travel to home meaning

Travel idioms & expressions

Get off to a flying start with holiday vocabulary.

• English vocabulary

Get holiday inspiration with travel idioms

Welcome to our blog exploring the fascinating world of travel idioms and expressions . 

As avid travellers ourselves, we understand the excitement of embarking on new adventures. English is often the universal language that unites travellers worldwide, and we focus on holiday and travel vocabulary that is commonly used by native speakers.

Start your next holiday plans with these unique idioms and expressions.

Meaning a strong desire to travel and explore new places.

Example After their trip through Europe, Sarah and Tom caught the travel bug and began planning their next adventure.

hit the road

Meaning to begin a journey or trip.

Example We need to hit the road early tomorrow morning if we want to reach our destination by noon.

off the beaten path

Meaning going to a less travelled or unconventional destination.

Example Instead of visiting the main tourist spots, we decided to venture off the beaten path and explore smaller villages in the countryside.

take the scenic route

Meaning to choose a longer route for the enjoyment of the view or experience.

Example Rather than driving along the motorway, we decided to take the scenic route through the mountains. It added a few extra hours to our journey, but the views were amazing.

off the grid

Meaning to be disconnected from technology or society, often experienced during remote or adventurous travel.

Example During our camping trip in the wilderness, we were completely off the grid with no phone or internet access. It was a great experience, but next time, I’ll stay in a hotel!

living out of a suitcase

Meaning to be constantly travelling or moving from one place to another.

Example I went travelling with friends after graduating university. After living out of a suitcase for a few months, it was refreshing to be back at home.

get off to a flying start

Meaning to begin something with great energy and enthusiasm, like a trip or adventure.

Example Our holiday got off to a flying start with perfect weather and exciting activities planned for the week.

travel light

Meaning to pack minimally and carry only essential items while travelling.

Example We’re only going for the weekend, so remember to travel light and bring just what you need.

a change of scenery

Meaning a different environment or setting.

Example After weeks of working indoors, Anne decided to take a few days off and enjoy a change of scenery  in the mountains.

at the crack of dawn

Meaning very early in the morning.

Example We had to get up at the crack of dawn to catch the first train to the airport.

get away from it all

Meaning to escape from the pressures and routine of daily life by going on a vacation or retreat.

Example We booked a secluded cabin in the mountains to get away from it all and relax for the weekend.

a home from home

Meaning a place where you feel comfortable and at ease, similar to your own home.

Example We love staying at my aunt’s house in the holidays. It feels like a home from home , with its cosy atmosphere and familiar surroundings.

soak up the sun

Meaning to enjoy the warmth and light of the sun while relaxing outdoors.

Example While on holiday in Spain, we spent our days lounging on the beach, soaking up the sun and swimming in the sea.

in the middle of nowhere

Meaning in a remote or isolated location.

Example On the way to our hotel, we took a wrong turn and ended up in the middle of nowhere with no phone signal. Thankfully, a local farmer spoke a little English and gave us directions.

travel on a shoestring

Meaning to travel with a very limited budget.

Example As college students, we travelled on a shoestring in Asia, staying in hostels and cooking our own meals to save money.

travel far and wide

Meaning to travel to many different places, often covering long distances.

Example Over the years, Andrew has travelled far and wide , exploring every continent except Antarctica.

make a pit stop

Meaning to briefly stop during a journey for a break or to refuel.

Example On our road trip to California, we made a pit stop at a roadside diner to grab a quick bite to eat.

packed like sardines

Meaning to be in a crowded or cramped space, often used to describe public transportation.

Example We were packed like sardines on the train, with barely enough room to move.

have itchy feet

Meaning to have a strong desire to travel or move from place to place.

Example Ever since he returned from his backpacking trip, David has had itchy feet and is already planning his next adventure.

travel in style

Meaning to travel with comfort and luxury.

Example To celebrate their retirement, our grandparents decided to travel in style on a luxury cruise around the world.

Have a great travel experience!

We have flown through 20 travel idioms and expressions that are frequently used by native English speakers. Let these idioms and expressions inspire your next adventure and serve as a reminder of the wonderful memories created along the way.

Tip: We recommend learning new vocabulary by topic, and to create examples that help you to remember new words and expressions. For English idioms about other topics, please visit our free vocabulary lessons .

Enjoy your travels and journey learning English too!

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English By Day

Everything you need to know about learning english

103 Travel Idioms And Phrases (Meaning & Examples)

August 3, 2020 by Wes

Are you looking for some useful travel idioms to improve your English?

If so, you are in the right place.

In this post, we are going to look at 103 different travel idioms and how to use them.

Let’s get started…

1. Float One’s Boat

• Meaning : to make someone happy, excited or interested in something.
• Use In A Sentence : I don’t really want to go to Europe, but whatever floats your boat.

2. To Jump Ship

• Meaning : to suddenly stop doing something.
• Use In A Sentence : Joe was doing well on the project until he suddenly jumped ship without telling anyone.

3. One’s Train Of Thought

• Meaning : a person’s pattern of thoughts or sequence of thoughts on a matter.
• Use In A Sentence : I was making great progress until Mary came into my room and then I lost my train of thought.

4. To Step It Up A Gear

• Meaning : to work on something more effectively or with more energy than previously.
• Use In A Sentence : If you want this business to grow, you need to step it up a gear and start advertising.

5. Right Up One’s Alley

• Meaning : if something is up one’s alley it means it is something that appeals to them.
• Use In A Sentence : I didn’t like that movie, but I think it would be right up Amy’s alley. She likes romantic movies.

6. Just The Ticket

• Meaning : exactly what is needed or wanted.
• Use In A Sentence : That ham and cheese sandwich was just the ticket for lunch. I feel so much better now that I ate something.

7. A Mile A Minute

• Meaning : very fast.
• Use In A Sentence : I can’t keep up with Keith. He walks a mile a minute.

8. Bad News Travels Fast

• Meaning : bad news travels fast because people like to talk about these sorts of things.
• Use In A Sentence : How does everyone know that I got in trouble at school? Bad news travels fast I guess.

9. To Travel Light

• Meaning : to travel with very little luggage or baggage.
• Use In A Sentence : I always try to travel light because I hate having to check in my luggage at the airport.

10. To Go Off The Beaten Track

• Meaning : to travel to a place that isn’t well known or visited often by others.
• Use In A Sentence : I wanted to visit this lake on top of the mountain. It a little bit off the beaten track, but I heard it is beautiful.

11. Neck Of The Woods

• Meaning : an area or neighborhood nearby.
• Use In A Sentence : Hello Tom, tomorrow I am going to be up in your neck of the woods. Would you like to grab a cup of coffee ?

12. To Be Running On Fumes

• Meaning : to continue to do something even though one is extremely tired or lacking energy/enthusiasm.
• Use In A Sentence : We were running on fumes by the time we walked into our hotel room, but it was totally worth the trip up the mountain.

13. To Cover One’s Tracks

• Meaning : to hide one’s trail or footprints so as not to be followed.
• Use In A Sentence : We need to be careful to cover our tracks because I don’t want Mom finding out that we came up here.

14. To Lose Track Of Someone Or Something

• Meaning : to forget about someone/something. To misplace something. To lose contact with a person or friend.
• Use In A Sentence : I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve traveled to Europe.

15. To Be On Track

• Meaning : to do something as scheduled or planned.
• Use In A Sentence : If we can get to New Mexico by tonight, we will be right on track to get to Las Vegas by Wednesday.

16. To Have A One-Track Mind

• Meaning : to be fixated about one particular topic.
• Use In A Sentence : Fred has a one-track mind. All he ever talks about is sports.

17. To Go Off The Rails

• Meaning : used to describe a person that starts to behave strangely or uncontrollably.
• Use In A Sentence : I don’t know what happen to grandma. She started to go off the rails when she turned 65 years old.

18. At A Good Clip

• Meaning : quick or at a fast pace.
• Use In A Sentence : Wow we climbed that mountain at a good clip. It is only 11:30.

19. A Redeye Flight

• Meaning : a late-night flight. Usually, one that leaves really late at night and arrives early the next morning.
• Use In A Sentence : George caught a redeye flight from California to New York.

20. To Fly By The Seat Of One’s Pants

• Meaning : to rely on your judgment to do something that you have never done before.
• Use In A Sentence : Rather than sit down and think about something. Mary likes to fly by the seat of her pants and figure it out as she goes.

21. To Fly Under The Radar

• Meaning : to do something without being noticed.
• Use In A Sentence : Mark is a quiet person. He likes to fly under the radar and hope that nobody notices him.

22. Road Trip

• Meaning : a trip taken by car.
• Use In A Sentence : My wife and I hope to go on a road trip around the country before we are 30 years old.

23. To Be At A Crossroads

• Meaning : to be at a point where a decision has to be made.
• Use In A Sentence : After graduating from school, I am at a crossroads. I want to make the best decision for my future.

24. To Circle The Wagons

• Meaning : to become defensive.
• Use In A Sentence : Don’t circle your wagons. I am not accusing you of anything. I am just trying to find out what happened so that we can prevent it from happening again.

25. To Be In The Driver’s Seat

• Meaning : to be in control of a situation; to be in charge.
• Use In A Sentence : The company seems to be doing better ever since Jeff has been in the driver’s seat.

26. To Be In The Same Boat

• Meaning : to be in the same situation or problem as somebody else.
• Use In A Sentence : John and Mary are in the same boat. They both don’t like their jobs, but they are too afraid to quit.

27. To Jump/Leap/Climb On The Bandwagon

• Meaning : to start to follow something after it has become popular.
• Use In A Sentence : A few years ago, no one liked the Patriots. Now that they are winning, it seems like everyone is jumping on the bandwagon.

28. To Put The Brakes On Someone Or Something

• Meaning : to slow down or to stop some progress.
• Use In A Sentence : I don’t know why Jim decided to put the brakes on his business idea. I thought it had great potential.

29. That Ship Has Sailed

• Meaning : the opportunity has already passed; a missed opportunity.
• Use In A Sentence : Do you think there is still a chance that you could work for Greg? No, I am afraid that ship has sailed.

30. Backseat Driver

• Meaning : a passenger who tries to tell the driver how to drive. It can also refer to someone who always likes to take control of a situation.
• Use In A Sentence : Don’t be a backseat driver. I know how to drive.

31. Cool One’s Jets

• Meaning : to calm oneself down.
• Use In A Sentence : You need to take a moment and cool your jets. You aren’t thinking rationally right now.

32. Fall Off The Wagon

• Meaning : to return to practicing a damaging behavior. Examples: drinking, overeating, drub abuse, being lazy, etc.
• Use In A Sentence : Well it seems like Jerry has fallen off the wagon again. He doesn’t seem motivated to do anything.

33. A Country Mile

• Meaning : a long distance.
• Use In A Sentence : After the car ran out of gas, we had to walk a country mile to the nearest gas station.

34. A Fork In The Road

• Use In A Sentence : I am at a fork in the road. I can continue my schooling or I can start my own business. What do you think I should do?

35. To Hit A Roadblock

• Meaning : something has prevents you from making progress.
• Use In A Sentence : Dave was making good progress on the project, but it seems like he has hit some kind of roadblock.

36. To Hit The Road / To Hit The Trail

• Meaning : to leave. To start your trip.
• Use In A Sentence : Well, I guess we should hit the road if we want to get there before noon.

37. To Jump The Track

• Meaning : to suddenly change from one thought or activity to another.
• Use In A Sentence : It just wasn’t working for us so we decided to jump the track and try something different.

38. To Put The Pedal To The Metal

• Meaning : to drive as fast as you can.
• Use In A Sentence : Put the pedal to the metal or else we are going to be late.

39. Rocky Road

• Meaning : a difficult period of time.
• Use In A Sentence : Jack has been going down a rocky road ever since his move to LA.

40. Smooth Sailing

• Meaning : to make progress easily with little to no difficulty.
• Use In A Sentence : Initially, it was difficult to learn the new system. However, not it is nothing but smooth sailing for everyone.

41. Sunday Driver

• Meaning : an extremely slow driver. Someone who is driving slow to enjoy the view.
• Use In A Sentence : Sorry I am late. I got stuck behind some Sunday driver who didn’t want to let anyone pass.

42. The Jet Set

• Meaning : a group of rich people who like to travel the world.
• Use In A Sentence : His dream to join the jet-set came true after he was able to retire early.

43. A Wheel Within A Wheel

• Meaning : used to describe a situation or problem that is extremely complicated.
• Use In A Sentence : I can’t figure out this new computer system. It is really a wheel within a wheel . Can you help me?

44. To Throw Someone Under The Bus

• Meaning : to avoid blame or trouble for something by allowing someone else to take responsibility.
• Use In A Sentence : Mark always seems to throw me under the bus when something goes wrong.

45. A Tight Ship

• Meaning : A very well organized group of people.
• Use In A Sentence : I like working for Steve. He runs a tight ship.

46. To Miss The Boat/Bus

• Meaning : to miss out on something. To fail to take advantage of an opportunity.
• Use In A Sentence : You need to act fast or else you will miss the boat.

47. To Rock The Boat

• Meaning : to do something that will cause problems for others.
• Use In A Sentence : I don’t want to be difficult and rock the boat, but I can’t come into work tomorrow.

48. To Paddle One’s Own Canoe

• Meaning : to be independent.
• Use In A Sentence : Now that you are an adult, you are expected to paddle your own canoe. You can’t rely on your parents to make every decision for you.

49. To Drive Someone Up A Wall

• Meaning : to annoy or to irritate someone.
• Use In A Sentence : I don’t know about you, but every time she talks about work it drives me up a wall .

50. Hit The Beach

• Meaning : to go to the beach.
• Use In A Sentence : Do you have any plans for this weekend? If the weather is nice I would like to hit the beach before it starts to cool off.

51. Highways And Byways

• Meaning : major and minor roadways.
• Use In A Sentence : Mary spent the summer traveling all the highways and byways out West.

52. On The Home Stretch

• Meaning : the last part of a long journey.
• Use In A Sentence : We are on the home stretch. We have about 30 minutes before we get to our destination.

53. To Have Itchy Feet

• Meaning : used to describe a person who has the desire to travel.
• Use In A Sentence : Every time I go to the airport it gives me itchy feet to go somewhere new.

54. To Make One’s Way Back To Something

• Meaning : to slowly work one’s way back to something.
• Use In A Sentence : It was raining cats and dogs, but I slowly made my way back to the farm.

55. To Take Someone For A Ride

• Meaning : to deceive someone.
• Use In A Sentence : I can’t believe I let Joe take me for a ride like that. I should have known he wasn’t telling me the truth.

56. Road Rage

• Meaning : angry or violent behavior caused by stress from driving.
• Use In A Sentence : A driver who hit two people in a road rage attack has been arrested.

57. To Get The Show On The Road

• Meaning : to get things started. To start the journey. To begin to work.
• Use In A Sentence : Well, I guess we better get the show on the road if we want to be there before noon.

58. To Sail Close To The Wind

• Meaning : to do something that is risky or dangerous.
• Use In A Sentence : You are going to get yourself in trouble one day if you keep sailing close to the wind.

59. To Live Out Of A Suitcase

• Meaning : to briefly stay in several locations. Never staying in the same place long enough to unpack your bags.
• Use In A Sentence : I am tired of living out of a suitcase. I miss being at home.

60. To Hitch Your Wagon To A Star

• Meaning : to set high goals; to aim high.
• Use In A Sentence : My parents always encouraged me to hitch my wagon to a star and aim high in life. That is the reason I am where I am today.

61. Wheels Fell Off

• Meaning : slang for when an unexpected problem arises.
• Use In A Sentence : Everything was going as planned until the wheels fells off and we had to abort the mission.

