friends love travel

Work with Me

• Be a podcast guest

Money Making Apps

Make money on amazon, make money as beginners, make money blogging, make money reselling, make money writing.

• Live Anywhere
• Learn Online Skills

Listen to the Podcast

How to start a podcast, free podcast launch masterclass.

• Remote Work Printables
• Learn Online Skills Courses
• Work From Home Equipment

Latest News

10 Best Sites To Find Travel Friends

• February 10, 2022
• No Comments

Sharing is caring!

Traveling the world is something that many of us want to do at some point in our lives.

We all want to get away from the daily grind, but the thought of traveling solo can be daunting for some.

That’s why it’s great to have travel friends who love to explore new places as much as you do!

But if your friends aren’t up for an adventure, you might find yourself with no one to go on vacation with.

Don’t worry!

This isn’t the end of the world, and there are plenty of ways to find travel friends who want to check out a new city, country, or continent.

Today we’ll look at some tips for finding friends who you can share your love for traveling.

You Might Also Like:

Beginner’s Guide to Swap Housing Around the World

Make Friends Around the World with These 15 Cool Random Chat Apps

Ultimate Guide to Beating the Travel Blues While You’re on the Road

Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning at no additional cost to you, I will make a commission if you click through and make a purchase.

Table of Contents

Why do you Need Travel Friends?

Having friends who love to go on adventures is a huge benefit.

First of all, it’s easier to feel comfortable exploring a new city or country with someone you know and trust at your side.

Another great benefit of having travel friends is that you’re able to split costs.

You don’t have to worry too much about paying for transportation or your accommodations because you can split the costs with your friends, saving yourself some money.

Having a buddy also makes it easier to explore a new place.

For example, if you’re in Rome and want to go on a day trip to the nearby city of Pompeii, having at least one friend who wants to come makes it easier for you to find transportation and pay for entrance fees.

And don’t forget about fun!

Traveling is more fun when you have someone to share your experiences with.

Disadvantages of Having Travel Buddies

There are plenty of benefits to having travel friends, but there are also some challenges you might face.

The biggest challenge is not getting along with your travel companion.

It’s important to choose your friends carefully and make sure you and your potential travel pals share similar interests in terms of exploring new places and activities in general.

Another challenge is that you might run into problems finding people who want to go on an adventure at the same time as you.

It’s easy enough to find friends who are free during the month of September.

But it might be harder to find someone who can afford to travel in December when the holidays are approaching.

Of course, it’s also beneficial to have time alone when you’re traveling.  

That way you can enjoy your surroundings without having to worry about what your friends are doing or saying.

10 Best Sites to find Travel Friends

Now that you know why it’s so beneficial to have travel friends, let’s look at some of the best websites you can use to find people who are interested in joining your next adventure.

Below are 10 sites where you can find reliable and like-minded travel buddies for your next trip:

Meetup is one of the best ways to find a travel partner.

You can find meetups based on your interests, whether you like exploring new cultures or visiting local breweries.  

Not only does Meetup make it easy to meet like-minded people who share your interest in traveling.

But you’ll also be able to meet people in your city who love to go on adventures.

To check out what Meetups are happening in your area, click here .

Couchsurfing

Couchsurfing is a website that connects travelers and locals.

You’ll find hosts all over the world eager to welcome you into their home and show you around their city or country.

Another great thing about Couchsurfing is that not only will you get to meet your potential travel buddies, but once you’re in their city, you can ask for tips on the best places to go.

Click here to check out Couchsurfing and create a profile.

Airbnb is another website where hosts are eager to welcome travelers into their homes or apartment.

Since there are hosts all over the world on this site, you’ll have a lot of potential destinations.

And you can make friends with your hosts and even see if they would show you around the area.

Another great option on the app is Airbnb Experiences.

Airbnb offers a variety of activities you can sign up for, from surfing lessons to cooking classes.

This is another great way to explore a new place by making travel friends and doing something fun together.

To find your new travel buddies on Airbnb, click here .

Girls Love Travel

Girls Love Travel is a Facebook group that was created to help female travelers connect with each other.

It has over 1 million members from all around the world, making it one of the easiest ways to find a new travel partner.

If you are looking for travel friends, this is one of the best and safest places to find them.

And the founder also hosts new travel destination getaways that you can join.

Click here to join the Girls Love Travel community!

Workaway is another great website to find a travel partner but also earn some money when exploring a new place.

It’s a site where you can find different work opportunities with hosts all over the world.

They even have a dedicated section on their site where you can find a travel buddy to join you on your journey.

To find a travel buddy and new destinations on Workaway, click here .

Reddit is a great discussion forum where you can find topics that might interest you.

You can join different subreddits and find travel buddies through them.

One message board where you can post queries to find the perfect partner for travel is the Travel Partners subreddit.

Here you can find people who share your interests and are looking for travel friends.

International Greeter Association

If you want to visit a new city all by yourself but would love some local guidance, there is no better way than to join the International Greeter Association.

They have volunteer locals who greet visitors and give them insider information on the best places to go in their area.

So whether you are interested in exploring New York or Melbourne, you’ll find a local that will welcome you.

Click here to join the International Greeter Association.

Intrepid has been leading small group adventure tours for over 30 years.

They have a dedicated section on their website where you can apply to join a tour with them and other travelers.

If you want to explore a new destination with an experienced leader, this is one of the best ways to do it.

Click here to search for Intrepid Group tours across the world.

Go GAFFL is a website that was created to connect people who want to travel together.

You can find your ideal travel partner by specifying what type of traveler you are and where you want to go.

This way, you’ll know within seconds whether or not there’s someone out there who shares the same interests as you.

Click here to find the perfect travel buddy on Go GAFFL.

Fairy Trail Dating

If you’ve always dreamed of meeting your other half while traveling, Fairy Trail Dating is the website for you.

It’s a site where solo travelers can find their perfect travel companion.

With over 30,000 members worldwide, you’ll have no problem finding your ideal travel buddies.

Click here to join Fairy Trail Dating now!

So there you have it, the 10 best websites where you can meet travel a partner who can join you on your next trip.

Other Ways to find Travel Friends Online

There are tons of other ways to make new friends and experience a destination from a local’s perspective.

Here are just a few of them:

Ask friends and family to recommend a good travel buddy.

One of the easiest ways to find new travel buddies is by asking the people who know you best.

If you have friends or family that love to travel, just ask for their advice and recommendations on where they’ve found the best travel companions.

Or if they know someone who would be interested in joining you, chances are that they’ll be able to connect you both.

Join Facebook groups.

There are tons of Facebook groups dedicated to people who share your interests.

Whether it’s cooking or traveling, there is sure to be a group for you.

Just search for a topic that interests you on Facebook and join a group of like-minded people.

You can then post a query about your travel plans and see if anyone can join you on your adventure.

But make sure not to share any personal information until you get to know people better.

Go on an organized tour.

If you are not the type of person to travel alone, there are plenty of tour operators where you can join with other travelers.

This way, you’ll always have companions on your journey and there won’t be any risk of getting lost along the way.

Tips for Finding the Best Travel Friends

Now that you know where to look for the best travel buddies, here are some of the basics you should consider when trying to find companions for your next adventure.

Make sure you’re compatible.

Just because someone is your travel friend, that doesn’t mean you should trust them blindly.

Make sure they share the same interests as you and if possible, find out how well you work together before heading out on a long trip.

Trust your gut instinct.

If something seems off or weird, it probably isn’t the best idea to stick around with that person.

Make sure they are genuine and you won’t have any problems on your trip together.

Be clear about what you want.

Don’t go into a traveling friendship with unrealistic expectations.

So make sure to set guidelines on how often you’re willing to travel together and agree on what the expectations are.

Share responsibilities.

It’s always a good idea to share the cost of your trip so that everything is fair and there won’t be any issues later down the road.

So before embarking on your adventure, make sure you agree on how much you’ll be spending and on what.

Because it is better to be safe than sorry, so make sure there are no financial misunderstandings that may arise later on.

Be flexible and have fun!

Even if you don’t click with someone as a travel friend, make sure you still enjoy your time together.

Don’t take everything too seriously and keep an open mind when traveling with other people.

By following these tips, you’ll be able to find travel buddies that will share the same interests as you with little to no problems along the way.

Now that you know where and how to look for travel partners, it’s time to get out there and explore!

Final Thoughts

Whether you’re traveling alone or in a group, there are plenty of people out there who can make your trip even better.  

All you have to do is find them!

Even if you consider yourself an introvert and having friends while traveling isn’t that important to you, it’s still nice to share an adventure with someone who understands the ins and outs of the country you’re visiting.

Because there’s always something to learn from other people, whether it’s where to eat or what not to do.

So go out there and make your next adventure even better by finding travel friends who can join you on your journey!

And try one or more of the websites listed above.

Who knows, you might make a new friend for life!

Related posts:

Leave a reply cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

My name is Debbie and I'm here to help you navigate your way into a location independent lifestyle. Confused where to start? Listen to The Offbeat Life podcast and read our blog! Still got questions you need answered? Feel free to connect with me anytime. xoxo

Listen to the podcast!

Grab our Guide to help you perfect your pitch as a job seeker.

Want to get an Online Job but not confident with your skills? Take these courses to help you begin!

Want to Live in a Spanish Speaking Country? Learn from trusted Spanish Tutors.

Want to Start a Blog? Use the Resources Below!

Grab Our Printable Blog Content Planner

LISTEN TO THESE

• Extended: How To Create Income with Manual Work While Traveling The World with Bernie Harberts
• Ep. 327: How This Writer and Filmmaker Traveled Over 10,000 Miles by Horse and Mule with Bernie Harberts
• Extended: How Camping Makes Digital Nomadism More Accessible

Have Questions? Send me a 90 sec. message below.

bestfriends_lovetravel

Getting Dirty is the BEST feeling! 3 Reasons Why Playing in the Dirt is Healthy

Adventure in the redwoods, winchester mystery house, join the family.

Receive the latest tips via email.

Mission statement: To provide a remarkable experience for those who enjoy travel and friendships by sharing our personal diary and journey through exploration and self-discovery.  …

  Our Trip Across the Country was one of the most EPIC experiences for us!  We had made plans to be dropped off in Virginia and…

The Redwoods National Forest in California     The Redwoods National Forest is in California. When I stay there, I stay in Oregon near Gold Beach…

The Winchester Mystery House was a strange experience. The story of this house is mysterious and leaves you questioning if this woman was really mad or…

When we decided to go to Alcatraz, I found myself filled with excitement.  To see and learn from this historic place of turmoil and such stories…

Ultimate Guide to Road-Trips

Ultimate Guide to Road-Trips Going on road trips is a favorite way of travel for me. As the kids were growing, our vacations had always been…

FIND A TRAVEL BUDDY

Going on a trip? Meet people who love to travel. Share your adventures with a travel companion.

* All fields are required

Travel companions and their plans

These members are planning a trip and looking for a travel partner. Get in touch a start discussing your plans.

Uk (Scotland/England) and Europe

I have already visited some of these places but it would be…

Looking for: Female

Type of journey: City break

Split costs: Yes

Budget: $1000 - $1500

Mexico Carribean coast

Looking for a companion to Mexico Caribbean coast

Looking for: Any

Type of journey: Backpacking, Beach, Other

Split costs: No

Malaysia + sri lanka

Not planned yet - Start in Sri lanka, then fly to malaysia.

Type of journey: Backpacking, Beach

Budget: $500 - $1000

Bahamas 2023

Open to ideas, just looking to relax

Type of journey: Beach

Budget: $2000 +

A week trip to Cappadocia. Including hot air balloons,…

Type of journey: Other

Meet travel friends from all around the world

Meet travel mates from all over the world and have fun traveling together. You can find travelers from more than 100 countries at TripGiraffe.

eva foulon 22

Nourchene 24

United Kingdom

Alejandra 20

Katharina 30

Karoline 29

Travel the world together using our website - find your travel partner

How it works.

Create a trip and invite people to join you or join an existing trip. Finding a travel buddy online has never been easier.

Create a Trip

Create a trip and wait for someone to join up or find an existing one that you like the most.

Trip Around Asia!

13. 3. 2019 - 24. 5. 2019 (73 days trip)

by Sophia Jenkins

Vietnam, Cambodia, Turkey, Thailand

Looking for: Male

Invite Travelers

Let travelers know about your plans by inviting them to your trip. You can always wait for someone to join up.

Find a Travel Companion

Approve travel buddies you like and start planning your trip together.

Summer Adventure

Approved buddies

Want to join

Find a trip buddy and make lasting memories

Traveling is more fun when you can share it with someone else.

Find a travel partner and don't travel alone.

South America

North america, popular destinations.

Most travelers go to these destinations. Browse trips and travelers and find your travel buddy today.

Going to Thailand

Going to India

Going to the USA

What makes TripGiraffe the best place to find a travel companion online?

Travelers us!

"Easy to make friends"

Whenever I travelled in the US or abroad I always found someone who joined me on my adventures.

"No Fake accounts"

TripGiraffe might be the only website for finding a travel buddy where you don't get spammed by fake travelers just to get money from you.

"Detailed trips"

Trips created by travelers on TripGiraffe are usually very detailed, so it is easy to find a travel companion with a similar travel style.

Find & meet friends to travel with from all around the world

Already have and account? Login

Select a language

Only registered users can send messages.

WHY DO YOU LOVE TO TRAVEL?

Worldwide thoughts and quotes on the benefits and beauty of travel.

Carolyn Canetti

I polled my friends and family from all over the world on why they love to travel. Here are their responses:

"I think the exposure to new places and new people can be really reviving personally and also eye opening to see how other people live. To see how life functions, whether human or natural life, in other places is really humbling. It's easy to have your status quo at home, but as soon as you're in a new place - all bets are off. You can do anything, and are so willing to try new stuff to push your own boundaries purely because you're in a new place."

"I love to travel because not only is it the ultimate adventure but it also exposes you to new types of people, different ways of living, and opens up your mind. I just like to walk around in beautiful places that resemble the shire from Lord of the Rings while exploring new culinary terrains."

-Matty G "Traveling reminds me that my life isn't the only one I could live and that in the grand scheme of things, I'm pretty unimportant to this world we live in. People get so caught up in their daily lives and forget that they can be somewhere or someone else tomorrow if they'd like. There are no limits in the grand scheme of things except the ones we create for ourselves. Traveling helps make sure I don't forget that ."

"Travel puts me out of my comfort zone and inherently breeds challenge . I'm a firm believer that challenge leads to curiosity, maturity and growth."

"I use travel as an escape from daily life. Having future trips already planned brings me joy and gives me something to look forward to. I've never regretted a single trip I've taken ."

"I love to travel for a few reasons. First, you automatically become a naturally curious being . You are a traveler, tourist, backpacker, etc and even the most basic thing on a trip becomes an adventure - like catching a bus between cities. Second, you are hyper aware of your surroundings and appreciate the beauty or intrigue of a new land and culture! Third, when I travel and then return home, I see home in a whole new light . For example when I studied abroad in Buenos Aires and came back to NOLA, I realized there was so much more exploring of my own city that I needed to do and I was excited and motivated to do that, whereas before I was stuck in my daily routine."

"I travel to eat all the foods ."

" I love figuring things out . I love seeing new people."

"When I think about travel, I mostly think about traveling solo. I love it because it displaces you. In a state displacement you experience wonder, discovery, awe, discomfort. If you go with an open mind, you discover things about yourself, about others and about the world you would have not learned otherwise. It opens you up, turns on new lights so you can see and experience the world in a new way- even when you go 'home'. We get so involved in our current environments and lives - the chance to step out and explore and experience elsewhere gives us perspective and often provides new lenses with which we can see and think about who we are , what are doing with our lives and what we care about. The whole experience is filled with all these beautiful and crazy colors and feelings."

"I like the discovery part of it... I like to explore new things, new places, new views, new people, new everything...T here are many ways to explore new things, but traveling is the most satisfactory as it is the most comprehensive way as it encompasses many elements from views to people to foods etc. I also like getting away from the routine, and the daily chores and daily work and daily life and have a kind of a break from reality if you want... On the other hand with all the new crazy security issues, travel is not so "free spirited" anymore, as now one has to keep in mind and be aware and even worry a bit when traveling, when in the past the idea of travel was to get away from worries."

"I like to travel so that I don't have to text anyone for a week."

" It's fun ."

"People. Whether it's hiking a scenic overlook with old friends, or eating flatbread on the side of the road with new friends, you forge a special bond when you're both out of your elements. Every moment is an adventure."

"I love to travel to experience things and places that are completely unknown or different to me."

"Traveling somewhere new is an opportunity to really engage in being lost. You have to pay close attention to figure out what's your place, and how to act, and how to be respectful. You start to question and reflect on your own assumptions and behavior. You have a chance to represent your home , which both makes you consider other people's perspectives and better articulate who it is you want to be putting forth into the world." ​-Ella

"I love to travel for so many reasons. There is nothing like getting off a plane/train/bus and seeing the beauty of a new place for the first time . Sometimes, the outer beauty is overwhelming and I have to stand still and let time stop to try to take it all in at once. Sometimes, the beauty is less about aesthetics and more about that first conversation with a local when I am pleasantly overwhelmed by their openness and rich culture. I love walking several miles each day in a new place and thinking about who has walked there before me. It can be startling to realize that I do not know a single person for miles and miles, but I think that's part of what keeps it exciting. I feel the most 'alive' when I am exploring ."

"I love to travel to get away from the chaos of life, when I come home I've gained more perspective ."

"The world is full of interesting people, beautiful landscapes, incredible food, amazing music, and different cultures, and life is more interesting when you make time to enjoy as much of it as you can! We are lucky enough to have the ability to access all of this relatively easily, it's our responsibility to travel as much as possible and learn from other cultures."

“Because everything unimportant falls away - all the little stresses of New York. And I can just be. And learn. And see. And really truly lose myself in all the new things in a new different place.”

"I like getting out of the every day routine of things - it helps me get perspective on ma lyfe. And I like seeing how other people live and meeting the Matt Goodmans of other countries ."

“I love to travel because there's so much I haven't seen and every time I go somewhere new I learn about people and places I never thought about before and that's pretty neat. You can only see so much in a photo you gotta go live it to experience .”

“I love that a totally new perspective makes me reconsider my priorities and allows me to kind of recenter myself. Also food is delicious and I'm a sucker for taking pictures of things I've never seen.”

