We travel for all kinds of reasons – sometimes to expand our horizons and experience different cultures, and sometimes to discover more about ourselves.
These days, travel is easier for just about everyone than it’s ever been before in history. More or less wherever you turn, there are companies offering package travel deals, brochures and guidebooks, and guided tours to help you dive into a new location.
At the same time, the rise in social media has meant that we all now get to see each other’s travel photos, which only drives our own desire to get out there into the world, ourselves.
But some travel experiences are just a bit more special than others, and it’s always a good idea to try and get the most out of any outing so that you can really savor the memories when looking back.
Here are a few tips for getting more out of your travel experience.
Take advantage of modern deals and platforms to get away to more unique locales
Of course, it’s possible to have a completely worthwhile and powerful travel experience just a few miles from your own home.
Nonetheless, if you are really looking to break free from your everyday routine and get a different perspective on things, visiting more unique locales that are less like the place where you live is always likely to be effective.
There are lots of different deals and platforms available today for helping you to discover new locales, and sign up for appealing package deals. Consider looking into groups like the Privilege Club or Costco Travel to expand your horizons on the kinds of destinations that are available to you.
Go on a “tech fast” during your travels
There’s a bit of a weird paradox to the travel hashtags on social media.
Think about it: we end up looking at people’s photos of breathtaking environments and feel envious of the fact that they got to immerse themselves in those environments. But then we may realize that the person in the photo wasn’t actually that immersed themselves because they were probably posing for hundreds of different photographs and trying to get their angles right for half the trip.
If you really want to get the most out of the travel experience, going on a “tech fast” during the trip can be a great idea.
Keep an emergency Internet-capable device in your bag, but otherwise go without social media, web surfing, TV, and all the rest while you’re away. You’ll absorb a lot more of what’s right in front of you.
Keep a basic travel journal while on your trip
Travel journalling is a great thing to try out, even if you never plan to show anyone else the journal, and even if you’re not very comfortable with writing.
When you write even just a short notes each evening describing your experiences from the day, you force yourself to “absorb” and reflect on your experiences in a much more focused way.
This helps to solidify memories and distill lessons that you’ve learned, as well as causing you to reflect on and appreciate the good times as they are happening.
It’s also often a powerful experience look back on your old written thoughts, years down the line. It gives you a much more personal insight into what was going on than a photograph does.