62. Road Hog

• Meaning : a driver who takes up too much space making it difficult for others to pass.
• Use In A Sentence : This guy is a road hog. I can’t pass him.

63. To Send Flying

• Meaning : to cause something to be scattered about.
• Use In A Sentence : I quickly turned the corner and bumped into Mrs. Smith and sent all her books flying.

64. To Cross The Bridge When You Get To It

• Meaning : to address the problem when/if it happens, not before.
• Use In A Sentence : I am nervous that if Jack gets sick we will have to cancel our vacation. Well, we will cross that bridge when we get to it, but let’s not worry about it right now.

Additional Reading: 11 Useful Bridge Idioms – Meaning & Examples

65. All Hands On Deck

• Meaning : everyone needs to help with a certain task.
• Use In A Sentence : We only had half an hour before Mom and Dad are going to be here, it is all hands on deck . We need everybody’s help.

66. Bump In The Road

• Meaning : a problem that arises and slows down progress. Usually only temporary.
• Use In A Sentence : We hit a bump in the road when the materials were delayed 4 days, but in the end, we finished the project on time.

67. To Burn One’s Bridges

• Meaning : to do something that can’t be undone. Usually, it refers to leaving a situation (like a job) in an unfavorable way that you are no longer welcome back or you can no longer return. Opposite of building bridges .
• Use In A Sentence : Not only did he quit his job, but he started to work for our biggest competitor. He certainly burned his bridges. I hope it works out for him because he will never be able to work for us again.

68. To Give The Green Light To Someone

• Meaning : to give someone permission to do something.
• Use In A Sentence : Tom gave me the green light to tell the staff about the company’s upcoming projects.

69. To Go The Extra Mile

• Meaning : to do more than the necessary or to do more than expected to get something done.
• Use In A Sentence : Joe went the extra mile to make everything was perfect so that his wife would enjoy the trip.

70. To Be In One’s Wheelhouse

• Meaning : To be in one’s comfort zone or to match their abilities.
• Use In A Sentence : You need to get out of your wheelhouse and go meet new people.

71. Just Around The Corner

• Meaning : used to describe something that is going to happen very soon.
• Use In A Sentence : Our trip to the Bahamas is just around the corner. I can’t wait.

72. Light At The End Of The Tunnel

• Meaning : there is hope that a difficult situation is going to end very soon.
• Use In A Sentence : Now that the government is going to sit down and talk about it. There is finally light at the end of the tunnel that this situation will get better.

73. To Lower The Boom

• Meaning : to punish someone one. To put a stop to something someone is doing.
• Use In A Sentence : Mrs. Johnson lowered the boom on Jimmy and Byron for misbehaving during class.

74. To Be Off One’s Trolley

• Meaning : (slang) used to describe someone who is acting crazy or insane.
• Use In A Sentence : You must be off your trolley if you think you can get all that work done before Monday.

75. On The Fly

• Meaning : to do something quickly without much thought or planning in advance.
• Use In A Sentence : George just got up there and gave a speech on the fly.

76. Turn The Corner

• Meaning : to begin to see improvement in a difficult situation. 
• Use In A Sentence : After two days in the hospital, the doctor said that Jane has finally begun to turn the corner. He thinks she will be able to leave the hospital tomorrow.

77. Train Wreck

• Meaning : a major failure or complete disaster. It can also be used to describe a person whose life is in a complete mess.
• Use In A Sentence : The trip to the West coasts turned out to be a train wreck. Nothing went as planned.

78. Where The Rubber Meets The Road

• Meaning : a crucial test. The point where one’s efforts are put to the test.
• Use In A Sentence : This is where the rubber meets the road. Depending on how people react, we will know whether it was a good idea or not.

79. Walk The Plank

• Meaning : used to describe the action of forcing someone to accept the consequences of something.
• Use In A Sentence : Once we find the person who did this they will most certainly have to walk the plank.

80. Don’t Put The Cart Before The Horse

• Meaning : it is a nice way to tell someone to do things in the right order.
• Use In A Sentence : Don’t put the cart before the horse. First, look for a job that you like. After you have a job then you can start thinking about how you plan on spending your money.

81. To Spin One’s Wheels

• Meaning : to waste one’s time on something without seeing much progress.
• Use In A Sentence : Sam is just spinning his wheels. He isn’t getting anywhere in this job. He needs to look for something better.

82. To Take The High Road

• Meaning : to take a more ethical approach. An approach that is least likely to offend or upset others.
• Use In A Sentence : Even though Megan treated Paul bad at work. Paul decided to take the high road and not return the same treatment to her.

83. To Take The Wind Out Of Someone’s Sails

• Meaning : to discourage someone.
• Use In A Sentence : Brian was making great progress on the project until Mark came by and started to pick at the imperfections. He really took the wind out of Brian’s sails.

84. On A Wing And A Prayer

• Meaning : there is very little chance of success.
• Use In A Sentence : When we decided to quit our jobs and start this company we did it on a wing and a prayer.

85. Puddle Jumper

• Meaning : a small airplane that only travels short distances
• Use In A Sentence : Once we arrive on the island, we are going to hop on a puddle jumper and it will take us the rest of the way.

86. Fifth Wheel or Third Wheel

• Meaning : an unwanted extra person.
• Use In A Sentence : Jim was the only person without a date. He felt like a fifth wheel so he left early.

87. To Desert/Leave A Sinking Ship

• Meaning : to leave a situation in which one knows failure is imminent and it is better to leave before it is too late.
• Use In A Sentence : I hate to be the one who deserts a sinking ship, but I need to think about my future.

88. Any Port In A Storm

• Meaning : when in a difficult situation any solution is a good solution even though one may not like it.
• Use In A Sentence : Adam didn’t want to move back in with his parents, but after quitting his job he can’t afford a new place. Any port in a storm, I guess.

89. To Get One’s Wings

• Meaning : to get a pilot’s license.
• Use In A Sentence : John was over the moon to finally get his wings.

90. In Full Flight

• Meaning : to flee as quickly as possible.
• Use In A Sentence : The thieves left the scene in full flight, but eventually, the police caught them.

91. To Hit The Ground Running

• Meaning : to start an activity with a lot of energy and enthusiasm. To begin at full speed.
• Use In A Sentence : Today is a new day. We need to forget about what happened yesterday and we need to hit the ground running.

92. To Have Your Feet On The Ground

• Meaning : to remain calm in a difficult situation. To think practically in a stressful situation.
• Use In A Sentence : When he lost his job Joe really showed that he had his feet on the ground by not panicking and making wise decisions.

93. One’s Old Stomping Grounds

• Meaning : a favorite place where a person likes to go to often.
• Use In A Sentence : After talking for a little bit, we all went back to our old stomping grounds, our favorite restaurant where we used to hang out every Friday.

94. Pit Stop

• Meaning : a short break during a road trip to get food, refuel or rest up a bit before continuing.
• Use In A Sentence : Do you think we could take a pit stop? I really need to use the bathroom.

95. To Hitch A Ride

• Meaning : to ask for a free ride. To go somewhere in somebody else’s car.
• Use In A Sentence : Instead of taking the bus, I am just going to hitch a ride with Steve.

96. Make Headway

• Meaning : to make progress.
• Use In A Sentence : After working hard for several months, we are finally making headway and it looks like it will be done before the deadline.

97. To Part Ways

• Meaning : to go in different directions.
• Use In A Sentence : After working together for 15 years we decided to part ways and start our own separate companies.

98. To Pull Up Stakes

• Meaning : to pack up and leave a campsite.
• Use In A Sentence : It started to rain and it didn’t look like it was going to stop. So we decided to pull up stakes and start to move down the mountain.

99. To Set Up Camp

• Meaning : to prepare an area to sleep outside.
• Use In A Sentence : We need to set up camp before it gets dark. 

100. Tire Kicker

• Meaning : a person who appears to be interesting in buying something, but in the end, does not buy it. They tend to waste a lot of time.
• Use In A Sentence: I think he is just a tire kicker. He has no interest in buying that car.

101. To Walk It Off

• Meaning : to walk around in an attempt to feel better. Usually after an injury.
• Use In A Sentence : I tried to walk it off, but I think I seriously hurt my ankle this time.

102. Without A Hitch

• Meaning : to have no problems.
• Use In A Sentence : how was your trip? Perfect, everything went off without a hitch.

103. Clear Sailing

• Meaning : used to describe a situation that is free from obstacles or problems; easy going.
• Use In A Sentence : Now that we have the new part, it is clear sailing from here on out.

There you have it! 103 Travel Idioms! Which one is your favorite? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

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What It Means to Stay Home When You Travel for a Living

By Meredith Carey

All products featured on Condé Nast Traveler are independently selected by our editors. However, when you buy something through our retail links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Ask wildlife photographer and biologist Cristina Mittermeier when she last spent more than a few weeks at home and her answer comes quickly: 2014, when she and her partner launched their non-profit, SeaLegacy . For travel writer Julia Buckley , it was at least three years ago. For Traveler contributor Sarah Khan , it was more than eight.

Now, with coronavirus-related travel restrictions and shelter-in-place announcements spreading around the world, they're all homebound, forced to sit still for the first time in years. "I can’t see myself traveling for three or four months," Buckley told us, while Khan is wondering if she needs to postpone a trip in July to visit family in India. Through it all, they've lost assignments, expedition opportunities, and more.

We called Khan, Buckley, and Mittermeier—based in the U.S., U.K., and Canada, respectively—to see how they are grappling with staying inside and find out what their life looks like for the next few months, as their careers shift and morph while leisure travel comes to a standstill .

Writer Sarah Khan in Seville

"We've taken a lot for granted."

Sarah Khan is a 'Condé Nast Traveler' contributor and travel writer based in New York City.

I have a lot of anxiety just in general, because being a freelancer in any industry right now is obviously very crazy. But I've tied my career for the last eight years to travel. It's making me reassess what I do, what I can do, and what I should be doing.

One of the things that struck me this weekend was that I won't see my parents for months and months, so the first thing I want to do when this is over is go home to Boston to see my parents and my sister. Then, go to California and see my brother and his family. Then after that, I want to go back to India , which is obviously having a hard time and things are probably going to get worse there, too. The first places that come to my mind for travel are the places I consider home .

We've taken a lot for granted, as far as how we interact with other people and how free we are with people. As much as there are a lot of inspiring stories that are engendering a feeling of community, I still feel like on a very specific interpersonal level we are going to have these anxieties about shaking hands and hugging and touching and interacting with people we don't know. And when you travel, that's all you do.

At the same time, I do think the virtual community is definitely thriving. I've had a lot of people that I haven't talked to in a long time—who have their own friends and family and lots going on—checking in on me, because they know I’m on my own in New York. It has made me want to reach out to those that I don’t talk to that often to check in and see how they're doing. Seeing the sense of community grow is really nice. I just hope it translates into the real world, when we all come out of this a little bit traumatized and shell shocked.

"I’m using this time to get back to being excited to travel again."

Julia Buckey is a 'Condé Nast Traveler' contributor and and author of 'Heal Me: In Search of a Cure.' She is based in the U.K.

I’m worried. I'm worried that we'll all get a bit more insular and a bit more reluctant to visit other countries. I’m worried that if we’re not careful, people will only want to book with big tour operators, stay at big, all-inclusive hotels, and book package holidays because everyone's scared of booking anything smaller. But I'm most worried that all the incredible places that I've been and the incredible people that I've met are not going to be there when it's time to visit them again.

Jesse Ashlock

Lane Nieset

Kaylee Harter

I was in Italy at the end of February, at the very start of the outbreak —before it was clear how serious it was. Now, hearing what they're going through is just heartbreaking. I have friends that have lost everything. And they don't even care right now, they're just hoping that they stay alive for the next few months.

Julia Buckley in front of California's Chandelier Tree in January

So for me, I can't wait to go back to Italy, spend as much money as I possibly can, and get writing about it again to bring people back.

When I travel, I buy loads of stuff. I keep it to remind me of the places that I've been, without ever really using it up because I’m never home. But now, I've emptied my cupboards. I'm using olive oil from Puglia. I'm eating salami that I bought in Parma in November and just never ate. I've got tortellini from Bologna from a trip in December. I'm washing my hands with this soap from Brazil. I’m drinking wine from my trip to Portugal last summer. I'm reading about places I've been to create this feeling that I'm planning for a trip, even though I can’t see myself traveling for three or four months.

Growing up, travel was a massive excitement and something that didn't happened all the time. I only went on three holidays abroad before I was at university. But when you’re on the road all the time—however excited you get and however overwhelmed you get by the places, the beauty, or the people—you're already on to the next trip, mentally. So I’m using this time to get back to really being excited to travel again.

"I’m surrendering to the experience of being stuck at home."

Cristina Mittermeier is a National Geographic contributing photographer and founder of SeaLegacy , a non-profit dedicated to building a healthy future for our oceans. She is based in Vancouver Island, Canada.

Since [Paul Nicklen] and I started SeaLegacy in 2014, I don't think I've spent more than three weeks at home in Vancouver Island at any given point. People think it's glamorous to travel all the time but it is brutal. It’s brutal to be away from home so often, to be packed in airplanes, to wake up in new place and not have any idea where you are or where the bathroom is at 5 a.m. So I’m just surrendering to the experience of being stuck at home and finding the joy of being in my own company.

Cristina Mittermeier signing prints from her photography book, Amaze.

We were very sad to cancel a number of expeditions that we have already funded. I was supposed to go with Andy Mann to Madagascar for two weeks to document a mangrove regeneration project, just south of a very popular tourist site called Nosy Be. Plus, 2020 is a very big year for the oceans: there were a number of really important conferences that were going to be happening and most of them are now canceled. I think that's the most painful.

To try and make up for that, Paul and I decided that one of our best contributions would be to use this time to use our Instagram accounts to educate and share our knowledge of the ocean through stories in something that we're calling “ Ocean School .” We’re inviting children to build that foundation of ocean literacy and understand why things like climate change really matter.

I do think, though, that the silver lining is that our planet is getting a respite. We're seeing blue skies. Animals are coming back to places where they haven't been for years and I think emissions are dropping. The price we’re paying in human lives and in the economy is terrible. But I hope we emerge from this with a different outlook on what capitalism has done to our planet and humanity. And with a little more wisdom to try to draft a different version of the future.

• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Meaning of travel in English

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travel verb ( MAKE JOURNEY )

• I like to travel but, then again, I'm very fond of my home .
• It's often quicker to travel across country and avoid the major roads altogether .
• Passengers without proper documentation will not be allowed to travel.
• The elderly travel free on public transport .
• We like to travel in the autumn when there are fewer tourists .
• The tragedy is that cultures don't always travel well, and few immigrant groups can sustain their culture over the long term .
• around Robin Hood's barn idiom
• baggage drop
• communication
• first class
• peripatetically
• public transportation
• super-commuting

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

travel verb ( MOVE )

• The objects travel in elliptical orbits .
• In 1947, a pilot flying over the Cascades saw nine metallic flying objects traveling at an estimated 1,200 miles per hour .
• The elevator traveled smoothly upward .
• White light separates out into its component wavelengths when traveling through a prism .
• As the material travels through the winding machine , excess liquid is squeezed out by rollers .
• Lead dust travels easily from hands to mouth and can't be seen .
• body English
• kinetic energy
• recirculate
• recirculation
• repair to somewhere

travel verb ( BREAK RULE )

• foul trouble
• free-throw lane
• free-throw line
• run-and-gun

travel noun ( ACTIVITY )

• They offer a 10 percent discount on rail travel for students .
• The price includes travel and accommodation but meals are extra .
• His work provided him with the opportunity for a lot of foreign travel.
• The popular myth is that air travel is more dangerous than travel by car or bus .
• Passes are available for one month's unlimited travel within Europe .
• break-journey
• circumnavigation

travel noun ( MOVEMENT OF OBJECT )

• It can be difficult to predict the travel of smoke from smouldering fires .
• The travel of the bullets and blood spatter showed that he was lying on the ground on his side when he was shot .
• This seemed to prove that light has a finite speed of travel.
• Striking the ball when the clubhead is already past the lowest point of its travel gives a slight overspin.
• The actuator then rotates its output shaft to the extremes of its travel.
• bring someone on
• non-competitor
• park the bus idiom
• play big idiom
• step/move up a gear idiom

travel | Intermediate English

Travel | business english, examples of travel, collocations with travel.