“I love moving away from the tourist trail and exploring where the locals eat, drink, dance and live. I find it so much more meaningful to see and immerse myself in that side of a city. It's nice to get away from the Aussie accents, English speakers and cameras, and just wander around and explore, and imagine yourself living there . I love everything about traveling, particularly trying new cuisines. I despise even the thought of eating at a Western fast food restaurant, when you have so many incredible and new foods to try. Even the experiences that are frustrating or difficult at the time, end up being some of the most memorable, and some of the most hilarious stories to share and reminisce about.”

“I love to travel because it excites me and energizes me ! It takes me out of my comfort zone and exposes me to cultures, landscapes and people that I find so inspiring.”

“Mainly to meet, experience, and learn from different people, for those wild unimaginable moments that just fall into place and make you question if your dreaming , for that crazy sensation of not knowing what's next, and overall for self reflection and personal growth.”

“I'd say I love to travel because I don't want to wake up one day when I'm 80 years old and say to myself I wish I had done that .”

"I like the feeling of adventure, like anything could happen ."

“ My first trip to Kenya made me examine and question how I live and what is important . It made (and continues to make) me wonder who is ‘happier’. I see such discrepancies between my life and others, although I live in a nice apartment with all of the ‘things’ I can desire - my life might be lonelier without a small community support system. So which life is ‘better’? This existential question is made sharper to me by traveling to countries whose cultures, customs and socioeconomic levels are different from what I grew up with and still. I also enjoy learning about the history of other cultures, why heritage and values result in suspicion to refugees and foreigners. This is a wake-up to me that not everyone (not most people) embraces diversity in every way . Much as I like to travel, I love to come home though.”

"I love the smells, tastes, sounds, sights and feelings of a place - new or familiar. I think my memories are closely interwoven with the scent of an event or a period of time so being able to catalogue a place by smell helps me remember the feeling of being there. Also food. Hooray for all the food and recipes that have been passed through generations, families and communities . I also love the feeling that I am somewhere removed from my everyday experience. It is exciting and relieving all at the same time. I love that traveling is not just one thing. Traveling can be fun. It can be invigorating, enlightening, powerful, relaxing, overwhelming, emotional or even a struggle.."

"The anticipate of travel is always the first exciting thing for me. The sheer idea of going somewhere far away. It's part coping mechanism, part restlessness, and part soul seeking. I love witnessing the way different people and cultures move through the world - how they interact with each other, love each other, how they make art, how they define community, what they value, what they fight for, and what they believe in spiritually . With every new encounter, you experience a new part of yourself."

“I love to travel because it takes me out of my comfort zone and I am always learning something new about myself and about that place each day I'm there.”

"For me it's meeting new people and learning about their different way of life - culture, traditions, food. And seeing what makes each place so unique ! Love finding a spot with a view that I'll always remember about that specific trip."

"I love the anticipation of a trip. Looking ahead, saving, planning, researching, all make the trip a greater adventure. I love the sense involved in experiences a new place, especially the taste. Every trip is magical and I feel fortunate; free to have wings at this stage in life."

"I can't remember a time when I wasn't dreaming about exploring a far away place. Trying to answer why I love travel is like trying to ask myself why I eat ice cream. I just love it. There's something so magical about getting the chance to live in each new place, surrounded by a new culture of sights, food and people."

"I love to see how other cultures eat and dance! Food and music is the best way to interact with people if you can't speak each other's language, and getting involved is the best way to show your appreciation . I also love challenging my own ideas about other cultures. It's so refreshing (and educating) to experience another side to what we see on TV, in movies and online.”

"I like to travel to understand history and learn how others live across the world. And for the food obviously ."

“I love to travel because I love to learn and meet inspiring people. It's important to educate yourself about different cultures and its pretty sweet to learn new skills (even if you pay for something 'tourists' do). Submitting yourself to the unpredictability of travel gives you experiences, some good others bad, that ultimately contribute to your world knowledge - even if it's only becoming a bit more aware of what is around you . Oh, and its fun learning dirty words in different languages.”

“I love to travel because it takes me outside of my culture and privilege and reminds me of great inequities in our world. Travel inspires me to learn more, think more and to better serve our world community. ”

“I rewatched Midnight In Paris last night. So I ask, 'is the age we are living in a golden age?' Certainly if Trump is president then No. But how would we ever know? The path towards the answer is to travel. Traveling allows you to drink with Hemingway, walk the path of Jesus, and gush over Joni Mitchell. I travel so I can debate and discuss this necessary question."

"My favorite part of traveling is being exposed to food, people, places, and things I've never experienced. To get that feeling of the first time is exciting ."

Sign up for more like this.

Love and Travel

Stories of fervor and friendship, hope and heartbreak—all made indelible by the places where they happened—to make you fall even more madly in love with travel.

From Roman Holiday to Eat Play Love, the best travel narratives are so often linked to romance. And what is true in art is also true in life. For Condé Nast Traveler ’s global Love and Travel package—a collaboration between our seven editions around the world—we explored the relationship between the two and unpacked its many forms. It could be the love of a place, as beautifully captured by Booker Prize nominee Elif Shafak on her deep adoration of Istanbul, a city that shaped her life but somewhere she can no longer return. Or the unexpected real life romantic moments that knock you off your feet when traveling to distant locales, like an engagement on Italy’s Stromboli volcano. We even report on growing destination wedding trends, highlighting the top places to say ‘I Do’ for 2022 and beyond as well as providing useful tips for guests flying in for the vows. If nothing more, let this celebration of love on the road inspire your next adventure with the people closest to you. Who knows what magical moment may happen—or who you may meet—along the way.

Rick Steves on the Uncomplicated Romance of Paris

By Rick Steves

Author Elif Shafak on Her Love Affair With Istanbul

By Elif Shafak

Turning Grief Into a Life on the Road

By Ashlea Halpern

Poet Ada Limón on Raising a Glass with Old Friends in California Wine Country

By Ada Limón

For Writer Colm Tóibín, Memories of Travel Are Clearer Than Any Photo

By Colm Tóibín

The Best Places to Throw a Destination Wedding, From a French Chateaux to a Puerto Rican Beach Resort

By Katie James Watkinson

The Best Places to Honeymoon All Year Long

Travel Professionals On the Romantic Moments That Could Only Happen on Vacation

By Erin Florio

Editor’s Letter: Travel as an Act of Love

By Jesse Ashlock

How to travel with friends – without falling out

Sep 3, 2019 • 6 min read

Travelling together offers friends the chance to enjoy quality time awash with in-jokes, proper catch-ups and unforgettable experiences. Sound like bliss? It can be. But beware: even the best of friendships can be tested on the road.

Whether you’re about to embark on your first adventure with your mates in tow or are looking to improve on past experiences, here are writer Emma Sparks' 10 tips for having a harmonious trip with friends.

Beginners: start on the right foot

1. choose the right people to go with.

Pick any old pal with a passport at your peril. Just because you share a love of Nicolas Cage movies and Chinese food doesn’t mean you’re compatible travel buddies. Think twice before travelling with someone you only ever see in one context; your coffee-and-cake companion, yoga chum or work bestie might be a dream to hang out with at home, but a nightmare when it comes to exploring somewhere new. Opt for someone you’re confident you could tolerate for three days straight and you should have a reasonably hiccup-free trip – but there are no guarantees.

You might also like this:  All abroad: how to plan a group trip

2. Set expectations

Is this trip about winding down and going with the flow, or ticking off a list of sights the length of your arm? Will it be action-packed and outdoorsy, or heavy on the hangovers? It’s easy to make assumptions about your friends’ vision for a trip based on their usual behaviour, but travel can bring with it a different set of priorities and reveal a totally different side of people. Night owl travelling with early birds or vice versa? Proceed with caution – or agree to adjust your body clocks accordingly. Verbalise your needs: a simple conversation about what each of you wants to get out of the holiday – and what you don’t want to do – should do the trick.

3. Discuss your budget

You probably have an idea of how flash or frugal your friends are, but it’s worth chatting about what you intend to spend on food and activities before you go. In situ, manage money sensitively – some people are happy to split the bill every time, while others will find subsidising your dessert addiction stressful. Keep a tally in a group budgeting app like Splitwise if you like, but don’t sweat the small stuff – no-one likes a penny-pincher.

You might also like this:  What I learned from backpacking in my 20s and 30s

4. Prepare for close quarters

If you’re sharing accommodation, prepare to learn a lot more about your mates. Sleeping habits, bathroom routines and kitchen cleanliness (or lack thereof) can all cause friction between friends. Years of sharing rooms with incessant snorers, shower hoggers and the occasional gleeful farter have taught me that the best way to overcome small irritations is to make light of them – no doubt you have your own shortcomings too – and always pack earplugs...

‘When we travel as a three, Emily always gets a room to herself as she’s the loudest snorer. Emma puts up with my mild snores and I ignore the fact she leaves hair in the plughole’ – Mary, Emma’s travel buddy on many long weekends in Europe .

Intermediate: avoid common pitfalls

5. hanger and fatigue.

The needs of travelling adults often mirror those of a two year old’s. If someone’s acting moody, chances are they’re hungry or overtired. Punctuate sightseeing with plenty of pit stops and snacks, or work siestas into your holiday routine to keep the peace.

‘I like my sleep and I’m prone to energy dips if I don’t eat at regular intervals. Before a long hike through the Latvian wilderness, Emma made sure to buy some carb-heavy snacks and sugary sweets, which saved the day’  – Helen, Emma’s travel buddy in Australia , Latvia and Estonia .

6. Too much time together

Find yourself lingering in the loo, or volunteering to pop to the shops for the milk and a few precious minutes by yourself? Don’t feel bad about taking some time away from each other. Introverts in particular often need plenty of alone time to avoid burnout – but splitting up for a few hours here and there can refresh and revive everyone. 

7. Lack of flexibility

Travelling with friends is a masterclass in the art of the compromise. When Friend A is laser-focused on finding a tabbacheria for their strictly-on-holiday smokes, Friend B wants nothing more than an Aperol spritz and a sit down, and you want to get to the top local landmark before it closes, something has to give. If it isn’t essential to you, let it go – but don’t let dominant or demanding personalities get their way every time. If you’re lucky, everyone’s wants and needs can be met with some tactical shuffling of schedules. 

‘Emma has dragged us up church spires and medieval towers in Florence , Porto , Seville and more – we expect it now, just as she expects to skip a few sights so we can sample local tipples in the sun’ – Emily, Emma’s travel buddy on many long weekends in Europe.

8. Overenthusiasm

The weeks and months ahead of a trip can be saturated with hope and high expectations, excited text messages and squeals of anticipation. So much so that by the time you board the plane, you’re already exhausted. Then, in the face of adversity – a disappointing Airbnb, bad weather or mosquito invasions – one friend may appoint themselves as a hype man, ignoring glaring issues and refusing to let anyone whinge. While positivity is a lifesaver on group trips, you can still keep it real. It’s OK if things aren’t perfect, so don’t put pressure on yourself or each other to have the best time ever – go with the flow and it will happen naturally.

Advanced: be your best self

9. forgive (and apologise) quickly.

An intense dose of togetherness coupled with new, sometimes challenging experiences means minor niggles are almost inevitable. Left to fester, resentment and pettiness can thrive. Unresolved tension is a sure-fire way to spoil a trip, so be honest about the way you’re feeling. If anyone gets snappy, forgive and forget immediately – and always apologise if you’re the grump of the group.

You might also like this:   How travel helps me cope with grief

10. Be considerate and self aware

When it comes to maintaining a good group dynamic, basic courtesies go a long way – and taking extra care of each other (without fussing) will give you the warm and fuzzies. Make sure you’ve got the fundamentals covered, such as doing your fair share of washing up and collecting the morning croissants, then go the extra mile by keeping tabs on hydration levels and sunscreen top ups, or volunteering to drive.

Explore related stories

Health & Wellness

Jul 28, 2023 • 5 min read

The tourism industry is helping to make travel with loved ones living with dementia comfortable and more common.

Jul 13, 2022 • 8 min read

Jun 13, 2022 • 3 min read

May 16, 2022 • 7 min read

Mar 30, 2022 • 6 min read

Feb 13, 2022 • 6 min read

Oct 14, 2020 • 5 min read

Sep 11, 2020 • 9 min read

Sep 9, 2020 • 5 min read

Mar 14, 2020 • 3 min read

38 Inspiring Travel Love Stories From The Road

If you’re in the mood for romance, or just love a good anecdote, these inspiring travel love stories from the road will have you captivated.

As in, booking a flight in search of your very own  Eat, Pray, Love  story.

Just to fill you in on how this project came to light:

A few months back I sent out an email to my community sharing my personal tips for balancing my relationship in NYC with my trips. The response was incredible, as people wrote me back sharing their own advice and romantic accounts.

With that in mind, I thought it would be interesting to compile a list of romantic stories from other nomads. To do this, I reached out to some of my favorite bloggers to roundup a selection of incredible narratives, from passionate trip flings to underwater engagements to Couchsurfing marriages and beyond.

Honestly, this was a really fun post to read and edit! I think you’ll agree.

After reading the following 38 love and travel stories, let me know in the comments if you’ve got one of your own to add.

And if you’re not sure where to go on your next trip, this free 10-question travel personality quiz can help you discover unique places tailored to your interests!

Psst, don’t forget to pin this post for later!

Table of Contents

Come Travel #BeyondTheGuidebook

Before we dive into this incredible list of romantic stories from the road, I want to invite you to join my inner travel circle via my #BeyondTheGuidebook Newsletter .

It gets sent out once per month and features quirky travel news, inspiring adventures, conscious travel brands, and tons of fun content for curious nomads.

Once you sign up, reply to the welcome email and let me know where you’re heading to next or where you’d like to go. I always love connecting with people in my community.

On that note, let’s dive into the love and travel stories!

1. Love, travel and overcoming long-distance

“Long-distance relationships are not easy. After cutting ties with my crazy ex who stalked me from overseas, I tried my best to stay away from long-distance relationships.

But they say love will find you when you least expect it. Never would I have thought I’d meet the love of my life shortly after moving back to my home country, Taiwan .

It all started in the summer of 2011. A Canadian friend with whom I went to school in Vancouver paid me a visit in Taipei. She brought along her fellow classmates who came for a summer exchange. Among them was my now-husband, Kev.

No, we didn’t hit it off right away.

Actually, it was quite the contrary. I had no impression of him whatsoever; he just wasn’t my type. The turning point actually happened when his friend misdialed my number and invited me out — I guess to make up for the fact that he mistook me for someone else.

It was at that second meetup that his personality really shined through – I had never met a guy who was so witty and caring!

Because he doesn’t speak Mandarin, I volunteered to be his tour guide. We went out several times during his time in Taiwan. From the trendy XiMenDing district to the old town of Jiufen, we explored many parts of the country and made new memories together.

One month had passed and it was time to say goodbye. As much as I despised long distance, I was reluctant to end the friendship there and then.

‘Maybe this time will be different,’ I thought to myself. After all, this is a different person.

So, I decided to give it a shot and made our relationship official on the day he left.

Two years of long-distance.

10,080 km apart.

For 730 days, we fought through 15 hours of time zone difference – thank goodness for modern technology!

Yet the feeling of loneliness was inevitable.

In 2013, I made the bold move to relocate to Calgary, Canada – a city I had never visited before.

Despite having to deal with some serious culture shock, I am glad we could finally put an end to our long-distance relationship.”

-Cat from For Two, Please  

2. A romantic date via Instagram

“While in Thailand, a trip to the 7-Eleven is a must, am I right? I was entering a 7-Eleven in Koh Lanta when I saw this handsome guy looking at me.

‘He must think I’m cute.’

Yes, he was actually staring at me. He paid for his yogurt, gave me another look and, just before he drove off, he looked at me one more time. I was hoping he would say hi, but he didn’t.

Later that day, I got a reply to my Instagram story. Being a blogger , I try to share some travel experience stories on Instagram when I can.

It was a message from him saying, ‘Haha, I thought you looked familiar today at the 7-Eleven. Up for coconuts at the beach?’

He knew my blog.

In fact, he had known A Broken Backpack for several years. We found out later that he even invited me for a coffee when I was in Prague a couple of years back. He had left a comment on a photo where I was announcing I was going to Prague next.

I had declined his invite publicly on Instagram.

In February, we are going to celebrate our first year together. We’ve traveled to several countries since we met. We are both full-travelers and we both work online so the transition was smooth.”

-Melissa from A Broken Backpack

3. Overcoming language barriers

“In 2017 I was staying in a small town on Costa Rica’s Pacific Coast. On my last night there, right before I was scheduled to catch a bus down south, I met a very beautiful local girl.

The irony is that she only spoke Spanish and my Spanish skills were limited at best.

On the night we met, I said that I wasn’t fluent and that she would have to excuse my numerous mistakes. She laughed and didn’t seem to mind at all. We had a lovely evening together but I had to leave the next morning. Like, for good.

We ended up saying goodbye after having met only a few hours beforehand and it was a rather sad ordeal. I was really beating myself up over the circumstances.

Two days later, once I finally arrived and settled into my new destination, I decided to blow off all of my prearranged plans just to go back to that same town and spend more time with her.

Over the course of the next day, I canceled a tour, got a refund on my hostel, booked a new shuttle, and turned right back around for the five-hour return journey. I had been away for about 72 hours by the time my shuttle dropped me off in this town for the second time.

At that point, I had four full days left before flying back to the United States. As you might imagine, I spent almost every waking moment with my new friend.

I took her on a sunset sail tour and she drove me around on her motorcycle. On our last day together, we visited a nearby beach and spent the entire day lounging under the sun and drinking cheap Costa Rican beer while howler monkeys moved along the trees above us.

Although our travel romance only lasted for a few days, it was an extraordinary experience and I’m very lucky to have met her.”

-Michael from Passport Explored

4. Nurturing a relationship in South Korea

“Sitting at a bar rolling silverware at the end of my shift, a shy yet cute guy came up to me and asked to buy me a drink.

A couple of weeks later we started dating and Carl almost immediately asked me to move to South Korea with him. I barely knew the guy, so I told him no and broke up with him.

Carl showed up at my apartment and told me he’d rather have me than Korea and asked if we could try again. While I was hesitant, I said yes and we continued dating; however, six months later I was tired of living in our hometown in West Virginia — so we packed up our bags and booked tickets to South Korea!

