for American.
I’ve encountered several Canadians since who were affronted upon being mistaken for American during introductions. Conversely, my upstate New York accent has been mistaken for Canadian plenty of times. But I’m less bothered.
3. The apologetic American: trying to make amends
Much like the Canadians who don’t want to be mistaken for their southern neighbours, these apologetic Americans don’t want to be known as Americans either. Deeply embarrassed by America’s international image, they go out of their way to apologize for the actions of the U.S., from politics to foreign policy.
Keen to distinguish themselves from their loud, obnoxious compatriots (more on that lot later), the apologentsia think everyone is judging them for where they’re from, and feel the need to atone for American politics and foreign policy to everyone they encounter. There’s a sense of shame when interacting with people from other countries, and they often go the extra mile to prove they’re not like the ‘loud Americans’ found in tourist destinations.
I was one of these types myself on that first backpacking trip. I felt like I had to be some sort of ambassador for my country, to prove my broad-mindedness and support for diplomacy, and that I was against American imperialism and overreach. Time and a bit of wisdom since has somewhat helped me make peace with some of my uneasy feelings about my roots. I’ve gained some perspective. Most countries have something shameful or brutal or colonial in their past, when one really examines history. Individuals should never be held responsible for the policy decisions of their respective countries—we can’t control where we’re born any more than we can control what color hair we’re born with. Indeed, most travelers seek to expand themselves through travel, so it seems silly to paint everyone from any particular country (especially one as physically massive as America), with the same brush. The key is to engage, learn, and leave the judgment aside.
4. The digital nomad: full-time traveler, part-time worker
A popular travel persona among millennials and Gen Z, digital nomad-types combine the best of both worlds—work and wanderlust. From coworking spaces in Bali to cafes in Mexico City, digital nomads are typically freelance workers or entrepreneurs who embrace a life of travel while earning from the road. They can be found typing away in local cafes during the day and trying to land local ladies in the clubs at night.
Usually originating from large cities like L.A. and NYC, they don’t have much use for their countrymen, and absolutely do not want to be lumped in with them. They regard other traveling Americans as an embarrassment, and avoid the ‘tourist trap’ crowd at every opportunity. These types tend to travel light, but have all the best, most expensive gear. Prepared for everything, they are unflappable and unimpressed. They’re proud to tell you they had to have pages added to their passports to accommodate all the stamps, and that they’re on their way to the Full Moon Party on Koh Phangan.
5. The aspiring influencer: all about that perfect shot
If you’ve traveled in the past few years, you’ve likely encountered the aspiring influencer—glued to their phone, snapping kissy-faced selfies and documenting every moment for Instagram. They’re the ones who make sure their every meal, sunset, and cultural experience gets posted online for their followers to see. Usually accompanied by some kind of friend/boyfriend/photographer/assistant, they can often be spotted trekking to tourist sites in silk maxi dresses to get the perfect shot.
In principal, I don’t have a problem with the influencers—different strokes for different folks. The only time they grate on me is when stopping lines of fellow tourists in inconvenient locations to take an endless string of photos, or when dousing themselves with noxious perfumes before the plane lands.
6. The condescending Continental: Europe knows best
The condescending Continental is a traveler from Western Europe who, much like the smug Canadian, has a generally low opinion of those ‘less cultured’ Americans and a tendency to generalize (sort of like how I’m doing here.) They feel morally, culturally, and intellectually superior, and are pleased to remind Americans of this at any opportunity.
My first encounter with a condescending Continental was an outspoken Swiss woman, Daniela, who I met at a hostel in Nice. We proceeded to travel together for three days, touring Monaco and the south of France, during which time she subjected me to various lectures on how all Americans were fat, intellectually lazy, and did not travel. And that we did not have a culture. (The irony of saying this to a traveling and curious American, having never been to the U.S. herself, escaped her.)
Had I been a bit bolder back then, I might’ve explained to Daniela that:
most Americans only have two weeks vacation per year; and
the sheer size of the landmass and exorbitant cost of flights often precludes many who might otherwise travel.
America does indeed have a distinct culture. That culture may include crappy McDonald’s food and manufactured Hollywood tripe and a shameful history of slavery, but it also includes jazz and fierce self-determination and an exciting mix of all the cultures that make up the melting pot that is America.
I tolerated her lectures because it was a mutually beneficial situation: she spoke French, Spanish, German and English fluently, and passable Italian. And she wanted a companion to travel with and rant to. We found our way around effortlessly because she loved to stop and talk to EVERYONE to get directions. She was an entertaining, if not at times annoying, travel companion.
7. The loud American: the one you can’t miss
Aaaaaaannnnddd…. these folks are precisely the reason that everyone else looks down on Americans. Whether on a train, at a museum, or in a cafe, you’ll hear them before you see them. Travel seems more like a tick-box exercise for the loud American-type, a manic tour of the top sites so they can crow about it online. It’s the kind of behavior that reinforces every stereotype about Americans abroad.
These brash tourists think the U.S. is the height of civilization, and that they are endlessly fascinating to others. They dominate the conversation with tales of where they are from, their favorite television shows, and their opinions on anything and everything you never wanted to know. Terminally uncurious, they don’t stop to actually admire the view or the art, or to learn about other cultures—except in the context of how it compares to their own. They never ask you about yourself or where you’re from, but they assume you know how important the U.S. is.
On my first trip to Prague, I rolled into the train station bleary-eyed from my overnight train from Amsterdam. I wanted to keep my itinerary loose, so I hadn’t booked accommodation ahead of time. But I soon found that no hostels were available: it was a local holiday weekend, and everything was booked. Luckily, there was a group of five other (boisterous) Americans that had arrived at the train station in the same predicament, so we pooled our money to get a large hotel suite together for the night.
I traveled with them for the first day, but wanted to crawl under the table when they declared over lunch that Prague was, ‘like, a third-world country or something’ and talked to our server like some kind of serf. I was grateful to have met them, but I booked a hostel bed of my own to go my own way as soon as I could.
8. The noisy, drunken group of lads: the party travelers
Whether it's a group of college students celebrating spring break or a bachelor party on a weekend getaway, this group is hard to ignore. They can be found singing raucously, swigging beer, and just generally carrying on, usually in an enclosed space like a train car, where escape is impossible. And from my experience, no one country seems to have a monopoly on this type of traveler: Germans, Bulgarians, Danes, Spaniards, Turks, Brits… all can be a boisterous bunch when beer and travel, (and typically football or a stag do) are involved.
These jolly types can be good fun if the conditions are right: who could begrudge the pure joy on a drunken 19-year-old’s crimson face as he experiences his first Czech lager or after his footie team’s miraculous victory? But it can also get old quickly when you just want to be left alone to read or listen to headphones or enjoy the countryside from your train window.
Conclusion: every traveler brings something unique
Whether you're a solo adventurer, a digital nomad, or an influencer capturing your every moment, there's no shortage of personalities you’ll encounter on your travels. The world is full of diverse individuals, and while some of these traveler types may drive you crazy, they each offer something unique to the travel experience. Embrace the differences, learn from them, and keep exploring!
So, have you met any of these traveler types on your journey? Or did I miss any? Drop a comment below and let me know!