These are words often used in combination with travel .

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Translations of travel

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Word of the Day

a computer program designed to have a conversation with a human being, usually over the internet

Searching out and tracking down: talking about finding or discovering things

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• travel (MAKE JOURNEY)
• travel light
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• THE BIG IDEA

Why travel should be considered an essential human activity

Travel is not rational, but it’s in our genes. Here’s why you should start planning a trip now.

In 1961, legendary National Geographic photographer Volkmar Wentzel captured two women gazing at the surf off Peggy’s Cove, Nova Scotia. This and all the other images in this story come from the National Geographic image collection.

I’ve been putting my passport to good use lately. I use it as a coaster and to level wobbly table legs. It makes an excellent cat toy.

Welcome to the pandemic of disappointments. Canceled trips, or ones never planned lest they be canceled. Family reunions, study-abroad years, lazy beach vacations. Poof. Gone. Obliterated by a tiny virus, and the long list of countries where United States passports are not welcome.

Only a third of Americans say they have traveled overnight for leisure since March, and only slightly more, 38 percent, say they are likely to do so by the end of the year, according to one report. Only a quarter of us plan on leaving home for Thanksgiving, typically the busiest travel time. The numbers paint a grim picture of our stilled lives.

It is not natural for us to be this sedentary. Travel is in our genes. For most of the time our species has existed, “we’ve lived as nomadic hunter-gatherers moving about in small bands of 150 or fewer people,” writes Christopher Ryan in Civilized to Death . This nomadic life was no accident. It was useful. “Moving to a neighboring band is always an option to avoid brewing conflict or just for a change in social scenery,” says Ryan. Robert Louis Stevenson put it more succinctly: “The great affair is to move.”

What if we can’t move, though? What if we’re unable to hunt or gather? What’s a traveler to do? There are many ways to answer that question. “Despair,” though, is not one of them.

In this aerial view from 1967, wall-to-wall seaside sunbathers relax under umbrellas or on beach towels in Ocean City, Maryland .

A 1967 fall festival in Guadalajara, Mexico , starred traditionally costumed musicians and dancers.

We are an adaptive species. We can tolerate brief periods of forced sedentariness. A dash of self-delusion helps. We’re not grounded, we tell ourselves. We’re merely between trips, like the unemployed salesman in between opportunities. We pass the days thumbing though old travel journals and Instagram feeds. We gaze at souvenirs. All this helps. For a while.

We put on brave faces. “Staycation Nation,” the cover of the current issue of Canadian Traveller magazine declares cheerfully, as if it were a choice, not a consolation.

Today, the U.S. Travel Association, the industry trade organization, is launching a national recovery campaign called “ Let’s Go There .” Backed by a coalition of businesses related to tourism—hotels, convention and visitor bureaus, airlines—the initiative’s goal is to encourage Americans to turn idle wanderlust into actual itineraries.

The travel industry is hurting. So are travelers. “I dwelled so much on my disappointment that it almost physically hurt,” Paris -based journalist Joelle Diderich told me recently, after canceling five trips last spring.

(Related: How hard has the coronavirus hit the travel industry? These charts tell us.)

My friend James Hopkins is a Buddhist living in Kathmandu . You’d think he’d thrive during the lockdown, a sort-of mandatory meditation retreat. For a while he did.

But during a recent Skype call, James looked haggard and dejected. He was growing restless, he confessed, and longed “for the old 10-countries-a-year schedule.” Nothing seemed to help, he told me. “No matter how many candles I lit, or how much incense I burned, and in spite of living in one of the most sacred places in South Asia, I just couldn’t change my habits.”

When we ended our call, I felt relieved, my grumpiness validated. It’s not me; it’s the pandemic. But I also worried. If a Buddhist in Kathmandu is going nuts, what hope do the rest of us stilled souls have?

I think hope lies in the very nature of travel. Travel entails wishful thinking. It demands a leap of faith, and of imagination, to board a plane for some faraway land, hoping, wishing, for a taste of the ineffable. Travel is one of the few activities we engage in not knowing the outcome and reveling in that uncertainty. Nothing is more forgettable than the trip that goes exactly as planned.

Related: Vintage photos of the glamour of travel

Travel is not a rational activity. It makes no sense to squeeze yourself into an alleged seat only to be hurled at frightening speed to a distant place where you don’t speak the language or know the customs. All at great expense. If we stopped to do the cost-benefit analysis, we’d never go anywhere. Yet we do.

That’s one reason why I’m bullish on travel’s future. In fact, I’d argue travel is an essential industry, an essential activity. It’s not essential the way hospitals and grocery stores are essential. Travel is essential the way books and hugs are essential. Food for the soul. Right now, we’re between courses, savoring where we’ve been, anticipating where we’ll go. Maybe it’s Zanzibar and maybe it’s the campground down the road that you’ve always wanted to visit.

(Related: Going camping this fall? Here’s how to get started.)

James Oglethorpe, a seasoned traveler, is happy to sit still for a while, and gaze at “the slow change of light and clouds on the Blue Ridge Mountains” in Virginia, where he lives. “My mind can take me the rest of the way around this world and beyond it.”

It’s not the place that is special but what we bring to it and, crucially, how we interact with it. Travel is not about the destination, or the journey. It is about stumbling across “a new way of looking at things,” as writer Henry Miller observed. We need not travel far to gain a fresh perspective.

No one knew this better than Henry David Thoreau , who lived nearly all of his too-short life in Concord, Massachusetts. There he observed Walden Pond from every conceivable vantage point: from a hilltop, on its shores, underwater. Sometimes he’d even bend over and peer through his legs, marveling at the inverted world. “From the right point of view, every storm and every drop in it is a rainbow,” he wrote.

Thoreau never tired of gazing at his beloved pond, nor have we outgrown the quiet beauty of our frumpy, analog world. If anything, the pandemic has rekindled our affection for it. We’ve seen what an atomized, digital existence looks like, and we (most of us anyway) don’t care for it. The bleachers at Chicago ’s Wrigley Field; the orchestra section at New York City ’s Lincoln Center; the alleyways of Tokyo . We miss these places. We are creatures of place, and always will be.

After the attacks of September 11, many predicted the end of air travel, or at least a dramatic reduction. Yet the airlines rebounded steadily and by 2017 flew a record four billion passengers. Briefly deprived of the miracle of flight, we appreciated it more and today tolerate the inconvenience of body scans and pat-downs for the privilege of transporting our flesh-and-bone selves to far-flung locations, where we break bread with other incarnate beings.

Landscape architects work in their Rio de Janeiro, Brazil , studio in 1955.

A tourist photographs a towering century plant in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, in 1956.

In our rush to return to the world, we should be mindful of the impact of mass tourism on the planet. Now is the time to embrace the fundamental values of sustainable tourism and let them guide your future journeys. Go off the beaten path. Linger longer in destinations. Travel in the off-season. Connect with communities and spend your money in ways that support locals. Consider purchasing carbon offsets. And remember that the whole point of getting out there is to embrace the differences that make the world so colorful.

“One of the great benefits of travel is meeting new people and coming into contact with different points of view,” says Pauline Frommer, travel expert and radio host.

So go ahead and plan that trip. It’s good for you, scientists say . Plotting a trip is nearly as enjoyable as actually taking one. Merely thinking about a pleasurable experience is itself pleasurable. Anticipation is its own reward.

I’ve witnessed first-hand the frisson of anticipatory travel. My wife, not usually a fan of travel photography, now spends hours on Instagram, gazing longingly at photos of Alpine lodges and Balinese rice fields. “What’s going on?” I asked one day. “They’re just absolutely captivating,” she replied. “They make me remember that there is a big, beautiful world out there.”

Many of us, myself included, have taken travel for granted. We grew lazy and entitled, and that is never good. Tom Swick, a friend and travel writer, tells me he used to view travel as a given. Now, he says, “I look forward to experiencing it as a gift.”

Related Topics

• TRAVEL PHOTOGRAPHY
• VINTAGE PHOTOGRAPHY

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Why The Emotional Meaning of Home Matters More Than You Think

November 9, 2021

Home is where the heart is, right? Not quite. Here’s why it’s worth taking a look at the deeper meaning of home. The emotional meaning of home.  

Table of Contents

The Emotional Meaning of Home

This week, I was supposed to be travelling. But I was sick. I stayed at home.

Much is written about the power of travel, about how new places, people and experiences light up our senses and stimulate our minds. Little is written about those other two words. Sickness. And home.

Recommended reading: The Importance of Doing Nothing

Perhaps it’s a product of practicality. When writers get sick, it’s much harder to write. Only when all hope of recovery is gone do people push through and put pen to paper, keyboard to screen or blink to assistant as in the case of Jean-Dominique Bauby , the journalist who wrote The Diving Bell and the Butterfly*.

This man had suffered a stroke that left him “locked in,” able to communicate only by closing one eye. An assistant would trace the letters in the alphabet and his eyelashes would flutter when she reached the right swirl. Each word took two minutes. The work, ten months to write.

Home is Not a Place

And to write about home, whether healthy or well, is to write about love. That is, a word we assume we know what it means until we actually stop and think.

And that’s how they all tie in together, those three words, I think.

They force us to think. They give us the time to think.  The permission to think instead of achieve.

Words to Describe the Feeling of Home

When travel strips us from our everyday cares, removes our social crutches and forces us to face the truth that there is no-one but ourselves for company one long and lonely night, when there’s nothing, really nothing else we can be doing but waiting silently where we are…

We give ourselves permission to really let our thoughts fly.

Emotions Associated with Home

And sickness, spent at home, does much the same thing. It leaves us with our thoughts and a desperate desire for change, to make this stop, in a way that sickness on the road cannot. On the road, sickness focuses on survival: the need to reach somewhere safe and the desire to go home.

At home, we are left with our thoughts. And, if we’re lucky, reruns of CSI Miami.

The Psychology of Home

Of all my thoughts about home lately, the ones I recall the most are the cries of the terminally ill.

“I just want to die at home.”

Since hospitals remain dismal places, with air that smells like corrugated cabbage and corridors washed down with printed leaflets and bleach, the first hearing of such a statement sounds like a perfectly sensible idea.

Yet it delves deeper than that. A desire to reach home even when it is hours and days away with a painful path to get there and an uncertain welcome at the end.

Searching for Home: What is Home to You?

My father once told me of a patient he cared for in Bellevue Hospital, New York. Diagnosed with a terminal illness, he longed to reach his homeland, Croatia, though he no longer had family there.

Since this was the early 90s, the hospital staff were aghast.

“You can’t go to Croatia, there’s a war on over there!”

“Well,” shrugged the man. “What’s the worst that can happen?”

As I write, I feel shaky and I know that a fight to the death is going on inside me. Thankfully, medical opinion predicts that it is I who should win and the microbes the ones to die. This time around, at least. One hundred years ago, it would have been a different story. And even now there are no guarantees.

I have shivered and slept and let my thoughts fly.

And then I turned on Twitter. To see that the theme for this week’s #FriFotos was “home.”

Robert Frost once said that “Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in.”

To which I’ll add my own fevered line:

Home is where you long to be whenever sickness calls.

So keep well, enjoy the photos and have a have a think…what is home for you?

The Emotional Meaning of Home Around the World

More on Sustainable Travel

• Start here: how to be a responsible tourist
• Is dark tourism ethical? What you need to know.
• Get inspired by this collection of the best sustainable travel blogs.
• 9 powerful benefits of sustainable tourism (and why you should care)
• The unmistakable emotional meaning of home
• Why you need to know about the cork trees in Portugal
• The importance of doing nothing
• How to get off the beaten track : three techniques you haven’t thought of
• How to find the most ethical travel destinations
• Have we got it wrong about marking historical milestones?
• 7 Fun and tasty examples of great food tourism
• 15 sustainable beach tips for your next trip to the sea

39 thoughts on “Why The Emotional Meaning of Home Matters More Than You Think”

Going through some adventurous Travel articles and then suddenly found something interesting and it made me really home sick now and made me realize importance of home. I hope you are better now and measuring some new destinations.

Thank you! And I hope that your home sickness has passed you by by now…Here’s to exploring – and health!

That is a very interesting take on the definition of home. Never thought of it that way

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Finding the Universe

Travel tales, photography and a dash of humor

20 Ways to Travel From Home

Last updated: December 16, 2023 . Written by Laurence Norah - Leave a Comment

We love to travel. But it’s not always possible to travel all the time. Sometimes world events conspire against us to restrict travel, other times our budget might not stretch to cover travel. All is not lost however! There are lots of ways to travel from home, which I’m going to cover in this post.

These options, many of which are free, will let you get some of the thrill of travelling even when you are at home. They can inspire you for future trips, help with your trip planning, teach you about a destination, or simply fill some time with travel related activities.

If you have children, some of our tips for travelling from home can be a great way for families to virtually learn about the world, different cultures, history, animals, and more.

One of the great things about armchair travel is that you can do it from home at any time! And it generally requires little, if any, planning or money to do it.

Whilst nothing can entirely replace the wonder of traveling to a new destination, we hope these ideas on traveling from home will give you some ways to explore the world from wherever you are.

How to Travel from Home

Whether you’re planning a trip that you want to get more excited about, want to research a potential destination, or just want some travel themed ways to entertain yourself or your family at home, we hope these ideas for traveling from home inspire you to do some armchair traveling or your own!

Guided Virtual Tours

When we travel, we love to take guided walking tours. They’re a great way to get to know a destination or specific attraction, and learn about what it is we’re seeing.

One walking tour company that we often use and recommend is Context Travel . We’re delighted that they also offer virtual guided tours. These tours can be a great way to learn about a location in advance of your visit, or even just as a way to explore somewhere you might not have thought of visiting. If you’re at home with kids, you can think of one of these tours as a virtual field trip!

Context offers a range of tours from home. These are divided into courses and private virtual tours. The seminars are pre-scheduled events which are open to all, you just need to sign up and pay the fee.

The private tours are more expensive, but are designed to give you a private and more detailed tours on a specific subject. These are similar to the real-world tours they offer.

The other nice thing about Context is that if you don’t see a private tour that suits your particular interests, you can drop them a request for a tour that does.

We also have an exclusive discount code for Context’s virtual tours and seminars, which is travelcats . Enter the code at checkout to get 15% off your first order.

Of course, there are several other tour companies offering virtual tours as well. See some of the options available here on Viator  for an example of what else is out there.

Books and Audiobooks about Travel

As Anna Quindlen said in How Reading Changed My Life , ““Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.”

We would have to agree. Books are a wonderful way to take a journey without leaving your house, be that on a voyage to fantasy worlds, or on an adventure through our own.

They can be educational, entertaining, and informative, and you can enjoy them almost anywhere. You can choose a specific destination to explore through a travel writer’s eyes, or you can read a travel themed work of fiction. You can read a book for armchair travel, to inspire and help you plan a possible future trip, or as an activity as a family.