We lived in Korea for five years together in one-room apartments and often sleeping on a twin bed. Learning to navigate life in a new country is hard enough, but our relationship wasn’t even a year old when we packed our bags.

In Korea, we started documenting our lives and fell into a community of bloggers and the rest is history!

Korea taught us how wide the world is and my life wouldn’t be the same if Carl hadn’t been bold enough to ask me to move with him.

Ten years after a boy asked me to move to Korea we have a two-year-old and blog about our new home state of North Carolina full-time!”

-Christina from NC Tripping

5. Meeting my soulmate in a hostel in Edinburgh

“When I went backpacking in Europe back in 2011, I expected to meet a handsome foreigner and have a whirlwind romance. Instead, I met a sweet southern US boy who swept me off my feet and became my soulmate.

My husband and I first met in a hostel in Edinburgh, Scotland. We had both chosen the same one because:

A) it was the cheapest one in town, and

B) it was housed in an old church which we both thought was very cool.

We happened to be put in the same dorm room. We had an instant connection and spent a few days exploring Edinburgh together, enjoying whisky, joining in the hostel pub crawl, and so on. It was amazing.

We kept in touch after that — thank you, Facebook — and eventually met up in London.

Eight years and a lot of countries later, we’re married, running a couples’ travel and relationships blog together, and happy as can be.

We’re forever grateful for that fateful meeting in Edinburgh.”

-Amy from Two Drifters

6. Getting to know each other from a distance

“For the longest time, I thought long-distance relationships were impossible. I mean, how can you really get to know someone when you’re not living anywhere near each other?

But that all changed when I met Andy.

It was 2010, and I was living in Atlanta. I tweeted about having trouble setting up the hosting for my website, and Andy, who was living in Freiburg, Germany at the time, saw my tweet and responded with an offer to help.

Despite the six-hour time difference, he stayed up late to wait for me to get home from work, and he helped me with my blog.

It could’ve ended there, but I was intrigued by him. I started reading his blog and emailing him questions about his move from the US to Germany.

Eventually, we started talking on Skype more and more, and it didn’t take long before we started falling in love with each other from 4,000 miles away.

After four months of getting to know each other through Skype and emails, we finally met in person in Prague — a trip I had already booked before we even knew each other. Being with him there felt so natural, and it cleared up the tiny amount of hesitation still lingering in my mind about being in a long-distance relationship.

Over the next few months, I flew to Germany a few times to see him and see where he lived. Then in June 2011, we got married  outside of Atlanta, less than a year after that initial tweet, and a month later, I moved to Germany.

Now we live in Berlin, and we travel quite often. And taking a chance on a long-distance relationship was the best decision I’ve ever made.

Getting to know each other from a distance like that meant we had tons of time where all we could do was talk. If anything, our relationship went at warp speed because we spent hours talking, whereas in a normal dating situation we’d be sitting in silence at a movie theater.

So even though the majority of our relationship was spent on opposite sides of the Atlantic, it was absolutely the right thing for us, and I love him more today than I did the day we got married.”

-Ali from Ali’s Adventures

7. Enjoying a travel fling in Europe

“I absolutely love tour groups because they are the perfect way to meet new people.

The excitement of a fling while traveling is similar to the concept of summer love. It is fast, exhilarating, passionate, and because you know it is eventually going to come to an end there is no reason to hold back.

When experiencing a traveling fling, carpe diem — or seize the day — is key.

This past summer, I went on a 16-day tour from Rome to Lisbon. I was 25 at the time and living in the United States when I met this incredible Australian guy on my tour.

We hit it off right away and would spend hours talking with one another while traveling through the Mediterranean countryside. About halfway through the trip, in Barcelona, we realized that our friendship had developed into something more and wanted to continue traveling together.

We both pushed our flights back to continue our travels and spend more time with each other. We traveled to the beaches of Cascais, explored the gardens of Sintra and danced multiple nights away together in London.

As solo travelers, it was delightful to enjoy this beautiful world with each other and we still talk frequently!”

-Jill from Robe Trotting

8. Traveling with the one you love

“On a trip to Europe with a friend, we were invited to join a table of German guys for a drink. I hit it off with one of them after being intrigued by the tattoo of Argentina on his ankle and we talked about travel, culture and languages between tequila shots and German bars.

The next morning I left on a train to Switzerland and we vowed to keep in touch. Which we did on and off for the next few months when he asked if he could come and visit my new home in Italy. We hired a car and spent a week road tripping Italy and in the end, made our relationship official.

After six months of long-distance, I made the commitment to move to Frankfurt on the condition that we go traveling as soon as he finished his studies.

Two years later we embarked on a 20-month backpacking adventure, which involved a road trip through Eastern Europe, a month Couchsurfing Iran, attending the World Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan, five months in India and Nepal, a couple of trips back to Germany and finally ended in my home of New Zealand.

We’re currently building our own tiny house on a trailer and planning our next travel adventure!”

-Rohan from Travels of a Bookpacker

9. A Southeast Asia love story

“I left everything behind in Canada to go to Australia solo for a year, ended up meeting my partner — he’s from New Zealand but was living in London at the time and was home visiting family when we met — and he moved back to Australia and we stayed in Australia for five years together!

We then moved to Bali together to start a new adventure, and have been based in Bali for two years with our rescue dog (our baby) Suka. Right now, we’re enjoying slow travel in southeast Asia together.

We are now engaged and planning our Bali wedding for early 2021.

Next stop for us will be to move to Spain for a few years to enjoy the slow travel life in Europe with our little Bali rescue dog!”

-Tia from The Caffeinated Expat

10. Unexpected romance in Cuba

“We didn’t intend to fall in love in Cuba. In fact, we hardly intended to say hello to each other.

We were there on a brief mission trip to host a sports camp for local area youth. Our focus was on the kids and the joy that we could bring them. Yet it seemed like at every meal as we sauntered in to eat, the last two places at the table were always next to each other.

Then there were the times when we were free to wander the streets and we kept running into each other taking pictures of the colorful doors and beautiful people.

It didn’t take long for me to ask her out.

On the last night in Cuba, while the rest of our team headed off for an early bedtime, I asked her to the rooftop bar overlooking Santiago and we shared mojitos together. There was something there. I could feel it. And I sensed this was just the beginning.

The next nine months passed like a blur as we courted, were engaged and then married on New Year’s Eve. We had met in the midst of a traveling adventure, so it would only be fitting that we marry on one, too.

The small island of Utila, 18 miles off the coast of Honduras, had a special place in my heart. And as my bride-to-be knew of this endearing place, she chose it as the place to exchange our vows.

Despite the late-afternoon rain, our pastor forgetting his notes and strangers who wandered into our wedding ceremony — because it happened to be at a seaside bar with the best view of the sunset — we were married as the sun sank into the Caribbean Sea.

The next morning we celebrated our marriage with a dive.

We now live full-time on the road, having just celebrated our sixth year of marriage. What began on the road now continues, for as long as the road will stretch before us.

-Chris and Lindsay from Called to Wander

11. Bonding through travel and photography

“Our love story began at a busy bar in Melbourne on a Monday night in 2016 — perks of being a traveler, Monday night parties!

Yet, it wasn’t until six months later that we started dating.

When we first met, it didn’t take long to realize we liked each other; however, Adam was traveling onwards to travel solo in New Zealand soon after and I was planning to stay in Melbourne. These were plans neither of us was willing to change.

Both Adam (from Oregon, US) and I (from London, UK) had been traveling solo for several years and loved the freedom that came with it, something we were both reluctant to give up.

But fate brought us back together; six months later we both found ourselves in Cairns, Australia, and arranged to meet immediately. We knew instantly that the connection we’d had was still there.

While we had loved traveling independently, we knew these feelings were something we didn’t want to give up. As our visas both reached their expiration in Australia at the same time, we realized we wanted to try this crazy travel life together.

We packed our bags and set off from Cairns to Bali together. We bonded through our passion for photography and love of travel. As we continued on from Bali to Singapore then to England and the USA — where we met each other’s families — we fell in love with each other.

Since then, we’ve traveled to around 15 countries together and across four continents.

Neither of us had expected to fall in love on the road, but that’s exactly what happened.

Without traveling, we would never have met each other or have developed the passion for photography which helped us bond at the beginning.

It hasn’t been without its difficulties, as with all relationships, but having similar interests has meant we’ve rarely had to compromise. Now, we couldn’t imagine traveling any other way.”

-Sophie from We Dream of Travel

12. I fell in love with a stranger through Couchsurfing

“Love crazy short stories ? I met my now ex-boyfriend on the second day I’d been in Santiago, Chile. He was a local, and, thanks to a mutual friend who had stayed at his place a few years previously, was letting me CouchSurf in his spare bedroom for the weekend.

I only stayed there for two days, but we immediately clicked.

It’s quite impressive to find yourself not running out of conversation with someone new — particularly when you’re speaking in a second language that you only have a cursory grasp of.

After that weekend, I headed down into Patagonia for a month, but we stayed in touch and he promised me there would always be space in his spare room if I needed it.

I passed through again on my way out of the country and what was meant to be a week-long stay evolved into a three-year relationship with both him and a country I now see as my second home.

Because of him, I became fluent in Spanish and was even commissioned to write the new Moon Chile guidebook, thanks to my knowledge of the country.

While we eventually broke up amicably — having learned that we didn’t want the same things in life — everything about my life changed because of that decision to take a chance on Couchsurfing with a stranger.”

-Steph from Worldly Adventurer

13. Meeting through Instagram

“Our love story is a bit of a modern one as we actually met via Instagram! I was drone- and travel-obsessed and Boyan ( @boyanoo ) is the best drone photographer from the Netherlands.

I saw his Instagram and was immediately in awe of his drone photos.

Fast forward and he was coming to London, so he sent me a message to see if I could show him around. I had never even seen his face at this point and had no intentions at all!

I had already booked a trip to Amsterdam not long after this and this is when we had our first date, as the London meeting had gone so well we spent the whole week together.

On our first date, we sat in a restaurant for hours while it poured with rain outside. After this, he asked me whether I’d like to travel around England with him in December. I hate the cold, and despite this, I had such a good time.

I knew he was special.

By March, we had both quit our jobs to travel full-time. Being a full-time nurse and Boyan’s video jobs abroad, it was hard to see each other and I had already started blogging part-time.

We now run the travel blog together, as well as a business doing videography and photography for worldwide clients.

We have escaped the European winter for Bali this year, which has been a dream of mine my whole life. It was amazing to finally find someone with as much energy and passion for travel as I do.

With our two suitcases, we now travel from place to place and every now and then pop back to see our families.

Since we met a year ago we have traveled to over 20 countries in Europe and Asia. He even convinced me to go to the Faroe Islands!

For someone who considers themselves solar-powered, a week in the Faroe Islands with nothing but rain and still enjoying myself says it all!”

-Hanna from SolarPoweredBlonde

14. Falling in love in Cuba

“Cuba will always have a special place in my heart. I don’t know if it’s because it was the first vacation I took sans parents, if it was the amazing weather and beaches, or (most likely) because it was where I had my first vacation love. Maybe a combination of them all!

When I arrived in Cuba, I didn’t expect to find love, but it happened.

I was on the beach when two gorgeous men walked by and started talking to my sister and me. Well, they tried to talk to us because they had very limited English and we didn’t speak much Spanish.

I really hit it off with one of the men. The language barrier wasn’t enough to stop us from hanging out together and we spent the rest of the day getting to know each other with my broken Spanish and his broken English. It was the first time I really realized that you don’t need to speak the same language to communicate with someone, and that body language is more than enough.

We spent the rest of our short five days on vacation together, exploring places in Varadero we would have never gone to without a local guide. It remains one of the best vacations I ever went on.

We exchanged emails, but our relationship eventually fizzled out. It was fun while it lasted and I’ll never forget him either.”

-Naomi from Eat Love Explore

15. Becoming digital nomads together

“When Couchsurfing just outside of Gibraltar in September 2015, I looked in a digital nomad Facebook group for my next host in Tarifa, Spain.

A German guy named Jonas answered my request for a piece of floor to sleep on for one night in a matter of minutes. I hitchhiked to Tarifa and met Jonas.

We fell pretty hard for each other over a game of durak and sharing our travel lore. I ended up staying with him in Tarifa for two weeks. After that, I hitchhiked to Portugal alone — but we kept in touch.

A week or two later, he decided to travel to Lisbon to meet me. As scary as that was, that’s where we admitted our feelings and decided to try to be together.

Two days later I was on a plane to Berlin with him and one month later we were in Gran Canaria waiting for our repositioning cruise to take us to Brazil. Essentially, we directly moved in with each other via our full-time traveling lives.

That was a whirlwind time.

I taught Jonas how to hitchhike, and he taught me how to become a digital nomad .

We started Digital Nomads Guides together and hitchhiked around South America — sometimes together, sometimes apart; I was too stubborn to get on a bus or plane, and Jonas didn’t always want to hitchhike. We never wanted to stop each other from realizing our own goals and dreams.

In 2017 after kayaking on lake Guatapé in Colombia, I shared my big dream:

To kayak down the entire Danube River in Europe.

Jonas happened to have a similar dream:

To do a long-distance kayak trip.

We would do it after I got out of student debt in 2019. We decided to paddle from the source in Donaueschingen to Budapest in 2019 and finish the other half to the Black Sea in 2021, spending the intermezzo in Asia, where we are now.

For four-and-a-half months, from spring till autumn, we were happily stuck together on the Danube River in an inflatable canoe named Zucchini .

Kayaking together and working on moving us downstream was really challenging, but something that brought us together even closer. The trip went so well that we continued paddling beyond Budapest and paddled 1,253 kilometers (779 miles) in total.

I’m thrilled to share more dreams and journeys with Jonas. Together we can do great things.”

-Iris from Mind of a Hitchhiker

16. From Jerusalem to Vietnam

“It was December 2016 in the Old City of Jerusalem. I’d just gotten back from my trip to Bethlehem, which I was evaluating as part of my job in the hostel I was working at.

I was sitting at the tour desk when a guy walked up and asked about the Bethlehem tour. I’d just had such a great time on the tour myself, so I confidently took over and told about my experience.

This guy was very engaging and I could see he was interested in booking the tour. After 30 minutes of him asking questions, which I eagerly answered, he simply gave a cold ‘I don’t think I’ll do the tour.’

As you can imagine, I was not happy. But I managed to tell him it was no problem, and that if he changed his mind the tour desk would be there.

From then on, this guy would come over to say hello or have a drink in the common area with me for a few minutes. We weren’t really hanging out but we would often greet each other around the hostel and in the bar area.

About two weeks later, he told me that he was leaving Israel to continue his trip towards Turkey. Since that day we would message each other to keep in touch once in a while. I even told him my next travel plans for June.

One day he told me that he’d like to meet me in Malaysia. I didn’t believe him but he showed up — flying all the way from Lithuania.

We then traveled for about a month through Thailand, parting ways in Chiang Mai about two weeks later.

Then I went to Cambodia, and a few weeks later he flew from China to meet me there.

After ten days, he left for China again as he was trying to see if he could make it his new temporary home.

A month after we parted ways, I was in Vietnam building my own new home base and, you guessed it, he flew to Vietnam to meet me.

That was September 2017. Two and a half years later, we’ve been to four continents and fifteen countries together. We are still traveling the world and working on our individual dreams together. “

-Mary from A Mary Road

17. A romantic story that began on a mountaintop 

“My partner and I met on top of a mountain in the Austrian Alps almost ten years ago. We were both snowboarding in Mayrhofen during the end of season festival called Snowbombing, which is a huge party.

We bumped into each other in an apres-ski bar and our groups ended up snowboarding — and drinking — together for the remainder of the festival week.

Hailing from Australia, when I first heard his accent I was hopeful for just a holiday romance, but then it transpired. He lived in London too, having moved there a few years earlier.

So after the trip, we met up and the rest is history.

Except not quite.

After 18 months together in London we decided to go traveling and become nomadic in the process. My partner already had a location-independent business but I started freelance writing work and also growing my travel blog .

During our two years traveling we spent a summer in Amsterdam house-sitting because it seemed like a fun place to live, with good Internet for our work, lots for me to blog about, and the chance to just stay put for a little while.

That summer changed our lives as we fell in love with the city and the way of life there.

We returned to Amsterdam a year later after more nomadic travel, putting down some roots in the form of signing a six-month rental lease for an apartment, which seemed forever at the time after staying in places only a few weeks or months.

Fast forward six years and we are still living in Amsterdam in a house we own and with our two young boys living there, too!

Having kids has absolutely changed how we travel — we definitely prefer to have a home base and long-term travel just doesn’t suit us — but we still enjoy discovering new places together. It’s just more likely that we go on a luxury family vacation .

Of course, we still make time for snowboarding trips in Austria — that’s where it all began — but we also really enjoy exploring the country we now feel so lucky to live in, the Netherlands.”

-Frankie from As the Bird Flies

18. A holiday romance in Uganda

“When I arrived in Kampala, Uganda, for a four-month volunteering stint in 2018, I was definitely not looking for love. I was, however, keen to make friends, and I thought one good way to meet people would be to go on Tinder.

Since I wasn’t looking for a boyfriend, it didn’t really matter if I fancied the guys; they just needed to look fun to hang out with.

So when I spotted James (not his real name), it didn’t matter that he wasn’t my type. He was the same age as me and said he was also new in town. Maybe we could check out some of the amazing things to do in Uganda together !

On a Friday we met after work for a drink. He greeted me with a kiss on the cheek, smiled a dazzling smile, and BAM ! I was smitten.

That one drink turned into drinks, dinner, and dancing until late. The next day we met for lunch…

…and I didn’t go home until the end of the weekend.

We were both infatuated. We exchanged dozens of WhatsApp messages a day, both incredulous at our luck to have found each other so soon after arriving in a new country.

We made plans to go away the following weekend and spent an idyllic two days in Entebbe on the shores of Lake Victoria.

I’m a travel blogger and photographer, and James took to the role of Instagram husband like a duck to water, grabbing my camera to fire off shots at every opportunity (the photo attached is by him).

We started to talk about me extending my stay in Uganda. He invited me to visit his home country, South Africa . He sent a photo of us to his mum.

