Being a travel blogger can be a lot of hard work. We have the fortunate ability to see the world, and create content that inspires our readers. I have gathered some of my favorite travel bloggers and had them list their upcoming travel goals, to help inspire your dreams or passions.
I got a lot of amazing responses, that really drive home their end goal: to help their readers learn, and feel both inspired and happy. The responses were astounding, ranging from financial, to personal, and even location goals. I found it so interesting to read what each person hopes to accomplish in the near future.
These travel gurus and experts have taken the time to create a beautiful list of the goals they have set for themselves, that should definitely be added to your bucket list. Leave your biggest dreams and aspirations in the comments below!
If you don’t know where you want to travel to, take this travel quiz to find out!
I will Cross 8 Countries off of my WanDerlust List this year.
Elizabeth Wanderlust at Digital Travel Guru
My wanderlust goal is to try and visit and explore as many countries as I can. I love travelling to countries to experience, the culture, food, historical sites and to go off the beaten track where possible. I also love diving, snorkelling and island hopping.
So far I have travelled to approximately 40 countries. I am currently planning to visit several destinations on my Wanderlust list this year with a plan to do a round the world trip in next year.
As I will be developing my site to achieve my goal of adding video content I have selected this year a number of countries to visit, some of these places I have visited before, but mainly I want to re-visit them to practice my droning skills and videography skills and see parts of these countries I have not visited on previous trips. The countries I am planning to visit this year, so far are (Sri Lanka, Maldives, Morocco, India, Burma, China, Vietnam, and Cambodia).
I am also spending this year planning my round the world trip for next year. I am planning to visit the following countries (Peru, Colombia, Costa Rica, Brazil, Belize, Panama) in Central and South America, then planning to head to Africa (South Africa, Kenya, Madagascar) then Asia (Japan, Philippines, Cook Islands, Fiji, Australia, New Zealand) to carry on from my goal this year, of creating more travel videos and written content.
We Will Make it to Next year without going back to our previous Jobs.
Sion & Ben at The Globetrotter Guys
Our travel goal for this year is a big one, it will take a lot of work but will be completely worth it.
‘’Make it to next year without having to return home to our previous jobs.’’
We have been together for 9 years and married for one. We booked a one-way flight in January with the intention of never returning back to the UK. We want to see as much of the world as possible during our travels and go for as long as possible.
Our savings will not last forever, we would be lucky to do six months! As such, we will have to get creative. To do this we will have to budget hard, make use of schemes like Workaway and possibly pick up casual work along the way. We will be blogging along the way and also using this as a tool to reach out to other bloggers and learn from them.
We have seen people make this into a sustainable lifestyle so the question we ask ourselves is ‘why not us’? We can’t think of a good reason why not us so we plan to go for it and make it happen.
I will Make it To South America.
Kate Storm at Our Escape Clause
Last year was an enormously successful travel year for us, but there was one big goal that we fell short of: finally making it to South America
We had halfway-planned trips scheduled to the continent in both 2016 and 2017, but it just never quite worked out: this year, we were determined to reach our goal… so we started early.
In late January, we flew to Colombia to spend a month exploring the country, and also ensuring that our goal of reaching South America next year wouldn’t be hanging over our heads throughout the year.
Our month in Colombia has been an absolute blast, and though we’re opting not to explore the rest of the continent at the moment, we know there will be many more incredible trips to South America in our future.
Now, our eyes have turned to other goals next year: perhaps a trip to the Middle East, to Central Asia, or to Oceania will be in store for the fall.”
We Will Save $25K for Our wedding, And An Australian Road trip.
Stacey & Wayne at LoveYourTravels
No doubt about it, next year is going to be our year. From getting married in March to then taking off on a 12 month road trip of Australia. It’s going to be pretty epic! However this means some serious budgeting and crunching of numbers to ensure it all happens. Here’s the thing, we have debt inclusive of mortgages, personal loans and credit cards.
Crazy to go on a trip with that you would think, however this year we are committing ourselves to reach our lifelong goal. We plan to save $15,000 in cash to help with our road trip costs, if we get more than that we will be over the moon! We want a beautiful elegant wedding and to keep costs down we are getting married in our country town were we met. We are aiming to do it all for $10,000.
Now all that debt we had, we are aiming to get at least $10,000 paid off of our debts and to be 12 months in front on all our payments so it’s more comfortable for us to travel stress free.