Here are some of our favourite travel books, which cover a whole range of travel related subjects. Most of these are also available as audiobooks so you can have someone read to you while you do other tasks.

Non-fiction travel writing

• Any of Bill Bryson’s travel books which are filled with funny anecdotes about his travels, particularly around the USA, UK, and Australia
• Paul Theroux is another well known travel writer with many books to choose from
• A Year in Provence by Peter Mayle – British couple moves to Provence
• The Silk Roads  by Peter Frankopan – history of the Silk Road and the countries it runs through
• Train by Tom Zoellner – great book about train history and riding trains around the world
• A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway – a memoir of Hemingway’s life in 1920’s Paris, published posthumously
• Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert – a travel memoir chronicling the journey of the author through India, Italy and Indonesia

Fiction travel writing

• The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams – Laurence’s all time favourite book. Definite escapism, with a vague travel theme
• The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho – a book about the journey of a young Andalusian shepherd
• The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown – this book about mysterious symbols, ancient societies and hidden clues pave a trail across Europe, with a particular focus on Italy. Definitely a fun read.

Travel Inspiration books

• You Only Live Once – This Lonely Planet book has a massive list of experiences to kindle your excitement for all kinds of things, many of which are travel related
• 1,000 Places to See Before you Die – awesome inspiration for future travels. There is also a United States and Canada version of this book for those traveling around North America.
• Journeys of a Lifetime: 500 of the World’s Greatest Trips – another one for those of you looking for inspiration for planning future adventures

Children’s Travel Books

• The Travel Book: A journey through every country in the world – aimed at kids, this book takes the reader on a journey through 200 countries, with fun facts on all of them

If you’re looking for more travel reading inspiration, check out this comment thread in our Facebook group for lovers of travel.

Travel Themed Films

Of course, books aren’t the only medium which allow us to travel from our own homes. Film is another way we can explore the world, and there are some fantastic travel themed films as well, which make for great viewing.

Some of these are based on true stories, whilst others are entirely fictional. Regardless, there are some great options in here which can serve as inspiration for a future trip, or just provide some travel based entertainment.

Here are just a handful of the movies we love:

• Midnight in Paris – we love this story of an American who travel back to 1920s Paris and meets many of his artistic heroes
• Eat Pray Love – film version of the popular novel by Elizabeth Gilbert
• Lord of the Rings – this film trilogy inspired me to spend a year exploring New Zealand. It’s a stunning showcase of the beauty of the country, as well as an epic story.
• The Secret Life of Walter Mitty – this story of a man searching for a more adventurous life features some stunning travel scenery, including beautiful scenes shot in Iceland
• The Beach – the film (based on a novel by Alex Garland) that inspired thousands of travellers to travel to Thailand
• The Bucket List – the movie that spawned the phrase tells the story of a terminally ill patient trying to accomplish a list of things to do before he dies
• The Way – a bittersweet story of a man walking Spain’s popular Santiago de Compostela pilgrimage after the death of his son
• Out of Africa – an epic romantic drama based on a true story about a Danish woman who moves to Kenya, and the challenges and adventures she faces as a result
• A Walk in the Woods – a movie version of Bill Bryson’s novel of the same name, about his attempt to walk the Appalachian Trail
• Up – if you’re looking for a lovely family movie about travel to watch with your kids (or even without!), this tale of a senior adventurer setting off on a fantastical voyage with a young traveller should hit the spot
• The Lion King – Beautifully remade in glorious 3D in 2019, this coming of age story of a young lion will take you on a beautiful journey through the African wilderness, and might inspire you to head off on safari

As you can see, there are no shortage of movies about travel to inspire your wanderlust!

Travel Podcasts

If you like the idea of learning about travel by audio, you might want to subscribe to a podcast. These are usually regularly updated shows that you can listen to on any of your devices.

There are podcasts across a whole range of subjects, including travel. And of course, within travel, there’s a whole range of podcast topics and shows to choose from, including family travel, budget travel, solo female travel, long term nomadic travel – the list goes on.

As you would imagine, there’s a huge number of travel podcasts to listen to, and they’re also free. So you have nothing to lose by trying a few of them to find one you like. Here are a few suggestions to get you started.

• Rick Steves Podcasts – Rick Steves is one of the best known US based travelers, with his own range of guidebooks, products, and tours. In addition to his popular TV series and radio show, he also has a series of podcasts, covering a number of travel topics, including tips for travel in Europe, and interviews with travel authors and experts.
• Amateur Traveler – hosted by Chris Christensen, this podcast interviews expert travellers from around the world. It’s been running since 2005 and runs weekly, so as you might imagine, pretty much every destination in the world has been covered.
• Rough Guides Podcast – Rough Guide is a popular series of travel guidebooks, and they also offer a number of travel themed podcasts.
• Armchair Explorer – Aaron Miller hosts this popular travel podcast series which features some of the world’s greatest adventurers telling their favourite story from the road. It’s done in a documentary style, which makes for a gripping and immersive experience
• The Travel Diaries – Holly Rubenstein hosts a weekly interview series where she talks to special guests about their travel experiences around the world.
• Y Travel Podcast – Australian couple Caz and Craig have been blogging about travel, with a specific focus on family travel, for about as long as we have. They’ve recently launched a travel podcast, which covers interviews, family travel and travel tips.

As you can see, there are plenty of podcasts to choose from, and there are thousands more out there to discover!

Live Webcams, 360 views, & Virtual Visits

If you want to explore a location at your leisure rather than on a tour, you have no shortage of options. There’s a huge number of live webcams and virtual tours available at destinations around the world.

These range in what they offer, from 360 degree interactive tours of existing locations, through to webcams, virtual renditions of past locations, and more. You can visit natural wonders, museums, wild animal locations, zoos, parks, observatories, and more!

Here are a few options to consider, all of which are free.

• Google has a virtual tour of the  Pyramids of Giza
• Take a wander around a virtual rendition of Angkor Wat in Cambodia right  here
• This is an excellent interactive  virtual tour of Stonehenge  by English Heritage
• Take a walk inside the Colosseum in Rome thanks to  this tour from Google
• Lots of museums have virtual tours as well. Check out  this tour of the Louvre ,  this one of the Vatican Museum ,  this tour of the British Museum  and  this one of the Metropolitan Museum of Art  to get you started
• A series of live webcams of wild animals across countries in Africa
• Live farm animals from a farm in the UK

As you can see, there’s something here for most interests!

Decorate your House with a Travel Theme

If you love to travel, one great way to get a travel vibe even when you are at home is to decorate your home with a travel theme.

There are a huge number of travel themed home decor items out there, and you can go as crazy or understated as you like. The list of what is available is long, but just to get you thinking, there’s travel themed bedding, wall art, throw pillows, globes, custom photo frames, tea towels, mugs, and more!

Maybe it’s just a few items to remind you of a trip, or perhaps you want to theme a room in a travel style. Or, you really love travel and want to give your whole home a travel makeover!

Whatever direction you want to go, we think you’ll find some products to suit.

We have some favourite travel themed items we decorate our own home with. We love our wall map pinboard for example, which lets us plan future trips and remember past trips. We’re also big fans of these travel themed wall decals , which add a cool travel theme to the wall of any room, and Jess loves her French inspired trinket dishes .

For more ideas, check out our comprehensive travel inspired home decor post, which has over 75 ideas for home decor items covering every room in your home!

Through Cooking

For many travelers, experiencing the food of a country is one of the highlights of a trip. Whether it’s pizza in Italy, curries in India, or the comfort food of the USA’s southeast, food has a way to transport us to a destination. Sometimes, just eating a dish we’ve experienced in a place can take us right back there!

If you can’t travel to a country, that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy its food. You can do this either by going out to a restaurant, or by learning how to recreate some of your favourite food experiences from your travels yourself.

Learning how to cook different dishes from around the world can be a really fun experience, and one you can involve your whole family in. You get multiple benefits – a new meal to add to your cooking repertoire, a fun experience everyone can join in on, an opportunity to learn about a culture through its food, and of course, a tasty meal to eat at the end of it all!

There are lots of ways to learn how to cook different dishes from around the world. To start with, there’s no shortage of cookbooks focused on the foods of different destinations. Some of these provide recipes from around the world, whereas other may focus on one country or region. Here are some to consider.

• This cookbook features 450 dishes from around the world
• This cookbook covers 1,000 foods you need to eat before you die, from all around the world
• Love comfort food? Check out this recipe book featuring comfort food from around the world
• This cookbook has over 500 recipes focused on the Mediterranean region

You can also check out Youtube cooking channels or TV shows about food . If you have cable or a streaming service subscription, you probably get at least one channel focused on food and cooking.

There are also lots of  specialist food blogs, such as this one focusing on the food of the Seychelles , or this one focusing on Italian dishes.

We’re fairly sure that you’ll have no trouble finding information to recreate delicious meals to take your taste buds on a journey!

Plan a Future Trip

Just because you aren’t traveling right now, doesn’t mean you won’t ever travel again. So one way to fulfil your wanderlust might be to spend some time planning a future trip.

Planning a trip, especially one of the independent trips we enjoy the most, can be quite a lot of work, but also a lot of fun. You have to figure out exactly where you want to go, everything you want to see, any transport requirements, and plan where you’ll be staying. Then there’s what you’ll likely do each day, and of course, you’ll probably want to start thinking about potential dining options as well!

If you’re planning on travelling with others, perhaps friends or on a family trip, then you’re also going to want to discuss their interests and priorities for the trip as well. In our experience, group trips work best when everyone is involved in the planning from the beginning.

The trip you choose to plan can either be a real trip you plan to take in the near future, or you can have fun and put together a fantasy trip.

When it comes to trip planning, obviously we’re a little biased and would recommend you check out a travel blog to help. We have two, this one and Independent Travel Cats , both of which have content on number of destinations around the world, whether you’re planning a city break or a road trip.

Of course, travel blogs aren’t the only option when it comes to trip planning. We also love to use guidebooks, including the Rick Steves series, Lonely Planet and Insight Guides .

When it comes to the logistics of planning a trip, we like to use Google Drive for collaborative documents, Google Maps for putting together trip routes and sightseeing lists, and we have an extensive list of other tools we use for travel planning here .

Travel in Video Games

Not all travel has to be in the real world. You can take a virtual adventure in a video game, either to explore a representation of a real world location, or to tackle entirely different realities.

I’ve been playing video games since I could hook up a game console to a TV, and have spent thousands of hours in virtual worlds. There’s truly a video game for everyone, whether you want to visit distant galaxies, or take a virtual walk in a walking simulator (yes, this is a thing).

Here are some suggestions to get you started:

• The Civilization series . The first entry in the Civilization Series launched in 1991, making this one of the world’s longest running gaming series. The goal of the game is to build an empire, from the dawn of civilization through to the modern day. Along the way you’ll compete with historical world leaders, build structures like the pyramids, and if you’re lucky, take your civilization into space. A fun title that is also somewhat educational, and a great family gaming option.
• Assassin’s Creed series .  If you prefer your games of the cut throat variety, check out the Assassin’s Creed series. These games have your protagonists generally trying to save the world from evil, whilst you explore a number of wonderfully rendered real world locations. If you’ve ever wanted to throw yourself around the 15th century rooftops of Florence, colonial Boston, or one of many other locations, this is a great way to do that.
• No Man’s Sky . If your ideal means of travel is a spaceship with which you can explore the galaxy, you might want to try this vast space exploration simulator.  This has you attempting to survive as you explore literally quadrillions of planets across hundreds of galaxies.
• Watch_Dogs 2 . This third person game is set in a fictionalized version of the San Francisco Bay Area, and has you playing as an elite hacker out to thwart an evil corporations privacy invading plot.
• Lost Ember . If all the above sound a bit like hard work to you, then you might enjoy Lost Ember. Set in a post-human world, this has you exploring a series of stunning environments as a wide range of real world animals. There is a story to follow, but mostly it’s about just exploring the world and relaxing. Another good family entertainment option.
• World of Warcraft . If you are looking to explore a fantasy adventure land on an epic scale in real time with millions of other players, then look no further than World of Warcraft. This game has you picking  a race and faction, and setting out to make your name in a massive world consisting of a number of lands.
• Minecraft . If you prefer the idea of building your own world, then you might like to try Minecraft. If you do, you won’t be alone, as Minecraft is the world’s best selling video game of all time. You can build your own world, tour virtual recreations of real world structures and locations, and generally have a block filled adventure. Another great family option.
• Planet Coaster . If you love to visit theme parks, then you might want to give a theme park simulation game a go. These started back in the 1990s with Theme Park , which had a number of spiritual successors, including the RollerCoaster Tycoon series . Game play is similar, but the graphics have improved over the years. The overall goal is to build and manage your very own theme park, including ride construction as well as staff and concession management. The most recent and widely acclaimed version currently available is Planet Coaster .

Of course, this is just scratching the surface of what’s available when it comes to video games that can take you on a journey, but hopefully it gives you some inspiration and a good starting point for your search.

Revisit Old Travel Photos, Videos, & Memories

When we travel, we often take a lot of photos of our trips. Sometimes we collect souvenirs as well as mementos.

A fun way to go on a virtual trip is to revisit an old adventure you’ve had, and a great way to do that is to look through the photos, videos or travel travel journals you have from past adventures, as well as the items you bought when traveling.

This can be a really nice way to feel a little like you are traveling without leaving the house. Looking at old travel photos and videos, which are often collecting dust (be that real or digital!), is a lovely way to transport you back to a trip.

If you went on the trip with someone else, you might like to connect with them and go through the memories together. This way you’ll remember the moments you experienced together.

This can also be a good opportunity to consider turning some of your digital memories into physical mementos of your adventures, which can make for a fun home based travel themed project.

One easy way to do this is of course just to order prints, but there are lots more ways to turn your photos into physical items. From personalised mugs to custom throw blankets , there are loads of ways to turn memories into reality. See some more ideas in our guide to travel home decor .

Virtual Reality

If you want a more immersive travel experience than can be achieved via a computer game, movie or TV show, then you might want to check out a virtual reality experience instead.

There are two main types of virtual reality system that you can get. First, you can get a specialized virtual reality headset like one of the Oculus systems . Some of these work standalone, whilst other require a high end PC to get good results. This will definitely get you the best VR experience.

Another option is to get a headset which supports your smartphone like this or this . Since most of us already own a smartphone, and these tend to have motion sensitivity and high resolution screens, this can be an inexpensive way to experience virtual reality content.

However, the experience is definitely not as good as a dedicated system. The quality will be lower, there are no cameras to support interacting with real world environments, and you don’t get the advanced controllers that you get with a dedicated VR system. Support for these is definitely waning as manufacturers focus on the dedicated VR headset market.

Whatever option you go for, when you have your virtual reality solution you are going to need some content to view.

If you have a dedicated headset, then a good starting point is Google Earth VR , which will let you explore the world through Google Earth using your headset. Almost as good as being there!

If you have a smartphone solution, check out Google Street View which includes support for smartphone based VR.

Of course, there’s lots more content you can explore in VR, from rollercoaster rides on Youtube to the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican City . You can even take a virtual vacation in the Vacation Simulator game for VR!

Backyard / Home Camping

Taking a camping trip is a popular vacation option, and is particularly popular as a family travel option. Sometimes though, we might not be able to travel to our favourite camping spot.

All is not lost though! You can recreate the fun of a camping adventure in your own home.

If you happen to have a yard or outdoor space, then you can definitely take advantage of this area to pitch a tent, have a BBQ, and generally take part in all the fun camping activities you would do at a real campsite. In some ways it’s even better – you have access to your own bathroom, and if the weather turns bad you can always just go inside!