But like most whirlwind romances that start with fireworks, the spark burned bright but it also burned fast. James started to feel crowded:

It was too intense, he was a free spirit, he didn’t really want a relationship. When he finally ended things I was devastated.

It made the rest of my trip rather difficult. Kampala is a very small ex-pat community, everyone hangs out in the same few bars and restaurants, and by now we were firmly in the same friendship group.

Everywhere I went, there he was, flirting with other girls. Our group had even planned another weekend away, and since I was determined not to let this breakup limit my chances to explore the country, I went anyway, even though he would be there too.

I spent most of the trip trying not to cry.

I did have a wonderful time in Uganda and love the country, but I’m more cautious now. Something like that can really color your experience, and I wouldn’t want it to happen again.

That said, I’m passionate about travel, and am still hoping to meet someone like-minded on another trip.

Maybe next time I’ll be luckier.”

-Bella from Passport & Pixels

19. Love at first sight in South Korea

“When I took up a teaching job back in 2009, I never would have guessed that I would fall in love and find my wife. In 2009 I left my home in South Africa to embark on a three-year journey to Seoul, South Korea .

The reason for going was to get my second degree through correspondence and I needed money to support myself. South Korea beat my original choice of Japan due to many factors, but the biggest factor was that it paid more.

I had never been to Asia before and had no idea what to expect.

Six months into my stay in 2010 I went out with a friend on my birthday. She invited a mutual friend and when she walked into the room, time stopped and all went in slow motion, just like a cheesy RomCom. But for real.

Over the course of several years, our relationship grew from a spark to a flame, and that growth was instigated by traveling the country.

They say that you know if you are compatible with someone depending on how well you travel together. It’s the real proof that the relationship will last.

We would venture out to the far-flung corners of South Korea discovering the many islands, cultural differences, and foods of the country.

We lived for another year in Los Angeles, cultivating our relationship and finally getting married six years later, in 2016.

We still move between Cape Town and Seoul — and everywhere in between — and see travel as an integral part of our relationship. We always come back new, utterly refreshed and invigorated, after a stint of travel.”

-Cal from Once in a Lifetime Journey

20. Meeting the love of my life on the other side of the world

“I met my now-boyfriend pretty much exactly four years ago on a night out in Sydney. He is from the UK, I am from Germany, and it was only a few weeks before I had to leave Australia to start my working holiday year in New Zealand.

I never imagined anything serious to come from this, but after that first night, we spent every day together until I had to leave.

He dropped me off at the airport and saying goodbye was incredibly hard. We had no idea whether we’d ever meet again and I really did not want to leave.

He promised he was going to visit me in New Zealand but I didn’t know if he meant it or just said it to make the goodbye easier.

Only two weeks after I left though, he actually came to New Zealand to visit me. We spent a wonderful week together before he returned to Australia to rejoin his friends that he was traveling with.

Which meant we had to say goodbye. Again.

At this point, we decided to make it official and were committed to a long-distance relationship.

We were planning to visit each other and figure out everything else along the way. What I didn’t know was that he would come back only two days after he left to start his working holiday year in New Zealand with me.

He basically just went back to Australia to get the rest of his luggage and apply for the visa in New Zealand. You can imagine how happy I was when he told me.

From then on, we have been together literally 24/7. Don’t ask me how we are still getting along!

Two years into our relationship we started an online business together so that we could keep traveling. Which we did.

We have been to about 30 countries on five different continents together. We have had the greatest adventures and a life I could only have dreamed of before we met.

Now, four years later, we are in the United Kingdom planning to buy a house.

I never expected meeting the person I would end up with on a night out on the other side of the world only a few weeks before I had to leave the country. But that’s exactly what happened and I could not be happier!”

-Valerie from Valerie’s Adventure Time

21. Falling through a bridge on a first date in Thailand

“If you like short funny travel stories, here’s one for you:

I kind of sort of met Garrett in Thailand, but also kind of sort of met him online.

It’s a very weird and long story involving a creepy mutual friend who forced us to become Facebook friends “because we both liked traveling.” Little did I know Thailand and this creeper would have such an impact on my life.

Fast forward a year or so later, Garrett was living and working in New Zealand and I was happily chilling in Thailand working online. He was going on vacation to Thailand and since the creeper dude a year prior forced us to be friends online, he knew I was there.

He asked me a few typical questions and I told him to let me know when he came through so we could meet up.

And he did.

And we literally haven’t been separated since! (Okay, fine, we both have some random solo travels, but you get the point.)

The day after we met we went strolling along the bridge in Pai, Thailand. Kind of a first date, I guess?

I had literally just spoken about how funny it was that you always had to look down in Thailand because there’s always some obstacle — when I fell through a hole in the bridge!

I was rustling through my purse instead of looking down. Luckily, the hole was only big enough for one of my legs to fit through.

I still have a dent in my leg in that spot to this day and for some reason, Garrett’s still with me. He always makes sure to point out potholes, bumps, and cracks in the road for me now. How sweet.

So that’s how I met my boyfriend in Thailand and fell through a bridge on our first date.

It’s been over four years with countless adventures in between and more to come.”

-Nina and Garrett from Oregon is for Adventure

22. A Peruvian love lust story

“It all happened when I was solo backpacking in Peru. I had been in South America for close to two months at that time and had just recently arrived from Ecuador.

One of my favorite things to do while traveling is to meet locals and get a perspective on their daily lives and culture. Naturally, I was on one of those horrible dating apps to meet some local Peruvians. I am not going to say which dating app specifically but let just make up a name.

Let’s call it Tinder.

So I was on Tinder in a small city in Peru called Trujillo. Trujillo is the home of the magnificent archaeological site known as Chan Chan, the biggest city from the pre-Colombian period. I matched with this girl and we started talking.

Let’s call her Maria. Things were going great.

Then one day I decided to eat some Anticuchos, a Peruvian street food of cow hearts on a skewer.

Well, the next day I was properly ill. Puking, nausea, fever — everything.

I thought I was going to die; but Maria took care of me for the whole week I was there, taking me to the hospital, to the blood tests, and everything. She even made me traditional Peruvian cuisine and that was when I knew I had something for her.

After I got better we started traveling Peru together, trekking up the Andes, visiting Machu Picchu, and walking down the cobblestoned streets of Cusco.

We were together for over a month until the day came when I had to leave Peru. Even though we said our goodbyes we planned to keep in touch.

But sometimes distance doesn’t always make the heart grow fonder.”

-Sean from LivingOutLau

23. Getting engaged underwater

“Alya is from Russia and I am a South African. We met in a small surf town in the Philippines, sleeping in neighboring beds in a dormitory and were together 24 hours a day since the day we met.

Both of us were traveling around Southeast Asia for a couple of months and came to San Fernando in the Philippines to surf.

We shared a tuk-tuk to a surf beach every morning and day trips evolved into traveling around the Philippines together for two months.

It was an amazing time. Both of us love hiking and diving and we were always searching for amazing mountains and beaches.

After traveling together for more than two years I asked Alya to marry me underwater while scuba diving from Nusa Penida island in Indonesia. While on the road, I had a couple of traveling jobs as a scuba instructor and Alya did some English teaching.

On a trip down the Amazon River, we decided to start a travel blog .

It has been four years and our successful travel blog, Stingy Nomads, allows us to work together while traveling full-time and doing things we love.”

-Campbell and Alya from Stingy Nomads

24. Finding love in Argentina

After getting a postgraduate degree in the south of Spain, interning in Barcelona and a year-long stint working in the Caribbean, I had my eyes set on Argentina.

I moved to Buenos Aires —where I luckily already had a group of friends installed and waiting.

“I’ll stay here for two years, tops,” I said to myself.

Four months into my Argentine life I was out at a club when I saw him. I’m not exactly a club-goer, and later I’d find out neither was he. We were just meant to meet there, out of our comfort zones.

We immediately made plans for an actual date two days later and have been inseparable ever since. It’s been ten years.

I never thought I’d still be in Argentina, let alone that I’d have fallen head over heels for an Argentine. My friends were right; he stopped me in my tracks. He’s also obsessed with travel and spent time in Australia and Thailand.

We travel as much as we can together but have our roots here in Buenos Aires. We’re having a baby this year and are excited to see what the future holds!”

-Erin from Sol Salute

25. An around the world travel romance

“When I decided to move abroad, I put my dating life on a shelf.

I figured I’d worry about my single status when I got back, though, in the back of my head, I couldn’t help think that at 28, going abroad for a long period of time was only going to prolong the long journey of finding love.

But…I wanted to travel.

After nearly 15 months of being abroad, I landed on the island of Koh Phi Phi, Thailand for the last four days of my trip.

I didn’t know a soul, so I booked myself into a notoriously social hostel. I happened to join a flip cup game on the beach when I noticed the tall, handsome guy next to me.

When I told him I was from the US, he replied cheekily, ‘I know. There’s only one place in the world that does dental work like that.’

And what can I say? I fell for him.

He was from The Netherlands and we spent the rest of the night talking. We mentioned meeting up the next day but unfortunately, my phone had suffered a casualty on a boat trip and the only thing I could give him was my Facebook.

By the afternoon, I hadn’t heard from him so I sent him a Facebook message inviting him to dinner with a group of people and still never heard back.

I ran upstairs 10 minutes before dinner to check my computer, only to find that he still hadn’t responded. I was a little dejected, but when I got back down to the beach, there he was, waiting for me.

We were inseparable for the next three days and then I finally flew back home.

Two months later he came to the US to visit me and we decided to do a long-distance relationship. We met up in Italy, vacationed in Croatia , introduced our families, found a ring in Ireland and got engaged in The Netherlands.

About a year and a half after meeting, we got married and he moved to the USA. We’ve been here ever since!”

-Ashley from Jetset Jansen

26. A Roman love story

“My husband and I first met in the ancient ruins of the Roman Forum in 2001. I’d picked up a job as a tour guide there, and he was a tourist on one of my co-worker’s tours.

We chatted briefly, and a few days later he showed up to follow one of my tours. He’d been captivated by the city just like I had and decided to stay and become a tour guide .

So, we became colleagues and good friends.

Our mutual love of travel was what we initially bonded over. Both of us were pretty new to travel but dreamed of exploring the whole world, and we would spend hours in bookshops poring over guide books.

We even planned a three-month overland trip through the Middle East together, just as friends. I was a bit nervous about visiting that part of the world as a solo female traveler , so I invited myself along on his trip from Cairo to Istanbul.

It was just a couple of months before we left for that trip that our relationship took a romantic turn.

And for the first few years, we spent more time together traveling than staying in one place. In between trips, we did a few more stints as seasonal tour guides in Rome to save up money, and six years after we met we returned there to get married.

It was a small, intimate wedding with 30 or so of our closest friends and family, and it was the best day of our lives. We arrived in Rome just 10 days before the wedding and managed to throw it all together in time, even if some aspects were a bit unconventional.

Instead of the usual wedding reception with cheesy music and dancing, we all had dinner together at  our favorite Roman trattoria .

Over the past 20 years or so we’ve traveled to more than 100 countries on all seven continents, and we still make it back to Rome as often as we can.”

-Wendy from The Nomadic Vegan

27. Falling in love on a semester abroad

“When I was in college, I took my very first plane ride to my first international destination:

Studying abroad in Costa Rica for my last semester of university.

I had never been abroad before, but I was excited and open to new experiences in this beautiful, lush, tropical country — and little did I know it would eventually become my heart’s home.

I stayed with a local Costa Rican family and spent much of my free time getting to know them, practicing my Spanish and learning about the way Costa Ricans lived and connected.

I often invited the youngest son who still lived in a nearby house on outings and trips with us, and we usually ended up being the only two who didn’t cancel. We grew closer, spending a lot of our time together, and as you probably expected, eventually had a fling.

At the end of the semester, we both decided we could probably not continue to date long-distance from abroad; but as soon as I got back home, we would chat on Facebook and Skype nearly every day and eventually we could not keep up with the rouse so we gave in and started dating.

That winter, we traveled together to the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, then took a bus to the border of Panama, walked across the bridge over the river of Sixaola, and spent the weekend traveling around the islands of Bocas del Toro .

We traveled well together, which doesn’t always work even with friends no matter how much you enjoy each other’s company. To stretch our money further we stayed in hostels, cooked in the kitchens, and took public transportation.

It was gritty and authentic and we absolutely loved it.

We dated for nearly two years like this, visiting each other in our home countries, traveling around and enjoying every moment of it.

Eventually, I landed an internship in Costa Rica, and after living only an hour away from each other for a few months, we knew this was what we wanted. So, we got engaged and planned our wedding in Costa Rica.

Now we have been married for nearly four years, going on a lifetime. Our favorite thing to do together is travel; how fitting for a marriage formed out of it!

I never expected for travel to change my life, but it did in many ways. I met my lifetime partner, and fell in love with travel itself while on the road.”

-Michele from Adventures Abound

28. Meeting my fiance on a press trip for travel bloggers

“I met my now fiancé on a trip to Menorca , Spain. The trip was a conference and press trip for travel bloggers and influencers , and we were both invited to participate. It wasn’t until the end of the trip that we really began to talk and realized that we had much more in common than our jobs.

We continued to date after the trip. I was living in London at the time and he had already been nomadic for several years.

Our early relationship involved meeting up in random places — including Estonia, Scotland, and London — when he had breaks from assignments and I could convince my boss to let me work remotely.

Around five months later, I quit my job in London to take my own blog full-time and we have been traveling together ever since.

We’ve now been together for nearly three years, living nomadically in countries such as Georgia, Mexico, Greece, and Japan.

Last year, we decided to set down some roots and bought a new-build apartment in Portugal. I’m from the UK and he’s from Canada, so it’s nice to find a place to make ‘ours’ after traveling so many countries together.

We’ll be moving to Portugal to start the next chapter of our life together this summer and we’re getting married just down the road from our new apartment next spring.”

-Jodie from Ala Jode

29. From Europe to the United States to the world

“Our love story began back in 2013 in the horse capital of the world in Lexington, Kentucky.

My husband, who is Russian, and I, being Ukrainian, were destined to meet not in our neighboring countries in Europe but on the opposite side of the world in one of the least touristy cities in America.

At that time, I (Anya), while living in Washington DC, was looking for various jobs that could help me relocate, let me travel and pay well. Mark (my husband) was living in Kentucky, working in the hospitality business but wanting to have a change, move somewhere new and experience other parts of the US.

My desire to move to another state brought me to Kentucky for one year where I came to work for Marriott Hotels and where I met Mark. Not much time passed after our first acquaintance, as we realized we wanted to travel and try to live in other states.

We took a leap of faith, packed our bags and moved together across the country to Los Angeles to spend three and a half years there just to understand that we actually wanted to see the world.

So we took another risk and packed again.

We left part of our life behind and set off on the most adventurous journey both of us could have ever dreamt about.

Today, two and half years later, after we left the United States to travel the world, we are location-independent and working online , living in different countries around the world, constantly traveling and exploring one region at a time.

Is it easy?

But this is the life we would never trade for anything else.

We are grateful to the United States for bringing us together, letting us catch this travel bug and helping us understand what type of life is best for us.”

-Anya from Road is Calling

30. Love in Bangkok

“At the age of 22, I booked a one-way ticket to Bangkok, Thailand and embarked on my very first solo travel trip through Southeast Asia and Australia. I never imagined that this trip would change the course of my life and that I would meet my current partner one fateful night in Bangkok.

I was enjoying an evening with other travelers in a small bar on Bangkok’s bustling Khao San Road when Rick and I crossed paths for the first time. We didn’t exchange each other’s numbers that evening, but as fate would have it we bumped into each other in the busy streets of Bangkok the next day!

Rick told me of his plans to travel to the beautiful island of Koh Tao the following day and invited me to join him. Unfortunately, I declined his invitation due to already having the train tickets for my solo trip to Malaysia booked for the next day.

He still held out hope and told me exactly where to meet him if I happened to change my mind.

To this day, I still don’t quite know what made me go and cancel my train ticket to Malaysia and meet him at the bus station. His face lit up as soon as he saw me walking toward him and that’s when I knew I made the right decision.

We spent one week together on Koh Tao and then due to pre-arranged travel plans, went our separate ways. We sporadically kept in touch via Facebook and a full year passed before we saw each other again.

My travels eventually brought me to his home city of Perth, Australia and that’s when he invited me to stay at his house and the rest is history. I found myself applying for a partner visa so that I could stay in Australia and telling my family back in Canada that I wouldn’t be coming home!

Fast forward eight years later, we recently got engaged in Tallinn, Estonia on our summer travels through Europe and we are now planning our wedding for 2021 in Canada!”

-Ann from TheRoad-IsLife

31. House-sitting across the world together

“I’ve met and become friends with many people thanks to my travel blog and social media.

I met Mark through Twitter over three years ago and learned we had a lot in common. We both loved to travel and it turned out we were both nomadic house sitters.

Over the years we ended up meeting a few times while house sitting in the same city. Twice for lunch and once for breakfast. We also chatted here and there as we moved around; we exchanged stories of the pets we were caring for and talked about the city we were staying in at the moment.

Then last summer we were both going to be in Miami for a few weeks.

We ended up spending more time together and we realized we really liked each other. We knew that a relationship together would have to start off as a long-distance relationship because we both already had a few things scheduled.

However, we wanted to give it a try. We talked every day and eventually, we were able to start house sitting together.

We have been on the road together now for a few months and already have house sits scheduled together through most of 2020. We’re so happy that our love of travel brought us together and are excited to continue to travel and explore new places together.”

-Vicky from Buddy the Traveling Monkey

32. Discovering a new road to travel

“I met my husband when I was on vacation in New York City . I was on a long multi-month trip around the world, catching up with friends, traveling and eventually making my way to Rio, where I was planning to stop and get a job teaching English.

Instead, two weeks before I left the United States for five months in Canada, I met Kevin.

We spent those two weeks wandering through the Met, having brunch at Balthazar’s, lazing around on the Hudson River, and having dinner in the East Village. New York is an easy place to fall in love!

In my five months traveling the width of Canada by rail, Kevin came to vacation with me three times.

A week soaking up the breathtaking scenery on the Rockies, another week kayaking and cycling around Salt Spring Island near Vancouver, and a final week freezing together in a Montreal winter!

Well, in the end, my journey south to Rio never happened. Instead, when I left Canada, we both moved to Australia for three years, then eventually back to New York, where it all began.

