Budget travel is fine when you’re young and broke, but when you get to a certain age or a certain standard of living, there are some travel hassles you stop accepting. No one wants to go on a vacation and be more uncomfortable than they are at home, so bougie travelers don’t settle for less. They don’t skimp on a good hotel or a comfortable flight even if it costs a little more. These are some of the things a bougie traveler just won’t tolerate.
Hostels
Hostel accommodations are a great way to meet other travelers and save money, but bougie travelers don’t want to give up a good night’s rest to share a dorm with 8 other people that are drunk and trying to have vacation sex. Hostels are often noisy, gross, and full of other people that you probably don’t want to share your vacation with. If you can’t afford private accommodations, you’d rather stay home.
Shared bathrooms
A private place to sleep is not the only must-have for bougie travelers. When booking a hotel or Airbnb, a private bathroom to primp and preen are essential. You don’t want to be privy to strangers’ gross bathroom habits. You need a porcelain throne and shower all to yourself.
Settling for bad food
While budget travelers can pretty much eat anything to save a few coins, bougie travelers want to have the best of every destination, including and especially their meals. All restaurants and cafes have been vetted by online reviews and categorized by cuisine. You won’t catch a bougie traveler at the first 2.3 star dive they come across – a good meal is a terrible thing to waste.
Staying too far from city center
If you’re trying to save money, you might consider staying a short distance away from the center of the city you’re visiting. If you’re a little bougie, you know better. You’re not going to waste half of your vacation trying to get to the parts of the city you actually want to spend time in. You want to walk downstairs and be in the heart of it all.
The middle seat
Airlines charge extra for you to pick your seat because they know some people will do anything to avoid being uncomfortable between two strangers on a trans-Atlantic flight. These travelers want to get where they’re going, but they don’t want to get there wrecked and pissed off.
Having scraggly nails and feet
Bougie travelers prepare for a vacation by making sure they look their best. A mani pedi is a standard pre-trip ritual so you can look great in all your pictures. If you’re really bougie, you might even schedule another one for the middle of your vacation to touch it up.
Figuring out public transportation
Most people save money on travel by doing as the locals do and hopping on the buses and subways to get around. But you won’t catch a bougie traveler getting off a plane with three pieces of luggage on the city bus. Cabs and rideshares are the only way you get around. Your time is too valuable and your bags are too heavy for you to waste time on public transport.
Carrying around heavy souvenirs
When it comes to souvenirs, some people spare no expense. Whether it’s a painting or a case of wine, a truly bougie traveler won’t even sweat it when they really want something. If a souvenir is too bulky or inconvenient to carry home, you can simply have it shipped.
Lying on a towel at the beach
Sand is like the glitter of the natural world; it stays with you forever. If you’re a bougie traveler, you try to limit your exposure and maximize your comfort by always renting a beach chair (and umbrella) when you’re on vacation. Part of what makes your vacations awesome is that they’re relaxing and it’s really hard to relax when you have sand creeping into your bathing suit.
Roughing it
There is a time and place to get dirty and rugged, but if you’re a bougie traveler, a vacation is not that time. You’re not trying to spend your holiday sweating like a hog in a room with no air conditioning or sleeping in a tent with no bathroom in sight. You want to spend your hard earned time off in cushy – even luxurious – surroundings with not a care in the world.
Even if you’re on a budget, we all occasionally need a little bougie travel in our lives.
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