be inspired by travel

What Inspires You To Travel? | 10 Inspirational Resources

People often ask us, What inspires you to travel? Where do you get your travel inspiration from? There are a lot of resources that inspire us, so we made this top-10 list to help you get inspired to go traveling!

Resources that inspire to travel;  1) Travel Videos 2) Documentaries 3) Books 4) Stories From Friends And Other Travelers 5) Cultures 6) Local Festivals 7) Food 8) Nature 9) Wildlife 10) Intrinsic Motivation

The above list is the resources we use most to find new inspiration. #10 is actually our most valuable resource, our intrinsic motivation. We just love to explore the world and learn more about other cultures. People often say; 

“Once you’ve been bitten by the travel bug, you stay infected for the rest of your life.”

We still use these resources to get new inspiration for travel destinations. Ready to find out more? Let’s dig in! 

Inspirational Travel Resources

We’ve basically been fulltime travelers since early 2018, and since then, we visited many countries. While being on the road, we’re writing for this website and a few other informational websites we own. Also, we do a lot of filming to create inspirational travel videos and documentaries. 

2020 is a year where we planned to travel less. We’re expecting our first child! So this year is all about getting used to a new family life. However, for 2021, our plan is still to discover new countries in the world. Until then, we use these resources to find inspiration for new destinations. 

1) Travel Videos

We love to watch and make travel videos! I feel it is one of the best resources to find new travel inspiration. A travel video can tell you so much about a destination. On YouTube, you can find them in many different formats.

One of the best inspirational travel video channels I love to watch is Sam Kolder’s channel, Kold. He makes relatively short, cinematic videos. Often with a lot of drone footage and as a drone pilot myself, it inspires me every time! Check out his compilation video of 2019; 

We also make travel videos and documentaries ourselves, which you might find interesting. Our videos are more focused on telling more about a countries culture. We have both shorter videos, which are more like an impression of a destination. These videos are our ‘travel guide videos.’ And documentaries, which I’ll show you in the next part of this article. 

You can learn more about our travel videos on our travel show page, or watching one of our videos below. Don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel, would be awesome! 

2) Documentaries

Let’s stay in videos for a while, travel documentaries can be very inspiring to awaken your wanderlust. I really love watching, and also making travel documentaries. Travel documentaries are often longer than an inspirational travel video. And thus there’s more time to tell an in-depth story about a particular subject. For travel documentaries, usually, that’s telling more about the culture, traditions, or nature of a country or specific place. 

One of the travel and nature documentaries that inspired me the most was the planet earth series of BBC. Also, the boy-to-man documentary series made by Tim Noonan is very inspirational, but sometimes a bit more extreme. He also produced  “the extreme engagement”  series for Netflix, which is fun to watch and also interesting if you want to learn more about indigenous and sometimes extreme cultures, check out the trailer below; 

Travel Show ‘LeKi On Travel’

So, I mentioned just a few documentaries that inspired me to travel more. But we also love to film and try to capture the unique cultures that cross our paths during our travels. The most significant difference between the documentaries and productions I mentioned earlier, and our video productions, is that we merely film and produce videos as a hobby. We named our show  LeKi op Reis (Leki on Travels).  Leki simply is the first letters of our names, Léon and Kirsten. 

Luckily for me, Kirsten worked as a producer for several TV Shows in The Netherlands, so when we started a few years ago, we had some knowledge of how things worked. But, we’re still learning every day! It’s just a fun experience. 

What I like most about creating travel documentaries is that the purpose of traveling changes. It is not just sightseeing, we get to know countries, cultures, and local people in a different way. Which is very inspirational! 

Two documentaries we filmed were for us making our dreams come true. We were able to swim with humpback whales in Tonga. And when we were in New Zealand, we captured the story of the Māori culture, which is a very unique, indigenous culture. 

You can find our documentaries on our travel show page, or watch our Māori Documentary on YouTube; 

Reading books can be very inspirational. Not only to awaken your wanderlust, but also many other things in life. 

Over the years, I read many travel-related books. The book I most recently finished was Ikigai, about the Japanese secret to a long and happy life. Maybe it’s not directly related to travel, but traveling for me is also learning about new cultures, and adapting the things that improve my life. I really recommend reading the book, it also made me curious about visiting Japan, I feel it can be such an inspirational country! 

The Ikigai book is available on Amazon. Click on the image or link to see the latest price on Amazon.

A classic book in travel literature is  Il Milione,  the story follows Marco Polo during its journey through the ancient Silk Route. A journey that took over 24 years, and made him the first Western traveler that reached many outskirts in the world. The most interesting about this story is learning more about the different cultures at that time (13th century AD) and how Marco Polo changed his lifestyle following the traditions of different cultures. 

Il Milione is available on Amazon. Click on the image or link to see the latest price on Amazon. These books are also available as an e-book via Amazon Kindle. If you want to use Amazon Kindle, you can use this link to subscribe. You can easily use the kindle membership on different devices with the Kindle app or using an e-reader ;

Coffee Table Books

Other books that inspire to travel are  Before They Pass Away   from  Jimmy Nelson.  A unique coffee table book, where he showcases unique tribal cultures from over the world. 

Land of Giants   made by  Will Burrard-Lucas  is the newest inspirational book we’re reading. It’s a real artwork about the last wild African great tuskers (elephants). 

These unique and inspirational coffee table books are an excellent gift for every traveler, or to buy as an inspirational guide for yourself. 

4) Stories From Friends And Other Travelers

As full-time travelers, you might think we’ve seen it all, but that’s actually not true. I love talking about traveling with friends and family, and also other travelers who we meet while we’re on the road. It’s great sharing travel experiences. It’s also fun to make music together. I always bring my ukulele, which is a perfect travel instrument and easy to take with you.. 

It is inspiring to listen to other stories and travel adventures of fellow travelers. When we’re on the road, we meet so many different people. The funny thing is that most conversations with other travelers start kind of the same. Subjects like; ‘ where you from ,’ ‘ where have you been,’  and ‘ where are you going .’ Are like the basic questions to start a conversation among travel-minded people. 

Sometimes these conversations turn into real friendships, but most of the time, I find it just inspirational to listen to other people. Learn from there stories, and get inspired by their adventures. 

Travel Must-Haves For Every Traveler

These items are must-haves for every traveler, and I can highly recommend them without any hesitation: Travel Hammock : This lightweight hammock is made of ultra-light parachute silk material. The hammock fits in a small portable bag and is very-easy-to you use. You can relax comfortably anywhere: on the beach, by the lake, in the forest, campsite, your hotel, Airbnb and even at home!  The North Face Backpack : This is a high-quality, versatile, and practical daypack from one of the best brands in the world. It is a perfect choice, no matter what kind of travel plans you have. Oasis Kindle E-reader : A waterproof E-reader for unlimited reading while traveling. It is a must-have for every traveler that enjoys reading. This E-reader has an adjustable warm light to shift screen shade from white to amber. It also works with Audible, so you switch effortlessly from reading to listening. Sony Noise-canceling headphone : A world-leading noise-canceling headphone to make your travel trip more comfortable and less exhausting. One of the best travel products out there. Either for listening to music, podcasts. Or to block all the noise during traveling, for example, when you’re in an airplane.  GoPro HERO 8 :  We’ve been using a GoPro camera since the first generation came on the market. It is our go-to travel camera ever since. Perfect for making the best pictures and memorable videos. It’s easy to use, waterproof and fits in your pocket or daypack. The new generation has a built-in stabilizer so that videos will be even better quality!  Check out our  recommendations page  for more travel gear and recourses. 

5) Cultures

I’m a cultural addict. I really love to learn about traditions and different cultures. How certain things developed over time, and how specific events in history influencing the daily life of different cultures. 

I find it all inspirational, and it is one of the main reasons I love to travel. Not only the basic stories about culture, one can easily find when Googling. Sure these facts are also interesting, but I’m specifically interested in the people. Is life really that different within specific cultures, how do people cope with cultural traditions and expectations. 

During our travels, we learned that there are many differences within cultures all over the world. But the most important things in life are the same everywhere you go. 

Happiness, Health, Safety, Family, and Friends. These are the important factors you find in every culture around the world. 

6) Local Festivals

When I start learning more about a new culture, I always look for local cultural festivals. Events that are celebrated annually throughout a community. Sometimes there are many differences in cultural events in the world. Like with Easter celebrations. A catholic event that is celebrated at many places in the world, but differs in each country. These cultural differences are, for me, the most inspirational. 

In our own country, we also celebrate unique cultural festivals. We’re from The Netherlands, and the two most significant cultural events in the country are not related to religion. The largest cultural festivals in The Netherlands are  Kingsday  and  Liberation Day. 

Kingsday is the day that we celebrate our King’s birthday. It is a public holiday, with many cultural festivities throughout the country. Everyone dresses up in orange, which is the national color of The Netherlands. The Dutch Royal Family visits a different city in the country each year to celebrate Kings Day among the locals. Read more about Kingsday in our article  What Is Kingsday in The Netherlands?  

Liberation Day is the other unique cultural Dutch festival. During Liberation Day, we celebrate our freedom after World War II. Each year many festivals and celebrations are taking place on the 5th of May. The day before, on the 4th of May, is the national remembrance of the death. You can find out more about these cultural events, and other unique things of our country, in our article  What Is The Netherlands Famous For?

Cape Verdean Culture

I got inspired by many cultures during our travels. However, the Cape Verdean culture is one that inspires me very much. We traveled for 10 weeks through the archipelago, and it surprised me how positive and friendly the people are. 

Cape Verde is one of the youngest and most stable democracies in Africa. But it is also a very poor country. Since the discovery of the islands in the 15th century, and until 1975, Cape Verde was a Portuguese colony. Without the possibility to thrive as an independent nation. 

Despite the economic adversity, the Cape Verdeans always stayed positive. They always found a way to celebrate life and be happy. The Cape Verdean lifestyle is the best way described as  no stress.  In Cape Verde known as  Morabeza.  A way of life that is best experienced on the island of Santo Antão. 

But they also find a way to celebrate the beauty and happiness in life. Cape Verde islands are actually one of the best places to celebrate tropical carnival. The island São Vicente is known as the cultural heart of the archipelago. Check out the tropical carnival celebrations in Cape Verde in our travel video; 

When you’re inspired to visit this African archipelago, I recommend reading some of our articles about Cape Verde . An interesting article to start with is  What is Cape Verde Famous For?

Another great way to learn more about a culture is by exploring the local cuisine. By finding unique local restaurants and eating local food, you can learn a lot about the cultural heritage of a country. 

For example, in Cape Verde, their local, national dish, is Cachupa. A stew of basic ingredients like corn, meat, and some local vegetables. For a long time, it was food for the poor people of the country. But today, the Cape Verdeans are proud of their national dish. It’s interesting to learn how things develop over time. 

One of the most inspirational figures, when you talk about exploring culture food, was Anthony Bourdain. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2018, but his travel documentaries are still exciting to watch. The series  Parts Unknown,  and  No Reservations,  where he, in a brilliant way, combines cultural food, with everyday life. You get a great insight into learning more about specific cultures. 

We love being outdoors and explore the beautiful and remote parts of the world. However, we’re not extreme travelers. We just drive around in our small Toyota Yaris with a rooftop tent on top . Looking for places off the beaten track. Getting away from the rat race, being outside, and live within nature. And even as full-time travelers, we still have dreams and a bucket list. Exploring the northern lights, visit the Amazon Jungle, visit Patagonia, and many other things. 

When you love to visit nature, I recommend reading more about New Zealand. This beautiful country has it all and amazed me every day when we traveled through the country. It’s such a beautiful environment! 

9) Wildlife

Nature and wildlife are two things that are closely related. We love to explore wildlife, but always respectfully. We don’t want to disturb the wildlife but visit certain parts, merely to explore and experience. And let the animals be in their natural habitats. 

During the last years, we made some inspirational wildlife trips. When we were in Indonesia, we visited the island of Sumatra. Here we could visit one of the last wild Orang-Utans. A unique experience, in a very remote part of the island. 

We also visited the Kingdom of Tonga, where one of our biggest dreams came true. We went swimming with humpback whales. These gentle giants come to the island of Tonga annually to have their young. A great experience and something we’ll never forget. I would recommend everyone planning such amazing trips. But always in a respectful way for nature and wildlife. Remember that we are just visitors in the natural habitats of these animals. 