Even if you don’t have your own outdoor space, you can still recreate your own camping experience. Just set up one of your rooms as a campsite! You might have to be creative with your tent construction as most home floors don’t work so well for pegs, but as it’s unlikely to be windy indoors you can probably get away with a slightly less robust solution. And if you don’t have a tent, you can make a DIY camp out of some sheets and blankets!

We appreciate that camping at home might not be exactly the same as camping at a remote wilderness location, but this can definitely be a fun experience, especially if you have kids.

Travel TV Shows

There’s no shortage of TV shows for you to enjoy and get a travel fix from. These range from spectacular wildlife documentaries, through to television dramas that will make you fall in love with a destination, through to stories of adventure.

So whether it’s travel inspiration you want, a good story, or just to explore far flung corners of the globe, there’s a TV show for you. Here are some to think about.

• Planet Earth – This is an epic documentary series, narrated by Sir David Attenborough, which took four years to make. It will take you on a journey across some of the world’s most awe inspiring natural wonders. There’s also a sequel, Planet Earth 2 .
• Long Way Round – In 2004, actor Ewan McGregor and his friend, TV presenter Charley Boorman, set off on a quest to travel from London to New York by motorcycle. The series covers the 19,000 miles they covered, and the challenges they faced along the way. It has since been followed up with an overland journey from London to Cape town called the Long Way Down . A third iteration called the Long Way Up, from Argentina to California, is due in 2020.
• Parts Unknown – hosted by the late Anthony Bourdain, this travel and food show spans 12 seasons and 104 episodes, and takes the viewer to less visited parts of the world to explore both culture and cuisine.
• Rick Steves’ Europe – Hosted by Rick Steves, these half hour episodes will take you on a journey across a number of European destinations, as well as a number of other countries.
• Outlander – There’s no shortage of fictional TV shows set in stunning locations, but Outlander is perhaps one of the most well known. This time travel shows features locations around the world, but is best known for the stunning Scottish landscapes it depicts
• The Amazing Race – this competitive reality TV game show has couples competing in challenges in locations around the world, as part of a wider challenge to race around the world. It has been filmed in locations around the world, and there have been over thirty seasons to date! The American version is the original, but a number of other countries also have versions of this popular show.
• Places to Love – hosted by Samantha Brown, this lovely travel series focuses on the emotional heart of travel, and the people who make up the places she visits
• Dora the Explorer – If you have younger kids, they will likely love the adventures of Dora. Whilst the show doesn’t visit real world locations, a live action movie released in 2019 does.

Naturally there are thousands more shows to choose from that include elements of travel, allowing you to explore the world from the comfort of your own couch. Many TV shows are also family friendly and educational, so your kids can learn as you watch as well.

Learn a New Skill for Travel

One great way to spend your time in anticipation of a future trip is to learn a new skill that you can use on the trip. This is also a good stay at home activity that you can involve your whole family in together if you wish.

Learning a language for example is a great way to prepare for a trip. This might be a language you started learning at school but have since let lapse, or a language that you know will come in useful on a trip you are already planning. French and Spanish are popular options, but there’s no shortage of languages in the world you can learn.

There are plenty of different ways to learn a language. There are free platforms like Duolingo (ad-supported, paid version available), and more known language programs like Rosetta Stone .

As well as a language, there are other useful skills you can learn to enhance your trips. We all love to take photos when we travel, so learning how to improve your photography can help you capture better memories of your adventures. It’s also a useful skill for all sorts of other events, from family gatherings to events.

Again, there are lots of way to improve your photography while at home. For example, we have lots of free content on our blogs all about photography. Get started on our photography tips page for a range of photography articles.

If you want to take your photography to the next level, then you might prefer a more structured approach to learning. We run a comprehensive online photography course which will teach you everything you need to know about photography across 10 weeks. We’ve already helped over 2,000 people improve their photography, and would love to help you do the same. You can see that here .

Set up a Relaxation Zone

Many of us travel to get away from it all and relax, and spa holidays are a very popular option for achieving this goal.

However, a spa holiday can definitely be an expensive option, and it might not be something your budget stretches to on a regular basis. And even if it does, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to recreate that experience at home anyway?

Well, why not set up your own home relaxation zone?

This can be a place of retreat for you and your family. It can be a specific room in your house, perhaps a spare bedroom where you can read and relax or a bathroom that you can set up for an at-home spa experience. If you have an outdoor space and the climate is suitable, you can also designate an outdoor space. Consider a garden area with flowers and herbs from different parts of the world.

It’s probably a good idea to have some ground rules for use of the space, and to fill it with some items to make it relaxing. For example, you might consider making it a devices free zone, with minimal talking allowed, and a focus on calming activities like meditation, yoga, or reading. Consider using fragrance candles or reed diffusers to create a calming environment that emulates that which you might find at a real spa.

Participate in Travel Forums, Facebook Groups, and Chats

Just because you’re not travelling right now doesn’t mean you can’t indulge your love of travel with like minded individuals! A great way to do this is online, either in travel forums, in Facebook groups, or in group chats devoted to travel.

There are a number of popular travel forums online. These include the long running Thorntree forum by Lonely Planet, the Rick Steves Travel Forum , and the Travelfish forum which focuses on travel in Asia.

If you would prefer to discuss travel on a platform like Facebook, then there are lot of options here too. We even run our own travel Facebook group where you can talk about all things related to travel, including sharing stories of past trips and helping others plan upcoming trips. You can join that here .

Set up Online Video Chats with Travel Loving Friends and Family

Do you have friends and family who love to travel? Maybe you’ve travelled with friends or family in the past, or plan to in the future. Or maybe you just know folks who love travel as much as you do.

If so, a great way to rekindle your love of travel is to connect with them for a chat. As well as being a lovely way to catch up, this will also give you a chance to talk about travel with a like minded individual. You can talk about trips you’ve been on, discuss potential future trips, share stories, and generally pass an amenable time.

There are a wide range of platforms that allow for free video chats, including Skype , Facetime , Facebook Messenger , Whatsapp , and Google Duo . There are also platforms designed to host more people at once, such as Facebook’s Messenger Rooms and Zoom . Whatever you choose, just make sure everyone on the call can use it (some products like Facetime for example are for Apple users only).

If you are planning on hosting a call with multiple participants, it might be an idea to appoint a host, or come up with a loose agenda, so everyone can get the most out of the call.

Travel Themed Subscription Services

If you want a regular dose of travel themed inspiration in your life, one option is to sign up to a travel themed subscription service of some kind.

These are available across a range of product types, and you might find that one of these options replaces an existing service you use with one that is more travel oriented.

Here are some travel themed subscription services we think you might enjoy. These cover all sorts of things, such as food, art, souvenirs, books, spices, handicrafts, beauty products etc. They cover a range of destinations, and some are aimed specifically at kids to start kindle their curiosity in the world.

• The Wordy Traveler – This international travel themed book club sends a quarterly box which includes travel themed books, premium tea as well as a limited edition fine art print.
• Little Passports – This kid focused subscription box aims to give kids across a range of ages a monthly package filled with toys and activities. They have a range of subjects, including a USA and World Travel themed box, which include souvenirs, toys, stickers and collectibles. This is a great option if you have kids and want to encourage a love of travel whilst also teaching them about the world. Based in the USA with shipping a number of destinations around the world.
• Paddington’s Postcards – younger children in the UK will likely enjoy the Unicef Paddington’s Postcard series. For a monthly fee you get a monthly personalised postcard from Paddington Bear, all about the life of a child in another country. A lovely way to learn how people in different countries live
• Nomadik – this subscription box service is perfect for lovers of the outdoors. Each month you get a box filled with at least $50 worth of outdoor gear that’s ready for your next adventure.

Always check when subscribing to any of these services where they ship, and be aware that you might be liable for customs and import taxes if you sign up to a service outside your home country. For this reason, we recommend trying to find a local service where possible.

An International Penpal

Travel is often about the people we meet and the experiences we have with them. Learning about different cultures through others is often one of the more rewarding parts of our travels.

The good news is that you don’t have to travel to have contact with people from around the world. You can find a Penpal, and exchange letters or emails with folks in different places.

There are a number of services to help you find a Penpal, such as Penpal International , Penpal World and International Pen Friends . There are also dedicated sites for children and students to find a Penpal, such as Students of the World .

Of course, as with any service like this, always be very careful about who you give your personal information out to, and if you want to get your kids involved, ensure they understand the principles of staying safe online .

Music and Dancing

Have you ever heard a song come on and been transported back to a memory where you heard it playing? Music, like food, has a powerful ability to stimulate our memories.

With this in mind, you might enjoy listening to music that originates in a destination you’ve visited, or of a destination you plan to visit. A good example of this might be bagpipe music , which for me is impossible to listen to without thinking of the stunning vistas of Scotland.

Other songs might evoke a road trip, such as the songs about Route 66 in the USA. You can also get world music to relax to , or music that showcases the sounds of a continent .

It’s not just music of course. Dance is a hugely important part of many cultures around the world, with different types of dance associated with places and people. Learning a dance of a destination you have visited or plan to go can be a fun way to learn more about the culture, as well as potentially connect with other like minded people.

You can learn to dance at studios in locations around the world, or you can do it for free at home using some of the many online dance class videos . There’s also the side benefit of getting a workout whilst you learn!

Further Reading

That’s it for our detailed guide to how to travel from home. We hope that some of these suggestions have given you some ideas for how to travel without leaving your house, be that on your own or as a family.

Before you head on, we also have some other resources we think you might find useful for planning future trips.

• If you’re travelling from home you’ll probably want a good internet connection to take full advantage of the online offerings. See our guide to the best home WiFi routers for our favourite ways to improve your home internet
• We have guides for how much it  costs to travel in the USA and how much it costs to travel in the UK
• We have a guide to travel inspired home decor , travel themed jewelry and gifts for travelers
• Our guide to the  best travel routers for improving your WiFi signal when travelling
• Our guide to  how to get online when travelling away from home and a guide to choosing the  best VPN for travel
• You’re going to need to power all your devices when you travel – see our guide to the  best travel adapters
• If you are heading out onto the road and looking for a laptop to get some work done, see our guide to the  best laptops for photo editing
• Thinking of buying a new camera? See our guide to the  best cameras for travel
• Looking to improve your photography? See our detailed  online travel photography course here

And that’s it! As always, we hope you found this guide useful. If you have any thoughts on the policies above, or more tips on how to travel from home, just pop them in the comments section below.

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Definition of travel

 (Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

transitive verb

Definition of travel  (Entry 2 of 2)

• peregrinate
• peregrination

Examples of travel in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'travel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Middle English travailen, travelen to torment, labor, strive, journey, from Anglo-French travailler

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing travel

• pre - travel
• see / travel the world
• travel agency
• travel agent
• travel light
• travel sickness
• travel trailer

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Dictionary Entries Near travel

Cite this entry.

“Travel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/travel. Accessed 18 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of travel.

Kids Definition of travel  (Entry 2 of 2)

Middle English travailen "torment, labor, strive, journey," from early French travailler "torment, labor," from an unrecorded Latin verb tripaliare "to torture," from Latin tripalium "an instrument of torture," literally "three stakes," derived from tri- "three" and palus "stake, pale" — related to pale entry 3 , travail

More from Merriam-Webster on travel

Nglish: Translation of travel for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of travel for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about travel

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Definition of travel verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• I go to bed early if I'm travelling the next day.
• + adv./prep. to travel around the world
• I love travelling by train.
• We always travel first class.
• I travel abroad a lot.
• They travelled on the bus to and from work together.
• We travelled to California for the wedding.
• They enjoy travelling to other European countries.
• My client travels extensively on business.
• When I finished college I went travelling for six months (= spent time visiting different places) .
• travel something As a journalist, she has travelled the world .
• He travelled the length of the Nile in a canoe.
• I travel 40 miles to work every day.
• They travelled huge distances in search of food.
• Many residents must travel long distances to a grocery store.
• He travels back and forth across the Atlantic.
• He travels with a huge entourage.
• I prefer travelling independently to going on a package holiday.
• She travels widely in her job.
• The dissidents were unable to hold meetings or travel freely.
• The job gives her the opportunity to travel abroad.
• We decided to travel by car.
• We had to travel separately as we couldn't get seats on the same flight.
• We plan to travel through Thailand and into Cambodia.
• business people who travel regularly to the US
• information for the backpacker who wants to travel farther afield
• Children under five travel free.
• I spent a year travelling around Africa.
• More people travel by air than ever before.
• We travelled the length and breadth of the country.
• We've travelled a long way in the past few days.
• Hundreds of hospital patients may have to travel long distances for treatment.
• freedom to travel
• go travelling/​traveling
• travel all over the world

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A few years ago, I went around the world and asked people what travel meant to them. As I travel the country on my current book tour and hear everyone’s reasons for travel, I’m reminded of that experience.

Travel means something different to every single person in the world.

There are a million and one reasons to travel. Many people travel the world to get the bug out of their system, or to check things off a list to say they’ve been there and done that. Some run to escape their problems. Some people travel simply to get drunk around the world.

For me, travel means many things. Travel is freedom . It’s about being able to do what I want and fill my day with excitement. Travel was an escape. Travel was “elsewhere”. That place where exciting things and people resided. It was escaping the Matrix to learn about the world, why people do what they do, and how they act. It’s about pushing myself to the limit and getting more comfortable in my own skin.

But I wondered what motivates other people to do the same.

I have my theories of course.

But I wanted to hear it from people directly.

So, during an extended trip, I asked people I met on the road one question:

“What does travel mean to you?”

And here is what they said:

I loved hearing everyone’s answers because it so accurately describes all the various reasons that push us to travel the world, learn about the people in it, and ourselves.

Now, tell me in the comments below:

What does travel mean to you?

Share what drives you.  

Book Your Trip: Logistical Tips and Tricks

Book Your Flight Find a cheap flight by using Skyscanner . It’s my favorite search engine because it searches websites and airlines around the globe so you always know no stone is being left unturned.

Book Your Accommodation You can book your hostel with Hostelworld . If you want to stay somewhere other than a hostel, use Booking.com as it consistently returns the cheapest rates for guesthouses and hotels.

Don’t Forget Travel Insurance Travel insurance will protect you against illness, injury, theft, and cancellations. It’s comprehensive protection in case anything goes wrong. I never go on a trip without it as I’ve had to use it many times in the past. My favorite companies that offer the best service and value are:

• SafetyWing (best for everyone)
• Insure My Trip (for those 70 and over)
• Medjet (for additional evacuation coverage)

Want to Travel for Free? Travel credit cards allow you to earn points that can be redeemed for free flights and accommodation — all without any extra spending. Check out my guide to picking the right card and my current favorites to get started and see the latest best deals.

Need Help Finding Activities for Your Trip? Get Your Guide is a huge online marketplace where you can find cool walking tours, fun excursions, skip-the-line tickets, private guides, and more.

Ready to Book Your Trip? Check out my resource page for the best companies to use when you travel. I list all the ones I use when I travel. They are the best in class and you can’t go wrong using them on your trip.

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Definition of 'travel'

travel in British English

Travel in american english, examples of 'travel' in a sentence travel, cobuild collocations travel, trends of travel.

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• Travancore-Cochin
• travel a distance
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• traveler: a person who travels.

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Travel expenses are the ordinary and necessary expenses of traveling away from home for your business, profession, or job. You can't deduct expenses that are lavish or extravagant, or that are for personal purposes.

You're traveling away from home if your duties require you to be away from the general area of your tax home for a period substantially longer than an ordinary day's work, and you need to get sleep or rest to meet the demands of your work while away.

