7 Ways To Achieve Your Travel Goals For 2021
Ask someone to share their hopes and dreams with you, and the odds are high they’ll include at least one or two travel goals on their list.
There are a number of different reasons why people travel, but for the most part, it boils down to the fact that many of us crave new and exciting experiences.
There aren’t too many things more exciting than visiting a totally new place for the first time.
Regardless of what your travel goals may be, they can sometimes feel out of reach.
While there are tons of advantages of traveling, many people focus on the negatives – the price of the flight, the language barrier, the unfamiliar and sometimes scary environment – and talk themselves out of pursuing their dreams.
Fortunately, with a little effort and preparation, virtually anyone can chase their travel goals and see the world.
Here’s How You Can Achieve Your Travel Goals:
Define your travel goals
The first step to achieving your travel goals is to define them. Chasing a moving target is virtually impossible, so give yourself something tangible to work toward.
To start the process, ask yourself a few questions. Where do you want to go? What do you want to see?
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Is there a food you’ve always wanted to try, a musical performer you’re dying to see life or a monument you couldn’t imagine glimpsing in person?
If you’ve never eaten termites which I did in Belize this might be the year to try something new. The point of a travel goal is to say yes to whatever local delicacy is afraid or not!
Find inspiration in your favorite books and movies, pictures on the internet, anecdotes from friends and family – there’s no wrong way to find the inspiration for your next trip!
In fact, you may even find travel inspiration in goals that have nothing to do with your next vacation. Maybe you’ve set a personal goal to learn a new language or to simply meet new people.
One of the advantages of traveling is that you’ll find opportunities to do all of these things – and more – if you plan your trips right.
Save aggressively
For many people, one of the biggest barriers to travel is the cost of the trip. Most people consider travel to be an expensive hobby, and for the most part, they’re correct.
Many popular destinations aren’t particularly cheap or easy to reach. Choose a well-loved tourist destination to visit, and you may be surprised to see just how much everything can cost.
This is why so many people love to travel to smaller, lesser-known destinations.
One of the advantages of traveling to less popular destinations is that you’ll find lower prices on virtually everything, from your flight and hotel to tours, museums, and other attractions.
Vacation Goals
Regardless of whether you’ve got your eye on affordable or expensive travel destinations, you’ll still need to cover the cost of your trip, and that likely means coming up with some extra cash.
Fortunately, there are a few ways to save for your trip:
Tip To Help You Achieve Your Travel Goals
- Start with your paycheck! See if you can hold back a percentage of your paycheck, however small, to pay for travel for you. Your employer may be able to automatically deposit part of your pay into a separate saving account, which can make this even easier. Saving as little as $10 or $25 from each paycheck will add up over time and give you the cash you need to travel.
- Sell your stuff. Getting rid of things you no longer need can serve multiple purposes. Not only will you clear out your clutter and clean your space, but you’ll also wind up with some extra cash in your pocket. Depending on how much stuff you have and what you’re willing to give up, you could walk away with a significant amount of cash to put toward a vacation.
- Don’t ignore the side hustle! Many people are so determined to travel they’ll do whatever it takes to save up the money they need to see the world. Whether you can take on overtime at your current job, put one of your skills to use as a freelancer, or seek out small jobs like babysitting and dog-walking, find a way to earn a few extra dollars (or more) to save for your next trip.
Create a Plan for Your Travel Goals
However you choose to fund your travels, you’ll likely need a little bit of time to make it happen.
Make time to travel
You can set your goals and save your money, but you’ll have a hard time achieving your travel goals if you can’t actually take time off from work.
Don’t let yourself get so bogged down in your career that you can’t take the time you need to relax, recharge, and cure your travel bug.
Instead, make it a priority to find an employer that supports your travel goals through friendly time-off policies.
There are lots of companies out there that offer flexible (or unlimited) vacation time, and some even provide travel stipends for employees eager to explore the world.
And if that isn’t an option? See what you can do to maximize your time under your current system.
Even if you’re capped at taking one week off at a time, that’s a whole week to experience a new place – potentially a whole new country.
And if you don’t feel like you have enough time to get your money’s worth from an international trip, there are plenty of advantages of traveling domestically.
While you may not collect a stamp on your passport, you’ll still likely find plenty of new and exciting experiences to enjoy while you’re traveling locally.
Visit at least one new country
Ticking off that long list of must-see destinations has to start somewhere so every year I try to visit a new country and explore that destination slowly.
Seychelles and Tanzania are at the top of my travel goals list for next year.
Travel with someone new
I am not a big fan of traveling with new people because I am a habit of creature and to be honest I really only like to travel with my bestie.
This year, I plan to travel with a group of people for a FAM trip when I attend TBEX North America. TBEX is the largest travel conference for content creators and brands.
I will keep y’all posted on how that goes.
Learn to scuba dive or swim
I was never a strong swimmer and I only learned how to swim in the last 4 years and I will be 50 next month.