10) Intrinsic Motivation

When it comes to traveling, we are our biggest inspirators. We have that urge to learn more about cultures, to see unique countries, and meet other people from all over the world. Explore the beauty of nature and wildlife. 

Like we started this article, we are infected with the travel bug. 

I can’t really describe where it’s coming from. Maybe it has something to do with my mixed cultural background. My family comes from Indonesia, which makes a part of me Indonesian. So a mix of different cultures. During our trip to Indonesia, I also visited my family’s heritage on the island of Java. I created this video about it; 

Our urge to travel has definitely something to do with the fact that we don’t want to participate in the western rat race. I think it is one of the biggest reasons why we all travel and go on vacation. To get away from the busy moments in our daily life. The most significant difference for us is that we didn’t want to get away from those busy moments for only a few weeks per year. We didn’t want to be in that rat race at all. 

We participated in several office jobs, and made our first steps on the western ‘career ladder.’ Still, quickly we discovered that’s not the lifestyle that suits us. 

We want to create memories and live our lives in the happiest way possible. For us, that means traveling to enrich ourselves with the knowledge of different cultures. And also being at home, together with our family and friends. 

So, these are the things where we get our travel inspiration from. Of course, sometimes, we also look at Instagram to get some inspiration. But honestly, the travel related images and stories there are most of the time to picture-perfect for me. It doesn’t reflect reality. 

When you’re looking for some travel inspiration, I recommend reading our destination articles . We love to inspire you to go travel more. Check out the different articles here . Of course, you can also watch our videos on our travel show page . If you like our videos, please subscribe to our YouTube channel ! 

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Get Inspired to Travel

A Dutch proverb goes “He who is outside his door has the hardest part of his journey behind him.” Planning a trip and being on the road is a lot easier than you think. It’s the decision to take that step out the door that is the hardest part. It requires the most change. You’re leaving your old life behind for a new one. I know what it is like because I made the same decision too. Millions of people have.

Don’t let fear hold you back from traveling. If you’re still unsure if travel is right for you below are some inspiring posts to help you take that first step out the door.

Top Articles to Help You Get Inspired!

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Why It’s Never the Right Time to Travel

15 Travel Books That Will Give You Serious Wanderlust

7 Ways to Stay Motivated to Travel

Why Cynics Will Always Be Haters and How to Prove Them Wrong

Changing the “I’m Too Poor to Travel” Mindset – Say Yes to Travel

Don’t Have (Travel) Regrets

41 Signs You Are a Travel Addict

Why Travel Makes You Awesome

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MY FAVORITE TRAVEL RESOURCES

Below are my favorite companies to use when I travel. They are always my starting point when I need to book a flight, accommodation, tour, or vehicle!

• Skyscanner – Skyscanner is my favorite flight search engine. It searches small websites and budget airlines that larger search sites tend to miss. It is hands-down the number one place to start.
• Going.com – Going (formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights) finds incredible flight deals and sends them directly to your inbox. If you’re flexible with your dates and destinations, you can score some amazing deals and save hundreds of dollars in the process!
• Hostelworld – This is the best hostel accommodation site out there, with the largest inventory, best search interface, and widest availability.
• Booking.com – The best all-around booking site. It constantly provides the cheapest and lowest rates and has the widest selection of budget accommodation. In all my tests, it’s always had the cheapest rates out of all the booking websites.
• Get Your Guide – This is a huge online marketplace for tours and excursions. It has tons of tour options in cities all around the world, including everything from cooking classes and walking tours to street art lessons!
• SafetyWing – This site offers convenient and affordable plans tailored to digital nomads and long-term travelers. It has cheap monthly plans, great customer service, and an easy-to-use claims process that makes it perfect for those on the road.
• Discover Cars – Discover Cars is a car rental aggregator that can help you find the best deals for your next road trip. It pulls data from over 8,000 car rental locations to ensure you always find a great deal!
• Trusted Housesitters – Trusted Housesitters is a platform that connects you with people in need of pet and house sitters. In exchange for looking after their pets or home, you’ll get access to free accommodation.
• Top Travel Credit Cards   – Points are the best way to cut down travel expenses. Here’s my favorite point earning credit cards so you can get free travel!

Travel Guides I’ve Written

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• Myanmar (Burma)
• Philippines
• New Zealand

10 Ways Travel Inspires Me

I write this as we’re about to complete another inspiring adventure in south east asia..

Soon we’ll be returning home for a little while, enjoying the comforts of our own place – our soft and familiar bed is calling us! Whilst we’re looking forward to catching up with friends and family, our excitement is tinged with sadness because we’re saying goodbye to one of our favourite parts of the world.

One of the reasons we love to inspire travel is because it inspires us, and it affects us deeply. Once again, travel has gotten under my skin and dug deep into my soul. It’s not necessarily changed me as a person (not as much as our first adventure anyway), but it’s affected me greatly, and I’ve tried to put these feelings into words.

If you’ve been on any kind of adventure of your own, you’ll probably empathise with these feelings below. Or, if you’re thinking about taking the plunge and booking that flight to Bangkok (or wherever!), I’m hoping that this will inspire travel in you and cast aside any doubts to just go for it!

Inspire Travel In Your Life!

Just swingin’ and hanging out in El Nido, Palawan

1. Travel Heightens My Senses And Makes Me Appreciate Natural Beauty

It was whilst admiring the beautiful variety of trees lining Boracay beach in the Philippines, that I felt inspired to write down these reflections. So it seems appropriate that this is my first one. It might sound strange, but I don’t think I’ve ever fully appreciated nature until I started travelling.

Maybe it’s because of the weather at home (which is often cold and wet!), but when I’m ‘on the road’ I find myself paying so much more attention to my surroundings. Travelling, especially anywhere new, has that effect on me. Whilst I’m trying to soak up everything around me, new experiences heighten my senses and draw me into my new environment.

Whether it’s waking up to the sound of birds singing in the morning (or more likely a loud cackle from the neighbour’s chicken in S.E. Asia!), or taking in the awe-inspiring view of a dramatic volcanic landscape, travel makes me love and appreciate nature, in a way I never knew before.

2. Travel Gives Me Time To Think, Really Clearly

Admiring the lush green rice paddies of Ba Be National Park, Vietnam

It might seem obvious, but the most precious gift of all that travelling gives you is time. Time to be in your own thoughts and time to think, clearly.

By switching off from my routines in daily life, such as chores, to-do lists or even just the normal distractions of the TV and phone, I can think more clearly, especially about my goals and passions in life. What do I want to achieve this year? How am I going to do it? What do I want to make more time for?

Whether it’s riding the bumpy 8-hour bus to our next destination, lying on a tropical beach with beautiful palm trees swaying above my head, or trekking through a scenic rice paddy in Vietnam, travelling gives me a LOT more time, and therefore room to breath, reflect and dream.

Simply by changing our environment, I feel inspired and new thoughts and ideas seem to spark into life.

3. Travel Teaches Me Something New Everyday

A rice harvester in North Vietnam

Every day is a school day, as they say! From history to geography and culture, travel constantly teaches me something new every day. From how noodles are made, or rice is harvested, to the difference between a young coconut (typically green on the outside and white on the inside!) and a mature one (the brown ones we’d typically see in a UK supermarket!)…I never knew how amazingly delicious young coconut juice was! Or from how the famous chocolate hills of Bohol were formed and the fact that the Philippines has over 7,000 islands!

It’s not  just things or people we learn about though, travel teaches me about myself too. By being constantly thrown into new environments and situations, everyday is a lesson in self-development! I’ve feel like I’ve learned more about myself in the last 4 years than I had in the previous 27. 

4. Travel Encourages Me To Be Patient And Maintain Perspective When Things Don’t Go To Plan

One of the most important things I’ve learned (and continue to learn every day whilst travelling) is the value of patience.  Something you realise quite quickly when you start a new adventure, is that as soon as you step into that airport terminal or bus station to take your first journey, you’re no longer in control of everything, and the best thing you can do is accept your new reality as quickly as possible, and go with the flow.

After all, what’s the point in getting annoyed if your flight is delayed by 2 hours, or your tour is cancelled due to bad weather. There’s nothing much you can do about it! And so being patient is the best way to handle it – something we’ve learned after numerous delays and extra-long bus journeys! Rather than get annoyed, we just shrug our shoulders and grab another coffee, or enjoy a few more chapters of our books. It’s to be expected occasionally along the way, and is usually not a major issue. Delays and relinquishing control will only spoil your adventure if you let them!

Something we’ve noticed, and love about the locals on most of our travels, is their incredible patience and ability to not get frustrated or annoyed in tricky situations. We always try to take a leaf from their book.

For example, when we first arrived in the Philippines, it was a Saturday in December, nothing too innocuous about that you would think. We’d arranged for a driver to collect us from the airport and take us directly to our homestay accommodation, north of Manila city near Mount Pinatubo. The journey was estimated to take around 2-3 hrs, but after 5 hours or so, we found ourselves still stuck in a traffic jam in Manila city, and hours from our final destination!

It turned out, as our driver calmly explained, that as it was the first Saturday in December, we’d arrived on one of the busiest Christmas shopping days of the year! Hence the bad traffic as everyone was commuting in and out of the city. We couldn’t believe our bad luck as we could’ve flown in any other day of the week!

But it was our driver that we felt sorry for, having to concentrate hard in the crazy traffic for such a long time. Amazingly though, not once did he come across annoyed or display any kind of ‘road rage’, despite knowing he had to make the long return journey that evening. He kept his cool, and slowly navigated us through the city with various detours along the way to avoid the jams. Of course we took a lead from his behaviour and tried our best not to be bothered either, despite what was supposed to be a 2-3 hour journey turning out to be 8 hours! However it was a good lesson in patience, that was for sure! Thankfully our long journey was totally worth it as our  Mount Pinatubo Tour was spectacular! (Follow the link above to read more about it.) 

5. Travel Encourages Me To Respect Others Through Greater Cultural Understanding 

Riding through the Mekong Delta with our local guide and fellow travellers

The best thing about travel for us is the people we meet along the way. From sparking a simple conversion or showing thanks to a local who helps us along our way, it enriches our experience and helps us get to know and understand the local culture.

Some of our most rewarding experiences have come from homestays. Either arranged through a company, or independently where possible, this usually involves staying with a local family for a night or two, in order to learn about their day to day life and experience it first-hand, whilst also sharing our lives with them. We’ve had some wonderful homestay experiences along the way, most of which we’ve shared here on the blog (article links:  Peru , Morocco , Laos and Vietnam – Sapa & Ba Be National Park ).

One of our favourite homestay experiences was in  Ba Be National Park , and was a highlight of our time in Vietnam. After trekking through the stunning countryside of Ba Be National park, we spent the night at a local family’s humble home, deep in the countryside surrounded by rice paddies, and water buffalos for neighbours! We spent the evening eating delicious home-cooked Vietnamese cuisine and drinking local ‘rice wine’ whilst getting to know Mr Hung and his family. After visiting the local school and witnessing the hardworking locals on the rice paddies, we left with the greatest of respect for the local people, and a desire to share our experience. (For the full story, click on the link above!)

6. Travel Takes Me Out Of My Comfort Zone And Makes Me Try New Things

Sunrise at the mighty Mount Rinjani, Indonesia (approx. 2,500m altitude)

One of our other favourite things to do when we travel is to try as much of the local cuisine as possible, even when we’re not too sure about it (remember the sheep’s head in Morocco ?)! We absolutely love discovering great local food and it’s especially exciting when we discover a delicious new dish!

As you’ve probably gathered from our blog if you’re a regular reader, food is a passion of ours. It’s one of the main reasons why we love Vietnam (hands down our favourite foodie destination!), with India coming a close second (well in my opinion – Barry would probably argue Mexico or Japan!).

However apart from trying new foods, I love the fact that travel constantly takes me out of my comfort zone and encourages me to try new things and experiences. For example, I would probably never have  hiked a mountain over 4,000 metres high  in Morocco (in winter!), climbed an active volcano in Chile , or even imagined taking a polar plunge in the icy cold waters of Antarctica ! Travel has definitely taken me out of my comfort zone and with it, provided the most rewarding experiences!

7. Travel Encourages Me To Be Honest With Myself

Sunset in El Nido, Palawan, Philippines

It may sound a little cheesy, but travelling definitely makes you find your true self – there’s no shying away from it.

