Discover 12 Travel Resolutions to Make and Keep this Year
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📍 Anywhere
Once again, the sun rises on a new year. It is officially 2022, and after two years of being stuck indoors, many of us are hopeful that this will be the year of adventure. If you too are a member of this increasing majority then you may be looking to make a travel resolution. It seems a wonderful prospect, though one much easier spoken than executed. Like an underworked muscle group, it could be quite difficult to get back into the swing of travel over the next 12 months. This is precisely why I am here to help.
As a current full-time traveler who used to invest every opportunity into fantasizing about exotic days of the future, I am no stranger to successfully executing my travel plans. Oftentimes, the best adventures are started after taking a small, purposeful step in the direction of your ultimate goal. So, while the world may look a bit different than it used to, there are still many attainable ways that you can continue to work toward grand travel plans.
2021 may have brought us life saving vaccines, but the travel bug is still very contagious. Continue reading to learn about 12 travel resolutions that you can make and will actually be able to keep in 2022.
1. Start a travel fund
While there are a lot of ways that you can travel cheaply, most excursions will require a financial investment to some degree. Transportation costs, restaurant bills, hotel stays, and activity fees can add up quickly, and oftentimes prevent people from traveling at all because they fear they can’t afford it. This is why it is crucial to actively save for your travel dreams, because if you wait for the day when you can magically afford that trip to Italy without consciously saving for it, you may be on standby for a long time. Vienna waits for you, but why wait longer than is necessary? Consider it an investment into your soul.
When we were planning our trip to Alaska, we were shocked to see the prices for airfare! The only way we were able to afford the trip was by saving for it on a monthly basis.
2. Find some inspiration
The world is a very big place, and unless you have some direction, it is easy to get lost in it. It is then fortunate that the world-wide-web is saturated with people who want to help guide you toward your perfect travel destination. In the form of blogs, videos, Facebook groups, travel forums, or Instagram accounts, the way in which you digest this information is totally up to you. Find someone who you connect with, and follow along on their traveling escapades to learn about fascinating destinations and travel tips. If you’re unsure of where to start, you can always keep us company over at discovery.detour for some science inspired travel destinations.
Aside from gaining an enormous amount of inspiration from other traveling blogs, Drew and I also try to provide guidance on full-time travel, RV traveling tips, and science inspired destinations.
3. Try a new cuisine
There is no better opportunity to try new cuisine than when traveling. From the tapas of Barcelona to Alaskan crab legs, some of my clearest recollected memories were made over a plate of local delicacies. With the increasing blend of cultures around the globe making foreign and authentic cuisine increasingly accessible, you may not even have to go far to taste something new. Don’t be shy, every day is a new opportunity to open your mind and your palate.
Boston is known for its cornbread, clam chowder, and lobster rolls. You better believe we tried all of these at the Union Oyster House, famous for its status as the oldest restaurant in the country.
4. Use all of your vacation days
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but vacations aren’t selfish; they’re vitally important. It is a commonly believed fallacy that forgoing vacation time will mean you get more work done. In reality, a refreshed mind after some time away from work is actually much more productive. Your brain needs prolonged periods of time where it can focus on tasks unrelated to your work in order to remain healthy, so why not take care of one of your body’s most important organs? I get it, I used to hoard my vacation days like Gollum clutching his precious ring. Once I grew my hair back and saw the sun again, though, I realized I was saving for the future, and never actually living in the present. Learn from my mistakes, my friend. Use all of those vacation days this year.
Before we started traveling full-time, Drew and I took every vacation day we had stored up to explore Europe. Here I am in Amsterdam, never regretting the decision for a second.
5. See a new corner of your own country
With border restrictions ever changing and the stress of airline travel being at an all-time high, it has never been a better time to explore your own backyard. You may actually be amazed at the amount of history, spectacular sights, and pockets of amazing culture you can find right outside your front door. I personally travelled to Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Jamaica, Barbados and Alaska before I even thought to research what I could reach within a day's drive of my house. Since then, I’ve discovered the rocky shoreline of Acadia National Park, the extended sand flats of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and the Victorian History of Charleston, South Carolina. You may be surprised at what you can find without having to fly halfway across the world. I know I sure was.
One of my favorite corners of the East Coast is Blandy Experimental Farm in northern Virginia. As the state arboretum, it is stunning, historical, and under explored.
6. See the sunrise
In the age-old debate between whether sunrises or sunsets should reign superior, I have always sported fan gear to represent team sunrise. Seeing the sunrise requires an investment, a purposeful decision to set an early alarm, and the dedication to get your butt out of bed in the morning while your windows are still black. My husband and I have watched the sunrise above the Green Mountains of Vermont after hiking the locally infamous Camel’s Hump Summit. We’ve practiced yoga on the beach beside families of passing seals as the sun crested above the Atlantic Ocean. The expedition to meet the sun as it starts its day has led us to some amazing locations, and it can do the same for you as well.
