Mastering the art of travel
How to do it with confidence and flair.
Travel is an art, not a science. Read enough columns, and you might think being the world’s smartest traveler is a paint-by-number proposition, an easy formula you can follow.
But as you start planning your summer trips, maybe it’s worth asking if there’s more to it than just buying a manual or clicking on a blog or even reading the most popular travel column in American journalism.
Perhaps the ability to be a good traveler can be inherited from one of your parents. Consider the DRD4-7R gene, sometimes referred to as the “wanderlust gene.” Curio Collection by Hilton recently tested 30 frequent traveling social media influencers for the gene to evaluate the role curiosity plays in travel and found nine of them had the
DRD4-7R allele — about 11⁄ times the na
2 tional average.
Alas, no Hilton employee pushed a cotton swab into my hand and asked for a sample, even though I’m on the road
365 days out of the year. Maybe it’s because being a consumer advocate makes me something of an anti-influencer. Oh, well.
So what’s the art of travel? And how do you master it? It all comes down to understanding the purpose of travel, knowing the right people and processes and having a productive attitude, experts say.
It helps to know why we travel, says Thomas Swick, author of the book The Joys of Travel. He breaks it down into fundamental pleasures that include anticipation, movement, break from routine, novelty and discovery.
“It opens people’s eyes to the real reasons they travel,” he says. “I think (it) helps them make of it a kind of art.”
That art also is about harmony, notes Jacob Marek, founder of IntroverTravels, a travel agency. “It means that all of the moving parts work in tandem and that moments of serenity are punctuated with those that thrill, surprise and delight,” he says.
It could be a coincidence, but Virtuoso, the agency consortium with which he’s affiliated, professes to specialize in the art of travel. At least that’s what its agents claim in their email signatures. I asked a Virtuoso representative what it meant by that, and not surprisingly, her answer involved consulting a travel agent. I should have seen that coming. But there’s more.
“It means living every moment to the fullest while traveling, following passions and growing as a person and traveler, courtesy of the new experiences you’re enjoying,” Virtuoso spokeswoman Misty Belles told me.
Point taken. You need to know why you travel and how. A competent agent can certainly help. If you don’t hire a pro, make sure you’re a meticulous planner.
“A little bit of planning and prep goes a long way,” explains Erik Hastings, who hosts the syndicated radio show Erik The Travel Guy.
It’s the little details that set the Rembrandts apart from the Bob Rosses of travel: Did you leave a copy of your important travel docs with a friend? Do you have a recent color photo with you? Will your cellphone work where you are going? Did you make a “before I leave the house” checklist and follow it? That’s expert stuff.
Attitude matters, too.
“Be humble — and curious,” Town & Country magazine travel editor Klara Glowczewska advises. “No, you cannot have researched everything before ar-
On Travel
riving. The world is not yet, thankfully, an open book. It has mysteries. Be open to them.”
By being “open,” she means doing something on the spur of the moment — “something you never imagined yourself doing. Go out of your comfort zone. Ask questions, talk to people, don’t commune only with your device,” she says.
Christopher Elliott is a consumer advocate. Contact him at chris@elliott.org or visit elliott.org.