Happy 2023! This is a great time to think about our goals for the coming year. I bet most of our readers have jobs (or if you are lucky like me, you retired from a job) that requires annual goal-setting. Well, it is time to apply those skills to the fun things in life and not just work. So, check out the following Top 10 Travel Resolutions for 2023.
Thinking about a travel goal is one thing, but to accomplish anything we must resolve to take action. We hope these inspire you to adopt a few travel resolutions of your own.
Note: If you apply for a credit card on any of the links provided below, we may receive a referral bonus.
Use Your Vacation Leave and Actually LEAVE Town
I constantly hear friends say they would love to go Iceland, or Hawaii, or anywhere for that matter, if they only had the time. But truth be told, most Americans do not use their paid vacation leave to actually travel. In fact, according to a report from Gartner, U.S. workers left an average of 5.6 days of vacation on the table. Most did not even travel for more than 4 nights. The horror! For this reason, using your vacation leave to actually leave town tops our list of travel resolutions.
Our neighbors in Europe think we are all crazy workaholics. And truth be told, many of us are. People give all sorts of reasons for not vacationing. Many dread the return to work with a desk piled high. Some even fear that their employer will find they are no longer needed if they take time off. Ridiculous! If you can’t feel more secure than that, then it is time to get a new job where you are better appreciated.
I can’t stress enough the importance of taking your paid time off and getting out of dodge (preferably some place far enough away that they can’t call you). It is important for both your physical and mental health to take your vacation days. Your brain will thank you!
Travel With Someone Special
No list of travel resolutions would be complete without encouraging you to travel with someone special. Be it your spouse, parents, kids, or best friends, travel creates the perfect opportunity to make special memories with special people.
I began my travel journey at a very young age with my parents, but now I love traveling with my mature parents. We have enjoyed several cruises, including one to Cuba, and we traveled together to Paris in recent years. Deidra recently visited Scotland and Ireland with her mom and aunt.
Both Deidra and I Got Maui’d and enjoyed the benefits of a combined wedding and honeymoon with our husbands. But that was quite a few years back. More recently, Deidra visited Hawaii with her teens.
I am a big advocate for not letting the lack of a travel partner keep you from going where you want to go. But, I have to admit, there is nothing like traveling with someone special.
Visit a New Off the Beaten Path Location
Go someplace totally new and off the beaten path. Now, that doesn’t mean it has to be far, far away. Some of us have longer and more winding paths than others. Vacationing in places like Croatia, Cuba, Tangier, or Uganda is fabulous. But, sometimes what you really need a secluded cabin just a few hours up the road.
The important thing is to do something new. Get out of your comfort zone. Go WILD!!!!! Go somewhere totally different from anywhere you have gone before. Do something, eat something, see something completely new and different.
Do you typically take beach vacations? Plan a trip to Alaska! Have you only ever cruised for international trips? Plan a land adventure and travel more slowly. Have you never left the U.S.A? Then get that passport and book your flight anywhere your heart desires! Not into international travel? Then visit a state you have never been to before. Just GO!
Celebrate Big Days Somewhere Amazing
I am all about combining celebrations with adventures. Whether you take a cruise over Christmas, visit the Christmas markets of Europe, or just enjoy a long weekend in NYC to see the windows at Macy’s, it is so much more fun than staying home and cooking all day long!
Of course, don’t miss cool Halloween travel to magical places like Disney. Whether you choose California or Florida, you are sure to have a Scare-tac-u-lar time! Older kids of all ages can really get their fright on staying at a haunted hotel. You probably don’t even have to travel far to find one.
I have enjoyed great birthday and anniversary trips with my family and friends through the years. My family and I celebrated my parent’s 60th wedding anniversary on a Caribbean cruise. We had such a great time we repeated it the following year for my 50th birthday. Then we couldn’t resist Cuba for my 51st birthday! My girlfriends and I like to take trips to celebrate birthdays rather than buy each other yet another gift we don’t really need.
Travel “Slowly” to Truly Experience the Culture
Travel to one place and live like a local. Cruises with only one day in port, and even many land tours with each night in a different city have taught us to hit the highlights of each location and move on. As a result, many of us tend to be see-all-the-sites and check-all-the-boxes travelers. This approach is fine, but I encourage you to learn to occasionally experience the world more slowly.
There are so many benefits to spending a few weeks in one location. First, you are able to really get the feel for a place. You can get to know some locals and learn more deeply about the culture. Another benefit is that you take time to truly relax. Not every day has to be a tour day. You can take time to sleep late or to relax at a park or café to watch the world pass by.
If you take the time to travel slowly, you enjoy a deeper, more meaningful experience. Plus, you gain the added bonus of actually returning to work rested and relaxed.
Eat the Local Cuisine
I was a picky eater as a child and honestly, I am a picky eater as an adult. However, I have a firm rule that I must eat the local cuisine wherever I travel. Ironically, I typically find I am not as picky overseas as I am at home!
It’s weird, but everyone always asks about the food when I return from a trip. I am proud to say I go out of my way (most of the time) to eat authentic cuisine. There was that one night in South Korea that I just couldn’t stomach choosing my meal from the aquarium full of things I didn’t recognize, but that is the exception.