When planning an adventure, sometimes the huge range of choices and decisions to make can be overwhelming. Should we book a tour or travel independently? How long should we stay there? Should we book an activity or just relax? It’s hard to know how you’ll feel in the moment, but the best way to answer all these questions is to be honest with yourself. Do you enjoy trekking enough to book a 4 day trip or would it be better to book the 2 day option? Do you really want to spend days touring all of a city’s museums or would you prefer to grab a coffee and watch the world go by in a local cafe?

I love the fact that travel gives you these choices. However, when in doubt, we always revert back to asking ourselves what do we enjoy most, and ultimately, what makes us happy. Personally, we love a great adventure, and get a great buzz and sense of achievement from a tough scenic trek, or roughing it a little to camp under the stars, but we also know how much we enjoy a little comfort and relaxation. Especially AFTER an adventure. So we’ll ensure our adventure is based on these preferences. By being honest with ourselves, we know that a mix of adventure and relaxation is how we like it, and will make us most happy.

8. Travel Makes Me Appreciate What I Have And Encourages Me To Help Others To Do The Same

A local family we met in North Vietnam

It’s easy to take what you have for granted, and travel reminds me of this constantly. 

We regularly witness the struggle and hard times of living in a developing country, and it’s a humbling reminder of how lucky we are. It makes us appreciate what we have, and reminds us that we were simply lucky to have been born where we were. 

One particularly eye opening experience was when we learned about  The UXOs bombs of Laos . Before travelling to Laos, we weren’t aware of the huge effect that unexploded ordnance (UXO) had had, and continues to have on the population as local people still live in danger of UXOs. Remnants of the Vietnam war, Laos is still plagued with buried bombs, causing hundreds of accidents a year as they are discovered by children or farmers in the countryside. It’s hard to comprehend people living in such danger, decades on from a war fought in another country. Therefore, discovering the brilliant charity organisation  COPE  during our visit to Laos gave us hope for the locals, and encouraged us to share an article about their amazing work providing prosthetic limbs and rehabilitation to victims of UXOs. Again, we left with a whole new understanding of a country we didn’t know much about previously, and an appreciation of how lucky we are not to be living in danger like that. 

9. Travel Inspires Me To Be Creative

Travel inspires me to be more creative, it unlocks skills I forgot I had. Away from the burdens of modern life, and with time to think and reflect, my inner creativity is awakened. Sometimes I feel like travelling takes me back to my childhood creativity. To skills that were somehow lost or buried in the maelstrom of ‘growing up’, or perhaps pushed aside when spending too much time memorising facts for exams.

There’s a chance that you think you aren’t creative, or that’s a skill other people have. But travel gives you the head space to explore your creative mind, and you may just find yourself writing, or drawing as you sit on that bus, or on that beach. Travel gives you the chance to reawaken those skills and desires. Believe me, I’ve experienced it. And whilst I love a good book or a gripping movie, I get even more enjoyment out of creating something of my own (such as this blog!) and travel inspires me to do so.

10. Travel Digs Deep Into My Soul And Makes Me Question Life 

Mrs Thai, a wonderful and inspiring war widower from North Vietnam

Last but not least, t ravel touches my soul in a way I never expected it could. It might sound a little cheesy but it’s true. By  seeing and experiencing other cultures and ways of life, travel opens my eyes and makes me question life (in a good way). It inspires me to aspire for more from life.

Travel helps me put insignificant tasks or routine into perspective. It makes me want to complete them quicker or abandon them altogether if they don’t really matter. Hell, does that dress really need ironed or can you just hang it outside for an hour to let the wind blow out the creases naturally? Yes it might not be perfect, but I could spend that 15 minutes doing something that will actually fulfil me or better still, make that phone call to a friend or family that I’ve ‘not had time for’.

One recent travel experience that dug so deep into my soul that I’ll never forget it was our 2-day homestay experience at Yen Duc Village in North Vietnam. The whole experience was amazing (full article coming soon) but in particular, it was our touching and inspiring meeting with a local war widower, Mrs Thai, that affected me the most. So much so that we decided to make a documentary (with her permission) of her incredibly sad but inspiring life story, and you can watch it here .

So that’s it, 10 ways travel inspires me and 10 reasons why I shall keep on travelling! Hopefully this has either reminded you why travel is an awesome thing to do, or provided the catalyst to inspire travel in you!

How have your travels inspired you? I’d love to hear from you. Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences in the comments section below. Or, send me a private message via our Facebook page , Instagram account  or email to [email protected].

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19 Inspiring Travel Experience Stories About Life-Changing Trips

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Love inspiring travel experience stories ?

Then you’re in the right place!

Grab a snack and your favorite beverage and get ready to settle in, as you’re about to read some truly inspiring travel stories about life-changing trips.

In this roundup, some of my favorite bloggers share their best travel stories.

You’ll hear about travelers embarking on sacred pilgrimages, growing after a first solo female travel trip, deeply connecting with locals on the road, and getting out of their comfort zones in ways that completely alter the course of their life.

And if you’re looking for a unique travel experience, you’ll likely find it in the short stories about travel below.

Table of Contents

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But first… before we dive into these stories about travelling…

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There is so much included!

Plus, I’m constantly adding new resources, guides, and personality quizzes to help you travel beyond the guidebook!

On that note, let’s dive into the inspiring travel stories .

1. Travel Experience Stories In South America

My travel story takes place in South America, back when I used to travel solo for months at a time.

I was in my mid-20s, and even though I’d backpacked Europe, Southeast Asia, and China and had studied abroad in Australia, the mix of intense excitement and nerves I had leading up to my South America backpacking trip was different.

And despite family and friends warning me that South America wasn’t a place for a solo female traveler , it ended up being my best trip ever and one of my life changing trips!

There are so many interesting short travel stories and unforgettable travel experiences woven into this trip, like:

• Getting invited to have dinner with my Brazilian plane seatmate and her grandma
• Having a group of complete strangers on Couchsurfing take me out for dinner and dancing on my birthday in Mendoza
• Attending a small house party in Argentina and learning about the tradition of mate
• Getting stuck on a broken-down bus and having an impromptu language exchange with an elderly woman in Peru
• Having a love interest back home break up with me via text, and then experiencing the kindness of strangers as a woman in my hostel who I barely knew treated me to ice cream to cheer me up
• Having a romance with a hostel mate in Ecuador and then traveling through the country together
• Living in a giant treehouse with a group of strangers during a solo trip in Brazil and spending our days exploring hiking trails and swimming and our nights drinking and exchanging stories about traveling
• Taking a 4×4 from Chile to Bolivia across the Siloli Desert to see otherwordly sites like rainbow lagoons and train graveyards in the middle of nowhere
• Experiencing some of the world’s most incredible natural wonders, like Iguazu Falls, Torres del Paine, the Amazon River, Uyuni Salt Flats, and Perito Moreno Glacier

At times the trip was also challenging, from dealing with long bus rides and car sickness to flipping over my bicycle handlebars in Peru and getting my body (and ego) badly bruised.

But, I was okay.

In fact, I was more than okay, as the trip showed me how independent I could be and what I was truly capable of. It also showed me the beauty of immersing yourself in cultures different than your own and connecting with locals who want to share them with you.

Years later, when people ask what my best travel experience has been this is the trip that comes to mind.

-Jessie from Jessie on a Journey

2. Traveling With An Open Mind

Many people think of travel as an experience and rightly so. Sometimes, however, you cannot choose the places you travel to.

This happened to me in 2019.

My husband found himself posted in Brunei for work.

Three months pregnant meant that I had a choice:

Either stay with him in Brunei for three months before returning back to India or remain in India, alone.

I chose the former. Not because of my love for the country but because I wanted to be close to him.

Brunei had never held any appeal to me. Whatever research that I pulled off the Internet showed me nothing other than one beautiful mosque.

The flights in and out of the country were expensive so traveling frequently out was not an option either.

I was engulfed by a sense of being trapped in a remote place.

Needless to say, I reached Brunei in a pretty foul mood. I think one of the things that struck me the most even in the midst of that bad mood was the large swaths of greenery that surrounded us.

Mind you, we were not staying in the big city but as far away on the outskirts as you could imagine. I’m not a city girl by any stretch and the greenery eventually soothed my nerves.

It took a week, but I soon found myself interacting with people around me. Fellow expats and locals all went out of their way to make me feel comfortable.

The more comfortable I felt, the more we explored. We trekked (yes, while pregnant!), we joined the board game community, and we enjoyed the local cuisine.

Three months later when it was time to leave, I found myself reluctant to say goodbye to the warmth of the country I had called home for a short while. I ended up having some of the most meaningful travel experiences there.

I think that my time in Brunei taught me a valuable lesson:

Don’t judge a place by what others say or a lack of information.

Sure, you may not always like what you see, but there will always be something that you will like. You just need to look hard enough to find it!

-Penny from GlobeTrove

3. From Half-Day Hiker To Walking Holiday Enthusiast

I’ve always enjoyed walking but never in a million years did I imagine I’d end up walking over 200 kilometers (~124 miles) in 10 days, become a fan of walking holidays, and end up developing self-guided hiking routes in Portugal with a local tour operator as part of my business.

The shift from being someone who was content with an easy three-hour walk to an experienced multi-day hiker began with a brief taste of the Portuguese Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrim trail through Portugal to Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in Spain.

Back in 2013 I did a guided one-day hike along one of the most beautiful stretches of the Camino, north of Ponte de Lima. It’s also one of the most challenging sections so it was hard work, but the views from the top of Labruja Mountain made the climb worthwhile.

My guides were so enthusiastic about the thrill of arriving at Santiago de Compostela Cathedral after the challenges of day after day on the Camino that I began to think I might want to give it a go, despite not being religious.

Fast forward a few years and I set off from Barcelos with a friend of mine to follow the Portuguese Camino de Santiago.

Apart from suffering from chronic back pain, I thought I was quite fit but nothing had prepared me for how utterly exhausted I would feel at the end of each walking day.

This was truly a slow travel experience, as we were averaging about 20 kilometers (~12 miles) per day and by the time we reached our hotel, I would barely have enough energy to get cleaned up and find food before collapsing. I had envisioned plenty of sightseeing but that ended up being minimal.

Quickly, I realized the moral of this unique travel experience:

The Camino was all about making the most of the journey rather than the destination.

For me, that was quite a shift in thinking as I am usually all about getting to where I want to be as soon as possible so that I can start exploring. It was, perhaps, also my first step on the path towards mindfulness.

I will never forget the sense of achievement and progress at the end of each walking day, and the relief and pride I felt when we finally made it to Santiago de Compostela.

We met people who had walked the Camino several times and I can totally understand how it can become addictive. 

Walking the Camino is one of the life changing travel experiences for many people!

-Julie from Julie Dawn Fox in Portugal

4. A Story About Traveling & Its Ripple Effect

Tucked away in far eastern Indonesia is a tiny archipelago of islands called the Banda Islands.

Apart from world-class snorkeling and some crumbling colonial buildings, the Banda Islands are mostly forgotten and would be described as a backwater by all accounts.

However, the Banda Islands are possibly the main reason that I am who I am today. 

Well, the Bandas are the original Spice Islands.

Nutmeg used to grow on this tiny group of islands alone and nowhere else. The Dutch colonized Indonesia and promptly became the owners of islands where money grew on trees.

The only problem was that Indonesia was so far away that they needed a halfway stop to and from Indonesia.

That’s where my travel experience story comes in.

The same Dutch East India Company that traded in spice set up a halfway station at the foot of Table Mountain to break up their long journey. As a result, my Dutch ancestors arrived in the southernmost point in Africa , and generations later we are still there.

When I visited the Banda Islands, it dawned on me how something happening on the other side of the world can ripple out and affect people on the other side of the planet.

And I’m not the only one!

The spice trade was so important to the Dutch that they even traded a tiny island in the Banda archipelago for a much bigger island…Manhattan.

Yes. That Manhattan.

Before visiting the Banda Islands I never really knew about this part of my history.

Along with the spice that the ships carried back to Amsterdam, it also carried slaves. These slaves, more often than not, ended up in Cape Town.

Just like my European ancestors, they too became a part of Africa and added another shade to our beautiful Rainbow Nation.

It was in the Banda Islands that I realized how much of my culture, food, stories and even words in my mother tongue, Afrikaans, actually originated in Indonesia.

Because of these tiny islands, I am a true mix of Europe, Africa, and Asia. While I always thought I knew how all things in life are somehow connected, I didn’t really grasp it until my visit to Indonesia.