Since then, we got married and celebrated by playing tourists in our favorite city, drinking champagne at sunset on a sailing boat in New York Harbor.

We still live in NYC and I still travel, but I’ve substituted a nomadic existence for twice-yearly trips with my husband, sampling different locations all around the world.

So, I fell in love on the road, ended up down a different road altogether, and now travel a new one together with my husband.”

-James from Travel Collecting

33. Getting together through Couchsurfing

“It was a rainy rainy day in January in the mountains of Vietnam and I had just left my motorbike partner behind in Phong Nha after riding with him for 15 days as I needed some me-time.

Partway through the ride to Ninh Binh, it struck me that I wanted to keep riding and find some nightlife and enjoy myself.

It was a 330-mile ride and it was raining hard, so I couldn’t read the signs and was on a car-only highway. The police forced me to stop and turn around and get off the highway to go back to the regular roads, meaning I had to stay in Ninh Binh for the night.

The next morning I was up bright and early again, peddling through the rain until I finally reached Hanoi midday. Full of energy and eager to explore the city, I found myself on one of the best travel apps :

Couchsurfing .

Little did I know that by getting on the app that day it would forever change my life.

There was a group of 12 Couchsurfers from all over the world getting together for drinks and food and sharing travel stories. Inna and I were seated across from one another but not saying much, though we couldn’t help but feel a connection so strongly and deeply to one another.

After we left that spot the group got smaller, and continued to get smaller after each stop on our night out. Inna and I got to know each other a little more each time — until we ultimately ended up walking around Hoàn Kiếm Lake until the sun came up.

Unfortunately, she was scheduled to leave Vietnam two days later to go back to Ukraine and I was leaving Vietnam in two weeks to start my tour through Europe. After the longest week of our changed lives, we decided Inna would join me traveling, as well!

Two years later we are still traveling together. We’re engaged, fully in love, and still treat each and every day as though it’s our last!”

-Jim & Inna from Executive Thrillseekers

34. What happens in Vegas doesn’t always stay in Vegas

“Travel brought me and my now-husband together.

We were living in separate cities in the United States — I was a college student in Chicago and he had just moved to New York for work — and had both traveled to Las Vegas with friends to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

I was playing the slot machines at the casino at the hotel we were both staying at. He sat next to me and we talked and gambled for about an hour until I had to leave.

A few hours later and shortly before midnight we ran into each other again at the casino and shared a kiss at midnight on New Year’s.

We hung out and talked for a few more hours until we said goodbye since we were leaving Vegas the next morning. We did not make plans to see each other again, but we exchanged phone numbers.

We kept in touch by phone until he came to visit me a few months later and we decided to start dating long distance. Since we both were living with roommates and loved to travel we found it more convenient to meet in different cities in North America for weekend getaways.

Eventually, after a few years of dating long distance and traveling to see each other, we got married with a destination wedding in the British Virgin Islands.

We have been married for over 10 years and now live together in Chicago with our two kids and beloved yorkie.

They say “What Happens in Vegas, Stays in Vegas” but for us, that was definitely not the case!”

-Matilda from The Travel Sisters

35. A Mexican romance

“When I first met my boyfriend during a study abroad program in 2010, romance was the last thing on my mind.

I was determined to spend my 10 months in Mexico becoming fluent in Spanish so I could travel Mexico worry-free while simultaneously gaining enough college credits to graduate on time.

Meeting Héctor was not part of the plan.

We first met at a party I was hosting with my study abroad cohort (how else do you meet people in college?). We had an immediate connection and while the people around us shotgunned beers we fell into a conversation about one of our shared passions:

I know it sounds super cheesy, but I felt something inside me shift. He was different than anyone I’d ever met before. Maybe it was just because he laughed at my dumb jokes? I can’t say for sure.

Naturally, I was bummed to discover that he was moving away to Mexico City to study music in just a few weeks.

We kept in touch, IM-ing about our favorite bands and discussing whatever poetry I was reading for my literature classes, and I regularly begged him to play me Enrique Iglesias songs on his guitar. He refused.

Soon, an opportunity for me to visit Mexico City presented itself, and we went on our “first date” — a Shakira concert at Foro del Sol. It was amazing!

What followed was a whirlwind, semi long-distance (I lived five hours away) romance that ended when my study abroad program did.

Over the years we kept in touch as friends, and each of us had relationships come and go. For years, there didn’t appear to be future for us.

Then, in 2017, I finally had the chance to return to Mexico. I asked Héctor if he wanted to join me for a beach vacation in Playa del Carmen and he agreed.

From the minute I stepped off the airplane it was like no time had passed. We fell into conversations about music, making taco puns, and me requesting that he sing me Enrique Iglesias songs. At the end of the trip neither of us could deny that the feelings were still there.

Within a few short months, we’d both quit our jobs and relocated to Playa del Carmen to be together for real.

And now, three years on, we’re living back in Xalapa, Veracruz where we first met 10 years ago. We still talk about music, we still make taco puns, and he still won’t play me an Enrique Iglesias song.”

-Janine from Janine in the World

36. A Nigerian princess meets a Wyoming cowboy

“If you think this is a fictional story, you will be wrong. It is a true-life account of how I met the love of my life.

My twin sister and I left everything we knew in Nigeria and journeyed to a little town called Laramie, Wyoming, in the United States.

We knew no one in the town or neighboring state, and with a population of about 28,000 people, it was a huge culture shock for us since we had lived in a town of over 1 million people. Quickly, we got acclimated though, frankly, we had no choice.

I started working and taking college classes and made new friends. One of my coworkers, Zeb, used to think my sister and I were the same person and would complement how hardworking I was since I “worked all the time.” Until he realized that there were two of us.

Zeb was a nice guy, but I didn’t really think much of it.

Then I realized we had the same major when we met in class the next semester in a smaller class size. We worked on a group project together, and a good friend, Noelle, kept saying, “I think Zeb likes you!” She was great at reading people, and she was right.

Zeb had finally summoned the courage to ask me out on a date. I was clueless about dating, as my academics were my main priority, but I decided to give Zeb a chance.

As the saying goes, “The rest is history.”

I had asked God for three things in the person I was going to marry:

• The person’s family has to love my family and me as we are (the good, the bad, the ugly),
• he must have faith in God as Christians,
• and he has to be an excellent cook since I dread cooking.

Every day, I thank God for giving me the best gift I have ever received, my husband, Zeb.

Like in all relationships, it is not always smooth sailing from cultural differences to personality, but it has been worth it.

Now, we are on a quest to journey the world together, starting with  traveling in Africa . “

-Lydia from Africa Wanderlust

37. Finding love in India

“Some places that we travel to leave their mark more than others. We like to think that every place we visit changes us in some way, but in some countries that change is much more profound.

In the case of my travels to India , they have completely changed my life.

Before my trips to India, I would get nervous. Family and friends were never particularly understanding of why I insisted on journeying halfway across the world to solo travel India.

But once I settled into the chaotic peace, I would find myself more and more at home in India, learning to live by the moment and surrender just a little bit of that hard-wired need to be in control.

In 2017 my travels took a turn for the unexpected as I experienced what would become one of my favorite stories of India to share.

A day before I was due to leave after a month of traveling there, I met Ravi in his hometown of Mumbai. Over chai and wandering around Colaba, posing for touristy shots in front of the gateway, we discovered a connection we knew we wanted to grow.

I didn’t see him again for another four months.

Fast forward two years and we’re living on the other side of the world in Toronto, Canada. We’ve traveled many places in India and around the world that are new to both of us, and we’ve been able to see places differently through each others’ eyes.

Finding love in India has shown me that the typecasting around gender roles in patriarchal societies — which India is considered — are not always true. Both of us are a long way from home — in many senses — which has taught us to be kinder, more flexible, and more understanding.

I have learned a lot about what it truly means to be close to ones’ family, even at the end of a phone, and Ravi has learned to make the perfect poha (a flattened rice dish).

I have learned that far from trying to scam people — which is the traveler stereotype — most Indians are incredibly kind.

Back in India we have been pleasantly surprised by the number of people who accept us openly as a mixed ethnicity couple, vs the number of people who judge for breaking the mold.”

-Ellie & Ravi from Soul Travel Blog

38. Falling in love in Barcelona

“In 2015, a good friend from university and I decided to have a little trip to the south of Europe during our semester break.

Since we were working full-time during most of our time off from university, we only had two weeks before our classes would start again, and we wanted to make them count.

So we booked several busses and flights starting from Madrid. After we visited Porto and Lisbon, we planned to stay three days in Barcelona before heading to Paris and returning home to Germany from there by bus.

Since we were students at that time, we tried to travel as cheaply as possible using Couchsurfing in most of the places we visited.

While my friend went to bed earlier during our first night in Barcelona, I stayed awake for hours talking to our host, Eduardo, in the living room of his flat. From the beginning, we felt a great connection sharing the same stupid kind of humor and a passion for traveling.

When we left Barcelona two days later, I was sure I would never see him again, even though we promised each other to stay in touch.

Little did I know that just 10 days later, he would take a flight to visit me in Germany, spending a whole week with me. Since I had classes to attend during the week, we went on a memorable little weekend trip to Amsterdam which became the first of many trips together.

The next three months we spent visiting each other once a month; however, for my last semester of university, I had a semester abroad coming up in which I had to spend three months in the Maldives.

It wasn’t easy not being able to see each other for three months in such an early stage of our relationship, and my WiFi-connection was awful, which made it almost impossible to video chat.

Anyway, when my internship was finally over, I flew right to Barcelona to live with Eduardo in the same flat where we first met.

Fast forward to today, after exploring more than 15 countries together, we are currently traveling around South America on a seven-month honeymoon!”

-Vicki from Vickiviaja

Romantic Travel Video

A note from Jessie:

While I personally didn’t meet my fiance traveling, we did say “I Love You” for the first time during a trip to Savannah, Georgia.

You can see the video from that special trip above.

Seriously, the atmosphere combined with the many things to do in Savannah makes it such a romantic trip!

Do you have any inspiring love stories from the road to share?

Bonus short travel stories.

Looking for more of the best travel stories ? Check out:

20 Embarrassing Travel Stories That Will Make You Laugh & Blush

25 Crazy Travel Stories You Need To Read To Believe

23 Inspiring Travel Stories Sharing The Kindness Of Strangers

16 Short Funny Travel Stories That Will Make You Laugh Out Loud

Sexual Assault Stories From The Road (& What I’ve Learned)

8 Crazy NYC Subway Stories That Will Make You Hail A Cab

A Host’s Perspective: My Worst Airbnb Horror Stories

17 True Short Adventure Travel Stories To Inspire Your Next Trip

11 Epic Travel Fail Stories From The Road

18 Scary Travel Stories From Haunted Hotels To Creepy Cabins

Enjoyed this post? Pin it for later!

Related posts:

Hi, I’m Jessie on a journey!

I'm a conscious solo traveler on a mission to take you beyond the guidebook to inspire you to live your best life through travel. Come join me!

Want to live your best life through travel?

Subscribe for FREE access to my library of fun blogging worksheets and learn how to get paid to travel more!

Turn Your Travel Blog Into A Profitable Business

Subscribe to my email list to snag instant access to my library of workbooks, checklists, tutorials and other resources to help you earn more money -- and have more fun -- blogging. Oh, and it's totally FREE! :) //  Privacy Policy . 

Check your inbox for your welcome email + resource library password!

15 Comments

We found love in a hostel place! Who knew that the Couchsurfing app could be good for finding some romance?? Love this!

Awww, these are too cute! Thanks so much for sharing these – it’s always good to read about happy experiences on the road, as well as the more practical tips!

These are such amazing and inspiring stories. It gives me hope for finding a travel soulmate one day! 🙂

Gosh this was such a fun read! I loved reading all these stories. I think A Broken Backpack was my favorite – so unexpected! Great idea, Jessie ♥️

Loved these fairytale stories.Very well put together Jessie.

Thank you for sharing your information.Really i love this article.

These stories are so awesome. I really loved reading 🙂

very informative articles or reviews at this time.

This is so informative, thanks alot or sharing. love your blog so much

This was a lot of fun to read! All of these stories were fascinating to read. it was so unexpected! Excellent concept

These are really adorable! Thank you so much for sharing these – it’s always nice to hear about enjoyable road trips as well as practical advice!

Loved reading these, some made my heart melt! As if we need more reasons to travel! Thanks for sharing

Thank you so much for sharing this blog i really loved it. it’s so nice to get more information about road trips. thanks again, i really enjoyed reading your article.

These Love Stories are so adorable. Loved i.

What sweet love stories these are. I adored this lovely pair.

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

How to make friends as you travel – according to the women who’ve done it 

Call us biased, but it’s hard to deny the benefits of small-group travel. Want the inside scoop on a place? Say hello to your local leader. Tired of travel logistics? We’ve got you covered. Need a travel buddy? Well, that’s kind of our thing…  

With us, you’ll always explore the world with a group of like-minded travel companions – but some Intrepid travellers are lucky enough to find solid, long-term friendships on our adventures, often quite unexpectedly.

To celebrate Galentine’s Day, we’re putting the spotlight on female friendships forged on the road. Read on for expert tips on how to make friends as you travel from Claire Cohen, author of BFF? The Truth About Female Friendship – and get inspired by real-life friendship stories from Intrepid women. 

Tips from female friendship expert Claire Cohen  

As bonding experiences go, it was up there. As I pulled on my disposable underwear and sat down in the hot room, thick with steam and the scent of soap, I could just make out the faces of my new friends – the three of us ready for our first Moroccan hammam experience. For locals, a trip to these public baths means a moment to bond with family, friends and neighbours – all while being scrubbed (and I mean scrubbed ) with a loofah, washed down with black soap and having buckets of water poured over their heads.  

Yet, here I was with two women I’d only met two days earlier, almost naked and very nervous. Of course, we needn’t have worried – a few moments of eye contact as we were scoured and soaped meant we hadn’t only been stripped of layers of dirt and skin, but all our inhibitions. After that, we didn’t stop talking about it for the rest of our trip and, even better, remained in touch for years, even meeting up in London – our travel experience creating a unique bond that no one else in our lives had shared.  

Making friends when travelling solo can seem daunting but, trust me, it’s easier than you think – and you don’t have to take your clothes off, promise. Here are my tips for success. 

Get out of your comfort zone  

When was the last time you did something out of the ordinary? It’s hard to push your boundaries when faced with the daily grind and that’s where travel comes in. When I’m away, I try to think of myself as a sponge (albeit with a better tan), soaking up every new experience. And it’s the perfect state of mind for making new friends: your guard is down and your mind open.  

On a trip to Italy , years ago, I made myself take part in a Vespa-riding excursion. As I nervously pulled on my helmet, I smiled at the woman on the scooter next to me. She was also mildly terrified and we spent the day encouraging one another. It was positive and supportive, creating a bond. After that, we stayed in touch over email, sharing our other travel experiences to spur one another on. After I did a skydive in Australia? She was the first person I told.  

Be honest   

The key to making new friends is vulnerability. If you stick to small talk, there’s only so deep your connection will ever go. That’s where travel can make things easier: there’s something about being away that enables you to let your guard down and talk about what you want out of life.  

You can connect with others over the ‘big’ topics you might struggle to raise with friends at home, or the dreams you might feel silly admitting to. Grab the opportunity to do so now; after all, you’re surrounded by other people who probably feel the same way. Take a deep breath and start answering their questions honestly – you won’t regret it. 

‘Trust in the unexpected’  

Those four words are what a fellow author told me as I started writing my book about female friendship – and I think they apply to how we make friends, too. So often, we judge whether someone is a potential pal by their similarity to us, but it’s those ‘unlikely’ friendships that can be life’s most rewarding – offering you the chance to see the world through the eyes of someone with different experiences to yours.  

Travel is the ideal way to encounter people you might never meet at home. Take my friend Alexa, who met a fellow solo female traveller, 30 years her senior, on a trip to Austria . Turns out they lived 15 minutes apart back home but their paths had never crossed. Five years on, they regularly meet for coffee or walks – living proof that it’s worth seeking out the unfamiliar. 

Take the pressure off  

While travelling is a fantastic way to make new friends, try not to put too much pressure on it. Instead, look at it as a way to expand your community: not everyone you meet is going to be your BFF, but at the very least, you’ll share some incredible moments with friendly new people. That said, don’t shut the door once you’re home. 

A woman I interviewed for my podcast, BFF? , told me about a climbing holiday she took in an effort to make new friends post-Covid. She’d never climbed before and bonded with two other women, also novices. Back home, she received an email: would she like to take a US road trip with them? My friend found herself saying yes to a holiday with two women she barely knew. That lay the foundation of a solid friend group, all thanks to solo travel and saying ‘yes’ to female friendship. 

BFF? The Truth About Female Friendship by Claire Cohen is out now.  

Real-life Intrepid friendships  

‘i like to think of us as long-lost sisters’ – chloe on her friendship with arantxa  .

We met on a group trip to Peru six years ago. We’re both from Canada (I’m from Calgary, Arantxa’s from Toronto) and that sparked our first conversation, but we quickly realised how similar we are, so we just clicked. Since then, we’ve made it a tradition to travel together around Thanksgiving every year. Last year I got married in Chile, and of course, Arantxa was there. 

We’ve been to Egypt with Intrepid and we loved it so much we booked Premium Turkey for later in 2023! I think Intrepid’s small group sizes mean you are bound to make friends – but it was still surprising to find someone I bonded with so quickly. 

Sometimes I like to think of us as long-lost sisters. We know each other so well now, making travel plans is easy. We even FaceTime each other before we pack for a trip to make sure we both love what each other is bringing so we can share outfits! 

‘They taught me to be more self-reliant’ – Fiona on her group of travel pals  

I knew when I joined an Intrepid trip to Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia in 2015 that I would meet like-minded people – but I was delighted to end up with three long-term friends, Denise, Ronny and Yvette.  

Our trip was a month long, which is sufficient time to get to know people quite well. I think our shared enthusiasm and willingness to join in with the activities and exchange life experiences brought us together. Denise and Ronny had met on a previous trip and got on so well they decided to travel together again. Now all four of us meet up every year for a new adventure.

The other ladies are younger than me – very independent and far more tech savvy. They aren’t afraid of getting lost – they could find the best places to go just by pushing the right buttons on their phones. Travelling with them has taught me to be more self-reliant, widened my horizons and brought much laughter and joy into my life.  