Generally, your tax home is the entire city or general area where your main place of business or work is located, regardless of where you maintain your family home. For example, you live with your family in Chicago but work in Milwaukee where you stay in a hotel and eat in restaurants. You return to Chicago every weekend. You may not deduct any of your travel, meals or lodging in Milwaukee because that's your tax home. Your travel on weekends to your family home in Chicago isn't for your work, so these expenses are also not deductible. If you regularly work in more than one place, your tax home is the general area where your main place of business or work is located.

In determining your main place of business, take into account the length of time you normally need to spend at each location for business purposes, the degree of business activity in each area, and the relative significance of the financial return from each area. However, the most important consideration is the length of time you spend at each location.

You can deduct travel expenses paid or incurred in connection with a temporary work assignment away from home. However, you can't deduct travel expenses paid in connection with an indefinite work assignment. Any work assignment in excess of one year is considered indefinite. Also, you may not deduct travel expenses at a work location if you realistically expect that you'll work there for more than one year, whether or not you actually work there that long. If you realistically expect to work at a temporary location for one year or less, and the expectation changes so that at some point you realistically expect to work there for more than one year, travel expenses become nondeductible when your expectation changes.

Travel expenses for conventions are deductible if you can show that your attendance benefits your trade or business. Special rules apply to conventions held outside the North American area.

Deductible travel expenses while away from home include, but aren't limited to, the costs of:

• Travel by airplane, train, bus or car between your home and your business destination. (If you're provided with a ticket or you're riding free as a result of a frequent traveler or similar program, your cost is zero.)
• The airport or train station and your hotel,
• The hotel and the work location of your customers or clients, your business meeting place, or your temporary work location.
• Shipping of baggage, and sample or display material between your regular and temporary work locations.
• Using your car while at your business destination. You can deduct actual expenses or the standard mileage rate, as well as business-related tolls and parking fees. If you rent a car, you can deduct only the business-use portion for the expenses.
• Lodging and non-entertainment-related meals.
• Dry cleaning and laundry.
• Business calls while on your business trip. (This includes business communications by fax machine or other communication devices.)
• Tips you pay for services related to any of these expenses.
• Other similar ordinary and necessary expenses related to your business travel. (These expenses might include transportation to and from a business meal, public stenographer's fees, computer rental fees, and operating and maintaining a house trailer.)

Instead of keeping records of your meal expenses and deducting the actual cost, you can generally use a standard meal allowance, which varies depending on where you travel. The deduction for business meals is generally limited to 50% of the unreimbursed cost.

If you're self-employed, you can deduct travel expenses on Schedule C (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Business (Sole Proprietorship) , or if you're a farmer, on Schedule F (Form 1040), Profit or Loss From Farming .

If you're a member of the National Guard or military reserve, you may be able to claim a deduction for unreimbursed travel expenses paid in connection with the performance of services as a reservist that reduces your adjusted gross income. This travel must be overnight and more than 100 miles from your home. Expenses must be ordinary and necessary. This deduction is limited to the regular federal per diem rate (for lodging, meals, and incidental expenses) and the standard mileage rate (for car expenses) plus any parking fees, ferry fees, and tolls. Claim these expenses on Form 2106, Employee Business Expenses and report them on Form 1040 , Form 1040-SR , or Form 1040-NR as an adjustment to income.

Good records are essential. Refer to Topic no. 305 for information on recordkeeping. For more information on these and other travel expenses, refer to Publication 463, Travel, Entertainment, Gift, and Car Expenses .

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Safe travels or Safe travel? Which is correct?

When you want to wish someone to have a journey that is completed without a problem you can say “Safe Travels”. Safe travel is ok but not commonly used.  

Correct Ways to wish someone a safe journey:

• Safe travels
• Bon voyage 
• Travel safely 
• Drive safely
• Have a safe trip
• Have a nice trip
• Have a safe journey

The reason we use safe travels is that we often associate travelling with many different trips and not just one trip.

Safe travel is ok to use but in modern English, it is just not common. 

We often want to wish someone a nice journey but we know that we will see them again so we just want to wish them a journey that is safe from danger. 

If you will not see the person for a long time then it is better to say goodbye. You can find many ways to say goodbye in this article here.

Travel safe or travel safely?

Travel safely is correct because in this case travel is a verb and to modify the verb we need to use the adverb “safely”

Can you say Safe trip or Safe journey?

Yes, you can say “Safe trip” or “Safe Journey” but we usually use “Have a….”.

John: I am leaving now, see you later!

Peter: Have a safe trip!

Peter: Have a safe journey! 

Bon Voyage – Wait isn’t that French? 

Yes, Bon Voyage is the French for Safe travels or literally “have a good trip”

It is common to use bon voyage in English because people are often going on a trip to a foreign country so people use it to sound more exotic.

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11 Better Ways To Say “Safe Travels”

“Safe travels” is a polite way to wish somebody well on their upcoming journey. However, there are better ways to be polite and reassuring to your friends when they’re ready to go somewhere (often by plane). This article will share the best alternatives for such a case with you.

What Can I Say Instead Of “Safe Travels”?

There are plenty of ways to use “safe travels” in more exciting manners. You should check out one of the following:

• Have a good flight
• Happy landings
• See you on the other side
• Let me know when you arrive safely
• Stay safe out there
• Enjoy your trip
• Have a relaxing time away
• Happy travels

The preferred version is “be safe” because it keeps it simple. It’s a common phrase we use when we want to wish someone well, and we don’t want them to come across any complications or dangers that might occur if they’re not “careful” enough.

“Be safe” is great to show we care about someone. It lets them know that we worry about them, and we want them to stay “safe” no matter what happens. It works regardless of the method of transport for the journey as well, which makes it a good general phrase.

It’s common for family members to use the phrase “ be safe ” when seeing each other off. This shows that there is a lot of love behind the phrase and that it works well to show how much you care about someone’s wellbeing.

Here are a few ways we might be able to use this phrase:

• Be safe out there. I know you like to find trouble, but for once, I’d love it if you looked after yourself!
• Be safe on your way out! I would love to hear from you and see the pictures of all the things you get up to.
• Don’t forget to message me when you get there! Be safe, and I love you!

“Safe trip” is a simple phrase we can use to make sure someone knows we care. Using words like “safe” reminds people that we worry about them. Even if we are not physically there with them, we hope they are “safe” and do not get into trouble.

This phrase works well regardless of the trip that someone is taking. It could be a long-distance or a short-distance trip. Likewise, it could be by car, plane, boat, or something else entirely!

This phrase works in the following situations:

• Safe trip, Yuri! I’ll miss you, but I know you’ll be thinking about me while you’re away.
• Safe trip back to your hometown, then. Let me know when you get there safely.
• Safe trip, old friend. I’ll see you again whenever you’re next in town!

Have A Good Flight

“Have a good flight” is appropriate to use when someone is going to get on a plane . We use “flight” here to be specific, which helps us to show that we know what someone is getting up to and what they’re likely going to expect from their journey.

We can use this phrase in the following ways:

• Have a good flight! I’m sure you can get all the food and drink you want on there!
• Have a good flight, and don’t forget to let me know when you land safely!
• Have a good flight! There’s nothing to worry about, and you know it’ll all be okay!

Happy Landings

“Happy landings” specifically highlights the “landing” portion of a journey. It works well when someone is going on a plane, and we want them to be “happy” throughout the course of their journey.

Here are a few useful examples of how this one works:

• Happy landings, fella! Don’t forget that they really like their tips out there when you’re dining out!
• Happy landings, then! I’ll miss you every second, so I want you to send me all the photos you can!
• Happy landings! Don’t forget to explore some of the local scenery!

See You On The Other Side

“See you on the other side” is an informal idiom that works well in many cases. We can do it when we know that someone will be returning to see us again soon. “The other side” indicates the place where we will be staying while they go on a journey.

Check out some of these examples to see how it looks:

• See you on the other side, then! Have a great holiday!
• Have a great time away, Fred! See you on the other side!
• I’ll be here waiting for you as always! See you on the other side!

Let Me Know When You Arrive Safely

“Let me know when you arrive safely” is a calm way to let someone know that you are worried. When they arrive at their destination, we can ask them to “message” us to ease our minds and show us that they are thinking about us even after their journey.

We could also use a phrase like “text me when” instead of “let me know when.” If we want to be more specific about the manner of messaging, this phrase works just as well.

This phrase works well in the following ways:

• Let me know when you arrive safely, please! You know how much I worry about you while I’m not around!
• Text me when you arrive safely, please! I want to know just how much fun you’re getting up to.
• Let me know when you arrive safely! I’ll miss you every second that you’re away.

Stay Safe Out There

“Stay safe out there” is a good way to show that you care about someone. “Stay safe” helps to let them know that you’ll be looking out for them and that you want them to explore, but in a reasonable way that won’t cause them harm.

We typically use this phrase when someone is going on a long-distance journey. “Out there” is a good indicator of that.

Check out some of these examples to see how it works:

• Stay safe out there, then! I know you’ll make all the best choices while you’re away.
• Stay safe out there! I’ll miss you, but I know you’ll be having an absolutely adoring time!
• Stay safe out there. You never know what hijinx you might get into, so make sure you text me!

Enjoy Your Trip

“Enjoy your trip” is a simple way to show someone that you care. It helps to let them know that we want them to “enjoy” themselves. While trips can sometimes be boring (especially long-distance ones), we want people to feel like they can still have fun.

This simple phrase works as follows :

• Enjoy your trip, Michael! Let me know when you arrive so we can discuss the adventure more!
• Enjoy your trip! Don’t forget to immerse yourself in the local culture when you get there!
• Enjoy your trip! I expect you to be fluent in German by the time you get back, okay?

Have A Relaxing Time Away

“Have a relaxing time away” works well in many cases. It’s most effective when we know that someone is inclined to worry (whether about the journey or the place they’re going). If we want to calm them down, this phrase works well.

These examples will help you make more sense of it:

• Have a relaxing time away! Remember, you don’t need to worry about a thing when you get on that plane!
• Have a relaxing time away! If anyone deserves it, it is most certainly you!
• Have a relaxing time away! I’m going to miss you, but I know you’ll be back in no time!

Happy Travels

“Happy travels” works really well when we want people to feel “happy” on their journey. “Travels” can refer to any method of transport, but the idea is that they’ll be spending a long time getting from point A to point B, and we want them to feel “happy.”

Perhaps one of these examples will help you make more sense of it:

• Happy travels, mate! I know you’ll love it over there in Australia, but you must tell me all about it.
• Happy travels, Sue! I’ll miss you, so don’t forget to write to me every day about what you do.
• Happy travels, Dan! Thank you for coming to see me again, and I’ll see you again soon, yeah?

“Bon voyage” is a great way to wish someone well before they go on an adventure. It’s French (and Italian), and it means “good journey.” It’s a commonly-used exclamation in English when we want to wish somebody well for something they’re going to do.

It’s also comforting because it shows that we do not wish any problems to come their way when they’re on their journey.

• Bon voyage, my little friend! I’ll see you again when you return!
• Bon voyage, then! I will miss you, but I hope you get a chance to text me a bunch when you get there!
• Bon voyage! I love you so much, and I’ll definitely miss you while you’re away.

You may also like: Safe Travels – Meaning & Usage (Helpful Examples)

Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here .

• “Arrive To”, “Arrive At”, or “Arrive In”? Correct Preposition
• “Made It Home Safe” vs. “Made It Home Safely” – Correct Version
• Be Safe, Stay Safe, or Keep Safe? [Helpful Examples]
• Will Arrive or Will Be Arriving – What’s the Difference?

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Inflation eases in April as prices fall for eggs, bacon and bread, CPI data shows

Inflation eased in April as declines in grocery and used car prices offset another rise in rent and gasoline.

After inflation picked up notably early this year, the report revealed more progress in the battle to tame prices, with an underlying inflation measure reaching a three-year low . Still, it may not be enough to convince the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in the next couple of months .

"Today’s numbers brought welcome signs of cooling price pressures," Kayla Bruun, senior economist of research firm Morning Consult wrote in a note to clients. She added, though, that that monthly inflation is still "not low enough."

Overall prices increased 3.4% from a year earlier, down from 3.5% in March, according to the Labor Department’s consumer price index, a gauge of goods and services costs throughout the economy. On a monthly basis, costs rose 0.3%, below the 0.4% rise the previous month but above the 0.1% to 0.2% readings that prevailed last fall.

Will your Social Security check rise? How the latest inflation report impacts COLA estimate for 2025

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What is core inflation in the USA right now?

Core prices, which strip out volatile food and energy items and are watched more closely by the Fed, increased 0.3% after three straight 0.4% bumps. That pushed down annual inflation from 3.8% to 3.6%, the lowest since April 2021.

Is inflation expected to go down?

After easing rapidly last year, inflation unexpectedly accelerated in the first quarter but is still down substantially from a 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022.

As pandemic-related supply chain troubles have resolved, goods such as used cars, furniture and appliances - whose prices soared during the health crisis - have gotten less expensive. But the cost of services such as rent, car insurance and repairs, and recreation have steadily drifted higher. That’s partly because wage growth is slowing just gradually following pandemic-induced labor shortages.

By December, Barclays expects yearly inflation to slow to 3.1% and the core index measure to fall to 3.3% – still well above the Fed’s 2% goal.

A big impact from high rates High interest rates take growing toll as planned apartments, wind farms, shops are scrapped

Are interest rates expected to drop?

Wednesday's report "keeps alive the prospect of the Fed starting to cut rates in September,” Nationwide Chief Economist Kathy Bostjancic wrote in a note to clients.

Fed rate cuts would lower borrowing costs for mortgages, credit cards and auto and other consumer loans, especially aiding low- and middle-income Americans. They also would push down bank savings account yields that have finally have gotten more generous after years of meager returns.

As recently as late March, the Fed was forecasting three rate cuts this year after price increases had slowed dramatically in 2023. From March 2022 to July 2023, the Fed raised its benchmark short-term rate from near zero to a 23-year high of 5% to 5.25% to subdue inflation.  

But a third straight month of hot inflation in March 2024 led Fed Chair Jerome Powell and other central bank officials to proclaim that rates will likely stay higher for longer as they await a more sustainable move to the Fed’s 2% target.

Powell repeated that message at a conference in Amsterdam on Tuesday, saying, “We’ll need to be patient and let restrictive policy do its work.”

The futures market now foresees the Fed's first rate cut in September and another in December. Before the inflation flare-up, it was betting on an initial cut in June and a total of three decreases in 2024.

What is the stock market doing today?

Investors welcomed the modest inflation slowdown that maintained hopes for at least some rate cuts this year. All three major stock indexes set new records. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 349 points at 39,908. The S&P 500 index was up 1.2% to 5,308. And the tech-heavy Nasdaq rose 1.4% to 16,742.

Why are US gas prices rising again?

Gasoline prices rose 2.8% in April, the third straight increase after four straight monthly declines. Demand is picking up as the spring driving season gears up and refiners switch to more expensive summer blends.

Will rent go down in 2024 in the USA?

Together, the cost of housing and gas accounted for more than 70% of the monthly increase in overall prices

Rent increased 0.4% in March, the latest in a long string of hikes. That nudged down the annual rise to a still elevated 5.4% from 5.7%. Economists expect rent increases to moderate, based on new leases, but that has rippled just gradually to existing leases.

The cost of some other services also kept moving higher. Auto insurance leaped 1.8% and is up 22.6% in the past year. Medical care increased 0.4%. and personal care services, such as haircuts and laundry jumped 1.1%.

But as the summer travel season draws near, airfares fell 0.8% and hotel rates edged down 0.2%. Car repair costs were flat but still up 7.6% from a year earlier.