This could have been a resort travel experience story, as I went to Indonesia to swim and snorkel and relax on the world’s best beaches. And while I did get to do that, I also learned a lot about who I am as a person, my people, and my country…on another continent. 

It is a travel experience I will never forget!

My visit to the Bandas has sparked a fascination with Indonesia, which I have visited seven times since. I’m already planning another trip to this spectacular country!

-De Wet from Museum of Wander

5. Awakening My Spirit In A Costa Rican Cloud Forest

In February 2017, I was just coming out of a decade of mysterious chronic illness that had shrunk my world.

And one of the things that finally helped me to resurface during the previous year was an online Qi Gong course I stumbled upon: 

Flowing Zen .

To the casual observer, Qi Gong looks a lot like its better-known cousin, Tai Chi — the ancient art of moving meditation — but it’s actually energy medicine for healing.

In fact, it’s commonly used in Chinese hospitals.

My daily practice that year made such a difference for me that I dangled a reward for myself:

If I stuck with it all year, then I’d head to Sifu Anthony’s annual retreat in a cloud forest in Costa Rica the following February.

And I did! It was my first trip out of the country for more than a decade.

Just like that, I booked a solo trip — something I hadn’t done since I was an exchange student to Europe 30 years earlier — to San Jose where I met up with a dozen strangers and Sifu Anthony, our Qi Gong master.

We boarded a tiny bus and rode up, up, up around carsick-inducing curvy mountain roads into a magical cloud forest jungle where we finally arrived at The Blue Mountain (“La Montana Azul”) for a weeklong Qi Gong retreat. 

There were no Internet or distractions here — just delicious organic vegetarian meals made with love and shared with the community under a gorgeous open-air palapa.

There were also colorful tropical birds singing in the jungle, as well as the largest arachnid I’ve ever seen in my gorgeous (but also roofless) room for a little extra adventure.

I’d felt a little energy movement during my year of online practice, but during that week on The Blue Mountain, my body began to really buzz with Qi — life force energy — as I Lifted the Sky, stood in Wuji Stance, and practiced Shooting Arrows.

I felt electrified and joyful. 

And that was when everything changed for me.

At home, I had a successful career as a freelance writer, but I decided during my week in the cloud forest that I wanted more from life.

I wanted to explore the beauty, diversity, nature, and culture in every corner of the world.

And I wanted to share this intoxicating joyful feeling of life-giving freedom and adventure with anyone who wanted to come along for the ride.

Shortly after that, at age 53, I launched my travel blog.

Dreams really do come true. They are just waiting for you to claim them.

-Chris from Explore Now or Never

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6. From Rome With Love

This wasn’t the way I wanted to see Rome. 

Sure, I was happy to spend Christmas in Rome and stand in awe of the city’s many iconic attractions. But, life wasn’t meant to turn out like this.

I was supposed to go to Rome with my mom back in 2012; however, life had different plans, because a week before our trip, I got a double kidney infection. A condition that required a week of hospitalization.

Although I was annoyed I had missed my trip, it wasn’t the end of the world since I was fine and everything seemed okay…until my mom developed a cough.

A cough that later became a heartbreaking diagnosis of stage four ovarian cancer. 

My mom spent the final months of her life in chemo, desperately trying to fight a horrific disease so that she wouldn’t let her family down.

And she didn’t.

Instead, she showed us how to never give up on life, even if it was a losing battle. 

So, when she eventually passed away, I booked a trip to Rome. 

Sure, it wasn’t the trip I had hoped for. But, I knew that as her daughter, it was my job to live enough for the both of us. 

And that’s exactly what I did.

Was I an anxious, sad, angry mess of a person?

Absolutely. I was still getting used to a world that my mother wasn’t a part of. 

And honestly, you never get used to that world. You just deal with it because you don’t really have a choice.

But I also knew that I wanted my mom to live on through me and that I didn’t want to live a life where the haunting phrases “should of,” “could of,” and “would have” swirled through my head and ate away at my happiness.

So, I went. I packed a boatload of tissues, sobbed my heart out, and attended Christmas mass at the Vatican. 

I also threw a coin in the Trevi Fountain, walked through the Colosseum, chowed down on gelato, and spent two weeks doing all the things my mom and I had wanted to do. 

And that’s when it hit me. I had never gone to Rome alone because my mom had always been there with me. Maybe she wasn’t physically there, but I thought of her and felt her presence every minute of every day. 

Her presence also reminded me that life isn’t about the things we buy or the money that we have.

It’s about making memories with the people we love; people that never really leave us since they are constantly influencing our lives in countless ways.

And after my trip to Rome, I finally knew that my mom would always be there because she had forever changed my life in the best possible way. 

-Kelly from Girl with the Passport

7. Studying In Finland

One of my major life-turning points happened during my exchange studies in Finland.

Until then, I was studying at a university in Prague, had a part-time job at a renowned management-consulting firm, and thought I was on the right path in life.

At the University of Economics where I studied it was notoriously difficult to get on an Erasmus exchange trip abroad since the demand was huge. Everyone wanted to go!

Regardless, I decided to sign up early for my last semester, just to see what the process was like to be better prepared for applying again in a year.

I did make it through all the three rounds and surprisingly got a spot at a University in Turku, Finland! I was ecstatic. The success brought its own challenges, but once you set your eyes on the goal, nothing can stop you.

And I had the time of my life in Finland. It was a fantastic personal travel experience.

I met the most amazing people, traveled a ton, partied a lot, and bonded with friends from all over the world.

Given I was one of the few people there who really needed to pass all her courses and additionally write her thesis, I managed to run on an impossible sleep schedule of four hours per night. But I made it!

My studies in Finland opened up my horizons, too.

The summer after, I wrapped up my life in Prague and went on to study in Germany and China . The whole time I traveled as much as possible, often going on solo adventures. It was only a matter of time when I’d start my own travel blog.

My Finland adventure led me to a life of freedom made up of remote work, travel blogging , and plenty of traveling. I couldn’t have asked for a better outcome. And it gave me one of my favorite true adventure stories that I can now share with others.

-Veronika from Travel Geekery

8. How Cuba Changed My Life

One of my favorite inspiring stories about travel takes place in Cuba.

I visited Cuba in February 2013 and it changed my life — and I like to think it did so for the better.

Interestingly, I expected a completely different country and was compelled to write about it when I got back home.

But let me tell you more.

I read copious amounts of blogs and travel diaries to prepare myself for the trip to Cuba so I thought I’d go in with a fairly good idea of what to expect. Each and every post I read spoke of marvelous landscapes, pristine beaches, crumbling but charming cities, and welcoming locals.

All of it was true, in my experience — except for the locals.

I didn’t find them so welcoming. At least, not genuinely so. They only seemed to welcome me as far as they could get something in exchange: money, clothes, pens, soap, you name it. 

Each and every day in Cuba was a challenge to avoid the scams, to avoid being ripped off, to fight off each and every attempt of people trying to take advantage of me. I usually managed, but it was exhausting and it left a sour taste in my mouth.

Once I got back home I felt the urge to write about my experience — not for other sites or papers as I’d often do. This time I was afraid I’d be censored.

So I opened my own blog. With zero tech knowledge, zero understanding of online content creation and SEO, I started writing and telling people what they should really expect during a trip to Cuba.

I’d put up the occasional post, but continued with my usual job.

At the end of the year, my contract as a researcher in international human rights law at the local university ended, and I decided to stop pursuing that career for a while.

I packed my bags and left for a long-term trip to Central and South America . I started writing on the blog more consistently and learning, and eventually took my blog full-time , turning it into a career.

As of today, I have never looked back and have no regrets. This was a life changing traveling experience.

The one thing I’ll do, as soon as I can, is travel to Cuba to say thank you — because it changed my life in a way nothing else has ever done. 

-Claudia from Strictly Sardinia

9. A Short Travel Story About Finding Inner Peace In Patagonia

Life in London is hard.

Life in London as a gay single brown refugee is harder.

Juggling between work, my passion for traveling, and the prejudices that I dealt with on a daily basis eventually took their toll on me and I reached a breaking point.

The fact that I couldn’t return home to see my family and being away for them for almost nine years was enough to hammer in the final nail in the coffin.

I almost had a nervous breakdown and in that moment of desperation, which I knew would define the rest of my life, I took a month off and headed to Patagonia.

It was probably the best decision I’ve ever made in my life. The 36 hours it took me to get to El Chalten from London were tiring but Patagonia blew me away.

On my first day there I did a 28-kilometer (17-mile) hike which included a steep mountain climb. It was incredible how moving through the forest helped me clear my mind. And as I stood in front of Laguna de Los Tres, the rain and clouds gave way to sunshine and a rainbow.

I felt at peace.

The countless hikes, great food, and the warmth of locals in Chile and Argentina helped me get back in my skin and find the peace I was missing in my heart.

Nature is indeed the best medicine when it comes to stress relief and I won’t be coy about hugging trees to speed up the process (it did).

Patagonia was life-changing for me.

The beauty of nature struck me at each point and every time I thought it wasn’t possible to beat the view, the next one did just that.

I came back a changed, resilient, and most importantly, a happy person.

-Ucman from BrownBoyTravels

10. Looking Inwards & Making Connections With Strangers

It was decades before I traveled solo for the first time in my life.

This trip — a six-day escape to Colorado — was the first trip that was not for business or family reasons but just to travel and discover.

As I prepared for it, I had a strange feeling of excitement and nerves at the same time. I had all sorts of thoughts and doubts:

Would it be fun?

Would I be bored?

Would I stay in bed all day or would I bounce with excitement to do the next thing?

I wasn’t sure. Little did I know that it was going to be a memorable journey of self-discovery. 

As a good wife and mom, for me travel is always about the family; always thinking of who would enjoy what. It’s about family time and bonding. It’s about creating memories and travel stories together. It’s all so wonderful.

But on a solo trip who would I connect with? What would I say?

Well, I found that I got to do anything I wanted!

Usually when I travel with my family, if I feel like going on a drive that’s not on the itinerary or getting a snack no one else is interested in, we simply don’t do that.

So it was weird to just go do it. Really, that’s a thing?

As for making connections, it was so easy to meet locals while traveling and also to connect with other travelers. Honestly, I had conversations everywhere — on planes, while hiking, in restaurants, in the hotel lobby.

It was quite an eye-opening experience to meet a mom of 18 kids and hundreds of foster kids, a cookie baker, a professional photographer, a family of Fourteener hikers, and an internationally ranked marathon runner.

The inspiring stories I discovered were amazing and nothing like my wonderful safe life at home. 

In terms of travel safety , I got to go rock climbing, solo hiking, driving up a Fourteener, eating alone.

And it was all fine. Actually, it felt surprisingly normal.

It was was just me, my SUV, and my backpack for a week. Most of all, it was a breath of fresh air that I didn’t know existed. 

It’s wonderful to be back home and know that possibilities are endless and there is so much more out there to explore and be wowed by!

-Jyoti from Story At Every Corner

11. A Solo Hike To Find Connection

I have traveled solo many times, but I admit I was a bit uneasy booking my trip to Colombia . In part, due to the country’s dark past. But also because I desperately wanted to do the Cocora Valley hike, and if I’m honest, I was terrified.

This hike is located in the Coffee Triangle, an area recognized for its beauty as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It features both rainforest and a stunning green valley speckled with cartoonishly-tall wax palms rising 200 feet or more.

It’s incredibly beautiful.

It’s also a long hike and quite challenging — it generally takes between six and eight hours and there is a steep area with over 3,000 feet of elevation within a quarter of a mile.

I wasn’t in hiking shape, so I was a little concerned. But, worst of all for me were the seven dodgy-looking suspension bridges. 

I’m terrified of heights.

And, I’d be going alone.

I decided to go anyway and I met an incredible woman on the bus to Salento, the town near Cocora. She was also traveling solo and we agreed to hike together.

The town is a backpacker enclave and we met up with a small group of people all traveling solo. As the days passed, our group got larger and it was such a magical experience.

As much as I love city travel, this small town won my heart.

My new friend and I set off on the hike and met two other women who were nervous to do the hike. We all went together.

When we got to the first suspension bridge, I paused. I was embarrassed to admit my fear, but the bridge swayed widely and there was nowhere to hold onto.

When they realized how out of my comfort zone I was and how scared I felt, everything changed. Instead of me dealing with it alone, they were all there to encourage me.

