Experiential Travel 101
Posted on 24 February 2009 by Natalie
Read with a slight attitude: Forget that! How about, what did you experience? Who did you meet?
While developing a sustainable nomadic lifestyle, it is important to both Justin and myself not to get lost in the sea of tourists. We attempt to approach our travel with a distinct understanding that “tourism” is not our intended goal. Investing time into experiential travel is one method we utilize to enrich the nomadic experience. Adapting our way of thinking to experiential travel has been, and continues to be, a process. Experiential travel requires a conscious effort to move past merely observing something to a place where experiencing something is possible. Bungee jumping and other adrenaline junkie sports, despite Justin’s many persuasive attempts, is not experiential travel. It’s adventure travel. I like adventure travel, I would just rather learn a skill than gain a temporary adrenaline high. If I can do both at the same time, bring it!
While living in Wellington, we signed up for and completed a SCUBA diving class. I can’t say it was easy. We had to go to class, take notes, read the textbook, pass the written exam, and demonstrate our practical skills both in the pool and the ocean. The Discovery Channel makes diving appear simple, as if all a person needs to know about diving is how to take pictures of exotic fish. I guess its a bit unfair to bag on the Discovery Channel though, taking pictures of exotic fish is way sexier than learning about decompression injuries. Diving is complicated. In fact, I still have water in my right ear.
I suppose that’s an element of experiential travel. It’s not supposed to be easy, or, for that matter, completely enjoyable. Breathing salt water through your nostrils, 6 meters below the surface is actually more painful that breaking my nose while running into a wall at full speed. Trust me. However, if I wasn’t up for a challenge, I wouldn’t have gotten into a wet suit in the first place. While traveling, many days can be filled with visiting monuments and famous places (while taking pictures like a Japanese tour group), but that’s not why I’m living out of a backpack. I like monuments and famous places but travel is more about culture and experiences than national propaganda and photo ops.
Hello world, I’m Natalie and I want to experience you!
I believe Ariel, in Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” sings it best, “I want to be where the people are, I want to see, want to see them dancing.”
And incase you didn’t understand, diving is not as easy as our carrot top mermaid makes underwater adventure look. But the fins do help and I feel amazingly victorious that I completed the class. Now I am an, SSI certified Open Water Diver. It means I can dive to a depth of 30 meters (100 feet), although I’m not planning on going that deep quite yet. I’ll work up to it. Which is one of the greatest elements of experiential travel. You always have more to build up to, higher goals to reach, and a new mission to obtain.
- Find an SSI dealer near you.
- Inquire about when the next ‘Open Water Dive’ certification course will be held.
- Show up for all classes and try your best. Hopefully, you too can become certified and be my new dive buddy. Sorry, Justin you swim too fast. I want a new dive buddy who wants to swim slow and look at everything.
Diving is experiential travel for me, because I will be able to experience new environments all around the world, while I also aim to further my knowledge and abilities. Experiential travel can bring a whole new level of excitement to travel. Maybe you like going on cruise ships. Have you ever asked to interview the captain? Or asked to get a tour of the kitchen? Or a sneak peak at the staff living quarters? Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? This is just a small example of taking your next vacation, trip or holiday to the next level.
However, breaking away from the mainstream travel industry to a world of experiences is not the easiest thing to do. Look for the cooking class, the eco-tour, equestrian riding, performance sailing, or the opportunity to go SnowCat skiing. Be creative and experience something you are not sure you will enjoy. You may be surprised!
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Hi, I see the world like you do, and like you, am an experiential traveller. In fact, I am trying to take this forward, and bring it to other people who can also enjoy the joys of experiential travel through my company Gypsyfeet travels. We are trying to put in as many aspects of experiential travelling as we can into our trips, and would love your input in this.
Thanks for posting about experiential travel. I had been searching for the term to describe what I’d like to do and recently found it coined as such. I am planning to explore experiential travel on my blog, and your post here has helped me.
Thanks!
Great site – glad to see travelers looking for that desire to connect with the places they visit and the cultures that they engage. I think the more that travelers look for this authenticity the greater the changes that will occur in local tourism products and services. GMIST recognizes the need to help operators and communities change their philosophies as well towards greater connection through experiential travel. Keep on Experiencing!
Keith that is really exciting that you are heading out into the world for some experiential travel.
One form of experiential travel I would love to take part in is “Vineyard” life. Living on a vineyard, learning about how the grapes are grown, harvested, and how quality wine is produced. If I ever return to New Zealand, I would love to contact Te Mata, Neudorf, or another amazing vineyard to see if they would invite me to learn about “Vineyard” life.
Yeah Jonathan, I love how you say, “to connect with the places they visit”. I used to be satisfied with a DK travel book, a few days in a place, and the memories to take home.
After a bit of experiential travel I don’t think I will ever be satisfied with a few snapshots and a postcard ever again.
Hi,great site. Thanks for sharing your experience on experiential travel. Being a part of the culture and the place you are visiting is primarily what’s traveling is all about.
Cheers!!