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    The Happy Traveler: Unpacking the Secrets of Better Vacations
    The Happy Traveler: Unpacking the Secrets of Better Vacations
    The Happy Traveler: Unpacking the Secrets of Better Vacations
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Happy Traveler: Unpacking the Secrets of Better Vacations

    Written by Jaime Kurtz

    Narrated by Carla Mercer-Meyer

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    In The Happy Traveler: Unpacking the Secrets of Better Vacations, psychology professor Dr. Jaime Kurtz applies the large and ever-growing body of research on happiness and decision-making to enhance the experience of travel. An avid explorer, study abroad instructor, teacher, and happiness researcher, Dr. Kurtz shows how anyone who has a vacation in his or her future can create the most meaningful, fulfilling, and joyful experiences possible.

    When the price of travel is daunting, getting the most "bang for your buck," both financially and emotionally, is essential to an ideal travel experience. With a sense of humor and adventure, Dr. Kurtz provides guidance on how to craft your perfect trip, boost your excitement before your trip even begins, and actively immerse yourself in a new culture while unplugging from your technological ties to home. She also explains how to best cherish and share travel moments, how to ease back into your daily life upon returning, and how to carry the secrets of happy travel into every day.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateJun 1, 2017
    ISBN9781541470989
    The Happy Traveler: Unpacking the Secrets of Better Vacations

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    Reviews for The Happy Traveler

    3.5/5

    17 ratings6 reviews

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    • 4/5
      What do colonoscopies have to do with enjoying your dream vacation? Read "The Happy Traveler" by Jaime Kurtz and you'll find out. Kurtz, a psychology professor who studies happiness and personality, manages to weave a great deal of research into her advice about how to make the most of your travel experiences, and in so doing offers up suggestions that actually apply to many areas of life. Though I feared that this book might cater too much to the privileged few who pack up for an international trip once a year or more (the author being one of them), readers for whom travel is a rare experience should not be dissuaded, as her ideas will help you to ensure that your once-in-a-lifetime experience can be everything you want it to be. This is not a book about where to find hidden gems or when to purchase tickets to snag the best deal; it is a book about mindfulness, positivity, and maximising what researchers know about what will truly make us happy so that you can anticipate the stresses and difficulties that can come with planning and taking a trip and focus more on the things you really want to be paying attention to.I listened to this on audiobook; I generally hate audiobooks, but I was almost riveted to this one. The reader did an excellent job. The only downside to the audiobook was that some chapters of the book contain personality surveys, which are hard to devote sufficient thought to when the questions are being read aloud to you rather than you being able to have the time to read, digest, and answer.
    • 4/5
      Travel has become the great American past time. Everyone loves to travel, visit exotic destinations, eat strange foods and check those destinations off their bucket list. So although they should be easy and enjoyable, travel can be stressful. The Happy Traveler is a book about preparing for your next vacation, but instead of dealing with all the practical matters of planning for a trip like packing or buying tickets, Kurtz deals with the psychological element of travel. What are your expectations? Who are your travel companions? How to figure out what is YOUR ideal vacation. Whether you're a globetrotter or an armchair traveler, you'll enjoy reading this book. Lots of insights on human nature -- I'll definitely be thinking about this for my next vacation.
    • 2/5
      This was not a fit for me. I was disappointed that it felt more like a loose dissertation than a readable book, and that the over-written text was matched by the slow, over-enunciated reading of it (with no ability to alter the play speed). And, contrary to its being highlighted as “iPod Ready,” I was frustrated that I couldn't upload it directly into iTunes. Rather, it took lots of googling and a couple of hours (!) to get the CD files loaded onto my PC, transferred to iTunes and then synced to my device. :(
    • 5/5
      Jaime Kurtz gives the reader (in this case listener for the audio book) a very insightful guide to travel- and life. This audio-book was both entertaining and informative as Kurtz uses her first hand experiences, peer-review literature citations, and amusing anecdotes to equip the seasoned and novice traveler alike with the tools for maximizing the happiness of traveling. Her scope ranges from international travel of all genres to local travel and even the "stay-cation". She provides simple distillations in the form of lists of do's and don'ts, entertaining the reader with travelers tales of the good, the bad and the ugly sides of travel. As I was on a short road trip while I listened to this charming book, I was able to apply many of Kurtzes guidelines immediately both during and after the trip. Yes the advice was sound and the trip went far more smoothly than I had anticipated. Finally she advises us to use the numerous insights for our daily life, learning to garner fuller and more meaningful experiences in our mundane daily routines. For travelers - a must have book. For the rest of you - remember that no matter where you live - you are at a travel destination.
    • 3/5
      If you were moved by books like Eat, Pray, Love; Under the Tuscan Sun or Wild, or their movie adaptation counterparts, then this book is probably for you. If you not only enjoyed the above, but were then motivated to take the next step and craft your own meaningful vacation experiences, then this book is definitely for you.
    • 4/5
      For those of us that love to travel, new tips and recommendations are always welcome. The author is clearly an avid traveler and also knowledgeable in the field of psychology and happiness. This book is the results of her exploration of where all those subjects meet. There are some great tips, like learning what your perfect vacation is through a breakdown of your personality. Don't feel like you have to go on a cruise or a hiking trip because someone else loved it. Much of the advice seemed like common sense to me, but I travel a lot and feel like I've established what works for me better than the average reader. Some of the tips will definitely stick with me. I particularly liked the recommendation to "go out with a bang" by saving one big experience or treat for the end of your vacation. You remember your trip (or even regular moments in your life) based heavily on what happens at the very end. If you're going to splurge on a nice hotel, do it for the last part of the trip. If you're going to hit up a nice restaurant for dinner, don't do it every night, save it for a final night and eat at cafes and bakeries to get a better feel for the area during other days.She also recommends not buying generic souvenirs just because they feel like a "once in a lifetime" purchase in the moment. Instead, pick items that aren't mass produced and connect you to a specific moment on your trip. I loved that she used her own experiences to illustrate her points. Hiring a local to help her navigate through Vietnam helped her connect with the real country instead of the tourist version. Going into a vacation with reasonable expectations (not every minute is going to be "Instagram worthy") helps travelers enjoy things more, even when things go wrong. BOTTOM LINE: Good tips for experienced travelers or novices. If you enjoy travel and reading about it, this one should offer at least a few helpful points.