Travelling’s a bit like candy. Just like your first tongue-tingling kick of sugary goodness, you go traveling once and forever want to go again. The more of it you get, the more you of it you want. Travel is, very simply, incredibly addictive. But how do you know when you’ve been bitten by the travel bug? How can you tell that you’re hooked on the sweet nectar of new experiences in foreign lands? Well, as a self-proclaimed travel-addict, I thought I’d run through the primary symptomology. Find out if you are addicted to travelling.
Table of Contents
10 Ways to Tell That You’re Addicted to Travelling
Want to know what it’s like to be addicted to traveling? Keep reading.
You’ve Got Perpetual Itchy Feet
Itchy feet are a sure-fire sign that wanderlust is bubbling to the surface.
Interestingly, you don’t need to have been traveling in order to experience this.
Feet can suffer from an incessant itch without having had direct exposure to the road they want to walk. Travel plans form and home life begin to feel like an incredible bore.
Every iota of your being feels compelled to leave; you’re busting at the seams to take a trip- any trip, anywhere. You just need to go, and soon!
Until then, you feel doomed to a half-life, shrouded in a fog that only flying at 30,000 feet to foreign shores promises to fix.
You Keep Daydreaming About Your Travels
A hallmark of addiction is the unrelenting hold it has on your mind.
You can’t stop thinking about your drug of choice. It’s ever-present, so tantalizing that you can taste it; so tempting that you can’t go without it any longer.
It’s like you need it.
The travel addict finds themselves dwelling on the experience of travel. They remember past adventures or picture themselves somewhere new. Every tale they want to tell is travel-themed; every fleeting thought about forthcoming plans.
You Feel Different at Home
I get home from a trip and my brain just wiggles and squirms in horror at the normality of everything.
The walls are the same, but the experience of home isn’t. Coming home from travel is like awakening from a blissful dream to a far bleaker reality. You wish you could just close your eyes and re-enter it.
Alas, you can’t! You feel stuck, claustrophobic by the prison-like existence of non-nomadic life. You just want to hit the road and experience adventure all over again.
You’re Willing to Leave Friends and Family Behind…Again
Nicely, being addicted to travel is one form of addiction for which recovery isn’t necessary.
There’s just not a lot wrong with it! In fact, life on the road is fulfilling, fun-filled, and, for all intents and purposes, phenomenal. It’s as good as addictions get.
One unenviable sting in the tail, though, is the requirement to part with loved ones
Yet the travel addict rarely bats an eyelid. A few tears at the gate, hugs, goodbye, and then it’s onto the plane and off again to new adventures. A bit like getting your vaccinations done, leaving friends and family is something that’s never fun but (almost always) just part of the process.
Having your cake and eating it isn’t possible. In the choice between travel and loved ones, the road almost always wins.
You Can’t Stand the Idea of a Desk Job
To the travel addict, the very notion of being office-bound is nauseating.
Having reveled in the elation of total travel freedom, I can think of nothing worse than being cooped up behind a desk all day, beholden to an overbearing boss and toiling over endless immaterial tasks.
Time is the enemy, and desks drain what little of it you have
The only distinction to the travel addict is when a desk job is a temporary encumbrance required to enlarge their travel bank balance. After all, they’d suffer any indignity for the chance to indulge their travel cravings; the end justifies the means.
Besides, all those mind-numbing desk-duties provide ample opportunity for happy travel daydreams.
You Get Insanely Jealous At Other Peoples’ Travel Plans
The only thing worse than being stuck behind a desk is being stuck behind a desk and being inundated with social media snaps and stories about a friend’s current adventures.
The travel addict can’t help but hate these people and hammers out their expected comments of amazement and well-wishes through gritted teeth.
Of course, they can’t stop scrolling.
Anything is better than the mundanity of home, even if the pictures of tropical beaches and exotic experiences do nothing but elicit a mighty Molotov cocktail of bitterness, sadness, and resentment.
You Keep Checking Flight Comparison Websites
Being addicted to travel gives discount flights an inherent appeal.
Skyscanner becomes a go-to website that’s saved to your search engine’s homepage and frequented with startling frequency. Reluctant to miss out on a deal, for the first time ever you tick the box that welcomes emails full of adverts and promotions.
Inboxes are checked once, twice, or even thrice daily to bag a bargain, or simply to daydream about flying to the destinations described.
Remember, travel addiction is the incessant desire to hit the road. A bit like a drug-dealer, flight comparison websites are often the gatekeepers to your next hit. Access to them is crucial if you’re to indulge the habit.
You Haven’t Unpacked Yet
There’s no clearer sign of a travel addict than someone who refuses to unpack their backpack.
Maybe this is just me, but that pack represents the experience itself!
Removing your tired, weather and road-beaten clothes and putting them back in the wardrobe means it’s finally over. Nothing shouts closure more than an empty backpack. It’s a sad time.
So long as it’s still packed, there’s a chance you’ll wake up from this bad dream of being home and be back where you want to be!
Figure out If You’re Addicted to Travelling
Few things in life are as addicting as travel.
Go away once and you come away changed. The travel bug is real. It latches its claws onto you, sinks its teeth into you, and clings on for dear life.
Thankfully, this is one addiction that’s okay to indulge. The only thing for it is to (re-)pack your bags, and hop on the next plane to foreign shores. Do so, and those pesky cravings and withdrawal symptoms will dissipate in an instant.
Enjoy!
What do you reckon? Do any of these symptoms of travel addiction ring true? Have you been bitten by the travel bug? Are you addicted to travelling?
Drop a comment below to let us know, and to tell us how your travel addiction manifests itself!
Do You Love Traveling?
Do you want to know how to travel the world? We have put together a very useful travel resources page with best travel tips. Go check it out now.
Thanks for visiting our site Voyager – imvoyager.com and taking the time to read this post!
If you wish to collaborate/work with us then reach us at [email protected]
We’d love if you’d comment by sharing your thoughts on this post and share this post on social media and with your friends.
[shareaholic app=”share_buttons” id=”27413782″]
Follow our journey on our social media channels:
Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest G+ YouTube
