This book sure brought back happy memories of travelling with my family far and wide. I agreed with a lot of the things that the author said about being a happy traveller. She put into psychological perspectives all that we perhaps know about what pleases us when we leave our homes to explore other parts of the world. Our personalities definitely can predict what we enjoy. There are definitely some practical ideas to think about when planning a vacation.

I think this book would be better as an audiobook to listen to while you are doing other things. I feel that it is rather too long for a topic like this.

I really enjoyed they way the author spoke about traveling. It’s important to know yourself and your travel partners before you go on a trip! There’s no right or wrong way to travel and it had practical tips on how to make the most of your travel time and money. I will definitely be recommending this to my wanderlustful friends.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book.

Awesome story. Can’t wait to read more from this author!!!

In THE HAPPY TRAVELER, Dr. Jaime Kurtz explores a variety of different ways to improve your vacation. I thought at first the book would be tips like how to pack better, or things like that. It’s more of tips on how to change your outlook, and how to match your travel choices to your personality. This is explained in the section, “Why Knowing Your Travel Personality Is Essential to Happy Travel.” The author explains that what makes a great experience for YOU is not at all what makes it great for others. That is, “Your perfect travel day is totally personal.” We want an experience that “feels right to us. “

One thing I really like about this book. At the end of each chapter is a nice summary of the key points covered in the chapter. These are called “Happy Travel Tips.” (This seems obvious, but many non-fiction books fail to do this—so kudos to the author and editor for thinking of this.) I found it useful to actually read these ending travel tips FIRST, and then go back and read the chapter details.

When planning your travel, figure out where you stand on the allocentrism-psychocentrism spectrum. This is a fancy term for the style of experience you want: outdoors hiking, or sitting by a pool reading a book. Travelers who embrace “psychocentrism” want structure—they want to escape and relax.

One funny section is called, “How Vacations Are like Colonoscopies.” The author cites an actual study that showed that people tend to remember certain things from their experiences. For example, how the trip ended up, or key events in the trip. The idea is, to plan ahead to make sure you set-up those experiences. (I’ve never replayed the highlights of a colonoscopy, or considered the procedure similar to a vacation experience, but I get the idea.)

My favorite section was, “The Art of the Staycation: How to Live Every Day like a Happy Traveler.” The author gives some ideas on how to use these same travel tips to make your everyday life like a great vacation. I never thought of this concept. Great idea!

Finally, I was delighted to discover an excellent roundup of all the concepts in this book. This is called, “The Twelve Rules for Happy Travel.”

1. More time away is not always better.
2. When planning a trip, map out how a typical day might look, from beginning to end.
3. Let the anticipation build. Planning and researching are part of the fun.
4. End on a high note. Craft a special last day or evening.
5. You bring yourself—your personality, anxieties, and habits—with you on your trip.
6. Anticipate the fact that no matter how beautiful or exciting the location, you will get used to it after a couple of days. Plan to vary your experiences.
7. Go deeper: get the backstory on the people you meet and places you visit.
8. Use technology selectively and with intention.
9. Traveling with others is intense. In the best and worst ways. Consider travel compatibility before booking.
10. Coming home can be shaped into a good thing.
11. Location matters less than your attitude in that location.
12. With attention and motivation, you can be a happy traveler even while at home.

So all in all, I thought THE HAPPY TRAVELER was a useful read, with some meaty ideas on how to improve my travel. I would have preferred less discussion of the academic research, but I understand why the author discusses the studies. Dr. Kurtz clearly understands this field, and proves it with the numerous studies cited. I am looking forward to reading her prior co-authored book on happiness: Positively Happy: Routes to Sustainable Happiness (The Positive Psychology Workbook Series)

Advance Review Copy courtesy of the publisher.

Great read for travelers! I featured the book here: https://www.smartertravel.com/2017/05/03/making-travel-miserable/

I consider myself a happy traveler, but I was drawn to this book because I wanted to know if maybe there was something I was missing. As a psychologist, I understand (and had already learned) almost all of the concepts Kurtz discusses in her book. However, there were quite a few that I had not previously extended to my thinking regarding travel. I felt as if Kurtz explained psychological terms and theories in a manner that everyone could understand and apply directly to their lives. While I usually read fiction, I found this to be a welcome break and one that had me smiling and rapidly turning the pages as I continued to be interested in the information in the book.

What a load of piffle – and that's just chapter one. I've been on multiple holidays, ones I've been in control of every moment of and the most rigid tours in the most alien climes, from city breaks to cruises to Machu Picchu (to pick the author's early examples) but I've never EVER found myself on the wrong type of holiday because I booked it but didn’t know what was right for me six months down the line. I would say the whole idea of the wrong holiday just doesn't exist, but I'll leave the rampant and silly generalisations to this author. We then get the suggestion we become so immured to the sight of a wonderful beach scene etc from our hotel window, so we need to ration it before we get bored of it and feel we're getting less value from our holiday. This is again rubbish. There clearly is a space for a pop-psychology book to address how we deal with decision making such as holidays, but by beginning with such claptrap, I ended the book thinking from its perfect balance of the blindingly obvious and the just plain wrong that I'd learnt nothing.

This is a highly relatable and informative read for travelers. Light, conversational writing is mixed in with helpful facts and quotes. The content spans from staycations and post-travel feelings to handling conflicting interests -- and much more. I've been in many similar situations as the author, such as:

- Coming back from travel earlier than expected.
- Feeling different after studying abroad.
- Solo vs. group experiences and the perks/downfalls of both.
- Trying [and failing] to take in the moment at hand vs. plan, plan, plan.

The Happy Traveler is a must-read for not only both the novice and seasoned traveler, but for everyone who wants to add depth and fascination back in their lives. .

The complete review will be posted on UnderratedReads on the book's release date of 5/29/17

The Happy Traveler is really the psychology of travel. Throughout the book, the author looks at different aspects of travel and how our inner psychology plays out in how we plan and experience trips. In particular, I enjoyed the travel about the anticipation of travel. I have been contemplating taking a 'mystery vacation' and this chapter examined why this is so appealing. I also enjoyed the chapter about the challenges of vacationing in a hyper-connected world.
While the writing wasn't the greatest (I'm going to next tell you about...), the topic was interesting. I did find myself skimming over some sections. I appreciated the quizzes and tips throughout the book.

I received an advanced copy of this via NetGalley.
Review will be posted on publication date.

This one is a great book for those of you who love to travel but sometimes find out the trip you planned and dreamed about was a disappointment and you can't figure out why.

I was a travel agent for 10 year so I travel a lot and learned that sometimes the planning and organizing was more fun then the actual trip. What took me 10 years of traveling to learn this book explains and helps you figure out what kind of travel will make you happy.