One crossed the bridge to encourage me from the other side and they stayed off of it to limit the sway. Crazy enough, I not only crossed the seven suspension bridges, but I also crossed one an extra time when we went the wrong way on the trail.

I did it! 

I was prepared to be blown away by Cocora Valley’s beauty, but what I wasn’t expecting was what a life-changing travel experience my time there would be.

 -Sam from My Flying Leap

12. How A Pet Sitting Travel Experience Led To A Passionate Career

We wanted to go to the Caribbean but didn’t know much about the islands or how we were going to afford it.

By chance, a friend of ours in Australia mentioned “pet sitting” and that it is something you can do all over the world.

We quickly created an account on a pet sitting website and began searching for options. There were only a couple of sits available in that part of the world, but we tried our luck, sent a request, and to our surprise landed a three-month gig in a beautiful house in the US Virgin Islands — with an infinity pool overlooking the British Virgin Islands.

A month into our sit, we had explored the destination pretty well and so had a lot of time on our hands. We managed to secure another sit in Grenada, so our year was going to be taken up with Caribbean pet sits.

Inspired by a Canadian couple that had previously stayed at our Grenada housesit, we decided to start our own travel blog. We began by writing about The Virgin Islands, highlighting the beautiful beaches and funky bars.

But for every photo of a beautiful beach there were 10 photos of trash.     

It was hard to ignore the plastic pollution issue, especially on such pristine and remote beaches.  So, we began to share photos of the trash we saw and how much we could pick up on our daily dog walks.

The more we looked into plastic pollution, the more we realized the severity of the global plastic pandemic. From that point, we used our platform to create awareness and highlight ways to say no to plastic and travel plastic-free .

We changed our daily routines, our way of living, and even our diets to accommodate more organic foods and little to no plastic packaging.

It’s been over three years now and we continue to do what we can. This journey has led us to some amazing places, working with great conscious brands and even organizing a country-wide beach clean-up campaign in Grenada.

Our aim now is to keep on going.

We love connecting with like-minded people and love the shift over the last few years that brands have made towards creating more sustainable products and services.

It’s been an amazing few years that was sparked by a conversation about pet sitting. Who would have guessed?

-Aaron & Vivien from The Dharma Trails

13. Learning To Slow Down The Hard Way

On Christmas of 2017, I was born again.

We like to spend our Christmas holidays somewhere warm abroad, and that year we chose Uganda.

Nature, wildlife, and sunny days were a blessing when it was so cold and dark in Europe. Life was beautiful, and we had a rental car and a busy schedule ahead to explore the country.

This is where this short travel story turns into one of my more scary travel experiences :

At Murchinson Falls National Park, we had a car accident.

I lost control of the car, and it rolled over, destroying windows, chassis, and engine.

But we were alive! My right arm was severely injured, but we managed to walk to our lodge, not far inside the park.

In the lodge, I was happy to learn that there was a pretty decent American hospital in Masindi that was just a one-hour drive from the lodge. Moreover, one of the lodge’s guests was a nurse who cleaned the wound while we were waiting for the taxi from/to Masindi.

The hospital took care of us, and after a couple of injections and stitches, I was ready to head to our new hotel in Masindi; however, my wound required daily dressing and more injections, so we were asked to stay in town for a few days.   

Masindi is the kind of place where you may want to stop to buy some food or water, but that’s it.

The town’s highlights were the market and our daily visit to the hospital, so we ended up looking for the small things, chatting with the medical staff, the hotel staff, the people in the market, and learning more about their customs.

We learned to slow down the hard way.

When we were allowed to leave, we took a road trip south through the country to see something else. We did not care about our travel bucket list anymore — we were alive, and we wanted to enjoy Uganda’s unique nature and its people. 

In the end, our Uganda trip was not about the places that we saw, but the people that we met. It was travel for experience vs sightseeing.

I hope to revisit Uganda one day, with a stop at Masindi for some food, water, and maybe something else.

-Elisa from World in Paris

14. A Cycling Trip To Remember

During the summer of 2019, I cycled solo from London to Istanbul. This huge bicycle tour took me 89 days and through 11 countries.

As you might expect, it was a challenging yet incredible journey, which saw me pedal along some of Europe’s greatest rivers, pass through some of its best cities, and witness some of its most beautiful scenery.

It’s becoming more and more important for us to think about the impact that travel can have on our environment. This was the inspiration for my bicycle tour; I wanted to find more responsible ways to explore the world and avoid flights where possible.

I discovered that bicycle touring is one of the most eco-friendly ways to travel, as using nothing but a bicycle and your own pedal power you can carry everything you need while covering surprising distances each day.

The simplicity of life and the sheer amount of time I spent cycling alone gave me a lot of time to just think . This really helped me to come to terms with some personal problems rooted in my past and, as a result, I arrived solo in Istanbul with newly found confidence, independence, and liberation. 

Cycling across the entire European continent may seem like an impossibly daunting task, but I assure you, it will make you feel like a new person, just like it did for me.

-Lauren from The Planet Edit

15. How The Caribbean Shaped Me Into A Fully Sustainable Traveler

One of my first international trips as an adult was traveling around the Caribbean .

I checked into my hotel in Jamaica and asked for a recommendation for a local place to eat. The receptionist told me that under no circumstances should I should go into the town because it was really dangerous, but that — to my luck — the hotel’s restaurant offered wonderful Caribbean food.

I pondered my options:

Did I really want to spend all my time on the beach without getting to know a single local?

I was a very inexperienced traveler and very young, but there was only one answer to my question:

Absolutely not. I was not going to be visiting a new place and staying hostage in a hotel chain. So out I went.

The poverty hit me in the face. After only seeing fancy resorts, the reality was hard to swallow.

A few locals approached me and were super curious as to what I was doing there alone, since most tourists didn’t go there.

I told them I was interested in meeting them and experiencing their culture. And just like that, I was embraced.

We met more people, had some food, and then we danced the night away. They had so little, yet they wanted to share it with me. They wanted to make me feel welcome.

And they undeniably did.

The next morning all I could think about was how all the money most tourists spend goes to big corporations. The locals have to be thankful if they get a job that pays minimum wage, while foreign businesses earn millions.

I have always been environmentally conscious, but this trip made it clear that sustainability goes well beyond nature and wildlife.

It’s also about communities.

From then on I always look for locally owned accommodation, eateries, guides, and souvenirs.

Sustainability, with everything it entails, became a motto for me and changed the very essence of the way I travel.

-Coni from  Experiencing the Globe

16. Lessons From My Students In Peru

One of the most life-changing trips I’ve ever been on was a volunteering experience in the stunning city of Cuzco in Peru.

In this last travel experience, I spent a month there teaching English and Italian to a group of local adults. And even though my time there was short, the travel experience was so humbling that it changed my outlook on life.

My lessons took the form of active conversations, which essentially turned into a massive multilingual cultural exchange between me and my students. Hearing my students talk about their lives — and realizing just how different they were from mine — made me look at my own life with a fresh new perspective.

One person spoke about the three years he spent living in a jungle with his dad, where they fed off of animals they hunted in order to survive.

Another student told me about her ultimate dream of mastering English so that she could become a tour guide and have a more stable future.

For me, these stories were a reminder of just how small I am in this world and how much we can get consumed by the small bubbles we live in. 

Most of all, my students showed a passion and appreciation for life that I’d never witnessed before.

This is true for the locals I met in Cuzco in general. The quality of life in Cuzco is very modest; hot water is scarce and you learn to live with little.

But the locals there do way more than just that — they spontaneously parade the streets with trumpets and drums just because they’re feeling happy, and their energy for the simple things in life is incredibly contagious.

It was impossible to not feel inspired in Cuzco because my students always had the biggest smiles on their faces, and the locals showed me again and again that simply being alive is a blessing.

I went to Peru to teach, but ended up learning more from my students and the locals there than they did from me.

Ever since I got back from that trip, I made it a goal to slow down and not take the simple things in life for granted.

Every time I get upset about something, I think about the Peruvians in Cuzco parading their streets in song and pure joy, and I tell myself to stop complaining.

-Jiayi from  The Diary of a Nomad

17. Braving Travel With Chronic Pain

Santiago de Compostela is a beautiful city with a prominent cathedral positioned centrally within the city.

While the historical cathedral attracts numerous visitors, even more well-known is the route to Santiago de Compostela, Camino de Santiago –- the world-famous pilgrimage route that has a plethora of trailheads and ends in Santiago. 

Home to locals, students, English teachers, and those on a spiritual pilgrimage, personal conquest, or a great outdoor hiking excursion, Santiago is a magical city.

My introduction to Santiago de Compostela doesn’t begin on the pilgrimage route, yet ends with a spiritual awakening analogous with those other unique pilgrimage stories.

It was my first solo trip abroad teaching English in Spain, a country that’s always been on my travel bucket list. A small town outside of Santiago was selected as the school I’d be teaching at for the year.

Unknowingly, this teach abroad program chose the perfect city for me to live in. 

A year prior, I suffered a traumatic brain injury that left me unable to function normally and complete average tasks. Migraines, headaches, and dizziness became my body’s normal temperament, a hidden disability invisible to the naked eye. 

Braving travel with chronic pain was the first lesson I learned during the trip.

The vast green outdoors and fresh dew from the morning rain enlivened me daily and reminded me about the importance of slowing down so I could enjoy traveling with my hidden disability. 

I also learned to stop often for daily tea breaks and to embrace the long lunch hour,  siestas , with good food, company, and a nap to rest.

Meeting locals , indulging in local food, and learning Spanish allowed me to connect deeply with the beautiful culture of Santiago. After all, my dream was to travel to Spain, and I more than accomplished that dream.

Difficult or not, I learned to own my dream and I was more than surprised with the results.

Who knew that a year after my injury I’d be traveling the world with chronic pain, and for that, I’m eternally grateful.

-Ciara from Wellness Travel Diaries

18. A Blessing In Disguise

2020 has been a wild year for all of us and foreign students in China are no exception. As soon as the malevolent virus began to make its rounds in China, our university sent us home for “two weeks.”

However, within a short time, countries began to shut their borders and these “two weeks” turned into months, a full year even.

Crushed by the burden of online lectures and virtual labs, my boyfriend and I packed our bags and caught one of the first flights to his home country of Pakistan.

I had always been an over-ambitious traveler. I believed numbers were everything — the number of countries I visited, the number of hours I spent on a plane, the number of international trips I took in a year. These numbers were what defined me.

My feet were constantly itching and I never liked to spend more than a few days in a place before heading to the next country. Revisiting a place felt superfluous to me.

That’s why I was hoping to spend a month or two in Pakistan and then continue to check new countries off the list — after all, my online classes finally granted me the freedom to “work on my numbers.”

But as is usually the case in 2020, things turned out quite different from what I had expected. Borders remained closed and worldwide infections stayed rampant. At this point, I have already spent nearly half a year in Pakistan.

During this peculiar time, however, an amazing thing happened:

My mindset about travel started to change and I began to look at my long stay in Pakistan as perhaps my most valuable travel experience ever.

I may not have visited dozens of countries like in previous years but my experiences were deeper than ever before.

From trekking to one of the world’s tallest mountains to sharing tea with heavily armed officers at nearly 5,000 meters altitude to exploring hidden beaches in the most secluded regions to spontaneously being invited to village homes, my adventures in Pakistan couldn’t have been more incredible. They opened my eyes to the sheer diversity of many countries and completely transformed my idea about traveling. 

It took me nearly a full year of heavy restrictions on international travel and a few months in one of the world’s most fascinating countries to give up on my superficial ideals and become a more mature traveler.

This time will always have a special place in my heart.

-Arabela from The Spicy Travel Girl

19. What The River Taught Me

My travel story takes place in the summer of 2017 — the final summer before I graduated university — as it continues to play a significant role in the person I’ve become.

When I say that, people ask me if it was the portion of the summer I spent solo backpacking in Europe . And to their surprise, it wasn’t. It was actually the latter portion of the summer where I stayed closer to home.

For July and August I worked as a canoe guide leading whitewater canoe trips on remote rivers in Canada. It was here that I got to canoe the powerful and iconic Missinaibi River, a river that continues to influence me all these years later.

The Missinaibi River flows from the powerful Lake Superior to the even more powerful salty waters of James Bay. Here, I led a group of eight teenagers through dozens of whitewater rapids over 500 kilometers (~311 miles).

With no cell service for 25 days, we were forced to disconnect from anything other than the river.

During this trip I learned two important lessons:

First, I learned to be confident in my own abilities as a leader and problem solver.

