| |
|
Report on Are You a Jetsetter? SmartGirls Talk about Travel
Smart girls decide for themselves™.
|
Are SmartGirls worldwide travelers? What places have they visited? It looks like SmartGirls have had some wonderful adventures around the world. Check out the results below.
|
|
We received a lot of responses to this travel survey. In total there were 231 respondents. 221 were girls and 7 were boys. The youngest respondent was 7 years old, and 8 respondents were 21 and over.
|
| In your family you are the: |
|
| As you can see almost 50% of respondents are the oldest in their family. |
|
SmartGirls come from around the world. Maybe one of their locations will be your next travel destination. SmartGirls live in countries such as China, India, Ireland, Singapore, New Zealand, South Africa and Ukraine.
|
| How many different countries have you traveled to? |
|
|
It appears that 69 of the respondents have not visited any countries. Don't worry, you still have a lot of time! 42 of the respondents said that they visited 1 country but 27 said that they visited 6-10 different countries. Wow! That's a lot! For the visits where you stay overnight, most respondents (117) say that they go multiple times a year while 21 said that they go once a month.
|
| When you're traveling, what is your most common method of transportation? |
|
| Most SmartGirl respondents travel by car and plane and the least travel by boat. |
|
While traveling can be fun and exciting, the idea of flying to your destination may not always seem so great. The idea of flying does not sound appealing to 22 respondents, since they stated that they are very scared of flying. To the majority (105 respondents)though, it seems like flying is a piece of cake. They have no worries about flying at all. At least motion sickness is not too common on planes. Only 24 respondents said that that they get motion sickness in this mode of transportation.
|
Sometimes road trips can be a great way to spend some quality time with your friends or family members. But how long can you really go in such a small enclosed space without going crazy? Here are the amount of hours that SmartGirl respondents can endure:
1 - 2 hours: 29 respondents
3 - 4 hours: 48 respondents
5 - 6 hours: 45 respondents
7 - 8 hours: 30 respondents
9 or more hours: 63 respondents
Less than one hour: 16 respondents
|
|
Maybe the reason why so many respondents can go such a long time without going crazy is because they are busy playing games. 31 respondents said that they play 'spot the license plate' (looking for license plates from different states or provinces) while 26 said that they play 'I Spy' (one person gives hints about an object they see and others have to guess what it is). 71 said that they don't play any games at all.
|
|
Packing can be one of the most difficult aspects of traveling. How do you know the weather won't suddenly change? Should you pack for every possible situation? Since 130 respondents were over-packers, it looks like most travelers really do pack to be prepared for every situation. Only 17 respondents were under-packers while 80 said that they were perfect packers.
|
| When do you pack? |
|
| Most of the respondents said that they pack the night before. Do you think that this affects whether you over-pack or under-pack? |
|
When you are in a new place, do you always carry a map with you wherever you go or do you act like you know where everything is? The majority, 110 respondents, said that while they don't mind if other people think that they are a tourist, they still try not to act like one. The fewest, 37, said that they try to act like someone who lives there because they don't want anyone to know that they are a tourist. In the middle are the 79 respondents that said that they were comfortable being seen as a tourist.
|
|
One great way of remembering all of your travel adventures is to take pictures. This allows you to easily show anyone all the great places that you visited and things that you did there!
|
| What kind of pictures do you take when you travel? |
|
| Most travelers (69) take pictures of their travel buddies |
|
Another great way of keeping the memories of your trip alive is to actually bring back a souvenir from that place. Some souvenirs such as jewelery and clothing can be a more expensive option but you can usually find something that is inexpensive.
|
| What types of souvenirs do you collect? |
|
| It appears that most tourists still favor collecting postcards to remember the places they visited. |
|
Traveling can create some of the best memories that you will ever have. What most respondents (119) cited as the greatest thing about traveling is that they were able to see new places and sights. Others (31) prefer visiting friends and family members. Still, others (20) like that they are able to experience new cultures and the least (16) people like that they are able to meet new people.
|
|
Of course, traveling is not always so fun and easy. The travel time, including before you get to your destination and when you're on your way back, was one of the worst aspects of traveling for 49 respondents. For 31 respondents it is the price of traveling that they dislike but for the majority (81) it is the sad realization that they have to go back home that is the worst part of traveling.
|
|
We wanted to know some of the most interesting travel experiences of SmartGirl members. Maybe these responses will help you decide your next adventure!
|
|
~When I went to San Francisco because it was just my parents, my two sisters and me. We had a great time together, usually we can't get along very well. It was fun to go to the Alcatraz Island and see the sea lions. It was especially funny when a big seagull stole my sister's ice cream.
|
|
~I won a scholarship to live in Beijing for 3 months, staying at Beijing Language and Culture University. It was the best experience of my life. I did everything from studying Mandarin for a few weeks in the university to bungee jumping, clubbing, go-karting and also backpacking in Shanghai and sightseeing in Xi'an. It changed me as a person and has made me more determined to travel in the future!
|
|
~The most interesting travel experience I had was when I went to San Juan Puerto Rico and saw the Fort of El Morro. It was a very interesting experience. I learned tons and took all kinds of pictures. It was the best! I also enjoyed visiting the Boston Public Library in (you guessed it!) Boston. The building is hundreds of years old and has a new and old part. I love history and the place was very historic and interesting. It had a certain feel about it and it was so beautiful! It was like something out of Harry Potter! I'd be back there in a heartbeat!
|
|
~When we were in Rome (capital of Italy) over the summer it was just boiling hot and we saw some amazing stuff. Then, after 3 days, we went to Rome station to get the hired car to drive to Tuscany. My mum had her bag which had all our passports, credit cards, keys, drivers' licenses, phones, music players, sunglasses etc. and it got stolen by some thief! Apparently there are 200 thefts a day at that station so we should have been more careful with all the bags. We had to go to various embassies to get emergency passports and it was really stressful but also exciting and a learning experience obviously!
|
Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts
with us!
Please remember that all web-based polls
are not scientific because the pollsters cannot randomly select the
respondents to participate in the surveys.
All our surveys are anonymous; check out our privacy
policy. All data copyright 1996-2000.
|
|