It might seem 2018 is going to be pretty boring as we will be saving all our money with not much travel happening, however thats okay as we know 2019 is going to amazing!”
I will travel back To Countries I have Gone To, And Experience Them Again.
My travel goal for this year is to not visit new countries, but rather explore the ones I’ve already been to a little deeper or in a more ‘mature’ fashion. I have been to over 90 countries, but there is something that exhilarates me about re-exploring places, especially now that I no longer travel solo and want to show my partner all of cool places I’ve had the opportunity to explore throughout my life. Seeing his opinions about a place and hearing his impressions often makes me feel like I am traveling back to that place for the first time, too. Countries change and people change… and I think that going back to places you liked (or didn’t like) is just as important as visiting places you’ve never been. I also look forward to seeing more of the countries I’ve visited this year. I am heading back to Ukraine in two days and I will be back in two cities I’ve been to (Kyiv and Zaporizhia), but I plan to add a city I haven’t explored (Kryvyi Rih) to my list for this trip to expand my knowledge of the country, which happens to be my favorite country in Europe. I have been to Ukraine several times since 2011 and to look back and see how much the country has changed in just this decade is inspiring and enthralling. Going back regularly makes me feel connected to the people and the changes the nation is going through. I definitely look forward to building those deeper connections with places I’ve already been to this year. Some trips on the books currently are the Baltics (been there over ten times), Kazakhstan (lived there and been there multiple times), Kyrgyzstan (been there eight times), Faroe Islands (been there once), Svalbard (been there once), Romania (lived there and been there several times), and the Azores (been there once).
I will spend time in New Zeland.
Jub at Tiki Touring Kiwi
After completing University I moved to Melbourne, Australia in early 2011. Since then, I’ve spent less than six months total in New Zealand (last time in April 2016). Not all of that time was in Melbourne, since early 2013 I’ve spent the majority of my time in Southeast Asia and Europe.
My goal this yearis to spend at least a few months in New Zealand seeing friends, family, and travelling within New Zealand. I’m not going to lie though, I thought I’d be back for Christmas 2017, but that wasn’t too be.
I’m scared/nervous about heading back. What if everything has changed? People will have their own lives, and we know noone else in our friendship circle from home really cares about out travels right? It’s also a fear of getting stuck. What if I find the right girl and am happy never to travel again. What if I decide I don’t like travelling anymore. There’s so much unknown about going home to New Zealand, but I need to get back this year. That’s the goal at least.
We Will Travel With Less Luggage.
Suewan, Dan and Roobs at RTW Families.
This year our travel goal is to reduce the amount of luggage we are carrying around the world. For the past 2 years, we have been hauling 70kgs check-in luggage (3 suitcases) and 20kgs of carry-on between us. As a family of 3 (mum, dad and 9-year-old) this is really too much! It has been an eye-opener for us to live with no base and to only have what is in our suitcases. Now we need to refine the process even more and get down to the basics. We have been carrying some seemingly odd stuff with us – a blender, a keyboard, a scooter…. however, we felt these things were important to us. You can read more about the strange things we carry in our suitcases here. So this year we will be looking at lightening the load by simplifying our clothes, reconsidering our priorities (how important are smoothies??) and looking into lightweight suitcases. Our aim is that by the end of this year we will be down to 2 suitcases between us and will no longer be paying any excess baggage fees. Wish us luck!
We Will Hike the Great Himalaya Trail, and focus on helping others.
Campbell & Alya at Stingy Nomads
We have some great plans for this year and really hope we’ll be able to complete our challenges. My husband and I both like outdoor activities; we’re passionate hikers and divers, love camping and exploring the remote places and off the beaten path locations. We’ve done many multi day hikes, including Everest Base camp trek, and climb a couple of mountains (Kilimanjaro and Elbrus). Now we’re planning to do the Great Himalaya trail (Nepalese part), 1700km across the country from East to West, with total elevation gained 60 000m and some passes over 6000m above the sea level. The trek takes between 2 to 3 months depending on hikers’ fitness level, chosen trail (Upper or Lower trail), permits, weather conditions etc. The hike is very demanding not only physically but emotionally as well and offers many challenges which mean good planning is crucial.
To get more motivated we need a bigger purpose than just completing our bucket list or challenging ourselves. For this reason we’re planning to start a campaign, get involved social media and local brands and do fundraising for charity. In South Africa, where we live, there are many social problems and inequality; it will be great if we can make even a small contribution to the improvement of our country and inspire people to go beyond their comfort zone. This is our plan for 2018 and we sincerely hope everything will work out!
