Are your New Year planners filled with a resolution list already? Does it include an entry that reads something like: Visit (insert dreamy destination), Climb (insert daunting mountain), and Experience (insert long-aspired-to adventure)?
The dawn of a new year is a natural time to plan what you want to do with the next 12 months. Creating your New Year’s travel resolution list is the perfect way to start dreaming about where and how you want to wander in the coming year. A new year brings new goals for the 12 months ahead. The annual ritual of poring over annual must-visit lists inspires our imagination and stokes dreams of adventure. Here we help you enhance your travel resolutions with resolutions that will satiate your travel dreams:
1. Volunteer on a Vacation
Who says you can’t do a little good while travelling? Volunteer tourism has seen a massive boom in recent years, something we can all agree is pretty amazing. It’s an opportunity to combine your love for travel with my hope to make a difference and help someone else.
The rewards and opportunities are endless for ways that you can give back while you travel. Find an organized group to join or create a movement all of your own.
2. Step outside your comfort zone!
Do you find yourself travelling to similar places or perhaps even the same country? It’s time to break to mould! If you’ve only travelled to Europe, why not step outside into the Middle East or Asia and immerse yourself completely in something new. If you have only stayed in luxurious hotels, why not book a hostel or Airbnb this time to experience the local culture? New Year, new travel plans! If you’re after some adventure, check out these trending adventure holidays.
3. Reduce your carbon footprint
We all want to explore the world, and now it is more important than ever to protect it for future generations. Reducing our carbon footprint is a great way of travelling consciously and a wonderful resolution to help protect the world. Ways of doing this could include packing lighter to save on fuel costs, using public transport when away - which is also a fantastic way to save money and get a feel for local life - or opting to stay in eco-friendly accommodation. With mounting headlines about the negative impact of air travel on the environment, consider taking a train to your next destination if feasible and possible. Train tours are a great way to see new countryside both locally and abroad.
4. Learn a new language
Have you always wanted to speak another language? Make 2020 your year and commit to taking classes. Online apps and software like Duolingo or Rosetta Stone make it easier than ever to get started. It makes travelling much easier to know basic phrases and the effort you put in will always be appreciated by the native speakers. It’s an all new and endearing experience to be able to converse in their local language.
5. Take a Photography Class
One thing that travelling does other than giving you new experiences is that it also makes you learn new things. Take a photography class to improve your travel images and videos. Take fewer but better photos. Once you get home, learn to edit and organize your pictures. You can also do something with them beyond storing them on your device or computer. Maybe a photo book as a souvenir for you and your travel companions?
6. Indulge in Cultural Experiences
Have an experience instead of just sightseeing. Participate in an activity like making your own wine in France, fly fishing in New Zealand or a surfing lesson in Hawaii or maybe attending a Japanese tea making ceremony in Kyoto. Seeking authentic experiences is one of the top factors inspiring people to travel and it brings you closer to their culture. Take a path to becoming a traveller from a tourist and you’ll never want to look back.
7. Make the most of weekend breaks
Plan ahead and don’t waste those weekends! You don’t need to go far to get travelling and exploring. So as soon as 5pm Friday rolls around get out there, drive to a city you’ve never been to before or jump on a short flight. Planning is crucial to utilise your time well but if you go away even one weekend every two months, that’s an extra 6 trips a year!
Also, if you are savvy about it you could utilise your annual leave and tie it in with Bank holidays, extending the time you get off work and minimising the amount of holiday you are using. Get those calendars out!
8. Explore your own country
You might have travelled the world but have you actually travelled if you don’t know much about your own country or native place? Before exploring the castles of Scotland, try exploring the forts in your own country or heritage sites in your neighbourhood. Nobody understands your home as much as you and that’s the best opportunity to open new doors of tourism in your hometown. You could even go and stay with a friend who lives out of town for a few days and get them to show you their neck of the woods.
Plan a family reunion in a different destination
If you and your siblings live away from the rest of your family, there’s nothing better than planning a reunion to everyone’s favourite travel destination or to the one that gives you nostalgia. Forget hometown gatherings for your next family reunion. Hitting the road (or sky) for an all-out family adventure is sure to create memories to last a lifetime. From action-packed cities to luxurious tropical islands to off-the-grid natural wonder, you can infuse your next family reunion with a bit of exotic fun. Don't have a particular destination in mind? Browse these trip packages
9. Travel Slower
We understand the urge to complete everything on the bucket list as soon as possible but is travel just a tick off or is it more about soaking in a place and its offerings? Some of us love to pack in tons of activities and adventures into one trip to see more and do more during the small window of our vacation time. Consider slowing things down in 2020, truly taking in the culture, history, and scenery while traveling.
Written by: Aashima Kadakia
Creative ninja and a true follower of ‘Work, Save, Travel, Repeat’, I love to travel, experience places and bring back stories for a lifetime. Born and brought up in Ahmedabad, I like to visit the same old places, the same clichéd tourist spots and destinations, but choose to see the unexplored in the old places. Always inclined towards the mighty mountains in their debate with the beaches!
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