‘We bonded over our similar life experiences’ – Jan on her friendship with Sharon

Sharon and I have both travelled separately with Intrepid quite a bit – me to Turkey, Peru, Bolivia, Botswana and Namibia, and Sharon to China, Romania, Moldova and Ukraine. We met on a Best of Cuba trip back in April 2016. We hit it off over our shared love of photography and penchant for wandering around, chatting to locals.  

I don’t think we realised at the time that we’d remain friends – but I’m very happy we did! After keeping in touch and bonding over our similar life experiences (kids, ex-husbands, etc.) we decided to go to Morocco together in 2017. I did the longer Morocco Encompassed trip, while Sharon could only do the first section of the itinerary ( North Morocco Adventure) due to time restraints – but we got to be roommates between Casablanca and Marrakech!  

I believe Intrepid trips are a great way to make friends, as people tend to be like-minded, responsible and friendly. As Sharon says, ‘they don’t just want to be herded from place to place’. It’s nice to travel with a friend without having to spend so much time planning beforehand. Or go solo and know that you are safe and can meet new people!  

Keen to travel with your very own girl gang? Check out our Women’s Expeditions .  

Feeling inspired?

Intrepid Travel

Intrepid has been leading small group adventures for over 30 years. We’re a certified B Corp, which means we want to be the best travel company not just in the world, but for the world. To create positive change through the joy of travel. You can read our latest adventures right here.

You might also like

Don’t let your age stop you from booking..., intrepid’s local leaders share insider tips, savor delhi with the best of the capital’s..., literary escapes: 6 must-reads for travel book lovers, we run at dawn: why i lace up..., intrepid’s photography experts share their best travel photo..., the silly side of small group travel you..., creative cities: hanoi, slow drip: vietnamese coffee culture, step out with confidence with this plus-sized guide..., after losing my phone in colombia, i found....

• Central America
• Middle East
• North America
• South America
• Adventure Travel
• Female Travel
• Luxury Travel
• Travel Inspiration
• Travel Tips
• Travel Itineraries
• Bookish Lifestyle
• Book Reviews

Social Links

For exclusive travel tips, detailed itineraries and more, be sure to subscribe to my newsletter.

• Entries feed
• Comments feed
• WordPress.org

10 Reasons I Love Traveling (and Why You Will, Too)

• August 2, 2023
• 6 minute read

It’s no secret that most people desire to travel much more often than the normal 9-to-5 gives them time for. Traveling is a transformative experience that enriches our lives in countless ways. From discovering new cultures to pushing the limits of our comfort zones, the thrill and adventure of traveling offers an escape from the ordinary.

In this blog post, I’ll share ten compelling reasons why I love traveling, and I’m certain that these reasons will inspire you to embark on your own adventures.

Here are the top 10 reasons I love traveling!

Affiliate links are used in this post. for more about affiliate links, check out my disclaimer policy ..

1 || We get to experience new cultures

This is perhaps the most rewarding aspect of travel. Sadly, it’s lost on many people, especially nowadays, as social media is flooding with people just looking for a good photo or to be able to say they’ve been there. Don’t be that way! Actually immerse yourself in these new cultures and you will absolutely fall in love.

It also teaches you empathy and increases your overall social intelligence. Embracing different cultures broadens your perspectives in unimaginable ways and fosters a deeper sense of appreciation for the diversity our world has to offer. These encounters not only introduce you to new customs and traditions practiced around the world, but also creates lasting memories that will shape your understanding of the world and the people living in it.

• This one is a large reason why I loved my time at Oxford, England . Immersing myself in their way of life for 5 weeks really grew my appreciation for slow travel, whereas before, I was a 100% advocate for fast-paced travel.

2 || It takes us out of our comfort zones

We all have our familiar boundaries that we feel safe in, and once we reach adulthood, and get into a routine, we don’t often stray outside of them. However, living this way leads to remaining stagnant, to getting comfortable and not continuously trying to grow. Stepping outside the bounds of our familiarity is where our personal growth happens. Even if you don’t realize it, we all have more growing to do. It never, never stops!

Travel only enhances, and often speeds up, this growth! It challenges you to face the unknown and forces you to face uncertainty. Perhaps you travel to a country with a language barrier, or head to an adventure capital like New Zealand to bungee jump . Whatever you end up doing, it’s the act of embracing these challenges that ultimately fosters personal growth. This can result in increased resilience, adaptability, and confidence.

3 || Traveling hones planning and organization skills

This is definitely one of my favorite reasons I love traveling! Planning a trip requires meticulous organization and attention to detail. Sure, you could wing it by not creating an itinerary, doing little to no research, and leaving bookings for the day off, but that’s asking for chaos. While you might enjoy the trip, things will inevitably go wrong, and you’ll hit constant bumps along the way.

For me, I plan as much as I possibly can. My guides here on the ErickaRheanne blog (such as my guide to visiting Massachusetts ) are so in-depth to avoid any problems or complications. And so many trips have gone perfectly because of this intensive planning and attention to detail.

From crafting itineraries to booking accommodations, transportation, and activities, traveling sharpens these planning and organizational skills. The ability to research, budget, and prepare for a journey not only ensures the overall travel experience goes as seamlessly as possible but also proves invaluable in terms of our personal and professional lives.

• My continuously growing planning skills are evidenced through my extensive, comprehensive travel guides, such as this one on Alaska .

4 || It teaches us skills applicable in life and career

Building upon what I said earlier, traveling teaches us valuable life knowledge and skills that can help us greatly in other areas of our lives. Traveling teaches you how to improvise, communicate effectively, and adapt to a variety of different situations.

All of these skills are transferable and will continue to benefit you for the rest of your life. This also boosts your confidence and assurance in further ventures you might pursue.

5 || It boosts our happiness and gives us something to look forward to

Anticipation is an extremely powerful emotion. It can literally impact your mental health even in the worst of times. Travel fills our hearts with excitement and joy.

The mere thought of exploring new destinations, indulging in local food, and immersing ourselves in breathtaking landscapes can instantly lift our spirits and add happiness and worth to our lives.

Planning a trip also gives you something to look forward to and keeps your mind off of areas of your life that cause you stress, anger, or sadness. Travel can also be a selfish activity (in a good way!) that forces you to think about yourself and put your desires first even if you’re the type to put everyone else ahead of yourself.

6 || It frees us from the constraints of regular life and allows us to escape reality

Sometimes, the routine of daily life can get monotonous. Or, for some, daily life might not be anything like what they imagined for themselves. Traveling can liberate you from the demands of work and responsibilities by offering a reprieve via escapism.

As you immerse yourself in new surroundings, you’ll experience rejuvenating freedom and return to your daily life with more energy, or perhaps a new outlook.

7 || Traveling opens us up to new friendships and romantic connections

Whether you’re traveling with friends or family, or going solo, visiting new places can open you up to reconnections or new connections. Whether it’s a romantic encounter in a charming city or a meaningful friendship forged during a group tour, these connections can enrich your life in ways you never imagined.

8 || It helps us reflect and get in touch with our feelings and emotions

There’s something about travel that really gets us in touch with our innermost thoughts and emotions. Sometimes, we end up confronting and reflecting on things we didn’t even know were festering deep inside.

Traveling offers us a unique opportunity to disconnect from the hustle of everyday life and reconnect with ourselves in meaningful ways. This times allows us to reflect on ourselves and our life, then reassess how to approach our lives and direct our potential futures when we return.

9 || It lets us experience rare, inspiring moments of awe and adrenaline

One of my absolute favorite feelings from travel is the awe I feel at the truly amazing beauty of some destinations. The feeling is best when it’s completely unexpected.

This occurred when I hiked Arthur’s Seat while I was in Edinburgh, Scotland . I actually was not too thrilled about the idea leading up to it, because I figured it was “just another hill” and what could be so great about the view from up there that I couldn’t get in the United States? Boy, was I wrong! It ended up being my FAVORITE part of my 5 weeks of travel throughout in the United Kingdom .

Any kind of adventure that spikes my adrenaline is also a big reason to love travel. Whether you are standing on the glass of the Skywalk at Grand Canyon West, or bungee jumping in Queenstown, New Zealand, or whitewater rafting in Colorado, adventure awaits you everywhere.

All these experiences can leave you breathless with excitement and wonder, and what better feeling is there than that?

10 || Traveling aids us in personal transformations and allows us to live out our dreams

Ultimately, traveling has a transformative power unlike anything else. It can truly make you more open-minded, adventurous, and fulfilled. The memories you make while traveling will continue to shape who you become, and will give you the additional courage you need to chase after your dreams, and the life you desire.

It can also simply just give you a sense of purpose and renew your vigor for life.

And those are 10 reasons I love traveling and why I think you will, too!

Through travel, you can experience self-discovery while also creating unforgettable memories. These experiences can teach you invaluable skills that encourage growth in your personal and professional life while also increasing your mental health.

There’s so many other reasons I love traveling that I didn’t list here. And if you’re ready to bite the bullet and find your own reasons to love travel, I’ve got tons of information on planning your upcoming travels.

• Ericka Rheanne

Hi! I'm Rheanne, a travel addicted booklover from the midwestern US. So far, I've explored 49 U.S. states (only Hawaii left!), and a few other countries. One of my favorite parts about travel is the planning, but I know it's not for everyone! It can often be overwhelming and stressful. I aim to provide you with as much ready-to-use travel information and trip planning as possible to alleviate some of your worries!

• United States

25 Most Instagrammable Places in Las Vegas, Nevada

• August 1, 2023

40 Best Things to Do in Juneau, Alaska

• August 9, 2023

Subscribe to the List!

Get access to exclusive content & notified of new posts

You May Also Like

9 Best Places to Eat in Las Cruces, New Mexico

• July 27, 2023

• Massachusetts

The Best Hotels to Stay at in Boston

• June 20, 2023

Top 10 Places to Visit in Africa

• June 14, 2023

14 Things to Do in New York City (That Aren’t the Empire State Building)

• June 6, 2023

Arthur’s Seat: Edinburgh’s Iconic Hiking Destination

• April 26, 2023

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

Travelling Without a Passport

99 Awesome Trip with Friends Quotes

Is there anything better than travelling with friends? We don’t think so, either! Whether you want to cruise along iconic rivers, hike to incredible sites like Machu Picchu, spot the Big Five on a safari, or just relax on a beach , everything’s better together – including travel! To help you get inspired for your next adventure with friends, we’ve put together a list of our 99 favourite quotes about travelling and friendship. Enjoy!

• “As soon as I saw you, I knew a grand adventure was about to happen.” – Winnie The Pooh

2. “A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill

3. “Life was meant for good friends and great adventures.” – Unknown

4. “There is an unspoken bond you create with the friends you travel with.” – Kristen Sarah

5. “Friends that travel together, stay together.” – Unknown

6. “A good friend listens to your adventures. A best friend makes them with you.” – Unknown

7. “You can pack for every occasion, but a good friend will always be the best thing you could bring!” – Unknown

See Also: Want to travel just with your friends? Book an incredible private tour.

8. “Life by the water is always better, especially with a few good friends in tow.” – Unknown

9. “I have found out that there ain’t no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” – Mark Twain

10. “Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” – Maya Angelou

11. “Everyone needs a friend that will call and say, ‘Get dressed, we are going on an adventure.’” -Unknown

12. “When traveling life’s journey, it’s good to have a friend’s hand to hold on to.” – Unknown

13. “The more I traveled, the more I realized fear makes strangers of people who should be friends.” – Shirley MacLaine

14. “One of the great things about travel is that you find out how many good, kind people there are.” -Edith Wharton

15. “The best things in life are the people we love, the places we’ve been, and the memories we’ve made along the way.” – Unknown

16. “Wanderlust isn’t about running away from it all.  It’s about experiencing the outside to discover the inside.” – Unknown

17. “True friends never apart maybe in distance never in heart.” – Helen Keller

18. “We are all travelers in the wilderness of the world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

19. “Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.” – Ernest Hemingway

20. “Friendship isn’t about being inseparable…it’s being separated and knowing nothing will change.” – Unknown

21. ”Having a best friend is like having your own little corner of the world to escape to.” – Unknown

22. “Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter.” – Izaak Walton

23. “Good times and crazy friends make the best memories.” – Unknown

24. “Sometimes all you need is a great friend and a tank of gas.” – Unknown

25. “Good friends follow you anywhere.” – Winnie the Pooh

26. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

See Also: Ready for your adventure with friends? Start planning now.

27. “Everything you do is based on the choices you make” – Wayne Dye

28. “Travel like Gandhi, with simple clothes, open eyes, and an uncluttered mind.” – Rick Stev

29. “The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.” – Saint Augustine

30. “Not all those who wander are lost.” – J. R. R. Tolkien

31. “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” –Mark Twain

32. “Don’t tell me the sky’s the limit when there are footprints on the moon.” – Paul Brandt

33. “The urgent things are not the most important ones.” – Unknown

34. “Happiness is not a state to arrive at, but a manner of traveling”. – Margaret Lee Runbeck

35. “Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” – Paul Theroux

36. “Life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it.” –Charles Swindoll

See Also: Private Versus Group Adventures: Which Is Right for You?

37. “A ship in a harbor is safe, but it not what ships are built for.” – John A. Shedd

38. “Do not follow where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

39. “If you think adventure is dangerous, try routine; it’s lethal.” – Paulo Coelho

40. “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer.” – Unknown

41. “Discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” – Marcel Proust

42. “Wherever you go, go with all your heart!” – Confucius

43. “The most beautiful in the world is, of course, the world itself.” – Wallace Stevens

44. “Own only what you can always carry with you: known languages, known countries, known people. Let your memory be your travel bag.” – Alexandr Solzhenitsyn

45. “Don’t listen to what they say. Go see.” – Chinese Proverb

46. “Travel sparks our imagination, feeds our curiosity, and reminds us how much we. all have in common.” – Deborah Lloyd

47. “Life is like a camera: you focus on what is important, capture the good times, develop from the negative and if things do not work out, take another shot.” – Unknown

See Also: TourRadar’s 250+ tours to Europe for young adults

48. “Little by little, one travels far.” – J.R.R. Tolkein

49. “You know all those things you always wanted to do? You should go do them.” – Unknown

50. “Happiness is letting go of what you think your life is supposed to look like and celebrate it for everything that it is.” – Mandy Hale

51. “Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.” – Frank Herbert

52. “At the end of the day, your feet should be dirty, your hair messy and your eyes sparkling.” – Shanti

53. “Never get so busy making a living that you forget to make a life.” – Unknown

54. “We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.” – Katie Thurmes

55. “Add life to your days, not days to your life.” – Unknown

56. “Quit your job, buy a ticket, get a tan, fall in love, never return.” – Island Company

57. “We all start as strangers.” – Unknown

See Also: Make Human Connections While Travelling and the World Becomes Your Oyster

58. “If you want something you never had, you have to do something you’ve never done.” – Thomas Jefferson

59. “Life is short and the world is wide.” – Simon Raven

60. “I don’t know the question, but travel is definitely the answer.” – Unknown

61. “I always wonder why birds stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth. Then I ask myself the same question.” – Harun Yahya

62. “Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent in the office or mowing your lawn.” – Jack Kerouac

63. “Don’t call it a dream, call it a plan.” – Unknown

64. “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go further, go together.” – African proverb

65. “It is not down in any map, true places never are” – Herman Melville

66. “To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries. ” – Aldous Huxley

See Also: Adventures are for everyone. Start planning yours today!

67. “In the end… we only regret the chances we didn’t take.” – Lewis Carroll

68. “Travel leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” – Ibu Battuta

69. “If it scares you, it might be a good thing to try.” – Unknown

70. “I am not the same having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” – Mary Anne Radmacher

71. “There are seven days in the week, and someday isn’t one of them.” – Unknown

72. “Traveling tends to magnify all human emotions.” – Peter Hoeg

73. “Find joy in the ordinary.” – Unknown

74. “It’s called the present. Open & use it!” – Unknown

75. “Travel is still the most intense mode of learning. ” – Kevin Kelly

76. “Travel is better with friends.” – Unknown

77. “As with any journey, who you travel with is more important than the destination.” – Unknown

See Also: We Rank the Best Places to Travel in the USA on a Budget

78. “Only the people you don’t know well enough seem normal. Every person you know well enough is odd, weird and different. This is called friendship!” – Unknown

79. “There are no strangers in this world, only friends I haven’t met yet.” – Unknown

80. “Travel far enough, you meet yourself” – David Mitchell

81. “Having a best friend is like having your own little corner of the world to escape to.” – Unknown

82. “Travel is the only thing you buy that makes you richer” – Unknown

83. “Of all the books in all the world, the best stories are found between the pages of a passport” – Unknown

84. “Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain

85. “Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” – Gustave Flaubert

86. “A true traveler’s journey is never complete.” – Unknown

See Also: 13 Places To Travel Where The Weather Is Always Warm

87. “If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fears.” – Glenn Clark

88. “If there is no way, create one” – Unknown

89. “Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.” – Benjamin Disraeli

90. “It doesn’t matter where you’re going, it’s who you have beside you.” – Unknown

91. “So much of who we are is where we have been.” – William Langewiesche

92. “We are all travellers in the wilderness of the world, and the best we can find in our travels in an honest friend.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

93. “You never really travel alone. The world is full of friends waiting to get to know you.” – Unknown

94. “An acquaintance merely enjoys your company, a fair-weather companion flatters when all is well, a true friend has your best interests at heart, and the pluck to tell you what you need to hear.” – E.A. Bucchianeri

95. “True friends will always push you towards the great possibilities of your future, false friends will always chain you to the mistakes in your past.” – Seth Brown

96. “Wherever it is you may be, it is your friends who make your world.” – Chris Bradford

97. “When you get lost in a really strange place, nothing is more comforting than finding your friend whom you trust and can show the way.” – Toba Beta

98. “Happy is the soul that has a friend. Happier is the soul that trusts in the truth of the heart of a friend. Happiest is the soul that knows the solemnity of friendship and honours its laws.” – Ogwo David Emenike

99. “Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive.” – Anais Nin

Whether you’re a young adult or simply young at heart , a trip with friends is always a good idea! Find the next adventure for you and your friends on TourRadar .

Maggie Soares

Maggie is a life-long traveller with a special affinity for the United Kingdom. When she's not reading, writing, or dreaming about her next trip, you can find her talking at length about her dog to anyone who'll listen.