There were a few rapids where my campers’ boats flipped and I had to rescue the campers and the canoes. One rescue saw two boats flip on a mile-long rapid. It took six hours to make it down the rapid, and during this time I managed stuck canoes and crying campers.

And while this was one of the most difficult rescues I’ve done, I was amazed at how calm I was throughout it. I gave clear directions, prioritized effectively, and kept my campers safe throughout the entire experience. Following the rescue, I had a newfound sense of confidence in my abilities.

The second lesson I learned on the Missinaibi was the power of disconnecting from society and connecting with the people around you.

A wild river commands all of your attention. Each day, you and your group must take down camp, load canoes, paddle up to eight hours while navigating both rapids and portages, get to a new campsite, set up camp, cook dinner, and go to bed.

And without the distraction of technology, your attention has nowhere else to be. You focus on the river and your teammates.

As someone who had wrestled with anxiety and depression prior to this summer, I felt at total ease on the trip. Now I seek societal disconnection and human connection as much as I can. 

Sometimes the most profound, life-altering trips are the least expected trips closer to home.

-Mikaela of  Voyageur Tripper

More Short Travel Experience Stories

Looking for another story about travelling? Check out these short and unique travel stories!

25 Crazy Travel Stories You Need To Read To Believe

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17 True Short Adventure Travel Stories To Inspire Your Next Trip

38 Inspiring Travel Love Stories From The Road

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Do you have any inspiring travel experience stories about life-changing trips to share?

Enjoyed these inspiring stories about travel? Pin this blog about travel experience stories for later!

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About Jessie Festa

Jessie Festa is a New York-based travel content creator who is passionate about empowering her audience to experience new places and live a life of adventure. She is the founder of the solo female travel blog, Jessie on a Journey, and is editor-in-chief of Epicure & Culture , an online conscious tourism magazine. Along with writing, Jessie is a professional photographer and is the owner of NYC Photo Journeys , which offers New York photo tours, photo shoots, and wedding photography. Her work has appeared in publications like USA Today, CNN, Business Insider, Thrillist, and WestJet Magazine.

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These stories are so much fun to read! Thanks so much for putting a post like this together. It’s great to be able to check out other people’s blogs and read about other people’s experiences!

Always great to read about travel experiences of others. Some great stories to read over coffee. I’ve Pinned your post for future reference and to share with others. Will check out each story author’s blog as well. Great Job! 🙂

Amazing story for new traveler like me thanks for your contribution

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

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Albom Adventures

Capturing the essence of travel through photography

Inspiring travel through photography

Be Inspired: 18 Next Travel Destination Ideas

What is your next travel destination? When we are home, that is probably the number one thing we are asked. There is a basic process we go through to choose our next travel destination, which we outline below, along with highlights of 18 of our favourite cities or road trips. Prepare to be inspired.

Often, it is the city that picks us (family, friends, key events). However, even when a portion of our travel is determined by the universe, we usually tack on an additional adventure on either end. It’s a big world, and, so far, we have explored portions of 65 countries and countless cities. Yet, there is still so much more to see.

The questions we ask before we choose our next travel destination

• Are there any family events around the world that we want to attend?
• When can we travel? Are there events at home that we can’t miss?
• If we have to clear with an employer, when can we go?
• Which hemisphere will match the season I prefer?
• Are there any major holidays that will affect my travel plans, either that I want to attend, or avoid?
• Who am I travelling with, and where do they want to go?
• What is my budget?
• Do I want to travel on my own, go on a tour, or get a guide? (See our travel resources page for the list of the companies we use.)
• What are the travel restrictions for my next travel destination choice (visa or immunization requirements)?
• Or, do I simply want to stay home and enjoy a staycation ?

Visas and entry

Entry requirements vary by both your nationality and destination. If you hold a passport from either Japan or Singapore, you can access most countries without a visa. Check the full Henley Passport Index to see how your country’s passport ranks. If you want to know if you need a visa for your next destination, you will need to check with your state department.

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General advantages of each season

• Northern Hemisphere: Jun-Aug Southern Hemisphere: Dec-Feb
• Hot temperatures with extreme heat in some areas.
• Longer days
• Often peak season crowds.
• Requires booking ahead.
• Northern Hemisphere: Sep-Nov Southern Hemisphere: Mar-May
• Temperatures cooling.
• Generally, my favourite time to travel.
• Often Swing season.
• Less planning is required.
• Northern Hemisphere: Dec-Feb Southern Hemisphere: Jun-Aug
• Chilly, often cold temperatures.
• Shorter days
• Often less crowded (Unless a ski destination)
• Requires less planning
• Northern Hemisphere: Mar-May Southern Hemisphere: Sep-Nov
• Temperatures warming.
• Often more rain.
• New growth can trigger allergies.
• Often swing season.

Be inspired: Will one of our favourites be your next travel destination?

To date, we have visited 65 countries and countless cities. We love going off of the beaten path and discovering something new. Natural beauty, cultural experiences, and the ability to interact are our calling cards. It was difficult to pick favourites, but we did our best. See if we can inspire you to choose your next travel destination.

South America

Lively, colourful, friendly, and fun, I loved our time in South America and can't wait to go back. Here are just a few of our favourite cities.

Buenos Aires, Argentina

A city so full of life and love, it drew us in instantly. Buenos Aires is a cosmopolitan capital, filled with a mix of tradition and modern lifestyle. From holidays to everyday life, there a tango beat to this city.

Paraty, Brazil

Brazilians know this tropical paradise lined with vibrantly painted boats and traditional colonial homes. I am not sure how they kept it a secret from the rest of us for so long. This beach paradise town overlooks Ilha Grande Bay.

Montevideo, Uruguay

Uruguay is too often overlooked when visitors plan their South American adventure, yet this coastal country is well worth a visit. Generally safe, it's more liberal than some of its neighbours. We visited three cities, all which should have earned a spot on this list. Montevideo, the capital city, has a European flair, while Punte del Este is a beach resort city, and Colonia del Sacramento is a historic delight.

San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

Chile’s Atacama desert is best known as being the driest non-polar desert in the world. It is this atmosphere in the high elevation that creates endless unique landscapes and salt flats. Interestingly, San Pedro de Atacama, the main town, is a lush desert oasis.

North America

From Canada to Panama, the North American countries that we have explored are each quite unique.

Skagway, Alaska

Alaska is one of those amazing places that makes it nearly impossible to pick a favourite city. For me, a summertime destination, we started in Anchorage, travelling first inland to Denali and then south on a cruise ship. Skagway, a former gold rush town, was one of my favourite stops.

Vancouver, Canada

Vancouver is one of those cities where I instantly felt at home. It is friendly, livable, clean, and walkable. While the city is cosmopolitan, there is an abundance of nearby outdoor activities and natural beauty.

Oregon Coast, USA

We love road trips as they allow us to enjoy getting off of the beaten path as we travel between destinations. The Oregon coast, continuing down to San Francisco, California, is spectacular, offering dramatic clifftop scenery, blowholes, wildlife, redwood trees, and much more. It's an ever-changing masterpiece of nature.

Australasia 

Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands

Auckland, New Zealand

What can I say about my adopted city? I live here by choice and have for over 16 years. Unending beauty, Auckland is a city filled with an eclectic mix of nature and culture. There are seemingly endless things to do in Auckland, and even after all these years of exploration, we are finding new options.

Rotorua, New Zealand

A geothermal wonderland near the centre of the North Island, Rotorua is a must-see unique destination in New Zealand. It's filled with natural wonders, extreme-adventure opportunities, healing spas, and cultural learning opportunities.

Great Ocean Road, Australia

I couldn't include our Oregon road trip above and not Australia's Great Ocean Road. We started from Melbourne (my favourite Australian city), but the drive officially runs from Torquay to Allansford along the southern coast of Australia in the state of Victoria. Be warned, much of the drive is inland through temperate rainforest, but it is here that we spotted Koala and other wildlife.

Rarotonga, Cook Islands

Rarotonga is a tropical paradise and one of the most popular Pacific Island retreats for New Zealanders. The Cook Islands are only a few hours away by flight, use New Zealand currency, and offer white sandy beaches and crystal clear water.

Bangkok, Thailand

A recent addition to our list, I never expected to fall in love with Bangkok, but I did. It is a colourful city filled with golden temples, elaborate architecture, and tempting aromas. The hottest city in the world may also be the most fascinating.

Agra, India

This one is still on our bucket list, but we can feel the allure of the majestic Taj Mahal in Agra, India. Built as a tomb, the history is as fascinating as the structure is magnificent.

Fes, Morocco

A labyrinth of narrow streets, many leading nowhere, means getting lost in the Fes medina is almost a must-do for visitors. And don't worry, there are plenty of people who will take a small tip to get you back to where you want to go. Fes is Morocco's second-largest city, a former capital, and a mix of the old world and the modern Fes outside of the medina gates.

Chefchaouen, Morocco

Instantly, we understood why Chefchaouen is called the blue city. It's a small, walled city, perfect for walking, camera in hand. This is a city with an interesting history.

Essaouira, Morocco

A wind surfer's paradise, Essaouira is a beach town along the west coast of Morocco. Laid-back, it's a fun town filled with a mix of traditional values and familiar activities. Camels on the beach, intense sunsets, and an old-world medina, this is the city in which our girls learned to surf.

La Coruña, Spain

Located in the northwest corner of Spain, La Coruña is a liveable beach city filled with an interesting history and beautiful beaches. We stayed in this often off the tourist track city on a home exchange and discovered a delightful place.

Lourdes, France

Lourdes is a city of multiple documented miracles. It is well-known for having healing waters and pilgrims flock here daily. For tourists, it is a beautiful and fascinating village in the foothills of the Pyrenees mountains.

Things to know about your next travel destination before you go

• Emergency number
• Official language
• Credit cards accepted
• ATM machine availability
• Electricity and connectors used
• Telephone country code
• Water: Is tap water safe to drink?

Albom Adventures has travel guides for many countries . Use the search box in the upper corner to find the country you are considering. They include the information above, as well as the best time to visit, key holidays, visas and entry requirements, safety, and more.

Travel safety tips

We practice common sense around safety issues when we travel. If we wouldn’t do it at home, it isn’t suddenly safe to do it overseas. And for us, living in one of the safest countries in the world, we often need to take more precautions when we travel.

Too often we see travellers being careless, and then not happy with the result. We have written these safety guidelines for travelling in South America that included both our general guidelines, as well as some specific to various regions.

Save for later

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What will be your next travel destination?

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Disclaimer: We are frequently provided with complimentary entrances, tours, or sample items to aid in the writing of Albom Adventures. However, the opinions expressed here are strictly our own.

About Rhonda Albom

Capturing the essence of travel through photography, Rhonda Albom is the primary author and photographer at Albom Adventures. She is an American expat based in New Zealand. She travels the world with her husband.

Reader Interactions

January 21, 2020 at 4:11 am

We loved Paraty in Brazil and Fez in Morocco too. I’d love to see more of Canada and the Oregon Coast is a really appealing road trip. Some really useful pointers here for planning a travel adventure.

Deborah Patterson

January 20, 2020 at 9:03 pm

What a great list, and great to get us thinking about good times of year to travel to different locations. I think I’ve found myself in tropical wet seasons more times than I care to remember. Upside, it’s definitely cheaper!

Erin Gustafson

January 18, 2020 at 1:46 am

OREGON! You know I love this list! Thank goodness we already have plans to hit the Oregon Coast this summer or I’d be feeling all sorts of homesick! And funny – we’re going to Morocco and China this year too. I love the way you break down the benefits of different seasons in different hemispheres – very clever. Some definite inspiration here! Cheers from Copenhagen.

California Globetrotter

January 17, 2020 at 11:34 pm

Would love to go to all of these destinations, especially to re-visit Buenos Aires again as an adult who would appreciate it!

January 9, 2020 at 4:01 pm

Great advice!

January 9, 2020 at 5:44 am

Hubby and I are going to explore America starting this summer. We’re heading to Jackson Hole, Wyoming, into Montana, then the Idaho panhandle into Washington state and head home. A 12 day adventure. Next time we’ll explore someplace new.

Have a fabulous day and rest of the week, Rhonda. ♥

dolphin tours

January 7, 2020 at 9:24 pm

Now I know my Next Travel Destination soon,,thanks for the Ideas, The looks definitely splendid.

