Travel is always exciting. There is nothing quite like the thrill of knowing that in a short time you will be in a completely different place with a completely different culture, and lots of new sights, sounds and smells to explore.
However, if you have been travelling for a while, it’s easy to get jaded about the whole process and your levels of excitement can drop even when you know you SHOULD be feeling buzzed about your upcoming trip.
The good news is, there are lots of things you can do to make your next trip more exciting and regain that enthusiasm you once has as a traveller. Here are some of the best ways you can do that:
1. Try a new activity
As a seasoned traveller, you’ve probably tried a whole bunch of activities from hang gliding to surfing, and you probably have a bunch of great stories about how your paddleboard lifejackets were the only thing that saved you when you were hit by that riptide in Australia or how you lost your grip mountain climbing in Mongolia and almost gave the guide a heart attack, but you haven’t tried it all. If you want to get some of the old excitement back, there is diving with sharks, swimming with dolphins, staying in ice hotels and so many more experiences you have yet to have. Resole to have them now.
2. Travel with a new companion
If you usually travel alone or perhaps with your spouse, why not try travelling with someone new instead? Doing so will enable you to experience the thrill of travelling through fresh eyes and unique perspectives, which will hopefully help to enthuse you and make your next trip even more exciting than the last. Just make sure you choose someone who you know you can get along with otherwise instead of making your trip more exciting, it could end up being a nightmare.
3. Get off-the-beaten-track
It’s an obvious point, but if you generally do the tourist spots when you travel, getting off-the-beaten-track and exploring the hidden gems that your destination has to offer is a really good way to make things fresh again. Atlas Obscura is a great place to find the weirder and more wonderful attractions pretty much anywhere in the world, so make use of it when planning our next holiday.
4. Stay with locals
Speaking of getting off-the-beaten-track, you can do this in terms of your accommodation too. Instead of staying in the usual hotel, why not rent a room with locals instead? You’ll get better food, learn more about the culture and get better recommendations for restaurants and unusual attractions than you ever would be staying in the average hotel where everything is as homogenous as possible. Chances are, if you put the effort in, you will make lifelong friends too. Websites like Airbnb and Couchsurfer are ideal for this kind of thing.
As you can see, it is totally possible to make your next trip more exciting, so what are you waiting for?