Are food prices increasing or decreasing?

Grocery prices dropped 0.2% after flatlining the previous two months, nudging down the annual increase to just 1.1% and giving consumers continued relief from the pandemic’s supply chain snarls and food price run-ups.

The prices farmers received for items such as vegetables, dairy and poultry softened in March, leading to drops in retail prices last month, according to Barclays and the Agriculture Department

 Egg prices tumbled 7.3%; bacon fell 0.7%; chicken dropped 0.8; and bread dipped 0.2%.

Other items got a bit more expensive. Breakfast cereal prices rose 3.1%; rice, 0.4%; and uncooked ground beef, 0.3%.

Will the cost of goods come down?

Goods prices continued to slide as pandemic-related supply snags and demand surges faded. Used car prices declined by 1.4; furniture, by 0.5%; and appliances, by 0.9%.

Money blog: Tourist taxes being imposed across Europe (and in UK) - here's how much they all are

An increasing number of cities are either imposing or increasing the cost of tourist taxes on visitors. Read this and our other Weekend Money content below, and let us know your thoughts. We'll be back with live updates on Monday.

Saturday 18 May 2024 17:03, UK

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Ask a question or make a comment

As we've been reporting in the Money blog over the last few months, an increasing number of cities are either imposing or increasing the cost of tourist taxes on visitors. 

Many say they are preventing damages from overtourism, as well as funding local infrastructure and businesses. 

Here are the latest tourist fees for the most popular spots in Europe...

Tourists visiting Venice for the day will have to pay a €5 entry fee to enter the city between the hours of 8.30am and 4pm.

Meanwhile, those staying overnight in Venice are charged a fee between €1 to €5 within the accommodation price for the first five consecutive nights.

People visiting the Spanish city now have to pay €3.25 if they're staying in official accommodation, up from €2.75.

Manchester 

Visitors must pay £1 per room, per night across 73 hotels. 

The scheme, which has raised more than £2m within a year, is for improvements to attract more tourists.

Tourists must pay €2 per person for every night they stay, although this is only applied for a maximum of seven nights.

The Greek government has introduced a Climate Crisis Resilience Fee to charge tourists anywhere from €0.50 to €10 per room, per night.

The amount depends on the hotel category and the time of year.

Visitors to the Croatian city must pay €2.65 per person, per night throughout April to September. 

However, the fee has been temporarily reduced to €1.86 for the rest of this year.

Different amounts are charged depending on the type of accommodation.

The most expensive charge is €14.95 for a stay in palaces, and €0.65 at one or two-star campsites, per person, per night. 

Those staying in a typical four-star hotel are charged around €8.

Those staying in the Hungarian capital are charged an additional 4% each night, which is calculated based on the price of the room.

Tourists in Berlin must pay 5% of the room price, excluding VAT and service fees.

The tourist tax here has increased from €0.82 to €1.97 per day. 

Prices researched by travel insurance site Quotezone.co.uk

By Ollie Cooper , Money team

Estate agent fees are one of the big expenses in selling a house - but rule changes and the rise of private sale websites have made it more common for people to go it alone.

But how easy is it - and what do you need to know? We spoke to industry experts to find out.

Firstly, what do estate agents do for their money?

An estate agent will typically charge in the range of 1%-3.5% of the sale price. 

That means for the average house price (£284,691 from December) you could pay anywhere from £2,846 to £9,964 in commission fees.

"When you use an estate agent, their fee includes taking professional photographs, advertising your home, conducting property viewings, and negotiating a price on your behalf," says Jack Smithson  from the home ownership site  Better.co.uk .

In addition, an estate agent will compile comprehensive details of your house, including room sizes and descriptions of fixtures and fittings. 

"They will also provide a concise write-up about the local area, highlighting amenities, schools, and transportation links," Jack adds. 

And they'll conduct checks on buyers for you (more on this later).

It sounds like a lot, but...

"Selling your home yourself can be a manageable process with a few key steps," Jack says.

Preparation 

You should begin by thoroughly researching house prices in your area, using websites like Rightmove and Zoopla - but seek free valuations from local estate agents to ensure you have a realistic asking price in mind.

Next, you want to take high-quality photos of your house.

Jack advises using tutorials on YouTube to learn new shooting and editing techniques that can take you to the next level.

You then want to write down what makes your home unique.

"While browsing other listings for inspiration, take it a step further by emphasising what you love about living in your home and the surrounding area," Jack suggests.

"Whether it's the refreshing scent of the coastline or the tranquil sounds of village life, incorporating these details can help potential buyers visualise living there," he advises. 

Like using YouTube for photography tips, you can use free tools such as ChatGPT and Grammarly if you need help with your writing, Jack says. 

Advertising

This is probably the biggest perk of going through an established estate agent - your home is much more likely to be viewed because they will have an established audience and a market. But it's very possible to do it alone. 

"When it comes to advertising your home, explore a variety of avenues including local newspapers and social media," Jack says.

"Consider using websites like Strike, which allow individuals to list their properties for free on platforms like Rightmove," he suggests.

Viewings 

Once you've secured some viewings, you've got the opportunity to make it a bit more personal than estate agents ever could - a real advantage. 

"Explain the reasons behind your decision to purchase the property, highlight its unique features, and share the aspects of your neighbourhood that make it a desirable place to live," Jack says. 

The small things matter when showing people round - so try to take an objective look around before you bring anyone in.

Do the things you'd do normally - make sure it smells nice and it's clean and tidy.

"Lastly, it's worth knowing that you must legally provide potential buyers with a free Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)."

The sale itself

Perhaps the most daunting aspect is the physical exchange of contracts and money. 

An estate agent would typically oversee the process of the initial offer acceptance to the transfer of keys to the new owner.

However, if you go it alone, you'll need to become the central point of contact - bridging the gap between your solicitor or conveyancer and the buyer and their legal representative.

"Once you've accepted an offer on your property, your first task is to draft what's called a memorandum of sale," Jack says.  

This document is a written confirmation of your acceptance of the offer and details the agreed price along with any specific conditions you've both agreed to.

"It's then recommended to engage the services of a solicitor or conveyancer to ensure all legal obligations are met," Jack says (of course, you'll need to do this even if you have an estate agent).

The cost of hiring one typically ranges from a few hundred to over £1,000, depending on factors such as fixed fees, hourly rates, the complexity of the sale and additional costs like property searches or land registry fees.

"In the absence of an estate agent, you'll be responsible for keeping your buyer informed about the progress of the sale. This involves regular updates on the status of legal procedures and any relevant developments," Jack says, before adding that this can actually be a good thing.

"By taking on these responsibilities independently, you'll have greater control over the sale process. However, it will require you to be exceptionally organised, and you'll need to be very good at communicating too."  

Any risks to be aware of?

Rita Patel, legal director at law firm  Browne Jacobson , tells us the biggest risk for people selling their properties without an estate agent is the lack of a vetting and verification process of the potential buyer.

Estate agents will verify the buyer's identity and check the buyer's proof and source of funds - without this, there's no way to assess the buyer is legitimate and can afford to buy.

"Whilst this process is something lawyers can help with, this is often at an additional cost, and you'll need to start from square one if there is an issue with a potential buyer's identification and/or financial eligibility," Rita says. 

More generally, selling without an agent can extend the time it takes to sell. 

"Zoopla suggests this timeframe is normally around 17-34 weeks, but with no one on hand to consistently promote and drive the property sale at all stages, going solo drags this process out," Rita says. 

"Agents can also help mediate any potential breakdowns in communication between the buyer and seller - reducing the likelihood of having to go back to market and start again."

The advantages

Laura Owen-Brown, a PR manager from Gloucestershire, tells us she is set to sell her house without an estate agent in the near future.

"My disappointment with estate agents stems from their lack of familiarity with the properties they attempted to sell me when I was buying my current house," she says. 

"They couldn't tell me about the details that truly matter, like the optimal times for sunlight in the garden, how much council tax I'd pay, what the roof was made of, the places I could walk my dog off lead or the impact of post-football match traffic on Sundays.

"These types of details can shape the experience of living in a house for years and are just as important as the square footage, EPC rating or how many bedrooms a property has," she adds. 

She says the current "transactional" approach to selling houses feels "impersonal and outdated" to her. 

"Yes, I'll have to handle more admin, but the savings in both money and time will make it worthwhile. Liaising with buyers and solicitors directly without a third party slowing everything down will mean I can be in control and have transparency throughout the process, especially during negotiations," she says.

All in all...

As Laura says, it's very much a case of whether you can stomach the admin and are happy to take the risks on background financial checks. 

If you are aware of all the above and willing to take on the organisational burden, you could save yourself a serious chunk of cash. 

The main topics from the Money blog that got you commenting this week were...

Government-funded childcare

• Michel Roux Jr's comments about the future of the restaurant industry 

Nearly 600 new skyscrapers for London

From last Sunday, eligible working parents of children from nine-months-old in England have been able to register for access to up to 15 free hours of government-funded childcare per week.

Those hours can be claimed from September. 

Some readers pointed out the T&Cs... 

This 15 hrs a week is for term time ONLY. So full-time working parents will have to either tell their employer they can't work in school holidays or pro-rata it across the year which is 10 hours a week. Yvonne grandma

Others said it spoke to issues in the wider childcare sector...

Is the government going to give pay rises to nursery staff? They are very low paid staff, and can't get enough staff as it is!! Nurseries may have to close if they don't get staff, so parents won't be able to take up the offer!! What is the government going to do about it? Carol

Chefs or delivery drivers?

Celebrity chef Michel Roux Jr has suggested that restaurants may only open three days per week because young people prefer other jobs - like delivering parcels. 

"Just because I worked 80 hours a week or more doesn't mean the next generation should," he said. 

"Quite the contrary. That is something that we have to address in our industry."

Readers said...

That's because one [job] is on the verge of slave labour and one definitely is slave labour. And the latter I'm referring to is working in a kitchen for a chef.  Realist2024

Spent 35 years working as a chef. Young people nowadays are not willing to do the extra hours (usually unpaid) and work every weekend. Godsends like my generation of chefs did and do.  Bucks

There's been considerable backlash in our comments section after a thinktank said a total of 583 skyscrapers are "queuing up in the pipeline" to be built across central London.

That is more than double the 270 built in the past decade...

"600 new skyscrapers on way for London" while the majority are struggling. When will something serious be done about growing wealth inequality in the UK? A growing economy is useless while the gap between the ultra rich and everyone else increases. Qwerty1

How many unnecessary skyscrapers for London? It's fine, as long as they are not made using steel, glass, concrete or bricks - don't people know there's a climate emergency? Shanghaiwan

Who's paying for it? What about the North? treelectrical

The energy price cap is set to fall by about 7% in July, a respected energy markets researcher has said.

Ahead of next Friday's announcement by Ofgem for the July-September period, Cornwall Insights said: "For a typical dual fuel household, we predict the July price cap to be £1,574 per annum" - a drop from £1,690.

Looking further ahead, it forecasted the cap will rise again slightly in October, before falling in January next year. 

"A predicted 7% drop in energy prices in July is clearly good news, with the price cap looking likely to hit its lowest level in over two years," a spokesperson for Uswitch said. 

Around 100 more prosecutions of sub-postmasters unrelated to the Horizon scandal could be "tainted" , a Sky News investigation has found, as officials worked with now discredited Post Office investigators to secure convictions.

The prosecutions of Post Office staff were led by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) between 2001 and 2006.

It is understood these usually involved the cashing in of stolen order books.

The Post Office itself wrongly prosecuted hundreds of sub-postmasters between 1999 and 2015 - based on evidence from the faulty Horizon accounting system.

Read more from our business correspondent Adele Robinson  by clicking  here ...

The UK's mega rich are dwindling in a sign Britain's "billionaire boom has come to an end" , according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.

The list reveals the largest fall in billionaires in the guide's history - from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year.

While the combined wealth of the list's 350 wealthiest individuals amounts to more than £795bn - larger than the GDP of Poland - the guide's compiler says time will tell what impact a drop in billionaires could have.

"This year's Sunday Times Rich List suggests Britain's billionaire boom has come to an end," Robert Watts said.

Read on here ...

The Money blog is your place for consumer news, economic analysis and everything you need to know about the cost of living - bookmark news.sky.com/money.

It runs with live updates every weekday - while on Saturdays we scale back and offer you a selection of weekend reads.

Check them out this morning and we'll be back on Monday with rolling news and features.

The Money team is Emily Mee, Bhvishya Patel, Jess Sharp, Katie Williams, Brad Young and Ollie Cooper, with sub-editing by Isobel Souster. The blog is edited by Jimmy Rice.

The Body Shop’s administrators are to launch an auction of the chain after concluding that an alternative restructuring of one of Britain’s best-known high street retailers was not viable.

Sky News has learnt that FRP Advisory, which has been overseeing the collapsed business since January, is to begin formally sounding out potential buyers in the coming weeks.

The move raises the prospect of new owners taking control of The Body Shop, which was founded nearly half a century ago.

Read more here ...

The UK's mega rich are dwindling - in a sign Britain's "billionaire boom has come to an end", according to the latest Sunday Times Rich List.

Published today, the list reveals the largest fall in billionaires in the guide's history - from a peak of 177 in 2022 to 165 this year.

"Many of our home-grown entrepreneurs have seen their fortunes fall and some of the global super rich who came here are moving away."

Top of the list is British-Indian businessman Gopi Hinduja and his family, whose wealth of £37.2bn is the largest fortune in the ranking's history.

But other familiar names in the list saw their riches fall, with Sir Richard Branson's total dropping by £2.4bn, which is back to his 2000 level.

Last year's top climber Sir Jim Ratcliffe, who bought a stake in Manchester United this year, fell two positions with a decline of £6.1bn.

Euan Blair, Tony Blair's eldest son, made the list for the first time, as did Sir Lewis Hamilton.

It comes as the UK continues to deal with a cost-of-living crisis, with new figures this week revealing a record 3.1 million food bank parcels were distributed over the course of a year.

The top 10:

• Gopi Hinduja - £37.2bn
• Sir Leonard Blavtanik - £29.2bn
• David and Simon Reuben and family - £24.9bn
• Sir Jim Ratcliffe - £23.5bn
• Sir James Dyson and family - £20.8bn
• Barnaby and Merlin Swire and family - £17.2bn
• Idan Ofer - £14.9bn
• Lakshmi Mittal and family - £14.9bn
• Guy, George, Alannah and Galen Weston and family - £14.4bn
• John Fredriksen and family - £12.8bn

A group of social media influencers have been charged in relation to promoting an unauthorised investment scheme.

The Only Way Is Essex (TOWIE) original cast member Lauren Goodger, 37, former Love Island star Biggs Chris, 32, and Celebrity Big Brother winner Scott Timlin, 36, also known as Scotty T, are among seven TV personalities alleged to have been paid to promote the scheme to their combined 4.5 million Instagram followers.

The others charged by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) include former Love Islanders Rebecca Gormley, 26, Jamie Clayton, 32, and Eva Zapico, 25 and TOWIE member Yazmin Oukhellou, 30.

The UK's financial watchdog brought the charges in a crackdown on "finfluencers" who use their online platforms to offer advice and information on various financial topics.

It alleges that between 19 May 2018 and 13 April 2021 Emmanuel Nwanze, 30, and Holly Thompson, 33, used an Instagram account to provide advice on buying and selling investments known as contracts for difference (CFDs) when they were not authorised to do so.

The watchdog said CFDs were high-risk investments used to bet on the price of an asset, in this case the price of foreign currencies.

It previously warned that 80% of customers lost money when investing in CDFs.