January 6, 2020 at 3:49 pm

“small town” of Suzhou? It has a population of 4.3 million. China is like that. But yes, it’s lovely, and one of my favs in China.

Heather Raulerson

January 6, 2020 at 11:58 am

This is a great post full of information. There were some places I haven’t heard of before and now going to add them to my bucket list. Thanks for sharing them!

the Curious Pixie

January 5, 2020 at 7:24 am

Some great inspo here. Essaouira is on my hit list this year!

Paul Pietrangelo

January 5, 2020 at 4:02 am

Be Inspired! Well I’m inspired preparing for my 15 cruise. I know that I’m not as creative as you Rhonda, but for me the Caribbean is as creative for me. Next years cruise I will be going to two know islands I’ve been there, Grenada and St. Vincent. For me, your creativeness will help me go with you and I really enjoy that. Have a fantastic 2020 Rhonda.

Cruisin Paul

Alex J. Cavanaugh

January 5, 2020 at 3:00 am

Avoiding major holidays always tops my list. Season is next. (Never go to central Florida during the summer or around Christmas!)

Laureen Lund

January 5, 2020 at 12:48 am

Lovely post. I clicked around a bit…we have been to all the same places!!!

January 17, 2020 at 8:21 am

Great list. I have always wanted to go to Buenos Aires.

January 4, 2020 at 10:55 pm

Hi Rhonda – great ideas here … and yes I’d love to visit … but may be by viewing your blog with its wonderful photos and ideas … you’re an intrepid traveller – but you know the right way to do it … cheers and here’s to more in 2020 – Hilary

January 4, 2020 at 9:46 pm

You have given me some great inspiration here, I would really like to visit Marocco!

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Be Inspired

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Travelling is one of the most rewarding experiences in life. It can open up your mind to new possibilities, broaden your horizons, and create lasting memories that you’ll cherish for years to come. 

Whether it’s ticking off items on a bucket list or exploring a truly unique interest, this page was designed to help those who are curious as to what experiences and adventures the world has to offer you.

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12 Best Travel Gifts Inspired By The Fall Season

This list of travel gifts gets you in the fall spirit while also supporting small businesses and Black-owned brands.

Faith Katunga • Aug 20, 2024

With the arrival of fall comes the need for cozy new adventures and travel gear. So, if you’re looking to spoil yourself or a friend who loves to travel , this list of travel gifts gets you in the fall spirit while also supporting small businesses and Black-owned brands . From natural accessories to seasonal cosmetics, these 12 items will make any fall trip more enjoyable.

Our Top 12 Picks

Diaspora candle set by bright black candles, vintage jet magazine collection by blk mkt vintage, tea gift box by brooklyn tea, hyper even daily duo kit by hyper skin, seamless high-waisted exercise leggings by iconi, buttah skin supreme kit for melanin-rich skin.

• Car coat By Mifland

Smile Jamaica Wired Noise Isolating Headphones By House Of Marley

• 1.5 oz Travel Bottles By Wndr Ln

Nichet Backpack By MinkeeBlue

Wine by mcbride sisters wine company, chocolates by bon appésweet.

Bring the comforting scents of the African diaspora wherever you go with this Diaspora Collection from Bright Black Candles. This Black-owned candle company creates scents that celebrate Black culture and history. The set features five candles honoring cities of Black greatness. Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Durham, United States; Kingston, Jamaica; Paris, France; and Salvador, Brazil. The candles are perfect for packing in your luggage and creating a cozy atmosphere in your hotel room.

What better way to embrace the fall season than with a piece of Black cultural history? BLKMKT Vintage offers an exquisite collection of vintage Jet magazine covers from the 1990s and 2000s, perfect for the discerning gift-giver. These iconic covers, featuring stars like Salt N Pepa, The Williams Sisters, and Whoopi Goldberg, capture pivotal moments in African American culture. Here’s a chance to offer a present that has cultural relevance, practicality, and flair all in one.  

Brooklyn Tea’s Holiday Gift Box is the ultimate companion for the globetrotting tea lover. This set’s flavors feature four premium loose-leaf tea pouches that capture the essence of Brooklyn’s diverse tea culture. The included stainless steel infuser makes sure you can brew the perfect cup anywhere your travels take you. The gift box’s portable design is ideal for travelers, allowing them to carry a taste of Brooklyn wherever they roam.

The Hyper Even Daily Duo Kit is a limited edition collection featuring the brand’s favorites in tiny versions of deluxe. It’s perfect for combating the drying effects of fall weather and travel. The Daily Duo Kit contains best-selling daily routine items, such as the award-winning vitamin C serum. This serum reduces the appearance of uneven skin tone and black marks. The kit also has the hyper-luxurious mild brightening cleaning gel, which smoothes texture and leaves it softer and more radiant. Founded and run by Black people, this skincare brand focuses on addressing the unique needs of melanin-rich skin.

For the active traveler, ICONI’s exercise leggings are a must-have. This Black-owned brand focuses on creating comfortable, stylish activewear perfect for on-the-go adventures. The leggings are squat-proof and feature moisture-wicking fabric. They have a high-waisted design for extra support and hidden pockets for small essentials. These versatile leggings are ideal for long flights, impromptu workouts, or exploring new cities on foot.

Traveling can take a toll on your skin, which is why the Buttah Skin Supreme Kit is an excellent gift for jet-setters. This Black-owned skincare brand caters specifically to melanin-rich skin. The four-product set includes a cleanser, toner, moisturizer, and brightening serum. This compact kit helps maintain a skincare routine while on the road, keeping skin healthy and radiant despite changing climates and long flights.

Car Coat By Mifland

This stylish and versatile piece is the perfect fall gift. Crafted with attention to detail, the Car Coat boasts hidden close buttons for a sleek silhouette and a tonal Mifland script logo that elegantly wraps around the lower half. Available in a vibrant orange or classic light khaki, this standard-fit coat adapts effortlessly to any wardrobe, making it an ideal choice for the fashion-forward individual in your life. The Car Coat’s thoughtful design also accommodates unpredictable fall weather, providing just the right amount of warmth for brisk morning commutes or weekend apple-picking adventures.

Music lovers will appreciate these eco-friendly headphones from House of Marley, a brand inspired by Bob Marley’s vision of universal love and sustainability. The headphones are made from sustainable materials like FSC-certified wood. They are compact and provide excellent sound quality for enjoying music or podcasts during travel while also aligning with eco-conscious values.

1.5 Oz Travel Bottles By Wndr Ln

Revolutionize your travel routine with Wndr Ln’s ingenious 1.5-oz Travel Bottles — the ultimate solution for jet-setters who refuse to compromise their self-care rituals. These compact bottles are your ticket to hassle-free, TSA-approved packing that doesn’t skimp on style or functionality. These bottles are designed to withstand the rigors of travel while keeping your precious serums, creams, and medicines secure and easily accessible. Available in a stylish trio of Black Forest, Sahara Honey, and Mykonos Blue, these bottles add a pop of color to your travel kit while maintaining a sleek, professional appearance.

The Nichet backpack’s spacious interior makes it easy to store your laptop, water bottle, lunch, shoes, and other daily necessities like a handbag. It also has the first backpack necklace ever made (available in black), so you can keep your phone and cash close at hand. If a woman needs to carry her possessions for lengthy periods, this bag is ideal because of the adjustable straps that create a comfortable fit.

The McBride Sisters Wine Company, founded by sisters Robin and Andréa McBride, is one of the largest Black-owned wine businesses in the United States. A bottle (or case) of McBride Sisters wine makes an excellent gift for wine enthusiasts. Beyond the quality of its wines, the brand’s dedication to social impact through initiatives like the She Can Professional Development Fund adds an emotional appeal to this gift choice.

These chocolates make a perfect gift for anyone with a sweet tooth, especially those who prefer healthier alternatives. Their delicious treats contain no processed sugar and use fruit-based sweeteners, making them a thoughtful choice. Bon AppéSweet, founded by Thereasa Black, offers handcrafted, dairy-free chocolates made with natural ingredients like cacao, cocoa butter, and dates.

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Inside the Rise of TikTok Travel

“I saw it on TikTok”: words spoken countless times a day, often to be met with disapproving, rolling eyes. The social media platform may not be the most reliable source for news or politics, but when it comes to travel, you may want to give it a chance.

At 20 years old, I still have much to learn about traveling and even more of the world left to explore—but as a budding travel writer and Traveler’s summer intern, I can confidently speak on TikTok. As part of the generation dubbed “digital natives,” I’ve grown up in a world where any destination is just a few clicks away, and now TikTok is elevating my—and my peers'—holiday-planning game.

It’s not just me using the tech giant for travel either. TikTok recently reported that 71 percent of its European users were booking holidays using recommendations from the platform. Experienced Gen Z traveler Abena, who has an impressive 230,000-person following on her TikTok account @travellingtuesdays , can vouch for the app too. “TikTok is where I can find recommendations that I wouldn’t necessarily discover through Google,” Abena explains. “It has actually helped me go off the beaten path and avoid crowds.”

Gone are the days of planning holidays based on blurry pictures and unverified reviews. Instead, you can find concise insider tips, itineraries formed for every occasion, and immersive videos that make you feel as though you've already arrived at your destination. The catch? You need to tap into a predominantly Gen Z platform to access it all.

Since its global launch in 2018, TikTok has grown an audience of over 1 billion users , making waves among younger generations in particular with 70 percent of users aged under 34. Its impact reaches beyond the platform's users, forcing businesses to consider the booming trends and new marketing opportunities, with some companies more successful than others. RyanAir, for instance, captured the attention of millions when their light-hearted spoofs went viral, while Duolingo found a whole new audience of wannabe linguists when their green owl mascot became a social media celebrity.

If you're yet to join TikTok, planning a holiday on the app might seem like a strange idea, but for me it has become the first port of call for all my travel needs. I have tried and tested TikTok as the ultimate tour guide, whether looking for new London restaurants , planning a jam-packed Copenhagen city break, or exploring the best backpacking routes. Don’t just take it from me—the 728,000 British people who have posted holiday content in the last year would agree that if you haven’t explored TravelTok yet, you are missing out.

How popular is TikTok for travel?

To put it into perspective, TikTok posts shared with a #holiday tag have racked up an impressive 3 billion global views in the last month alone. From weekly itineraries to restaurant recommendations, travel videos are constantly trending on the platform, but with 60 percent of these viewers aged between 18 and 24, it seems mainly Gen Z is tapping into this treasure trove of content.

How is Gen Z using TikTok for travel?

When a senior vice president at Google reveals that almost 40 percent of young people go to social media before a search engine when looking for a restaurant, it’s clear that people are changing the way they browse. According to Adobe , 64 percent of Gen Z are now using TikTok as a search engine. When it comes to travel, this may be to find inspiration, check reviews or even plan an entire holiday bucket list.

Itinerary expert @traveller_bucketlist is a popular search result, with their "How to spend three days in…’ videos receiving 4.3 million views for New York , 7.2 million for Paris , and 8.7 million for London . Content creator Abena has also built a following through sharing her travel tips and itineraries. “I’ve had people plan their whole trip around my recommendations!” she tells us. As the Gen Z alternative to a guidebook, the platform attracts huge audiences with its visual-focused advice, delving into a destination within seconds.

How is the travel industry using TikTok?

It’s no longer just celebrities and influencers going viral. Restaurants, shops and other notable attractions are becoming overnight hits too. I will never forget when I discovered SUSO, a gelateria in Venice offering a mouth-watering selection of ice cream to be enjoyed with a nearby view of the floating city’s glistening canals, on TikTok. Little did I know this highly-anticipated stop on my trip to Venice would come with a crowd flooding out the doors—a queue of TikTok users who clearly had the same idea as me.

The meaning of ‘viral’ is taken to the extreme on TikTok, which can have its downfalls. A popular category on the app is ‘hidden gems’, sharing highlights of local and undiscovered culture. The problem is that when these ‘gems’ trend on TikTok, they no longer remain ‘hidden’, and the most authentic experiences quickly become oversaturated by tourists.

On the flip side, some travel brands have seen the potential of going viral as a lucrative opportunity. As mentioned, RyanAir is a surprising TikTok star, with 2.3 million followers and posts reaching as many as 15 million views. The airline shot to fame for their tongue-in-cheek videos mocking themself and their passengers, a risky strategy which paid off. Using facial filters and trending comedy soundtracks, their less-is-more style kept followers entertained rather than offended, and the airline is now one of the most influential brands on the entire platform.

