8 New Year’s Resolutions for Aspiring Travelers

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As part of my new, monthly feature, The Travel Question of the Month, Travel Bloggers from around the world were asked to answer the following question:

What New Year’s Resolution would you suggest for aspiring travelers?

Here’s what they had to say…

Laurel R | Expat Germany | Twitter |

Start by traveling in your own back yard! When’s the last time you visited a museum, or checked out a new part of town?  Travel is more of a mind set and doesn’t have to be to far off destinations (although those can be nice too!)

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Kieron | Don’t Ever Look Back | Twitter | Facebook |

Firstly, make travel a priority! If you can do this, anything is possible and you should be able to take one dream vacation before the end of 2011. “But how do I make travel a priority?” I can hear you asking. Well, that’s simple. Instead of purchasing ‘wants’ such as that new $2000 flat screen TV or designer clothes, put that money towards travel and make do with what you’ve already got. Give up that morning latte or work lunch and put the spare change you’ve saved towards travel. At the end of the day it’s all about making sacrifices (like a lot of other New Year’s resolutions!). If you can do that, just sit back and watch your savings grow and once you’ve got enough, book your vacation and enjoy the awesome experiences that traveling brings!

To ensure you stay on track with your resolution, you need goals. Write down the vacation you want to take before the end of the year – but make sure it’s realistic and achievable. If you’re only working part-time and have nothing in savings, going on a 12-month RTW [round-the-world] trip isn’t realistic. Nor is trekking in Nepal if you haven’t exercised for many years. Once you’ve written down what you want to achieve, decide when you want to go on this vacation (timeline) and calculate how much money you need to make this dream a reality. Break it down into smaller goals – for example, I need $1000 in savings after 3 months, $3000 after 6 months, etc. If you can afford it (and you should be able to if you follow our first resolution), then get out there and make it happen.

Good luck! Your destiny is in your own hands.

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Christy | Ordinary Traveler |  Twitter | Facebook |

My advice would be to go through all the items you have accumulated and start selling the ones you don’t use or need. The next biggest piece of advice is to save, save, save your money. I cannot tell you how many people call me money bags because I travel and they don’t. The funny thing is, most of these people make 3-4 times more money than I do. It’s all about priorities. Here are some money saving tips… http://www.ordinarytraveler.com/tipsarticles/10-tips-on-how-to-save-for-travel

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Janice Robinson | skychi travels | Twitter | Facebook |

10 Tips to move from aspiring traveler to active traveler

1. Create a vision board for the destinations that you desire to travel to.
2. Order brochures from the tourism website.
3. Cut out photos and paste on board.
4. Write down your dream trip.
5. Add photos of yourself.
6. Set the date.
7. Look at your board for a while.
8. Then put the board away.
9. Start reading and participating with travel blogs about the place you want to visit.
10. Watch the universe deliver.

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Ayngelina | Bacon is Magic | Twitter | Facebook |

Many people say they want to travel but never put in an actionable plan.

Figure out how much money you need then set a monthly budget that contributes to that goal. It’s so much more empowering to say that “I can travel in 14 months” rather than “I hope to travel someday”.

I found that because I knew I could travel in 14 months I often dropped more money in the account here and there and in the end I was ready in 12.

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inka piegsa-quischotte | GlamourGranny Travels | Twitter |

I suggest two new year’s resolutions for travelers:

1. Always remember that you are an ambassador of your country as soon as you step onto foreign soil.
2. Never forget to show respect when traveling.

Both may seem self explanatory, but as every traveler will have observed it happens too often that people seems to leave good sense and good manners at home as soon as they set off on their holiday. Bikini tops are  worn in the middle of town in a Muslim country (my point in case are the Mediterranean resorts of Turkey), alcohol is consumed and fights break out. Foreign habits and customs are openly criticized or ridiculed and the result is that an entire nation gets a bad name because a few tourists can’t behave.

The two resolutions are of course related but it never comes amiss to remember that it’s not only you who is judged by the people whose country you visit but also the place you hail from.

Believe it or not, keeping these two resolutions is a tiny step towards world peace.

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Eileen | Freelance Tourist | Twitter | Facebook |

Plan on finding ways to travel without having to go through invasive and abusive airport security. Find other travel alternatives to distant places or connect in other countries or take a cruise to a place that is more civilized.

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Liz | Two Weeks to Travel | Twitter |

My suggestion is simple, do it. Most people who like to travel have places they want to go and things they want to see and 100 excuses as to why they don’t, not enough money, not enough time, no one to go with, blah blah blah. I know, I used to be one of those people.

So do something, pick a place, it doesn’t have to be far away or expensive, just something that pushes you out of your comfort zone a little bit. With a little creativity and effort, most people can find some pretty amazing things within just a few hours of their homes.

I always wanted to experience dog sledding in Alaska, and just this week, found out through a group I’m a member of, a company less than two hours away from me offers trips for $40. Want to hike in the Alps one day, then start by picking a local mountain, spend the day outside enjoying nature, and guess what, after a few hours you will have reached the summit, that’s an accomplishment. Want to go somewhere fun, but can’t find a traveling partner, then go solo. I’ve always wanted to go to Vancouver, but can’t seem to coordinate schedules and finances with anyone, so I’m going alone. It will be my first solo trip, and the fear I have about doing it by myself still doesn’t outweigh my desire to not only see Vancouver, but prove that I can.

To steal the premise from one of my favorite things (http://www.dolectures.com/), it’s so easy to get caught up in the big DO’s, that we forget all those little do’s can add up to something amazing also.

So that’s my challenge, pick one thing, place, event on your proverbial ‘list’ and complete it.

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Well, there you have it? Who’s advice did you find the most inspiring? Share by commenting.

I’ll see you out there…!

If you’d like to submit your response to next month’s question, click here for all the details.

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