Many of us travel because we want to relax and really enjoy all the world has to offer. Often, we fall short of doing that because we don’t know how to really make the most out of the trips we take.
If that sounds familiar, here are a few ideas that may help you to squeeze every drop of enjoyment out of your future trips whether they be in North America, Europe, or elsewhere:
Learn to live in the moment
This might sound like a trite phrase trotted out by a certain kind of person, but actually, it is the best advice you will get for traveling and life in general. If you are too busy trying to get the perfect selfie or too preoccupied with all the work that is piling up at home, you will never truly enjoy that sunset in Tuscany or that stunning painting in the MoMA gallery.
How do you learn to live in the moment more? Meditation can really help with this, but basically, focus your attention on what you are doing at the time and only what you are doing.
Do the most meaningful things
Instead of hitting the tourist traps just because you think you should pick out the things to do in Greenwich, Connecticut that really speak to you or make a point of finding the one attraction that blows your mind and focus on those experiences. Yes, many of the tourist traps are tourist traps for a good reason – they are amazing – but if they don’t speak to you on a meaningful level. Skip them and do the things that do. There is no right way to travel.
Try new things
Whether it’s staying with a local host family instead of booking into a generic hotel or going rock climbing when you have previously shied away from anything that might seem risky, trying new things will mean you have lots of new experiences, and although you may not enjoy them all, you will learn lots of new things about who you are and what life and travel means for you. You’ll end up having bigger highs than you did when you were just playing it safe, staying in a resort and sipping cocktails day after day )although if that’s your bag, there’s nothing wrong with that.) Be brave, try new things and the world will really start to open up to you. Why not head to try some Duke’s Spirited Cocktails Healdsburg or arrange a trip to try something exciting like bungee jumping?
Be spontaneous
Yes, it can be a good idea to have a loose itinerary of what you want to do so that you can fit in as much of the good stuff as possible. However, it’s also a good idea to embrace spontaneity and be a bit flexible with your schedule, so you can spend more time at that amazing gallery you just discovered or have dinner with that interesting new person you just met and not feel so rushed.
Traveling should be fun, and with these ideas, you can truly embrace the fun part of traveling and make your trips even more amazing than they have been in the past.
Roaming free - tales of wanderlustbykelley 