Unpack the Secrets to Becoming a Happy Traveler

Have you ever wondered what really makes you happy when you’re traveling? Associate Professor of Psychology at James Madison University, Jaime Kurtz, tells us in her new book, THE HAPPY TRAVELER.

Jaime put a whole lot of love and detail in her new book, THE HAPPY TRAVELER so that you could learn how to strategically plan how to make the best out of your experiences on the road.

Curious as to what inspired Jaime what kind of research she discovered when planning to write the book, we asked her a few questions to get the inside scoop before picking up the book ourselves.

Jaime, can you give us a brief summary description of THE HAPPY TRAVELER?

It provides very useful and actionable tips on how to make any special experience in life – but especially travel – even better. I describe some of my favorite research studies, a few of which I conducted myself, and I also have short quizzes and questions for self-assessment. My goal is to offer sound advice on how to do travel better, before, during, and after a trip.

My best tip in one sentence? 

Realize that simply going somewhere exotic, relaxing, or breathtaking does not guarantee a good time.

What is your favorite part of the book?

The section on technology – smartphones, GoPros, GPS – and our constant connectivity was really fun to work on. On a personal level, I’m nostalgic for the days of film cameras and paper maps even as I upload my photos to Instagram and plot things out on Google maps. Finding that sweet spot, where technology helps rather than hinders our travels, is a new challenge that we don’t always think about enough.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself? What inspired you to write THE HAPPY TRAVELER?

I’m a social psychologist who specializes in the study of happiness and savoring. I was lucky to be in graduate school when the new field of positive psychology (the scientific study of what makes life good) was coming into prominence, and several of my professors were spearheading that movement. I loved how applicable it was to almost every person in their real lives. We all want so badly to be happy and craft a meaningful life, and yet we make choices that interfere with these goals every single day. That fact fascinates me.

Few things excite me like travel does. I spent much of my 20s and early 30s with a nagging wanderlust, but recently, that began to change. I started to find myself with both the time and the money to travel. And, yet…it wasn’t as fun as I had hoped.

It wasn’t because I was picking the wrong places or the wrong companions. No, the challenges I was facing were of my own making. As I started talking to others, I realized that I wasn’t alone. As both a traveler and a psychologist, I became fascinated by the difficulty we can have in what should be the easiest and most privileged of tasks: crafting amazing and fun experiences for ourselves.

It occurred to me that there’s actually a lot of research out there on how to design and enjoy special life experiences, but none of it had ever been applied to travel. I thought that maybe psychology could have something to offer beyond what a traditional guidebook would. A guidebook may tell you exactly what to see in any given location, but it won’t teach you how to see. That’s what I set out to do here.

What is your favorite travel book of all time?

Blue Highways, by William Least Heat-Moon. The author hits a rough patch in life and decides to take a road trip around the U.S., driving primarily on “blue highways” – small roads that connect small towns. While there is nothing at all glamorous in his travels, his journey is so enviable. He takes his time to talk to people, sit in diners, get the backstory, and linger when he feels like it. It’s slow travel before slow travel was a thing.

Anything coming up for THE HAPPY TRAVELER launch?

I’ll be getting home from a three-week trip to Scandinavia two days before the book’s release, which seems fitting, and then I’ll be at the Book Expo America in New York on the big day!

Why is your book a must have for every Travel Massive member?

It’s the only travel book out there that brings YOU into the equation – your unique habits, your needs, your personality – to teach you how to get the most out of every travel experience.

Thank you to THE HAPPY TRAVELER for supporting this week’s Travel Massive feature. You can check out Jaime’s book THE HAPPY TRAVELER on Oxford University Press, Amazon and Barnes & Noble.