I will Move To Tel Aviv and Start A New Life There.
Claudia Tavani at My Adventures Across the World
I went to Israel for the first time at the end of 2016 and spent a week there, visiting Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. I almost instantly fell in love with it. I loved the sights and the nature. I enjoyed the food and the vibe. And I felt completely at ease with the local culture and the people. Within a few months, I went back, decided to explore the rest of the country. I stayed for 3 full weeks, yet hardly considered myself done with it. Little by little I had started making friends there – some I had met during my travels in South America, others directly in Israel. At the end of 2017, I went again and this time hardly as a tourist: I just spent time with friends, practically living like a local. I have been toying with the thought of moving to Israel for months now. I can see myself living in Tel Aviv, a city that is full of life. I have dipped my feet enough in it, and it is now time that I finally pursue this dream and actually make the move. My goal for this year is to finally move to Tel Aviv and start a new life there.
I Will See The Northern Lights.
Margherita Ragg at The Crowded Planet
My main travel goal this year is seeing the Northern Lights! Last year, I spent two weeks in Finnish Lapland, including five days in Salla, a village beyond the Arctic Circle where the lights are often seen, but we didn’t see them a single time! To make matters even worse, electromagnetic activity was often high enough, but unfortunately, the clouds hid everything from view. Naturally, just after we left the skies were clear again and there were some beautiful displays. To be honest, visiting Lapland was a wonderful experience despite not seeing the lights – we went dogsledding, rode on a reindeer sleigh, went on a snowmobile and had lots of wonderful hikes, but I really hope we’ll be luckier next time. I don’t know where we’ll go – maybe to Iceland, or maybe to the Lofoten Islands in Norway. And if the Northern Lights elude me again, I’ll just keep trying!
I Will Hike A Scenic Mountain In Switzerland.
Arzo Travels
One of the things I love the most about Switzerland is the fact that you can enjoy the best mountain views without having the need to hike at all. Cable cars and funiculars can get you up almost any mountain without much effort. And Switzerland has the most beautiful mountain views – looking from 2000 meters height at the gorgeous lakes like Lake Brienz or Lake Thun and being surrounded by beautiful nature is just unique. However, this year I plan to hike one of the mountains. Well, it is not that I have never hiked in Switzerland at all, but mostly, I did smaller hikes or did just hike one-way and then took the cable car for the other way. It is part of being healthier and be more active – while doing what I like the most and this is traveling the world. Besides, hiking is such an essential part of Swiss culture, so the best way to immerse in Swiss culture is to adopt the healthy aspects of their lifestyle. So, my plan for this year is to do hike one mountain – up and down. I have not figured up which mountain it will be, but I do not want to pick the easiest one, but neither one of the most difficult one (like Klein Matterhorn). I am sure that whatever mountain hike I will opt out for it will be a great experience, so if you are not much of a hiker, this might be a new activity for next year as well?
We will Make it To The Arctic Circle.
Scott & Hayley at International Hotdish
We’ve always been fascinated by the Arctic Circle. It’s a cold, mysterious place that defies your notions of day and night – how long the sun stays up in the sky. It’s both complete darkness and unrelenting sunshine, depending on the time of year you visit.
The beauty of the arctic circle lies in the absence of mostly everything. Of course towns exists alongside flora and fauna, but the sparseness of them all is intriguing. It’s an inhospitable place, which makes its vastness hypnotizing.
Because of these reasons we’re eagerly planning a trip within the bounds of the great white north. Our approach will probably be through Finland, another place we’ve been curious to visit. Once we land in Helsinki, we’ll most likely hitch a train way up north. And, surprisingly enough to us, plenty of airbnbs exist up there, so we won’t be scratching around looking for a place to stay – not that we intend on sleeping that much anyway.
I will push myself To Be More Involved With The Locals.
Roxanna Keyes at Gypsy With A Day Job
No matter where my travels take me this year, one of my goals is to strike up conversations with locals. No matter how well intentioned a travel writer is, or how conscientious a news source, hours of online reading cannot give insight into a city or country the way that a 30 minute conversation with someone who lives there.
My first real experience with this came on Waikiki Beach. I accidentally met up with a construction worker on his smoke break. After that, I made a point to time my morning walk with his breaks, so our conversations could continue. I learned about the island, the history, and the culture from this man. I don’t even know his name, but he changed me, and how I think about travel.
