Travel More Often. Travel Differently.
Our New Year’s Resolution is to travel more often and travel differently. When we first read about Clare’s 12 Trips in 12 Months challenge on Need Another Holiday, we knew immediately that this challenge is exactly what we need in the upcoming year. It’s brilliant and inspiring, and we’re ready for the challenge! (And if you’re not already familiar with Clare, go check her out. Like us, she’s a part-time traveler and full-time travel day-dreamer, so we can all relate to her travel style.)
So how does the average part-time traveler Travel More Often?
First of all, we’re going to redefine our typical definition of taking a trip, and that alone is going to get us out the door and exploring. I don’t know about you, but when I say that I’m always planning my next trip, I’m referring to a big trip abroad that lasts at least a week and probably depletes my travel fund. Let’s throw that idea right out the window! In 2016, we’re going to take 12 trips in 12 months by taking trips big and small. In addition to a big trip or two, we’re going to take weekend road trips and day trips to exciting towns we’ve heard about but never visited.
Get Ready to Travel More in 2016! Here’s How:
- Make a list of day trips outside your city. Are there any fun historic towns nearby? What state or national parks have you been wanting to visit?
- Make a list of easy and affordable weekend trips. Where can you reach by car and not by plane? Are there friends or family you’ve been meaning to visit? That will save you money on lodging. What about camping? Are you attending a destination wedding? Make a long weekend out of it!
- If you are planning a big trip, include this in your list so you can plan your smaller trips around the timing and the budget.
Now that you have your ideas, go ahead and make some plans. You don’t have to stick to the dates or the destinations exactly (the year just started!), but I find that putting your ideas on a calendar really help you stick to them. You don’t want a few months to go by without taking a trip! Another great way to really make this resolution happen is to invite friends or family – that makes the plans a little more firm. Go camping with another couple! Take a day trip with your best friend!
There’s no reason to lounge around every Saturday when there are so many ways to travel more often both near and far. Take 12 trips in 12 months! And you know what? Don’t limit it to that! Take more!
And one last idea…
If you’re new to your city or you’ve realized that there’s so much you haven’t seen, take a serious stay-cation! Get out of the house and explore! Check out our guide on planning the perfect stay-cation.
Are you going to join us in the challenge and make taking 12 trips in 12 months your 2016 resolution? Let us know in the comments, and join us on social media! We’ll be sharing our trips with #afriendafar and #take12trips.
We love joining #WeekendWanderlust to find other great travel blogs. Join us over there!
Love this! Definitely going to plan my 12 trips in 12 months. It seems doable in terms of time and budget when you break it down.
XX, Will Travel recently posted…Episode 14: Homage to Airports
Thanks, XX Will Travel! It’s really helping us look at our state and region in a whole new way. We’re getting excited about nearby places we either haven’t visited before or haven’t been to in a long time. Happy 2016!
I really enjoyed doing the Take 12 Trips challenge in 2015 – by making time for day trips as well as longer adventures, I went way over the goal of 12 trips in 12 months! Looking forward to following your progress! x
Thanks, Katie! We were so excited when we heard about that we knew it had to be our 2016 goal. Glad to hear you went way over 12! Love your blog!
Yes, I think 12 trips in 12 months is doable, especially if many of them are local or an affordable weekend away. Great tips – thanks 🙂
Thanks, Lyndall! We realized that since we were only focused on saving up for some big trips that we were missing what was nearby.
What a fabulous idea! I’d love to be able to do 12 trips in 12 months – I may have to turn into a solo travelers as my partner works weekends to fit them in! Great inspiration & I look forward to seeing your blog posts about your trips.
Happy Travels 🙂
Thanks, Vicki! Want to give it a try with us in 2016? The great part is you can just do day trips locally too and explore more near where you live. We’ll start posting soon! Thanks for following along!
Great idea to take smaller trips to nearby towns and cities. We often forget that traveling nearby can be just as exciting as traveling to a far away land.
Brooke of Passport Couture recently posted…February 2016 Booklist
Thanks, Brooke! I’ve been enjoying your blog for a long time now, by the way!
Meagan Martz at A Friend Afar recently posted…10 Travel Essentials We Don’t Travel Without