Why is TikTok more popular than other social media platforms?

I know what you’re thinking. First, there was MySpace, then Instagram, and now TikTok. Is this just the latest craze in the natural course of digital evolution, destined to have a short-lived stint at keeping the youngest generation entertained until they grow up?

Maybe. But growing engagement in older generations indicates that TikTok may become the breakthrough social media which caters to all ages. TikTok Insights reports that 92 percent of Millennial and 83 percent of Gen X and Baby Boomer users from the UK take action following the content they see. This social media is successfully inspiring audiences of all ages, and so, when used correctly, can be a powerful tool for influencing all curious travelers.

So what gives TikTok an edge? The videos are short-form, suitable for busy lives and short attention spans, and accompanied by music, immersing viewers in a multi-sensory experience. The algorithm is powerful, too, giving people an ultra-personalized experience. Look up “ Tuscany ” just once, and your feed will be flooded with mouthwatering pasta dishes and romantic vineyards.

However, with offshoots like YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels mimicking the short-form video format, the area TikTok really excels in is authentic story-telling. Posts are centered around the content creator, with the acronym "POV" (point of view) being one of the most commonly used captions. “I personally do a lot of voiceover videos so I can share my full experience and opinions,” Abena explains when asked how she makes her content. “Gen Z wants to find honest reviews from those with first-hand experience.”

Particularly with the long task of planning a holiday, users look for real people giving real insights in an engaging way. More so than other social media, TikTok creates a space where anyone can get traction, so travel brands, experienced influencers and even first-time travelers blend together in this open-access and diverse pool of reviews.

TikTok content

This content can also be viewed on the site it originates from.

How to get started on TikTok

For all the non-users now tempted by this social media powerhouse (I’m looking at you, Millennials), here are some top tips to ease you into TravelTok.

Look for inspiration

Start by simply exploring what’s out there. The platform provides an endless stream of montages showcasing the most dreamy places in the world, guaranteed to spark the wanderlust of all its users. Be open-minded to the content guiding your travel, and you may discover destinations beyond your wildest dreams.

Try a specific search

From offbeat islands to tiny vintage stores, it’s difficult to find something that has not been on TikTok before. Don’t hold back from searching an obscure restaurant you just booked, as chances are someone will have reviewed it or, at the very least, posted some visuals. While quality varies from influencer films to locals trying their hand at vlogging, it is always useful to see a place through the eyes of a real person.

Don’t fall for the viral traps

When somewhere is labeled “viral” on TikTok, chances are that eager crowds will follow. The platform’s clever algorithm keeps TikTok at the forefront of trends, meaning places quickly blow up while others are left overshadowed. Dig a little deeper into the app for alternatives which may have attracted less hype, but are just as worthy of the attention. If the place at the top of your bucket list has gone viral, go at off-peak times to avoid the inevitable queues.

Verify your sources

As much as I advocate for TikTok itineraries, it’s always good to finish off with a little independent research to map out exactly how your day will look. After all, TikTok is social media made up of unregulated and independent voices, so remember that the content you consume has not been fact-checked. A quick web search will help to make sure your travel plan is feasible or even real, as well as find the most up-to-date opening times, transport links and prices.

Don’t pre-visit your trip

Seeing something on screen will never beat the experience of seeing it in the flesh. Once you’ve settled on your place and itinerary, resist the temptation to watch all the clips that the algorithm will inevitably bombard you with. Uncovering a place's quirks is what makes travel memorable, so make sure to leave yourself some surprises on the day.

A version of this story originally appeared on Condé Nast Traveller UK .

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These Are Going to Be the Most Popular Travel Destinations in 2024

A lready thinking about where you want to travel in 2024 ? If you’re hoping to hit the hottest travel destinations of the year, Expedia Group is here to help. The one-stop travel site—alongside Hotels.com and VRBO—just released Unpack '24 , a travel trends analysis for the coming year. In addition to detailing the projected top 10 most popular international destinations of 2024, the site also revealed 10 “dupes” for travelers looking to perhaps spend a bit less, as well as those hoping to be surrounded by fewer fellow tourists. Additionally, they revealed 10 affordable cities where the world’s biggest musical acts are set to perform, as well as where to travel if you live a sober lifestyle.

“At Expedia Group, we have extensive first-party travel data that we use to enhance and curate experiences for our travelers across Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo,” Jon Gieselman, president of Expedia Brands, says in the report. “These insights shape our travel forecasts, revealed in Unpack '24, enabling our travelers to be the first to discover and book the most desired trips before they become well-beaten paths.”

Ready to ignite your travel bug? Ahead, discover the most popular travel destinations of 2024.

The Top 10 Travel Destinations of 2024

Expedia Group predicts that travelers are most likely to jet set to destinations popularized in fan-favorite TV shows and movies. According to the report, “More than half of travelers say they’ve researched or booked a trip to a destination after seeing it on a TV show or in a movie. In fact, travelers say TV shows influence their travel decisions more than Instagram, TikTok, and podcasts.” With that in mind, they reveal that the top 10 travel destinations of 2024 are as follows:

• Thailand - Featured in White Lotus , Season 3—which has sadly been pushed to premiere in 2025
• Romania - Featured in Wednesday , Season 2—which has not yet set a release date
• Malta - As seen in Gladiator 2 , which is set to premiere on November 22, 2024
• Paris - As seen in Emily in Paris
• Scottish Highlands - Featured in Outlander
• London, Bath, and Windsor, U.K. - As seen in Bridgerton and The Crown
• South Korea - Featured in Squid Game —the Season 2 release date has yet to be announced
• Florida Keys - As seen in the series Bad Monkey
• Australia - Featured in Baz Luhrmann’s Faraway Downs series, as well as the film Furiosa , which is set to premiere on May 24, 2024
• Greece - as seen in the films Argylle (set to release in 2024) and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

The Top 10 Travel Destination Dupes

Dupes have long been lauded in the beauty and fashion categories, and now the concept is making its way to travel. “1 in 3 of those polled say they’ve booked a dupe,” the report reveals. “But what do these less obvious alternatives offer besides potential savings? They’re often less crowded, tend to be a little unexpected, and can be every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true destinations.”

Intrigued by the idea of booking a stellar vacation for a fraction of the price? Check out Expedia Group’s Top 10 Travel Destination Dupes, below, which are listed as the original destination of inspiration and the dupe that mirrors it.

• Seoul —> Taipei
• Bangkok —> Pattaya
• Santorini —> Paros
• Saint Martin —> Curaçao
• Sydney —> Perth
• London —> Liverpool
• Lisbon —> Palermo
• Geneva —> Québec City
• Zermatt —> Sapporo
• Nashville —> Memphis

The Top 10 Tour-Inspired Travel Destinations

Music lovers, this one’s for you! As you well know, traveling to see your favorite artists live is expensive, to say the least. With this in mind, Expedia set out to find the most affordable destinations where the world’s most famous pop and rock stars are set to take the stage in 2024.

Through their research, in which they analyzed the average daily rates of tour locations, they found the top 10 most affordable cities (less than $150/night on average) where travelers can witness the likes of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Coldplay, Metallica, Madonna, and more. They are as follows:

• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - $91
• Edmonton, Canada - $108
• Mexico City, Mexico - $119
• Warsaw, Poland - $119
• Birmingham, U.K. - $127
• Houston, Texas - $130
• Antwerp, Belgium - $140
• Tokyo, Japan - $147
• Perth, Australia - $148
• Detroit, Michigan - $149

For more research-backed travel trends, be sure to check out Expedia’s full Unpack ‘24 Trend Report .

Top 5 Lists

While these Top 5 lists are in no way absolute, here are some of my favourite food, drink and travel discoveries from around town and around the world.

Food is all about sharing. Whether it’s around a beautifully set table, on a picnic rug or writing about my favourite restaurants … nothing gives me more pleasure than sharing the food I love with others.

Wine (& other drinks)

I love the way wine completes a meal. I adore pinot noir (Aussie and Burgundian), Australian riesling (aged and young), Sherry (especially Manzanilla and Palo Cortado) and natural wines. Cocktails are fun too!

Crossing high Swiss passes in spring, exploring back roads of Sardinia and Lombardy with locals, road trips through the Scottish Highlands, Iran and Faroe Islands; these are a few of my favourite travel experiences.

What are you looking for?

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Barbie x Stanley Collection features 8 quenchers that celebrate the fashion doll

The cups include a 1950s design inspired by barbie's black and white swimsuit, a psychedelic '60s design and one that celebrates the first black barbie doll. don't worry, they didn't forget ken..

Attention all Barbies and Kens who like to have the latest accessory: Stanley just announced a new collaboration with the iconic brand.

The drinkware company will be launching a Barbie -inspired line that celebrates the 65th anniversary of the fashion doll, the company announced Tuesday. Many of the eight cups will highlight a different decade in the Malibu doll's history, one celebrates the first Black Barbie, and Ken is also represented.

The new line comes on the heels of last year's wildly popular "Barbie" movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling.

Stanley cups, meanwhile, have turned into a status symbol, with many fans of the brand stopping at virtually nothing to get their hands on the latest product. The company's success has led to $70 million in sales annually, CNBC reports .

Together, the two brands will launch their Stanley Cup quencher line this September.

"What?! Take my money take it all," wrote one user on X. And another: "Ummmm this is not a want it’s a need!!!!"

Here is a look at the Barbie x Stanley collaboration.

What will the Barbie cups include?

• Eleven hours cold      
• Two days iced 
• Price: $60  
• Nine hours cold      
• 40 hours iced 
• Price: $50 

These cups will also feature signature Stanley cup traits 

• 18/8 recycled stainless steel, BPA-free  
• Double-wall vacuum insulation  
• FlowState 3-position lid   
• Reusable straw  
• Comfort-grip handle  
• Car cupholder compatible  
• Dishwasher safe  

Do Stanley cups contain lead? What you should know about claims, safety of the tumblers

Barbie x Stanley Cup debuts in September  

Barbie icon.

The Barbie Icon quencher has a signature “bright pop of Barbie pink," and Stanley says that this cup was made to celebrate.

Available in: 

• 40 oz | $60 
• 30 oz | $50  

1959 Original  

If you are feeling nostalgic, this quencher might be for you. Representing the 1959 Barbie doll , this cup has the signature black and white colors that were in the fashion doll’s swimsuit. Stanley also said that this cup's “pool blue and hot pink accents complement the iconic cat-eye sunglasses.” 

’60s Twist ’N Turn 

This Stanley has, “a soft, sorbet gradient and tangerine lid and straw combo,” the company says. The quencher shows the Twist ’N Turn Barbie moving to the popular dance moves of the ‘60s.  

Stanley Cups: Taco Bell is giving away 100 Baja Blast Stanley cups Tuesday: Here's how to get one

’70s Superstar

If the ‘60s were not for you, you can make your way to the disco with this nostalgic design. This Stanley Cup quencher is dedicated to the Superstar Barbie , and has a “hot pink and purple gradient with a pattern of gold, dainty stars that echo the sparkle and star-shaped stand of the doll,” the company said.  

Barbie: Launches 'Dream Besties,' dolls that have goals like owning a tech company

’80s Peaches ’N Cream  

All the Malibu Barbies can enjoy the Peaches ’N Cream Barbie-inspired quencher , which has “a peach blossom pattern (that) reprises the floral accessories and artwork of the doll,” the company said.  

’80s Western Ken  

Stanley did not forget about all the Kens in the world. With the Western Ken doll, children were inspired to take on new adventures. The quencher brings the doll to life with, "a midnight–black color and a print that mimics the contrast stitching and silver buckle showcased on the doll,” the company said.  

’80s Rockers  

Inspired by the Barbie and the Rockers dolls , this quencher has, “bright, retro graphics that are ready to rock.” In a new wave style that is quintessentially Barbie,” the drinkware company said.  

Available in:  

’80s Dynamite  

Stanley Cup also celebrates the first Black Barbie doll with the rich colors that she wore in her debut. With rich colors, gold accents and disco lights, the quencher displays a vibrant red bodysuit and wrap skirt that the doll came out in, the drinkware company said.  

To be notified when the Stanley Cup quenchers officially are dropped, you can visit their website here .  

Ahjané Forbes is a reporter on the National Trending Team at USA TODAY. Ahjané covers breaking news, car recalls, crime, health, lottery and public policy stories. Email her at  [email protected] . Follow her on  Instagram ,  Threads  and  X (Twitter) @forbesfineest.