Most Popular Destinations

Philippines, north america, latin america, related articles.

• Food & Drink

Your Guide to Amsterdam’s Secret Bars and Speakeasies

One of the most popular cities in Europe, Amsterdam has no...

• Tips & Tricks

Best Destinations for People with Disabilities

The world and its wonders should be available to one and...

The Seven Most Scenic Train Rides in Europe

Forget planes, buses or automobiles: 2024 is the year of the...

A Guide to Your First Time Traveling Alone in an Airport

Get unlimited access to the world's best travel stories. subscribe now., privacy overview.

• Search Please fill out this field.
• Manage Your Subscription
• Give a Gift Subscription
• Newsletters
• Sweepstakes
• Romantic Getaways

50 Romantic Quotes About Travel and Love to Inspire Your Next Adventure

Share the love — these travel-themed quotes make perfect posts for globe-trotting couples.

Travel nourishes a relationship in many ways. Discovering new cultures and encountering unfamiliar points of view can feed your curiosity while drawing you closer as a couple. Whether your romance is in its infancy or you have 20 years of marriage under your belt, there is always a way to share new experiences with your love — especially when you’re traveling together.

The crossroads of adventure and romance have inspired many writers and artists to share their observations and words of wisdom. To help you find the perfect caption for your Instagram posts on a couple's trip, here are 50 of our favorite quotes about travel and love.

Quotes About Travel and Love for the Hopeless Romantic

“I would like to travel the world with you twice. Once, to see the world. Twice to see the way you see the world.” — Anonymous

“We are travelers on a cosmic journey, stardust, swirling and dancing in the eddies and whirlpools of infinity. Life is eternal. We have stopped for a moment to encounter each other, to meet, to love, to share. This is a precious moment. It is a little parenthesis in eternity.” — Paulo Coehlo

“Here's to all the places we went. And all the places we'll go. And here's to me, whispering again and again and again and again: iloveyou.” — John Green

“Will you give me yourself? Will you come travel with me? Shall we stick by each other as long as we live?” — Walt Whitman

“Love is never hurtful; it’s never about forgetting who you are, it’s about exploring yourself more.” — Ankita Singhal

"But I love your feet only because they walked upon the earth and upon the wind and upon the waters, until they found me.“ — Pablo Neruda

"We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls.” — Anaïs Nin

“Surround yourself with people who make you hungry for life, touch your heart, and nourish your soul.” — Anonymous

“We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.” — Katie Thurmes

“Come on, fly with me, we'll float down in the blue.” — Frank Sinatra, "Fly Me to the Moon"

“It doesn’t matter where you are going, it’s who you have beside you.” — Anonymous 

“I would not wish any companion in the world but you.” — William Shakespeare

“Life is short and the world is wide. The sooner you start exploring it with the person you love, the better.” – Simon Raven

“I'm your cherry blossom, baby, don’t let me blow away. I hope you haven't forgotten Tokyo wasn't built in a day.” — Kacey Musgraves, "Cherry Blossom" 

“Travel opens your heart, broadens your mind, and fills your life with stories to tell.” — Paula Bendfeldt

“Baby, you’re my open road, you can take me anywhere the wind blows.” — American Authors, "What We Live For"

"A city becomes a world when one loves one of its inhabitants." — Lawrence Durrell

Quotes About Travel and Love for the Adventurous Couple

“Why should a relationship mean settling down? Wait out for someone who won’t let life escape you, who will challenge you and drive you toward your dreams. Someone spontaneous who you can get lost in the world with. A relationship, with the right person, is a release, not a restriction.” — Beau Taplin

“You’d be surprised who the love of your life turns out to be. After all, Adventure fell in love with Lost.” — Erin Van Vuren

“Sometimes, reaching out and taking someone’s hand is the beginning of a journey. At other times, it is allowing another to take yours.” — Vera Nazarian

“Date someone who is a home and an adventure all at once.” — Anonymous

“Take only memories, leave only footprints.” — Chief Seattle

“I've fallen in love with adventures, so I begin to wonder, if that's why I've fallen for you.” — E. Grin

“So, come with me, where dreams are born, and time is never planned.” — James Matthew Barrie

“As soon as I saw you I knew a grand adventure was about to happen.” — A. A. Milne

“Our battered suitcases were piled on the sidewalk again; we had longer ways to go. But no matter, the road is life.” — Jack Kerouac

“Respond to every call that excites your spirit.” — Rumi

“What we find in a soulmate is not something wild to tame but something wild to run with.” — Robert Brault

“A couple who travel together, grow together.” — Ahmad Fuadi

“I never sat by the shore under the sun with my feet in the sand. But you brought me here and I'm happy that you did.” — Miley Cyrus, "Malibu"

"I love your feet because they wandered over the earth and through the wind and water until they brought you to me." — Pablo Neruda

“Traveling is the best thing any couple can do. That’s how we had the idea of the honeymoon. Newly wed couples going to a new place on their own so that all they could have is each other.” — Salil Jha

Quotes About Travel and Love for the Reluctant Romantic

“To lose balance sometimes for love is part of living a balanced life.” — Elizabeth Gilbert

“Life has taught us that love does not consist in gazing at each other but in looking outward together in the same direction.” — Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

“A journey is like marriage. The certain way to be wrong is to think you control it.” — John Steinbeck

“Never to go on trips with anyone you do not love.” — Ernest Hemingway

“I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.” — Mark Twain

“No road is long with good company.” — Turkish proverb

“We are all travelers in the wilderness of this world, and the best we can find in our travels is an honest friend.” — Robert Louis Stevenson

“Home is not where you are from, it is where you belong. Some of us travel the whole world to find it. Others find it in a person.” — Beau Taplin

“One of the great things about travel is you find out how many good, kind people there are.” — Edith Wharton

“And if travel is like love, it is, in the end, mostly because it’s a heightened state of awareness, in which we are mindful, receptive, undimmed by familiarity and ready to be transformed. That is why the best trips, like the best love affairs, never really end.” — Pico Iyer

“Love is the food of life, travel is dessert.” — Anonymous

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” — Henry Miller

“I don’t want to be tied down with someone; I want to be set free with someone.” — Anonymous

“Traveling in the company of those we love is home in motion.” — Leigh Hunt

“Though we travel the world over to find the beautiful, we must carry it with us, or we find it not.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson 

“Travel brings power and love back into your life.” — Rumi

“In life, it’s not where you go. It’s who you travel with.” — Charles M. Schulz

“Travel, trouble, music, art, a kiss, a frock, a rhyme — I never said they feed my heart, but still they pass my time.” ― Dorothy Parker

Related Articles

• Country Music
• Entertainment

What ‘Music Travel Love’ Has Been Up To Lately? Here’s an Exclusive Interview!

Canadian brother duo Bob and Clint Moffat, better known as Music Travel Love, are mostly recognized for their mission to travel the globe, chase waterfalls and hike to some of the world’s most scenic backdrops to shoot their incredible performances. So, it’s no longer a surprise how their YouTube videos resonated with many fans.

They currently have over two million subscribers who follow along to hear the band’s covers of songs by well-known artists, such as Johnny Cash, The Judds, Randy Travis, Dan + Shay, and many more.

We recently had the chance to talk to the pair about what it’s like working as a sibling, the challenges they had to face while filming outdoors, their next destinations, advice to aspiring artists out there, and so much more. Continue reading to learn about the duo!

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Music Travel Love (@musictravellove) on Jul 28, 2020 at 5:01pm PDT

Can you tell us a little bit about Music Travel Love? How did you get its start? What made you both come together and start pursuing a professional music career as a duo?

After years of auditioning for music labels, and never feeling that they quite got us, or for that matter we quite got them, we came to the conclusion that we may as well pursue what we loved and quit wasting our time trying to be what record label executives wanted. So after a short discussion we came to the conclusion that we loved making music, we totally enjoyed traveling, and we wanted to spend time with our families, thus the name Music Travel love. How did we get together – same egg – we are identical twins from a set of triplets, and we have an older brother, haha. We actually started as a duo in Thailand under SonyBMG Music back in 2005. 

You started working together since your childhood as The Moffats in 1998. What is it like working as siblings? 

We loved playing with our brothers; there’s a special tightness with brotherly harmonies – but hey, we are brothers, so we do have our differences, but those are short-lived. 

How did you both come up with the idea of taking your music on the road to such scenic spots? 

Actually, we were talking with a friend that worked for an RV manufacturer, and he was suggesting maybe we could travel around in his RV and perform at campgrounds. Well, that idea never came to fruition, but the idea of traveling to remote locations and recording our videos may have spawned from that; in any case, it seems to be working, and we are grateful for that.

How do you choose where to film? What has been your favorite location to record in so far, and why?

Quite often, we have tied in our video shoots with live performances. However, prior to COVID-19, we were asked by a number of countries Departments of Tourism like India, New Caledonia, Madagascar, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam to come film in their countries. Now they are on hold, but they still want us to come. As for a favorite location, that would be tough because they are all such cool experiences.  

What is the biggest challenge you face whenever you’re recording outside?  

WIND!!!!!!!

Who are some of your musical influences? How do you choose the songs you will cover?

Bryan Adams, The Beatles, we really love music, so we pretty much listen to it all. At first, we picked songs we liked and thought would be cool to cover, but as time marched on we decided we are actually doing this for the fans, so we look for songs that fit our vocals, that we feel we can make the original artist proud (John Fogerty liked our cover), and that the songs were pretty big hits so lots of people can identify them! 

Any particular song you’ve been itching to cover in the future?

There are a few, but you’ll have to wait and see – that said, we do want to pay our respect to Bryan Adams, Elvis, and The Beatles somewhere down the road. 

You collaborated with Summer Overstreet for your cover of Randy Travis’ “Forever and Ever, Amen,” are there any more artists you want to collaborate with?

We have written a lot of songs with Summer, who, by the way, is Paul Overstreet’s daughter, who just happened to write our biggest cover, “When You Say Nothing At All,” and “Forever and Ever, Amen.” As for collaborations in the future, maybe but nothing planned for our signature videos, but we will be doing a few Instagram Live, with artists from other countries, like Thailand and Brazil. 

Are you working on any original music? When can fans expect to hear it?

We are, and as soon as we get the first video shot, we will release track #1 sometime in the next couple of months.

Where are your next destinations?

Thanks to COVID likely somewhere in the Eastern US. 

You’ve been successful as a duo, what is your advice for young and aspiring artists?

David Foster once told us, “Guys there is no easy road, you’ve got to do this on your own, and when it happens you will be able to truly appreciate all of the hard work and effort it took to get there.” 

Hopefully, young aspiring artists will understand that it’s a job – we put in 8 to 10 hours a day, on writing, recording, and Social Media, with maybe one day off a week, at home and on the road. As Alan Jackson once said, “Success is just 5 short years away.”  

Make sure to check out Music Travel Love’s spine chilling cover of “When You Say Nothing at All” in the video below.

Music Travel Love

Peyton Manning Spills His Love For Country Music

Lainey wilson wins her first grammy award, calling it “absolutely wild”, dolly parton sings “amazing grace” with grandfather who made her appreciate the gift of music, the defining moments in miranda lambert’s marriage to brendan mcloughlin, luke combs sings about letting someone go in “going, going, gone”.

15 Best Josh Turner Songs To Dive In and Get To Know Him

Meet willie nelson’s children including his daughter he only found out in 2012, kane brown accepts award from randy travis at 2023 acm honors, latest stories, finding love with hit single “good directions” by billy currington, how georgette jones’ version of “apartment no.9” differs from her mother’s, georgette jones gives tribute to her mom with her rendition of “your good girl’s gonna go bad”, terry bradshaw’s revival of “i’m so lonesome i could cry” will make you emotional, top 30 country songs this week you need to hear, “say it again” is one of don william’s catchiest love songs .

• &Beyond Connect
• My WILDwatch Online
• Chat to our WILDwatch guides at Ngala
• Chat to our WILDwatch guides at Phinda
• Chat to our our WILDchild guides
• Chat to our Conservation experts
• WILDwatch Live
• WILDchild TV
• Experiences TV
• Protect our planet
• Humans of &Beyond
• Engage: Inspiring People
• Explore: Travel Inspo
• Impact: Making a difference
• Indulge: Spoil yourself
• WILDwatch: The Animal World
• Meet the editor
• Africa @ home
• Asia @ home
• South America @ home
• WILDchild @ home
• &BEYOND LODGES
• South Africa
• Flying solo
• With my partner
• With my family
• Adventurous
• Responsible Travel
• Private Travel
• Slow Travel
• TRAVEL TRADE PORTAL
• MANAGE YOUR TRAVEL BOARD
• 5 years ago by Claire Trickett

10 reasons to love travel

What does travel mean to you here are just 10 of the many reasons i love to travel….

• Travel Specialist

In today’s tech-obsessed world, social media may well be the perfect platform to showcase the world’s beauty to armchair travellers across the globe, but travel is so much more than just getting that perfect Instagram shot. Travel should be meaningful. It should excite and inspire you, rejuvenate and ground you, educate and challenge you, and most of all, it should humble you.

Travel gives us our greatest stories, our most cherished memories and countless irreplaceable learnings that we can choose to pay forward to others. It teaches us about ourselves and each other, it broadens our horizons and, just like a reset button, it forces us to refocus on what really matters.

Here’s what travel means to me…

For me personally, travel is a way of life. I was born into a travel-obsessed family and had already lived on three different continents by the time I started school, so wanderlust (and an often ridiculed hybrid accent) was inevitable for me. My sister and I are incredibly fortunate to have parents that insisted that travel was the best classroom and, thankfully, our school holidays were spent exploring fascinating places, both near and far.

Upon graduating university (and turning 21), I was given the greatest gift: the gift of travel. Armed with a round-the-world plane ticket and a sense of adventure, I took off on a six-month solo backpacking trip through Europe, Southern Africa and Australia and, without a doubt, it changed the way I saw the world. So, as a self-confessed travel addict, here are the 10 reasons why I love to travel.

1. Travel to leave our world a better place

I have been fortunate to work and travel with &Beyond for more than 13 years now and what inspires me most is our company ethos and unwavering commitment to care for the land, wildlife and people. Travelling with &Beyond has given me the rare privilege to actively take part in so many unforgettable and truly meaningful experiences, such as: witnessing endangered rhino being safely translocated; observing an elephant cow being collared for research and monitoring purposes; helping to relocate a vulnerable nest laid by an enormous and highly endangered sea turtle; spending a night in a traditional Maasai manyatta (homestead); and so much more. &Beyond ’s authentic, experiential travel not only enables travellers to participate, engage and learn, but it also allows them to travel with purpose and to help leave our world a better place.

2. Travel to meet different cultures

Travel exposes us to different cultures and ancient traditions and through these authentic encounters, we learn to embrace and celebrate both our similarities and our differences. Travel teaches us about humanity and gives us an appreciation, understanding and respect for different points of view and ways of life.

3. Travel to learn

Not all classrooms have four walls and travel is the best way to immerse yourself in geography, history, culture, gastronomy, languages, biology … you name it. Travel enriches the mind and educates us far beyond any textbook or travel guide. Not only do curious travellers learn about different landscapes, languages and lifestyles; glean fascinating facts while observing wild animals in their natural habitat; delve into a region’s history and taste the local flavours; but they also learn about themselves (and each other) along the way.

4. Travel to escape reality

We all need to fall off the radar and escape reality every once in a while. Travel allows us to enjoy complete anonymity in new and unexplored territories. It gives us absolute freedom to live in the moment and it allows us to be anyone, to go anywhere and to do anything. The best part of my six-month trip around the world, way back when, was the freedom of being able to just wake up and pick a spot anywhere on the map and find a way to get there. Travel enables us to be spontaneous and seek new experiences.

5. Travel to relax

Our lives are time-starved and technology-driven and, let’s be honest, it’s not often that we actually take the necessary time to de-stress and truly switch off. Travel allows us to escape life’s daily demands, dramas and deadlines and enables us to clear our minds. It encourages us to recharge our batteries and to truly disconnect (from our phones, Wi-Fi, emails, laptops, social media, etc.) in order to reconnect (with ourselves, each other and the natural environment).

6. Travel to explore

Travel takes us out of our comfort zones and inspires us to see, taste and try new things. It constantly challenges us, not only to adapt to and explore new surroundings, but also to engage with different people, to embrace adventures as they come and to share new and meaningful experiences with friends and loved ones. Whether you seek adrenaline and non-stop activity, or unapologetic siestas and ultimate relaxation, travel gives us the opportunity to explore with an open heart and an open mind.

7. Travel for humility

Without a doubt, travel is a crash course in humility. As we cross borders, and oceans, we gain true perspective. We learn to recognise and be grateful for all of the things we take for granted in our own lives, and we also gain an appreciation and respect for how others live. Travel teaches us to be tolerant, flexible and open-minded, and most of all it makes us humble.

8. Travel to eat

One thing you’ll never find on a suggested packing list is a diet. Leave it at home! Just make sure you bring a healthy appetite and a willingness to taste new flavours and sample all of the local delicacies. Remember, mimosas are totally acceptable at breakfast and dessert is always a good idea. Indulge, go back for seconds and exercise when you get home.

9. Travel to be transformed

Don’t just travel for travel’s sake. Travel to seek adventure and feel alive. Take part in authentic experiences that will not only change the way you see the world, but that will also encourage self-reflection, environmental awareness and global action to help protect and conserve our planet.

10. Travel to live out your bucket list dreams

Every traveller’s bucket list is different. Whether you long to watch the sun set over the Taj Majal, snowshoe on the side of an active volcano, witness Africa’s Big Five and the Great Migration, or find your Zen on a yoga retreat in the Himalayas, if you can dream it, you can do it. Travel is the best medicine and long may it continue to take our breath away and turn us all into storytellers (and committed custodians of our precious planet).

SEE WHAT LIES BEYOND

Subscribe to the Bateleur Magazine.

You might also be interested in…

Leaving our world a better place for years, discover the impact legacy that your travel with &beyond is driving. just as the un’s sustainable development goals have been a touchstone for our vision 2020 group-operation sustainability audits, so they continue to guide and underpin our ambitiously scaled vision 2030 goals., we're sorry but this site doesn't work properly without javascript enabled., please enable it to continue., privacy overview.

