We are about to say goodbye to 2023 and while this was a busy year, it was also a year filled with adventures and for that we are super grateful!
We were able to cross many things off our travel bucket list in 2023 and that included visiting six new countries! Six!
We finally got to explore Canada, Croatia, Greece, Scotland, Wales, and Ireland.
2023 was the year we brought travel back with a vengeance as many of these destinations were on our bucket list for 2020…
But, as I said 2023 is coming to a close. It’s time to welcome a new year and with that often comes New Year’s Resolutions. We just happen to frame ours around travel!
We cannot contain our excitement for what we have in store for 2024 and have decided on these 10 travel resolutions for this coming year.
Go on a beach vacation
It’s been a while since we’ve been to the beach so one of our resolutions is to plan a relaxing, beachy getaway filled with good seafood, sun, sand, and tropical cocktails melting in our hands.
This year was all about traipsing around Europe and walking 30,000 steps every day to see the historic sites and it was great. But I am ready to relax, surrounded by white sand, and just let the waves wash our worries away.
Luckily we’ve already got this on the books with a Caribbean cruise planned early on in 2024 and it truly cannot come soon enough!
Be more spontaneous
We’ve generally been pretty good about going with the flow when we travel and rolling with the punches, but I know there are things I can do to be more spontaneous when we travel as it tends to pay off big time.
Like this fall, when we went to London and we had plans to go on a tour one night and found affordable tickets for the Back to the Future: The Musical performance for that same night.
Given the name of our blog, we are huge Back to the Future nerds and so we simply had to go!
We canceled the other tour and bought the theater tickets and it was so worth it. The show was amazing! And I want to be able to be more flexible like that when we travel this year.
Revisit a destination to see it through new eyes
I’m a stickler for routine and can happily re-read the same books or re-watch the same shows and apparently that trait applies to my travel habits as well as I love revisiting travel destinations.
But, this year, I was able to introduce Rick to Venice and Paris, two of my favorite cities, and see it through his eyes and feel like I was experiencing it all for the first time too.
It was a wonderful feeling and I’d love to recreate that in 2024.
Not overpack
When push comes to shove I can pack like a pro, but…. when I’m given an inch with my packing I’ll take a mile.
I can’t help it! I always think about that one shirt that even though I haven’t worn it in weeks it would be just perfect to take on this trip! And then I never wear it.
This year, I’m going to resolve to be as strict as possible with my packing and only take what I’ll use.
Plus that way I can bring home more souvenirs!
Be present and in the moment
For me specifically? This translates to taking fewer photos! I don’t even want to publicize how many photos I have stored on my phone as even I can admit it’s a ridiculous number.
I can resolve to take a few photos but then put my phone away and enjoy being in the moment and experiencing it fully instead of relying on my photographic evidence later.
I have a bad habit of wanting to make sure I get the best angles and so on, when in reality I end up with 20 photos that look identical. I’m going to be better at taking just a few shots and then committing what I’m looking at to my own memory.
Do separate guys’ and girls’ trips
We love traveling together, but we also love traveling with our friends!
And this year we’re resolving to take separate trips with friends. Rick already has his trip in the works and I need to start putting out the feelers for what my friends would be down for.
Separate trips are great as we get to see places the other might not want to or has already been to before, it gives us a chance to reconnect with our friends, and as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Cook our favorite travel dishes
This is one I’m really looking forward to!
We have several international cookbooks with recipes from our favorite travel destinations… we’re just not good at committing to cooking them.
This year, Rick did make homemade pasteis de nata and it was so tasty!
I’d love for at least one night each month we set aside as a night to recreate our favorite foods from around the world and make a night of it. Appetizers, mains, desserts, and wine or cocktails all come from that specific destination. It’ll give us a chance to bring those flavors home with us and then we can walk down memory lane at the same time.
Book a comped long weekend
We’ve done this a few times over the last few years and it’s a travel trend I do not want to give up moving into 2024!
This year we were able to comp our trip to San Francisco with credit card points and we did the same in December 2022 to New York.
It’s perfect for a little weekend getaway as we can use our points to earn free hotel stays and free flights (or at least severely discounted!). It’s a fun way to make travel feel more affordable as we were going to spend the money on our credit cards anyway, and can help us be more spontaneous with where we end up going on our “free” weekend.
Learn a new language
Rick and I have both been studying Italian since we went to Italy in 2018 but I’m expanding my horizons this year and attempting to learn a new language: Japanese.
Now, I have no grand visions of being fluent or bilingual, but I would love to know enough to get around Japan and have a basic conversation with people we meet. And the reason I chose Japanese….
Travel to a new travel destination
Is because we are finally going to cross Japan off our travel bucket list! We have plans to visit Japan in the spring to see the cherry blossoms and simply cannot wait for our first experience in Asia.
2023 was the year of crossing off lots of new travel destinations, but this one will be a biggie as it’s halfway around the world. I am so not looking forward to that long flight, but it will all be worth it when we get there!
What travel resolutions have you set for yourself in 2024? Share yours in the comments!
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Happy New Year!