My best meals have been at local hang-outs like the stand-up sushi bar in Tokyo. Deidra and I really enjoyed guinea pig and alpaca in Peru. We also loved spicy ramen and weird snacks from 7-Eleven in South Korea. Be sure to also try haggis when you go to Scotland and tagine in Morocco. I won’t begin to tell you about the crickets in Thailand.
Learn to Pack Like a Pro
Make this the year to learn to pack like a pro! Get your gear organized. Don’t be like me when my luggage went to China. Prepare and keep your toiletry bag and medicine kit, ready to go. Then you can be ready to jump at short-notice travel opportunities like Deidra recently had when she went to Copenhagen for work!
Make sure you have all the ingredients needed to carry-on or check your bags. Learn how to pack for any trip, whether it be a Caribbean cruise or to the other side of the globe.
Learn to Take Better Photos
No photograph can capture the full experience of seeing, doing or being something/somewhere magnificent. But, they are a key to unlock memories. Learn to take photos that capture the magic of the moment, without using up the precious time you should spend enjoying the experience.
Learn to have your gear ready. Whether it is a professional DCR camera, a go-pro, or your mobile phone and a selfie stick. Learn to have it ready, and how to use it properly, so you don’t spend so much time preparing to get the shot that you miss the whole experience.
You may also learn how to look better in the photos other people take of you. I travel a lot with Deidra and she almost always looks SO much better than I. Now, some of this is due to genetics, but she is also better at positioning herself for the right angle. Whereas I am often just awkwardly standing beside her. I really need to make this one of my top travel resolutions!
Start Travel Hacking to Travel for Free
There are all sorts of ways to play/manipulate credit cards so you can travel for free. Deidra is a pro at travel hacking. She knows just how to maximize her spending to get free companion passes on Southwest Airlines and free flights, rental cars, and hotels through Chase.
Take time to learn the travel hacking game. You may not want to go all-in like Deidra. But, there are several credit cards out there, with or without annual fees, that will earn you points to use toward travel just for buying the things you need to live your daily life.
Create a Gift Wish List
Create a gift wish list for your family and friends. I know this sounds terribly rude. But just make it a thing that everyone creates a list and you can move on. Add everything your heart desires such as travel bags, pillows, and cruise essentials to ensure you get great travel gifts! Place items of all values on the list so everyone, from your $10 office secret Santa to your mom can find something at their price point. That said, be sure to include some dream wish list items in case Santa, or someone else, is generous this year!
This list is not only useful for Christmas so don’t hold off until December on this one. It is great for birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and any other gift-giving opportunity. Amazon makes it really easy to share your wish list with whoever you please.
Amanda’s Top 3 Travel Resolutions:
- Visit a new off the beaten path location – I hope to finally take the trip to Kenya I had planned for March 2020! Following many cancelled attempts to travel due to the pandemic, I was then “grounded” in 2022 due to family medical issues. I can’t wait to dust off my passport!
- Start travel hacking more deeply – I have travel hacked, to a degree, for nearly two decades with my trusty Chase United Explorer card. This year I opened a Chase Business Cash card and in 2023 I plan to create a trifecta with the Chase Sapphire Preferred card. This will provide a host of travel point opportunities, without the risk of me getting in over my head with too many cards.
- Learn to take better photos – I am a terrible photographer. I resolve to take an iPhone photography course so I can gain skills but still not have to purchase, or haul around, a bunch of equipment.
Deidra’s Top 3 Travel Resolutions
- Travel “slowly” – I know myself. I will probably never have a vacation focusing only on rest, relaxation, and whatever I feel like doing in the moment. But in the summer of 2023, I’m taking my teens to Europe. My goal is to leave some unstructured time in our schedule so that we can follow their whims. There’s no telling what we might discover!
- Level up my travel hacking game – my travel hacking game is relatively new, but I’m off to a strong start. My travel hacking mission is to keep things simple. But recently I have started chasing introductory offers giving me a lot of points for meeting initial spend requirements. Suddenly, I now have access to three different types of transferrable points (Chase Ultimate Rewards, American Express Membership Rewards, and Capitol One Rewards). But I also am experiencing confusion on how to best utilize those points. My goal is to become more strategic and focused in my effort to earn and burn points by taking online classes such as this free one offered by 10X Travel.
- Visit an off the beaten path location – I’m blessed with a terrific job that routinely takes me off the beaten path. But there are many things I have not done or seen in my own backyard! So, my goal is to find one new thing per month to do that is nearby. This might just be a simple two-hour outing. But I’m also willing to do some quick road trips that involve an overnight stay. After all, I travel hack to get points to get free hotel nights, I might as well make use of them!
Our Shared Travel Resolution: Travel with Someone Special – YOU!
BIG TRAVEL NEWS – Our shared resolution is to travel with YOU, our Extravelgance family. We are looking for 10 brave souls to join us in Iceland in November 2023. Join us as we pursue the Northern Lights, drive the Golden Circle, and float away our worries in the Blue Lagoon. We have teamed up with a great tour provider in Iceland and can’t wait to share in this adventure with you.
UPDATE: We took 14 of our loyal readers to Iceland and had a magnificent trip! See our 2023 Iceland Recap post for all the details. But never fear! You can still travel with us! Check out our Travel With Us page to see our upcoming trips!
We look forward to exploring the world with you!
What Are Your 2023 Travel Resolutions?
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