Charlie joined us on our sunrise hike to Camel’s Hump Summit. He may be small, but he is also mighty.
7. Travel alone
Traveling can teach us some insightful things about who we are and what we value, and as comfortable as it is to travel with a companion, these lessons are best observed alone. As a female, I completely understand the reservations that many of us have about traveling alone, but a bit of research and safety precautions has the ability to keep you safe as you venture into unknown areas. I recently traveled independently into Raleigh, North Carolina. I was first nervous about venturing into an unfamiliar city by myself, but left on a high, feeling empowered with the knowledge that I could do anything by myself if I truly set my mind to it.
My solo adventure to Raleigh was spent exploring and learning about the North Carolina Museum of Natural Science. It still hold the opinion that it was the coolest museum I ever visited.
8. Travel with a loved one
On the flip side of this coin, traveling with a loved one is pretty spectacular. I travel with my husband, Drew, full-time, and the memories that we have made together over the recent years can never be shared with anybody else. It has deepened our bond, strengthened our communication, and brought us endless amounts of joy that I wouldn’t trade for any tangible item.
Oftentimes, traveling with a loved one means having somebody by your side who will push you to see places through new perspectives.
9. Get recommendations from the locals
Have you ever tasted ceviche? A Peruvian dish made from raw fish typically tossed in a blend of citrus, avocado and fresh spices, it is a favorite of mine that I would never have discovered if I hadn’t trusted the advice of a local. When traveling through Paris, I stopped at a local café for a late night dinner and was met with a menu with no English translation. Tired and hungry, I asked the waiter to bring me whatever his favorite dish on the menu was. He brought me out a plate of ceviche, a bold choice on his end, but one that introduced me to a recipe I may never have discovered otherwise. I ask locals for dinner and outing recommendations almost everywhere I go now, and am almost never disappointed. No one knows an area better than the people who live there, so why not utilize their knowledge?
One of our favorite ways to meet locals is by staying at Boondockers Welcome locations, a service that allows RVers to stay on privately owned land across the united states. This stop in Vermont was one of our favorites.
10. Travel light
I’m trying not to be dramatic when I say this, but foregoing a checked bag for the convenience of just a carry-on will literally change your life. Checking an extra bag is time consuming, can be expensive, will be cumbersome during your travels, and is totally unnecessary. As a couple, my husband and I enjoyed both a three leg trip to Europe and a 14 night stay in Alaska with only our carry-on luggage. We even converted many of our friends and family to this way of travel after they’ve seen us easily move through airport security while leaving them in the dust at the check-in line. We do this by packing lightweight and neutral items that easily transition between outfits and atmospheres. We also take advantage of the laundry facilities at our destinations. A good carry-on bag is additionally essential. This one has been well loved by Drew and myself because it is sturdy, and can hold a lot of items while also being small enough to fit under an airplane seat and therefore qualify as a personal item on most airlines.
If you scour through my European pictures, you will see some reoccurring clothing items. Sure, it’s not exactly fashion forward, but I was unencumbered, and it was absolutely worth it.
11. Practice sustainable travel
If there is one thing I truly hate about travel, it’s the impact that it can have on our planet. With the love that many travelers have for nature and the environment, it is no wonder that sustainable travel recently increased in popularity with the ultimate goal of maintaining tourism without harming the natural world. Sustainable traveling can be practiced by taking direct flights, shopping and staying at locally owned businesses, and buying second hand traveling gear. It should also be mentioned that, because individuals are becoming more aware of the sustainable movement, “greenwashing” where companies strategically make their company appear more sustainable than it actually is, has become a persistent problem. An excellent article, which teaches environmentally conscious individuals ways to spot and avoid supporting greenwashing can be located here.
While traveling through Myrtle Beach, I supported Brookgreen Gardens, a beautiful sculpture garden which works toward environmental and wildlife conservation.
12. Document your travels
With all of the effort, time and money that goes into planning and executing your travel plans, the last thing you want to do is forget about them. The Discovery Detour blog was originally created to serve this purpose for Drew and I as we traveled the United States in our little home on wheels, but if blogging isn’t your thing then you could try your hand at journaling, vlogging, photography or even podcasts. Whatever the case may be, make sure to capture the moments that make you feel alive so that you can return to them over and over again. Oh, and if you share your memories on Instagram, be sure to tag Discovery Detour with #discoverydetour so that we can connect on our mutual love for travel and adventure.
We hope you enjoyed this assortment of attainable and safe travel resolutions for 2022. Let’s make 2022 the year of renewed travel. If you have a travel resolution that wasn’t mentioned here, please tell us all about it in the comments. And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter so you never miss a new travel tip.
Thank you for joining us at Discovery Detour, where the destination is always unknown.