Helpful Tips On The Best Way To Travel With Friends Of Different Incomes

B ack in college, we were all poor. We had student loans up to our ears and fueled ourselves on instant ramen -- maybe with some added Sriracha sauce when we were feeling fancy. Travel was easy because everyone was more or less in the same boat, financially speaking, so we pooled together pennies from our summer jobs and Federal Student Aid loans to go abroad. But then we graduated and got real jobs, and thus began the income insecurity.

The "rich" friend, "poor" friend dynamic has always been a perennially awkward one, a wealth gap capable of hewing any long-standing relationships in twain. The data bear this out; one survey concluded that money is the very, very last thing friends will discuss amongst themselves. Or take findings by Merrill Lynch and Age Wave , suggesting more than half of women would prefer to talk about their own death before divulging the state of their pocketbooks.

Planning a trip amongst old pals of varying financial situations is, understandably, precarious. There's a lot of potential for hurt feelings, misunderstandings, and awkward conversations about expenses. People can feel pressured, left out, or shamed when ends don't meet for that group reunion in Cancún. It doesn't have to be this way. Let's look at a few tips for making travel plans work when your salaries aren't quite in alignment.

Read more: This Is What You Should Never Do When You Travel

Be Inclusive

The number one tip here is to never assume and never exclude. It's a knee-jerk reaction to, after hearing whisperings of a friend's financial troubles, avoid embarrassing them by leaving them out of the travel conversation entirely. This is a surefire way to bruise even the most solid relationships when they accidentally learn about a trip in the offing -- or worse, spot your beach photos on social media after the fact and ask for an explanation.

The solution? Always invite friends -- finances be damned -- regardless of where you're going or how long. Make it an open invitation without forcing their hand to commit or not. This gives them a graceful way to bow out without inviting questions about the number in their bank account. There's no need to investigate; people will think up the requisite excuses regardless of why they decide not to come, letting them save face in the process.

Be Transparent

The worst possible thing for a person on a tight budget is an unexpected expense. In group planning situations, these are all too common. Everyone wants different things, so each person mentally plans their version of the trip -- or makes plans with another friend. Then suddenly, the budget-focused person finds out everyone is renting jet skis for the morning, an expense that leaves them out.

Transparency needs to be the operative word from day one. Get the whole gang together, or start a group chat, and be brutally honest about every aspect of the trip. Are you going to fly in together? How long will you stay? What's the itinerary from day to day? Make sure you include the "maybes" on the docket, too, and the projected costs for them if plans change.

Account for emergencies, and figure out how you'll deal with contingencies that force you to throw out your plans altogether. The more open everyone is, the easier it will be to maximize your budget while traveling . This gives the person whose wallet is on a tight leash a chance to make their own plans for those travel vagaries.

Talk In Terms Of Budget, Not Income

While we might be slowly chipping away at the foundations of the taboo on discussing finances, it's still very much a faux pas in Western culture to inquire about someone's earnings. Planning a trip, unfortunately, encourages questions of this forbidden nature. Change the paradigm by tweaking the vocabulary. Ask people what their anticipated budget is rather than awkwardly whispering behind their backs: "Can so-and-so afford it?"

Budgets are great because even those flush with cash can have a limited budget. There could be so many reasons behind a budget that financial insecurity won't necessarily be the first suspicion on everyone's mind. Someone might have just signed a mortgage or have a bigger family trip planned later in the year. If something on the checklist is too expensive, all a person needs to say is, "That's out of my budget," and that's that. No further discussion is required. Even so, you get a realistic, workable idea of what everyone can and cannot afford without economic squeamishness.

Assign A Lead Travel Planner

Some people love planning, so much so that they get a thrill out of the prospect of designing a trip from beginning to end for their friend group. If you've got that type of friend, give them the reins -- but while you're at it, have them craft the trip to be as budget-friendly as possible. Then, there's never any awkward discussion where any one friend has to keep clearing their throat and reminding everyone that they can't do XYZ activity, either.

This works best if the trip planner functions as a proxy to buy all the tickets, accommodations, and tours and then gives each group member their "bill." This creates some budget anonymity where each friend individually pays the planner their share. It also makes it possible (should higher-income friends so desire) to offset the cost of a lower-income friend's share by paying more, resulting in a smaller bill that's more manageable for them.

Generosity Is Okay, But Keep It Reasonable

There are plenty of tight-knit groups out there where everyone's willing to pitch in to make sure that one friend doesn't miss out on the big yearly reunion. On the one hand, this is great. It's a testament to how close you all are and ensures no one gets left out of the fun -- after all, low wages and high inflation don't look to be changing anytime soon. If everyone's on board, then why not?

On the other hand, be cautious here. This can create an awkward power dynamic between someone with a higher income and someone who earns significantly less. Some people derive a great sense of pride from their ability to pay for themselves, so gifting them some or all of a vacation can be shameful and create a sense of financial impotence. Conversely, it can create pressure on friends who are flush to make up the difference, intensifying the suspicion many well-off individuals have that their lower-income friends just use them for money. Wherever you sit in this exchange, walk on eggshells.

Avoid IOUs Like The Plague

IOUs (an "I owe you" or an unpaid debt from lending money) are a battering ram to most friendships, as anyone who has lent money can attest to. Even borrowing a measly $20 creates a persistent sense of indebtedness and urgency, one that lingers in the room between the debtor and the lender until the debt is paid. Even afterward -- and even if you did pay them back in full -- it can create silent resentment if you took too long or that friend had to pester you about it. Friendships have ended in messy fallingouts for far, far less.

As much as is reasonably possible, don't lend money -- nor borrow it -- from friends, especially when it comes to costly trips. It's just not worth the drama it could potentially create. Helping someone out without the expectation of repayment is one thing (as mentioned in the previous tip), but bad feelings can stick around for years after an IOU. Leave lending to the banks.

Create Flexible Itineraries

It is important to plan a trip that's forgiving to the lowest budget, make no mistake, but there's no shame if one friend wants to do a more expensive activity -- say, they want to swim with the pigs while planning a Caribbean vacation . On that same trip, someone else might prefer sitting on the beach for free. Rather than make the former the default planned group activity, provide extra options. While one group is island-hopping on a private boat, another could try their hands at surfing. Then, you reconvene later and dovetail your travel plans as if you were never apart. Varied plans make for great conversation when you regale each other about what the others missed.

In particular, create lower-cost or free alternatives to all the plans that require money. Regardless of where you are in the world, there are a ton of cheap or free things you can do . Never make the mistake of assuming good memories need money to create them. As the Ray Henderson song goes, "The best things in life are free."

Account For Independent Traveling

Following off the previous point, it's key that your plans give space for independent traveling -- that is when the group "parts ways" to go off and do their own thing. This is a rock-solid solution to avoid compromises and allot everyone a few hours of breathing space to do what they will. Think of this as an "escape hatch," so friends who feel boxed in by expensive -- or undesirable -- travel plans have a way out. It's time they can use as they please, whether to take a nap or do that thing that no one else wants to.

As a general principle, it's a good idea to include plenty of free time when group traveling. People get tired and need a moment or two alone. The last thing you want is an argument brought on by weary, hangry travelers. A few breaths apart helps to reset and recharge everyone for another day of fun-filled traveling together and gives space for those whose budgets cannot cope.

Split Costs In A Way That Makes Sense

Splitting costs makes sense for things of equal value, like airplane tickets of the same class booked as a group, shared hotel accommodations, and anything where per-person prices would be identical. In other situations, such as a group dinner at a restaurant, splitting is nonsensical. Why should the person who filled up on free garlic bread subsidize another's fresh lobster? Adopt a "pay for what you get" rule and don't do bill splitting for unequal costs; as with avoiding IOUs, it prevents arguments and hard feelings.

Go a step further and make sure everyone knows they're equal with splitting apps, such as Splitwise . This lets you break up a payment among friends, showing clearly how much each person is responsible for and holding them accountable for paying it. If struggling budgets are preventing certain friends from traveling, then consider splitting the overall cost by category. In other words, one higher-income friend handles the flights, one handles the accommodations, and others who don't earn as much split other expenses. This method still feels fair, like people are pulling their own weight, even if some spent less than others.

Try A You Pick, You Pay Approach

Maybe there's one friend who's absolutely dying to watch the sunset over San Diego Bay on a sailboat, but no one else is quite as gung ho -- and, more to the point, able to cough up enough dough. Assuming they've got the cash to spare, they could (if they're fully onboard, no pun intended) treat everyone else by paying for the whole thing. It lets the friend in question get their dream sunset sail tour, and those whose budgets are less accommodating enjoy something they might not have been able to afford.

Of course, we recommend trying this out mostly for things that are on the smaller side, such as food and drink stops. If you do try out this strategy, though, it creates a sense of fairness -- similar to how you wouldn't feel indebted if a friend invited you over for dinner. If you pick, you pay. Simple.

Don't Go Into Debt For Your Friends

Do you have that one extravagant friend who throws around money like they're Jordan Belfort in "The Wolf of Wall Street?" One whose opulent weekend escapades are the bane of your credit card statement? You're not alone. 88% of millennials end up in some kind of debt because of that kind of friend, according to CreditKarma .

National Debt Relief reiterates that one of the most common reasons people stay in debt is out-of-control credit card spending. Despite this, many get locked into a FOMO mentality around their friends and a fear that they need to spend to "keep up with the Joneses," as it were. Anyone who's been in debt knows that it feels like bailing out a boat that's taking on more water than you can dump back out.

You can probably see where this is going. If your friends are planning a bombastic vacation (or successive, too-frequent vacations) that might require a second mortgage, just skip out on the trip -- whether they can afford that trip themselves or not. This might be prime time for a heart-to-heart conversation on money habits, just so that you avoid the impression that you're flaking out for other reasons.

Grab Group Discounts

Always look for group discounts. Yes, they do still exist, even if industry leaders like Groupon have veered more toward general discounts than things people can do together. Said discounts are most common when it comes to informal, off-the-books prices you would negotiate, such as hiring a private driver or a tour guide. Travel agents can work to secure private deals directly that net you more advantageous discounts than if you were to book the conventional way.

You can still find group discounts in a number of other ways on your own. Airlines sometimes offer up to 10% off provided you have a large enough group -- say, 10 people or more. The same may apply to hotels as long as you book a certain number of rooms. That said, many of these discounts are the sort you would get by haggling with airlines and hotel chains directly via their hotlines -- though keep in mind that you may be on the hook for non-refundable deposits and minimum stay requirements. Some businesses may give you further discounts if you categorize your trip as a retreat or a special event of some kind. It never hurts to ask, and the worst that can happen is the request is denied.

Cook Your Meals Together

It doesn't take an accountant wunderkind to understand that eating out will always be more expensive than cooking at home. Getting a decent burger in a restaurant  costs exponentially more than if you'd made it with your own two hands. Now multiply that by a dozen people and add a 20% gratuity. Goodbye, budget.

Look, we get it. No one likes the idea of cooking for themselves on a vacation. You're away from home and all your beloved cooking implements, so, you reason, you have a good excuse for racking up a ton of restaurant charges. For friends with varying incomes, though, this can quickly become a pain point. One man's McDonalds is another man's Guy Savoy.

Instead, take a trip to a local grocery store and buy enough to make a few meals -- or all of them for your trip's duration. Plenty of vacation rentals and Airbnbs come with fully functional kitchens. There's a good chance at least one of your friends is a maestro behind the saucepan, so you won't have to subsist on rice and salt. Plus, it doubles as an unforgettable group activity. Cooking together strengthens bonds and is arguably far more exciting than sitting around in a cramped, crowded restaurant where the food could be a total -- and expensive -- bust.

Consider Point Sharing

Credit cards are a no-brainer for the avid traveler, provided you've got a firm hand on excess spending. You accumulate points for any purchases you make, and those points convert into, effectively, free money when you redeem eligible purchases. Unless you've been institutionalized for uncontrollable spending, it's hard not to recommend a card that covers travel purchases.

One technique some friends have tried out is "point sharing." This is where you "gift" a vacation to a friend using your credit card points. Or, you subsidize a portion of the getaway and let them pay the remainder. It's a no-cost, minimum-guilt way to help a friend enjoy a vacation they can't afford. Some people have more points than they know what to do with, so it's better to put them to use than let them gather dust.

You can do the same with points for airlines and hotels. The only downside is that you can't literally gift your points to them. You'd need to make the purchase in their name and have them transfer you the difference.

Book Hostels

Your perspective on a hostel will vary wildly from that of the next person. For some, hostels are strictly the domain of backpackers headed across Europe with only a small wad of euros in their pockets. For others, they're a fun way to mingle with fellow travelers. And for the paranoid, they're a place rife with crime or an ideal setting for a horror movie. One thing they are, without a doubt, is cheap. There are some incredible hostels to stay in around the world , many costing less than $50 per night per person. If you can hold your nose at the idea of sleeping in the same room as some strangers, this is a bargain of an idea.

Many hostels offer cozy common areas perfect for enjoying your morning coffee or reading a book before turning in for the night. Some include great amenities such as pools, gyms, and restaurants, things that would make the average hotel skyrocket in price. Many even have chill backpacker bars for drinks and conversation. Plus, the floorplan of many hostels could allow your group to get a room to itself, one with a lock and key so you can leave your belongings behind safely when you go out for the day. There's also a good chance you'll run into budget-conscious people with their own travel secrets to share -- ones that will save your group even more money.

Read the original article on Explore .

On The Red Carpet

'billy & molly: an otter love story' a heart-warming story of unlikely friendship.

In National Geographic's newest documentary, rediscover love through a new lens

LOS ANGELES -- National Geographic's newest documentary, "Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story" is an otterly adorable story.

The film follows Molly, an orphaned, wild otter, her unlikely rescuer, Billy Mail, and his wife Susan Mail, as they navigate life in the Scottish Shetland Islands.

When Billy first discovered Molly, "She was starving, and she was going to die, and when she responded to that and started taking the food, that was when the connection really started," he explained to On The Red Carpet.

As Molly warmed up to the couple, she started to make herself at home, becoming more playful as her health improved. She even got Wi-Fi installed into her little home!

Billy has been a nature lover his whole life, but rescuing Molly reawakened that love. Susan commented on the experience, "It was enlightening for me, because it was never a life that I even dipped my toe into at all."

While Molly explored elements of the human world, the film was able to showcase the vast beauty of love, friendship and nature.

Charlie Hamilton James, the director and director of photography, spoke about Billy and Molly's heart-warming relationship, "We've got a happy story. My hope is that people walk out with a smile on their face, and they're enlightened in some way, and for a few brief moments in this current world, they can smile and be happy."

"Billy & Molly: An Otter Love Story" premieres tonight, May 6, at 10/9c on National Geographic and streams the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.

The Walt Disney Company is the parent company of National Geographic, Disney+, Hulu and this ABC station.

Related Topics

• ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
• NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC
• ON THE RED CARPET

Disney+ releases trailer for 'LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy'

• 17 minutes ago

Stars arrive at Met Gala's 'Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion'

'American Idol' top 5 revealed

'The Bachelorette,' 'Claim to Fame,' more set summer premiere dates

Top stories.

Summer travel warning while looking online for cheap flights

Homicide investigation underway after woman found dead in Wake County

Armed robbery suspect in vehicle stolen from City of Durham arrested

• 2 hours ago

Millbrook Magnet High educator named WCPSS 2024 Teacher of the Year

Miss USA resigns, citing her mental health

• 3 hours ago

Deputy shoots, kills man firing shots into air on public road

'One-man crime spree' who shot NC deputy, 2nd man gets 60 years

2024 US Open in Pinehurst could inject $500M to NC

Fortune and Love Tattoo

Highlights from the Business

Speaks Spanish

Family-owned & operated

Free consultations

Certified professionals

LGBTQ friendly

Services Offered

Verified by Business

Location & Hours

Suggest an edit

375 5th Ave

New York, NY 10016

36th St & 35th St

Midtown East

Amenities and More

3 More Attributes

About the Business

Business owner information

Business Owner

At Fortune & Love, we have created a unique space where the client is the protagonist. Book with us and let’s make art together. We specialize in drawing and tattooing including but not limited to: realism, cosmic colorism, anime, fine line, black and grey, illustrative, minimalist and cover up tattoos! We are happy to chat with you about your tattoo vision! …

Ask the Community

Ask a question

Yelp users haven’t asked any questions yet about Fortune and Love Tattoo .

Recommended Reviews

• 1 star rating Not good
• 2 star rating Could’ve been better
• 3 star rating OK
• 4 star rating Good
• 5 star rating Great

Select your rating

Overall rating

What a wonderful tattoo studio. I knew Koral and Fortunato from their previous studio, and was so happy when they opened their own. Fortune and Love has such a welcoming vibe and aesthetic when you walk in. It feels like a great representation of both their fashion sense. From the decor, to the furniture, to the branding, you know you will have a very comfortable tattoo experience. The studio has snacks, water, coffee/tea, and a very comfortable lounge area. It's super easy to access by subway or path if coming from NJ. It's also great for a friend or partner to stop by and hang out as you are being tattooed. Both artists are fantastic with color and can take your idea and transform it into something magical. My experience is with Koral so I can speak more to her process, but have chatted with other customers who had wonderful things to say about Fortunato too. What started as a simple "mountain changing color as it progresses through the seasons" has evolved into a completely ornate and beautiful arm piece that was unlike anything my simple brain could have imagined. Her process involves conversations and examples of my experience, but at no point was there an expectation for me to give her the image to just replicate. Feeling a bond with Koral has made it an extra special experience (Love for Nature and Travel). I am currently going through a coverup on an old tattoo (changing a dragon into an octopus with scenes of arctic and tropic marine life) with Koral. I'll be super excited to share the final result later this summer. Added some pictures of the first arm piece I did with Koral.

4 other reviews that are not currently recommended

People Also Viewed

Daredevil Tattoo

Glorious Tattoo

Black Fish Tattoo

First Class Tattoo

Skin Design Tattoo - Brooklyn

Victory Tattoo NYC

Kings Avenue Tattoo

Drip Skull Studios

HighLine Tattoo NYC

Browse Nearby

Restaurants

Things to Do

Nail Salons

Body Jewelry

Other Tattoo Nearby

Find more Tattoo near Fortune and Love Tattoo

Service Offerings in New York

Virtual Consultations

Fortune and Love Tattoo is a Yelp advertiser.