Mr Nwanze has been charged with running the scheme. He faces one count of breaching the general prohibition of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and one count of unauthorised communications of financial promotions.

Ms Thompson, Mr Chris, Mr Clayton, Ms Goodger, Ms Gormley, Ms Oukhellou, Mr Timlin and Ms Zapico each face one count of unauthorised communications of financial promotions.

All nine will appear at Westminster Magistrates Court on 13 June.

The FCA asked anyone who believed they had sustained a loss due to the scheme to contact its consumer contact centre.

A hotel part-owned by Gary Neville and other ex-Manchester United legends has been named one of the best places to work in hospitality. 

Each year, The Caterer releases its top 30 best places for employees in the sector, with the top six featuring some familiar names.

The list is compiled via anonymous employee survey - with no input from managers or owners. 

Hotel Football, the only hotel with a rooftop five-a-side pitch, was among the top six venues selected by employees across the UK. 

The hotel's benefits package was particularly well-praised by those who work there - given that it "prioritises the financial wellbeing of employees during the cost of living challenge".

Management at the hotel, which is situated next to Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium, was also praised for enhanced maternity, paternity, parental and adoption leave policies and a strong belief in diversity and inclusion. 

The other five to make up the top six are The Biltmore in Mayfair, Cycas Hospitality (which has 18 locations across the UK), Dalata (which boasts some 1,000 employees), Gleneagles Hotel in Edinburgh and Nobu Hotel in Shoreditch, London. 

The energy price cap is set to fall by about 7% in July, a leading thinktank has said. 

Cornwall Insights said: "For a typical dual fuel household, we predict the July price cap to be £1,574 per annum" - a drop from £1,690.

Looking further ahead, it forecasted the cap to rise again slightly in October, before falling again in January next year. 

Reacting to the news, Uswitch said the predicted drop was "clearly good news". 

"The future still remains uncertain, and with the price cap changing every three months – currently expected to rise in October before falling slightly in January –  it's crucial not to be complacent," Richard Neudegg, director of regulation, said. 

However, "a predicted 7% drop in energy prices in July is clearly good news, with the price cap looking likely to hit its lowest level in over two years", he said. 

He also urged  households who want to lock in rates for price certainty to run a comparison to see what energy tariffs are available to them.

"There are many 12-month fixed tariffs available at rates cheaper than the current price cap, and even some that are 2% below these new predicted July rates," he said. 

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Published: 5 April 2024 Contributors: Tim Mucci, Cole Stryker

Big data analytics refers to the systematic processing and analysis of large amounts of data and complex data sets, known as big data, to extract valuable insights. Big data analytics allows for the uncovering of trends, patterns and correlations in large amounts of raw data to help analysts make data-informed decisions. This process allows organizations to leverage the exponentially growing data generated from diverse sources, including internet-of-things (IoT) sensors, social media, financial transactions and smart devices to derive actionable intelligence through advanced analytic techniques.

In the early 2000s, advances in software and hardware capabilities made it possible for organizations to collect and handle large amounts of unstructured data. With this explosion of useful data, open-source communities developed big data frameworks to store and process this data. These frameworks are used for distributed storage and processing of large data sets across a network of computers. Along with additional tools and libraries, big data frameworks can be used for:

• Predictive modeling by incorporating artificial intelligence (AI) and statistical algorithms
• Statistical analysis for in-depth data exploration and to uncover hidden patterns
• What-if analysis to simulate different scenarios and explore potential outcomes
• Processing diverse data sets, including structured, semi-structured and unstructured data from various sources.

Four main data analysis methods  – descriptive, diagnostic, predictive and prescriptive  – are used to uncover insights and patterns within an organization's data. These methods facilitate a deeper understanding of market trends, customer preferences and other important business metrics.

IBM named a Leader in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Augmented Data Quality Solutions.

Structured vs unstructured data

What is data management?

The main difference between big data analytics and traditional data analytics is the type of data handled and the tools used to analyze it. Traditional analytics deals with structured data, typically stored in relational databases . This type of database helps ensure that data is well-organized and easy for a computer to understand. Traditional data analytics relies on statistical methods and tools like structured query language (SQL) for querying databases.

Big data analytics involves massive amounts of data in various formats, including structured, semi-structured and unstructured data. The complexity of this data requires more sophisticated analysis techniques. Big data analytics employs advanced techniques like machine learning and data mining to extract information from complex data sets. It often requires distributed processing systems like Hadoop to manage the sheer volume of data.

These are the four methods of data analysis at work within big data:

The "what happened" stage of data analysis. Here, the focus is on summarizing and describing past data to understand its basic characteristics.

The “why it happened” stage. By delving deep into the data, diagnostic analysis identifies the root patterns and trends observed in descriptive analytics.

The “what will happen” stage. It uses historical data, statistical modeling and machine learning to forecast trends.

Describes the “what to do” stage, which goes beyond prediction to provide recommendations for optimizing future actions based on insights derived from all previous.

The following dimensions highlight the core challenges and opportunities inherent in big data analytics.

The sheer volume of data generated today, from social media feeds, IoT devices, transaction records and more, presents a significant challenge. Traditional data storage and processing solutions are often inadequate to handle this scale efficiently. Big data technologies and cloud-based storage solutions enable organizations to store and manage these vast data sets cost-effectively, protecting valuable data from being discarded due to storage limitations.

Data is being produced at unprecedented speeds, from real-time social media updates to high-frequency stock trading records. The velocity at which data flows into organizations requires robust processing capabilities to capture, process and deliver accurate analysis in near real-time. Stream processing frameworks and in-memory data processing are designed to handle these rapid data streams and balance supply with demand.

Today's data comes in many formats, from structured to numeric data in traditional databases to unstructured text, video and images from diverse sources like social media and video surveillance. This variety demans flexible data management systems to handle and integrate disparate data types for comprehensive analysis. NoSQL databases , data lakes and schema -on-read technologies provide the necessary flexibility to accommodate the diverse nature of big data.

Data reliability and accuracy are critical, as decisions based on inaccurate or incomplete data can lead to negative outcomes. Veracity refers to the data's trustworthiness, encompassing data quality, noise and anomaly detection issues. Techniques and tools for data cleaning, validation and verification are integral to ensuring the integrity of big data, enabling organizations to make better decisions based on reliable information.

Big data analytics aims to extract actionable insights that offer tangible value. This involves turning vast data sets into meaningful information that can inform strategic decisions, uncover new opportunities and drive innovation. Advanced analytics, machine learning and AI are key to unlocking the value contained within big data, transforming raw data into strategic assets.

Data professionals, analysts, scientists and statisticians prepare and process data in a data lakehouse, which combines the performance of a data lakehouse with the flexibility of a data lake to clean data and ensure its quality. The process of turning raw data into valuable insights encompasses several key stages:

• Collect data: The first step involves gathering data, which can be a mix of structured and unstructured forms from myriad sources like cloud, mobile applications and IoT sensors. This step is where organizations adapt their data collection strategies and integrate data from varied sources into central repositories like a data lake, which can automatically assign metadata for better manageability and accessibility.
• Process data: After being collected, data must be systematically organized, extracted, transformed and then loaded into a storage system to ensure accurate analytical outcomes. Processing involves converting raw data into a format that is usable for analysis, which might involve aggregating data from different sources, converting data types or organizing data into structure formats. Given the exponential growth of available data, this stage can be challenging. Processing strategies may vary between batch processing, which handles large data volumes over extended periods and stream processing, which deals with smaller real-time data batches.
• Clean data: Regardless of size, data must be cleaned to ensure quality and relevance. Cleaning data involves formatting it correctly, removing duplicates and eliminating irrelevant entries. Clean data prevents the corruption of output and safeguard’s reliability and accuracy.
• Analyze data: Advanced analytics, such as data mining, predictive analytics, machine learning and deep learning, are employed to sift through the processed and cleaned data. These methods allow users to discover patterns, relationships and trends within the data, providing a solid foundation for informed decision-making.

Under the Analyze umbrella, there are potentially many technologies at work, including data mining, which is used to identify patterns and relationships within large data sets; predictive analytics, which forecasts future trends and opportunities; and deep learning , which mimics human learning patterns to uncover more abstract ideas.

Deep learning uses an artificial neural network with multiple layers to model complex patterns in data. Unlike traditional machine learning algorithms, deep learning learns from images, sound and text without manual help. For big data analytics, this powerful capability means the volume and complexity of data is not an issue.

Natural language processing (NLP) models allow machines to understand, interpret and generate human language. Within big data analytics, NLP extracts insights from massive unstructured text data generated across an organization and beyond.

Structured Data

Structured data refers to highly organized information that is easily searchable and typically stored in relational databases or spreadsheets. It adheres to a rigid schema, meaning each data element is clearly defined and accessible in a fixed field within a record or file. Examples of structured data include:

• Customer names and addresses in a customer relationship management (CRM) system
• Transactional data in financial records, such as sales figures and account balances
• Employee data in human resources databases, including job titles and salaries

Structured data's main advantage is its simplicity for entry, search and analysis, often using straightforward database queries like SQL. However, the rapidly expanding universe of big data means that structured data represents a relatively small portion of the total data available to organizations.

Unstructured Data

Unstructured data lacks a pre-defined data model, making it more difficult to collect, process and analyze. It comprises the majority of data generated today, and includes formats such as:

• Textual content from documents, emails and social media posts
• Multimedia content, including images, audio files and videos
• Data from IoT devices, which can include a mix of sensor data, log files and time-series data

The primary challenge with unstructured data is its complexity and lack of uniformity, requiring more sophisticated methods for indexing, searching and analyzing. NLP, machine learning and advanced analytics platforms are often employed to extract meaningful insights from unstructured data.

Semi-structured data

Semi-structured data occupies the middle ground between structured and unstructured data. While it does not reside in a relational database, it contains tags or other markers to separate semantic elements and enforce hierarchies of records and fields within the data. Examples include:

• JSON (JavaScript Object Notation) and XML (eXtensible Markup Language) files, which are commonly used for web data interchange
• Email, where the data has a standardized format (e.g., headers, subject, body) but the content within each section is unstructured
• NoSQL databases, can store and manage semi-structured data more efficiently than traditional relational databases

Semi-structured data is more flexible than structured data but easier to analyze than unstructured data, providing a balance that is particularly useful in web applications and data integration tasks.

Ensuring data quality and integrity, integrating disparate data sources, protecting data privacy and security and finding the right talent to analyze and interpret data can present challenges to organizations looking to leverage their extensive data volumes. What follows are the benefits organizations can realize once they see success with big data analytics:

Real-time intelligence

One of the standout advantages of big data analytics is the capacity to provide real-time intelligence. Organizations can analyze vast amounts of data as it is generated from myriad sources and in various formats. Real-time insight allows businesses to make quick decisions, respond to market changes instantaneously and identify and act on opportunities as they arise.

Better-informed decisions

With big data analytics, organizations can uncover previously hidden trends, patterns and correlations. A deeper understanding equips leaders and decision-makers with the information needed to strategize effectively, enhancing business decision-making in supply chain management, e-commerce, operations and overall strategic direction.  

Cost savings

Big data analytics drives cost savings by identifying business process efficiencies and optimizations. Organizations can pinpoint wasteful expenditures by analyzing large datasets, streamlining operations and enhancing productivity. Moreover, predictive analytics can forecast future trends, allowing companies to allocate resources more efficiently and avoid costly missteps.

Better customer engagement

Understanding customer needs, behaviors and sentiments is crucial for successful engagement and big data analytics provides the tools to achieve this understanding. Companies gain insights into consumer preferences and tailor their marketing strategies by analyzing customer data.

Optimized risk management strategies

Big data analytics enhances an organization's ability to manage risk by providing the tools to identify, assess and address threats in real time. Predictive analytics can foresee potential dangers before they materialize, allowing companies to devise preemptive strategies.

As organizations across industries seek to leverage data to drive decision-making, improve operational efficiencies and enhance customer experiences, the demand for skilled professionals in big data analytics has surged. Here are some prominent career paths that utilize big data analytics:

Data scientist

Data scientists analyze complex digital data to assist businesses in making decisions. Using their data science training and advanced analytics technologies, including machine learning and predictive modeling, they uncover hidden insights in data.

Data analyst

Data analysts turn data into information and information into insights. They use statistical techniques to analyze and extract meaningful trends from data sets, often to inform business strategy and decisions.

Data engineer

Data engineers prepare, process and manage big data infrastructure and tools. They also develop, maintain, test and evaluate data solutions within organizations, often working with massive datasets to assist in analytics projects.

Machine learning engineer

Machine learning engineers focus on designing and implementing machine learning applications. They develop sophisticated algorithms that learn from and make predictions on data.

Business intelligence analyst

Business intelligence (BI) analysts help businesses make data-driven decisions by analyzing data to produce actionable insights. They often use BI tools to convert data into easy-to-understand reports and visualizations for business stakeholders.

Data visualization specialist

These specialists focus on the visual representation of data. They create data visualizations that help end users understand the significance of data by placing it in a visual context.

Data architect

Data architects design, create, deploy and manage an organization's data architecture. They define how data is stored, consumed, integrated and managed by different data entities and IT systems.

IBM and Cloudera have partnered to create an industry-leading, enterprise-grade big data framework distribution plus a variety of cloud services and products — all designed to achieve faster analytics at scale.

IBM Db2 Database on IBM Cloud Pak for Data combines a proven, AI-infused, enterprise-ready data management system with an integrated data and AI platform built on the security-rich, scalable Red Hat OpenShift foundation.

IBM Big Replicate is an enterprise-class data replication software platform that keeps data consistent in a distributed environment, on-premises and in the hybrid cloud, including SQL and NoSQL databases.

A data warehouse is a system that aggregates data from different sources into a single, central, consistent data store to support data analysis, data mining, artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Business intelligence gives organizations the ability to get answers they can understand. Instead of using best guesses, they can base decisions on what their business data is telling them — whether it relates to production, supply chain, customers or market trends.

Cloud computing is the on-demand access of physical or virtual servers, data storage, networking capabilities, application development tools, software, AI analytic tools and more—over the internet with pay-per-use pricing. The cloud computing model offers customers flexibility and scalability compared to traditional infrastructure.

Purpose-built data-driven architecture helps support business intelligence across the organization. IBM analytics solutions allow organizations to simplify raw data access, provide end-to-end data management and empower business users with AI-driven self-service analytics to predict outcomes.

Record number of Arizonans expected to travel for Memorial Day

PHOENIX (AZFamily) — If you’re planning a road trip for Memorial Day, expect it to be busy!

AAA reports that nearly 1 million Arizonans will be traveling, the highest number ever recorded.

“If you’re traveling on Thursday or Friday before Memorial Day those are going to be the busiest days. So, you want to start your trip as early as possible. Get out the door and get on the road before 11 a.m.,” said Julian Paredes, spokesperson for AAA.

AAA projects a record 38.4 million people will travel by car over Memorial Day weekend. That’s up 4% compared to last year.

In addition, AAA expects this will be the most crowded Memorial Day weekend at airports since 2005 with 3.51 million air travelers.

To prepare for the busy weekend, AAA recommends that you make sure your car is in tip- top shape to avoid any speed bumps.

“This is a great time to get your car service. You want to check your car for tires, make sure there’s enough tread. Make sure your car battery is ready, especially in Arizona car batteries don’t last as long,” Paredes said.

Whether you’re traveling by car or plane, the best thing you can do is plan ahead.

“Planning is really your best friend when it comes Memorial Day. Things can be stressful. There will be a lot of people on the road. Lots of traffic. So, if you do a lot of planning it can really spare you a big headache,” Paredes said.

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