Throughout our lives we are educated about the world, other cultures, and our own place within it all, from a singular perspective. While this is true everywhere we go, all of those perspectives are different. What I have been taught about many cultures is wrong. What they were taught about me is also wrong. Two people seeing each other clearly, for the first time, is a tiny step towards governments understanding each other.
An insatiable case of wanderlust ails me, and I want to see a thousand gorgeous locations. But I must understand the people and the life they live, otherwise I am a just a tourist. I want to be a citizen of the world.
I will Visit all 412 UNESCO Heritage Sites In Europe.
Maria Haase at EuropeUpClose
As a travel blogger at EuropeUpClose, I have seen many places in Europe, but somehow my travels felt a little aimless and uninspired. So I was looking for something that would keep me motivated to travel explore the countries I visit a little more in-depth. I have always been fascinated by UNESCO World Heritage Sites, but to be honest, most of the time I “stumbled” upon them or found out later, that the place I just visited, was a UNESCO site.
So I decided to visit all 412 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Europe – not in 1 year, but closer to 5. I think this bring me to some beautiful spots in Europe and allow me to learn more about the history and culture of the places I will visit. First up, will be a UNESCO World Heritage Site Road Trip around Portugal and I am excited where this UNESCO Bucket List Challenge will take me.
I will Learn The Local Language before I travel.
Fanny Minka at Minka Guides
In all the preparations I make for travel (booking a fabulous place to stay, researching fun things to do, making sure I pack the right clothes for the weather), one thing I rarely remember to prepare for is this difference in language.
Yup, I’m that typical traveller from an English-speaking country that just assumes that no matter where we go, we’ll get by. It’s such an after-thought that I usually don’t remember until I’m exiting the arrivals that I don’t speak the language. After visiting a dozen different countries recently, I’ve really started to realize that making no effort to learn the basics of the local language is…. well, disrespectful.
So, my travel goal for 2018 is to try learning a little of the language for every country that I visit. It so easy these days with all the free language apps! I’ve started using Duolingo, which reminds me daily to take 5 minutes to practice and build my vocabulary. So 6 weeks before each trip, I’ll start a new language course. That means this year, I’m going to learn at least a little Italian, Spanish, French and German. Wish me luck!
I hiked the Camino De Santiago from France.
I’m a hiker. Or at least I like to think so. However, I have been recently questioning this. How can I call myself a hiker when I haven’t done any hiking at all in the last year?
I have done a lot of hiking in the past, both day hikes and long distance. One of my greatest achievements was to hike the Camino de Santiago from France – over 500 miles all the way to the Galician coast. It was one of the greatest experiences of my life too.
The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage route that has its origins in medieval times. It attracts people from all over the world who do it for many different reasons – spiritual, exercise, a personal challenge… Because of this, you get to meet people from all walks of life along the way, and as you are just hiking, there are no everyday distractions so you get to know people well very quickly. It’s almost like a bubble, a parallel universe where strong friendships are forged along the way.
So, after my hiking hiatus last year, I decided to take on my next Camino, the Portuguese Camino de Santiago from Lisbon. And I can’t wait to leave the world behind for a few weeks and just focus on putting one foot in front of the other and make some meaningful connections with the people I’ll meet on my way.
I Will Visit Somewhere New Every Month.
Kirstin McEwan at The Tinberry Travels
I’ve never been one for New Year’s resolutions but, as this year came around, I thought about how many places I had never got around to visiting. There are so many things that are on my list but life just seemed to get in the way, they never seemed immediate priorities and so they had remained on the must see list rather than the awesome places I’ve been one.
I decided that this year I would set a travel goal to visit somewhere new every month to ensure I see more of the world around me. While I’d love to just disappear and travel the globe I’m mixing things up with some international travel and some local adventures as well, as we often forget the amazing things in our own backyard. To kick the whole thing off, I opted to explore Copenhagen in winter with a few nights in the Danish capital at the end of January and then focus closer to home in February with a local excursion to a country house and estate nearby.
I’m already planning ahead for each month now and while plans may not always be extravagant and involve travel to far-flung destinations, it’s important to make yourself keep trying new places and new things and such a simple travel goal is certainly forcing me to think…what new place can we go to this month?
I wIll Return To Haiti.
