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Call it being a travel addict, call it wanderlust or the travel bug. It doesn't matter.
You know you have it when much of your time is spent dreaming about or planning your next trip
My personal word of choice is wanderlust; it even sounds magical, rolling off my tongue like a whisper from far away. I lust after it, I want to wander the world on a magic carpet, guided by stardust... but I'll settle for boarding a plane.
Wanderlust comes from the German 'desire to wander', and the Urban Dictionary defines it as:
Does this sound familiar?
Some of us are born with the travel bug, others will suddenly become travel addicts later in life, and yet others will nurture their wanderlust and watch it grow.
When I read James Michener's The Drifters so many years ago, all I could think of was Mozambique (it took 30 years but I got there).
If and when it strikes, wanderlust, like an addiction, can be difficult to dislodge. It will insinuate itself into your dreams and take the shape of faraway places. It will sear visions into your mind, visions of places you have yet to see. It will, often, make you wish you were anywhere but where you are, now.
In fact, it is, in many ways, similar to a real addiction.
It turns out that there is actually a condition, a neurosis, that involves being addicted to travel. There is even a travel addict word: dromomania (although this sounds to me more like a desire to ride camels, but...)
Seriously, according to at least one psychologist, Dr Michael Brein, those who suffer from this addiction are ready to sacrifice a great deal (spouse, money, sometimes even home) to fuel their addiction. Like other addictions, it has consequences, and the cures aren't foolproof.
The good news, however, is that among all those inveterate travelers and digital nomads, there are very few clinical travel addicts.
Most of us who call ourselves travel addicts simply love to travel, and we can continue doing so without having to seek medical help.
How can you tell? What are the signs?
The travel bug, strange syndrome that it is, can manifest itself in many ways. Do any of these sound familiar?
There's not much you can do once wanderlust hits.
It can be so gripping it overturns life as you know it, transforming you into an obsessive researcher and reservations agent.
You can ride the feeling, or try to push it away.
You can ignore it, badmouth it, think or write about it, actively try to eliminate it, even philosophize it to death.
In my experience, resistance only strengthens the obsession.
Once it's lodged, trying not to think about travel away only brings it back with a vengeance.
To some people your dreams of travel may seem self-indulgent, financially unwise, irresponsible even. They have every right to feel that way, and they may be right.
But you also have every right to succumb.
“Wanderlust is incurable.”
― Mark Jenkins, The Hard Way: Stories of Danger, Survival, and the Soul of Adventure
The mere act of writing this has given me itchy feet.
I was born with wanderlust.
Eventually, after weeks or even months of travel, my wanderlust is fulfilled, at least temporarily. I love returning home. It grounds me. When I was traveling around the world, a home base was one of the things I missed the most.
But as soon as I'm home, I'm thinking of the next place.
And so the cycle begins again.
When I travel, I use certain resources and services that have served me well over the years. These are services I can recommend, because I actually use them myself.
I don't always reserve ahead of time, but I at least book my first night or two when I travel. This way I won't be too disoriented when I land. I've used lots of reservation systems and the one that works best for me is Booking.com. It is consistently the easiest to use, has the best prices, and doesn't make promises it can't keep.
I use most booking engines, and often reserve directly with the airline. BUT – when faced with an expensive purchase, I have two go-to partners. For long-distance flights, I always check Scott's Cheap Flights for error fares, and if I'm going super long distance, I check with Airtreks for their RTW rates.
I would NEVER leave home without insurance. Below the age of 65, I recommend World Nomads, which I used for years. After that age, coverage often depends on where you live so check out this page for my reviews.