By Charlie Campbell Fourth year, French and Spanish
Want to make some New Year's resolutions that don't involve giving up chocolate? Charlie Campbell tells us her top travel resolutions.
Whether it’s taking on dry January or vowing to go to the gym more regularly, the first month of the year is often saturated with the distinctive “New Year, New Me” mantra, whereby individuals forge New Year’s resolutions to better their health, bodies and minds. Whilst travel resolutions might not always feature on traditional lists of this kind, the start of a New Year can mark a turning point in how we experience and explore the world around us, helping us to travel wiser and with greater purpose.
Explore more locally
Whilst it’s great to dream big, far-away destinations can often prove unrealistic in terms of practicality and price. So this year, instead of travelling further afield, look closer to home and explore more local destinations. The varied and diverse nature of the UK means there are countless travel opportunities on your doorstep, (or at most a plane or train journey away); the quaint Devonshire coastline, the peaceful highlands of Scotland and eclectic cities such as Bath and Bristol are travel destinations just as picturesque and captivating as those more exotic and remote.
Travel sustainably
An inherently relevant and pertinent travel resolution for 2019 is to travel more sustainably. If we don’t explore the earth in a responsible way, with the environment in mind, incredible locations and natural wonders may not exist in years to come. There are countless things that we as environmentally aware tourists can embrace in order to ensure we travel in a ‘greener’ way. To mention just a couple; choose eco-friendly, low-polluting modes of transport as much as possible when travelling to your destination, and always carry reusable bags and a reusable water bottle to refill so to avoid contributing to the plastic crisis.
Go technology free
As wonderful as it is to record and capture our travel experiences on the many social media sites available to us at the touch of a button, this arguably reduces the authentic nature of travel. Traveling technology free not only means we’re less prone to distractions and social media pressures, but ensures that we are truly absorbing what’s around us. If we only ever travel through the camera lenses on our phones, we aren’t living in the moment, or connected to the unique environments around us. Challenging ourselves to focus less on documenting our travel experiences and more on what we see, hear, and feel, can bring a whole new and engaged perspective to travel.
Tim Gouw / Unsplash
Travel solo
Travelling solo is a polemic subject in itself, one which can often raise concerns over safety, but done wisely and responsibly, it can be a truly fulfilling and enriching experience. Exploring a new destination on our own can encourage us to step outside our comfort zones, to interact and connect with people in a different dynamic than when in a group. It builds self-confidence and allows us to be our own tour guides and travel planners. As a consequence, whilst learning about and experiencing a new culture and environment, we can also learn a lot about ourselves as individuals.
Tick that one dream destination off our bucket list
As another year comes to an end, we often hear ourselves saying things like ‘we’ll go next summer’ or ‘there just wasn’t enough time’. This can be the year to change that. Too often we postpone travel plans or delay experiences simply because they can require a lot of organisation. One travel goal for this New Year is to be more actively engaged and productive in organising our travel opportunities. Perhaps there’s somewhere we’ve always wanted to tick off our bucket-lists but never had the time, energy or means to commit to. Now is the time to live in the moment and make 2019 the year we finally visit our dream destination.
Featured Image: dmjdenise / Unsplash
What are your New Year's travel resolutions?