I decided to overcome my water phobia because my husband was complaining that we travel to all of these amazing destinations and I would never get in the ocean.
After 4 years of swimming lessons, I think I am finally ready to learn how to scuba dive. The Caribbean Islands have some of the best diving in the world and I am ready to take on the ocean.
Stay in a luxury hotel
Have you ever wondered what it’s like to stay in a luxury hotel? Luxury hotels can take your hotel experiences to the next level and let me tell you it is worth every penny based on my experiences.
In the best luxury hotels, you’ll find that everything from the exterior, the reception, lounge, and all other public areas will have a beautiful and fancy design.
You may feel like you are somewhere special from the moment you walk through the door.
Swim under a waterfall
I swam under a raging waterfall in both Costa Rica and Hawaii and absolutely loved it so whenever I’m traveling to a destination that offers stunning waterfalls it is a must-do experience.
Spend New Year’s Eve in New Orleans
This year, head to New Orleans for its epic New Year celebrations. New Orleans is amazing anytime you go but New Year’s Eve is next-level fun!
Take a cooking class in another country
One of my best memories while traveling is taking a cooking class in Italy.
Bring some of those amazing recipes and techniques back home with you to cook for your family.
Do something you are afraid to do
I challenge myself annually to overcome a fear or to be more spontaneous. Whether it’s Bungee jumping, Skydiving, Swimming with sharks, pretend like you are on an episode of Fear Factor.
Now that the world has opened back let’s make every moment count!
Achieving your travel goals doesn’t have to be as difficult as some make it out to be.
As long as you know what you’re working toward, save the funds you need to pay for your trip and find the time to make it happen, you’ll be well on your way to chasing your travel dreams.
Ready to plan your trip, grab my FREE Vacation Planner to help you plan your trip in the time it takes to watch your favorite TV show!
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Where To Stay In The Amalfi Coast
What steps can you take to move closer to your travel goals? Leave a comment on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
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These are great tips! I sold all my things and it actually helped me be more fluid in where I could go without constantly worrying about keeping an apartment or storage space. Still working on the aggressive saving though lol
girl, I am so slowly decluttering buy husband is a borderline hoarder and he doesnt even realize it. He has a hard time departing with stuff. I want us to be free to pack up and go anywhere within the next 4 to 5 years so I am slowly throwing stuff out, giving it to the goodwill, and selling it.
My goal is to get back to Jamaica next May. I have been saving $40 from each paycheck, so we will see how far it gets me in the next six months for convincing hubby!
any little bit helps and I dont know if you are aware Delta airline has layaway. I use that often
I think other people can really get in the way of your travel goals. So many of us view travel as something that has to happen with a group of friends or family or not at all, but there are tons of travel clubs out there. And there’s always traveling alone or with one friend as opposed to several.
Travel is possible for all but only obtained by a few. Why ? Because far too may people get temporary satisfaction from buying a trendy purse or $900 shoes whereas for THAT money they could have a had a unforgettable life altering experience SOMEWHERE. Disposable income is simply used for consumer consumption instead of travel..GREAT ARTICLE !
I’m planning on traveling a whole lot more this year, so this post was right up my alley. I just need to work on selling a lot of my stuff, so I can earn more money. My goal is work on selling stuff online in order to thin out my close and my garage.
It’s all about prioritizing. I stopped buying expensive handbags and shoes because that could be an airline ticket. I was spending 1500.00 on a bag and that is crazy to me know. It’s funny when I didnt have the money to spend on a bag I was giving it away and now that I am financially able to do I think it’s crazy.
These are so helpful! I literally do not take time to travel nor have I tried to save lol! Definitely going to change that, thanks for these tips!
I think making automatic deposits is one of the biggest keys to success when it comes to saving. Frankly, we put aside money before it even comes into our hands we are less likely to spend it.
I’m trying to convince my husband that we should push back our 10th anniversary trip to the fall because it’ll be cheaper. Summer travel is also more hectic. I’d rather go when it’s cold here and we need a fall break.
Good tips. I am planning to do a lot of travel this year and I have funds auto saved so that I have the money for it!
I seriously need to expand my side hustles because travel is something high on my wants! That, and saving aggressively because I love some chipotle and chick fil a! Lol
These are some great tips for those seeking to fit travel into their already exhausted budget.
My biggest hangout is the children. lol We don’t take them out of school so that cramps our style a bit. We do take full advantage when we can. We are planning a big trip for Christmas this year.
I want to travel more this year and these are great tips! Definity keeping this article so I can refer back
Love it! So many of us say we want to travel the world, but how many of us are making a commitment to make it happen. I’m all about travel points, it’s my way of saving for trips.
YAS!!!! Currently using the side hustle to achieve my travel dreams. The plan is Italy. Thank you for these tips.
Yes to all of these I like the idea but having a separate savings account for travel
That’s a nice article. I really enjoyed reading it.
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