Tips for the Introverted Traveler

If you're an introvert, you needn't be intimidated by travel, even solo travel.  If you do it the right way, it can be a rewarding experience.  By stepping outside of your comfort zone a little and connecting with strangers from a different culture, you develop better communication skills and you may make a few friends along the way.  Here are some good tips for introvert travelers. 

1. Find the Right Accommodations

Different accommodations have different levels of social interaction, so pick accommodations that are right for you.  Smaller boutique inns or B&B's may have communal breakfast.  Some beach resorts cater to younger party goers.  If you're not ready to socialize first thing in the morning or just want to have a quiet stay, you'll want to plan accordingly.

2. Develop an Itinerary

Make a travel plan and stick to it.  Having a plan for an activity or two during the day relieves stress and anxiety from travel.  But don't make it too busy, give yourself some room to breathe and allow for flexibility.

3. Schedule Some Alone Time

If you're in a destination with a beach or a destination known for its natural beauty, take some time out, go for a hike perhaps, and commune with nature.  Even if you're in a place not known for natural beauty, take some alone time, a walk along a river or in a park maybe.  Alone time is important for an introvert, especially away from home.  Be sure to include some alone time in your itinerary.

4. Write in a Journal

Introverts are thinkers, and what better way to record your thoughts on a trip than by keeping a journal.  You can share the journal online if you like and it will always be a keepsake of your travel experience.

5. Sign Up for Small Group Tours

It is easy to feel lost on a large group tour, crowded on a large bus, being driven around in a strange place, hopping on and hopping off busses, and racing to see as many tourist attractions as possible.  But small group tours are usually readily available and they can be a great way to bond with fellow travelers with similar interests.  If you're an art lover, maybe take a small group tour of a museum.  History lovers can take a small group history tour around a city.  The larger the city the more diverse the type of group tours offered. 

6. Take a Class

In addition to small group tours, a small group class is a good way to bond with some fellow travelers.  A cooking class in the local cuisine is always a popular choice, and the hands on experience may make you a better chef at home as well.  Arts & crafts classes are popular as well.

7. Hire a Greeter

For an even more personal experience than a small group tour, you may want to hire a greeter, a local volunteer who will show a small group, usually no more than six, around town.  Though not as readily available as small group tours or classes, greeters are passionate about where they live and having a greeter show you around town can be a great way to see a city for a few hours.  And because they are volunteers, it can save you a little money too.

8. Travel Slow and Get to Know the Locals

Introverted does not mean anti-social.  Slow travel encourages connection with local people, culture, food, history, and the environment.  Most destinations offer classes, activities, tours, or even dinners with locals.  And depending on the location, you can further immerse yourself in the local culture by staying in an old castle or a buddhist temple.  Travel is the most rewarding when you can take a little piece of your destination home with you.

Top 10 Things to Do in Barbados

Barbados is a melting pot of British, West African, Indian, and Creole cultures.  The beaches and tropical climes are the primary attractions, with many luxury resorts on the island.  The island is pretty small so it is easy to explore the island in a short period of time.  Bridgetown is the capital and largest city, and the logical place to begin for exploring Barbados.

1. Celebrate the Crop Over Festival

Crop Over is Barbados' most well-known festival.  It is held between July and August and marks the end of the sugar cane season.  The festival was actually terminated in the 1940's but was revived in the 1970's and has since become Barbados' biggest annual event, featuring parades, exhibits, and shows.  Calypso competitions are one of the biggest draws of the festival, where musicians compete for several titles.  The finale of the festival is a parade called the Grand Kadooment, where bands dress in elaborate costumes and march through the capital of Bridgetown.

2. Take a walking tour of Bridgetown

Bridgetown is the capital and largest city of Barbados.  In 2012, parts of the old city and garrison were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  The garrison was headquarters for the British West India Regiment, and a hub for the sugar and slave trade, and still serves as headquarters for the Barbados Defense Force today.  Nearby is the Barbados Museum & Historical Society, which showcases the natural and human history of the island through exhibits and artifacts.  Downtown are the Parliamentary Buildings.  Next to the National Heroes' Square, the buildings contain a public library and a museum, while the West Wing hosts the National Heroes Gallery and depicts the history of democracy in Barbados.  The story of the Barbados Jewish community can be seen at the nearby Nidhe Israel Synagogue, a restored synagogue with an interactive museum.

3. Do a rum tasting at Mount Gay

Rum is an integral part of Barbados' history and culture.  Mount Gay was established in 1703 and is the world's oldest rum distillery.  There you will learn the techniques in distilling rum and you can mix your own rum cocktails as well.  If you happen to be in Barbados in November, you can also celebrate the Barbados Food & Rum Festival, which attracts top chefs and distillers from around the world.

4. Go on a catamaran snorkeling cruise

Off the coast of Barbados lie coral reefs and remains of shipwrecks, providing shelter and habitat for many sea creatures.  Tropical fish abound in these habitats and you may also swim among the sea turtles.  Food & drinks are provided as well for when you want to take a break and enjoy the ocean.

5. Explore Harrison's Cave

Harrison's Cave is an underground network of caverns, stalactites, and stalagmites in the central highlands of Barbados.  You can tour this the easy way, via a tram that runs through the caves.  Or you can explore  via a more challenging way, the eco-adventure tour, a three and a half hour hike where you sometimes have to get on your hands and knees.

6. Go on a Bajan food tour

Bajan cuisine reflects the island's multi-cultural heritage, a mix of the British Isles, West Africa, and the Caribbean.  On a food tour you will likely try local dishes like puddin' n' souse, a mixture of grated sweet potatoes, pork, and spices; Bajan macaroni pie; Bajan fish cakes;  barbecued pig tails, a local favorite; or what's considered the national dish, cou cou and flying fish.  Whether it's street food or gourmet dining, you will taste plenty of delicious local dishes.

7. Visit St. Nicholas Abbey

St. Nicholas Abbey was built in 1660 as a sugar plantation and is one of only three Jacobean buildings in the Western Hemisphere.  It is been converted into a rum distillery but there is a museum depicting life on a sugar plantation in the 18th century.  An easy way to explore the grounds is by the St. Nicholas Abbey Heritage Railway.  

8. Surf the Soup Bowl

Bathsheba Beach is named for the biblical wife of King David.  The white, frothy waters resemble the milk in which Bathsheba bathed to keep her skin smooth and soft.  Its rocks, cliffs, and strong currents are not ideal for swimming but it does make for some excellent surfing.  The Soup Bowl is one of the beaches at Bathsheba and its waves are ideal for beginner and expert surfers alike.  Famed surfer Kelly Slater said the waves at the Soup Bowl are some of his favorite.  Lessons and rentals are available for the beginner surfer.

9. Tour the George Washington House

Located within the Bridgetown UNESCO World Heritage Site is the house where George Washington stayed while he visited Barbados for two months in 1751.  In addition to being furnished in a manner befitting 1751, there is an exhibit on the painful reality of 1751 Barbados, slavery, that grapples with the moral dilemma Washington faced with being both a freedom fighter and a slaveowner.

10. Visit Barbados Wildlife Reserve

Located in a four acre mahogany forest on the northern coast of Barbados, you can walk among parrots, peacocks, flamingos, armadillos, agouti, iguanas, green monkeys, and other native non-dangerous animals in their natural environment.  The more dangerous ones such as pythons are kept enclosed.  Be sure to be there for at 2 p.m., which is feeding time for the parrots and other colorful birds.