Josh Skipworth at Cartography and Cloture
Though several trips are booked for this year, I’m most excited about a potential one I haven’t yet planned; a return to Haiti. Last year, on a flight-deal induced whim, I booked a 6 day trip to Port-au-Prince with no plan, relation to Haiti, or experience in a country as troubled. I loved every second of it. The people were kind, the heat overwhelming but affirming, and the landscape indescribably beautiful. I’m privileged to have developed a legitimate friendship with my AirBnB hosts, so my return plans center around visiting them and potentially linking up to road trip Haiti.
We ventured through Port-au-Princes surrounding mountains last year, but I’d love to get beyond that, hopefully over to The Citadel, one of Haiti’s two UNESCO sites. Last time, I was focused entirely on getting to know the people and life beyond what we see on the news, so I didn’t spend any time at a museum or anything like that. No matter what happens, I know I’ll love Haiti just as much this tim
I Will Visit 75 Countries on The Traveler’s Century Club List.
Stephanie Craig at History Fangirl
A lot of people who travel full-time want to “see every country,” but there’s a huge debate about what that means. However, the Travelers’ Century Club list is the one I use, because it carves out every little nook and cranny of the planet and challenges you to figure out how to get there. To put this in perspective, there are 193 countries in the United Nations, but the TCC list currently has 325 entries and will soon expand to 327.
My goal for 2018 is to get to 75 countries on this list. I started the year at 48, and I’m now at 55. If everything works out with my current travel plans, I should get to 75 in early December. I have solid plans to add most of the Iberian peninsula, the Caucasus, the Stans, and the Baltics this year. My ultimate goal is to be able to become an official TCC member in 2019, which I think is feasible as long as I get to 75 by the end of this year. Wish me luck!
I will Explore My home country (India), and Improve my Photography Skills.
Anjali Chawla at Travel Melodies
What are your travel resolutions?” – One question that’s sure to surface at the start of the New Year. As much as we love randomness in life, we have come to believe that one needs to have a plan to some extent. Set goals, but be ready to accept the uncertainty because someone has rightly said, “One can plan for tomorrow but cannot plan tomorrow.”
2017 was all about taking baby steps – we took our passion for travel to another level and started our own travel blog. The year was good as we almost traveled every month, met new people who became friends and learned blogging skills.
I have two major travel goals for 2018 that I hope to accomplish by the end of the year. The first one is to explore my home country, India – The fact is that we never really explore our own country like we explore other countries, no matter how vibrant and diverse it may be. We take it for granted and dream about visiting foreign destinations when such lovely places are hidden in our own backyard. Sometimes I feel like I’m a tourist in my own country. The country we live in has more than what we think. In 2018, I’ve decided to celebrate my own country. Incredible India!
The second one is to improve my photography skills – I’ve been reading articles on photography and trying my hand at Lightroom and Photoshop. My goal for 2018 is to take photography more seriously and join a photography course to improve my skills and the quality of my pictures.
I will Travel With A Small Group Of Solo Female Travellers To Italy.
Michela Fantinel at Rocky Travel
After 8 years of blogging about women travelling alone, this year I am willing to get my first small group of solo travellers travelling with me in Italy for a week or so. The aim is to inspire and help female like-minded active travellers become more confident and get started with travelling solo. While we will be touring some less touristy places of Italy in North Italy from Venice to Trieste, as well as hiking and walking int the Venetian Dolomites we will be also getting to know local customs and traditions, by trying out special food of the region and learn about the local culture with hands-on experiences. We will be also share experiences and how to travel in a simpler and smarter way, by discussing travel planning issues as well as topics of female lifestyle on how to make travel an integral part of our lives. You can read more about it here.
We Will Complete The Cultural Triangle In Sri Lanka.
Pujarini Mitra at My Soul Travels
Hey there! I am Pujarini and I travel with my hubby and toddler. We have been travelling extensively for many years and our travel goal for this year is to complete the cultural triangle in Sri Lanka. We are planning a trip to Sri Lanka for 2 weeks in August. Sri Lanka has been on our bucket list for a very long time but always got skipped, being so close to India.
This year however, we are looking to spend some quality time with our toddler’s latest favourite animal – Eleeees (Elephants). So, while we will be exploring the ancient and sacred region around Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Kandy, we will be visiting Kaudulla National Park to see elephants in the wild.
Sri Lanka has many relics and monuments that are UNESCO heritage sites and are a paradise for history buffs like us. We are also planning to spend some time away at the beautiful beaches in South Sri Lanka. So, stay tuned for more stories coming your way as we explore the “Land of Serendipity
Don’t forget to pin this to your travel board!
