Happy new year!  2017 is upon us, and while I may have mixed feelings about that, there’s no denying that the arrival of a new calendar year is a great opportunity to take stock and set resolutions and intentions for ourselves.  I’ve already written down my official new years’ resolutions in my notebook, as I always do on January 1.  Hopefully I’ll be as successful with them this year as last year (I kept about six out of nine, not bad…though maybe it means I need to be more ambitious in my goal-setting?)  Anyway….on to travel!

  Antigua, Guatemala

 

Travel is always my number one resolution and the first goal I write down in my notebook on new year’s day. It’s my favorite resolution as it’s easy to keep: do more of my favorite thing in the world and continue exploring this magical planet?  Yes, I can probably squeeze that in along with “eat healthier” and “save more money.”

I already have a pretty good handle on where I plan to travel this year—I’ll save that for a future post.  Today I want to share some of the broader travel-related resolutions I plan to make for the year ahead.  So far, here’s what I’ve settled on:

Melissa’s Travel Resolutions for 2017

  • Seize Opportunities. I like to think that I always seize any travel opportunity that presents itself with both hands, but this year I want to get better about really taking advantage of all the opportunities presented to me and get creative with them where I can.  For instance, I have at least two potential overseas work trips coming up where I could plausibly add on a few vacation days to spend more time in places I love, or even pop into an entirely new country for the first time as I’ll be so close.  Challenge accepted!

 

  • Make My Dream Trip Happen. For years (actually, decades) I’ve been wanting to go to Russia.  I studied Russian history and politics as part of my college curriculum and got my graduate degree in international relations with a focus on Russia and Eastern Europe—yet somehow, I’ve still never been to Russia.  How ridiculous is that?  This year, I’m determined to make it over there as part of a longer trip to the Baltic/Scandinavian region, which I’m also dying to visit.  I hereby declare 2017 the year of making my Russia dream come true!

 

  • Be More Adventurous. Of course, one can argue that travel is an adventure in itself, but more and more I’ve come to realize that visiting new places also presents unique opportunities to try new things and get out of your comfort zone.  I want to do a yoga retreat by the beach, take cooking and language classes in new countries, zipline in Costa Rica, climb the Sydney Harbor Bridge in Australia, go skydiving in Queenstown, New Zealand…and I’m sure I can think of more to add to the list.  It may not all happen this year, but I at least want to make a start on becoming a more adventurous traveler in 2017.

 

  • Get Better at Collecting Points and Miles. I suck at travel hacking.  Embarrassing, but true.  For one who travels relatively often, I don’t really make much of an effort to collect or redeem points and miles for free flights, upgrades, etc.  I’m vowing to improve on this in 2017, especially as one of my 2018 trips is likely to involve a long flight.  Which leads me to….

 

  • Save for a Big Trip and Begin Planning. I have a big, ambitious trip to a completely new-to-me part of the world that I’ve been thinking about for a while—one that will require more than my usual week or two. I’m not exactly sure when or how this trip will unfold (and it probably won’t be until at least 2018) but I want to start setting aside dedicated savings to fund this big adventure this year, as well as begin delving into the planning process.  More details hopefully coming soon….

 

  • Finish My Book. And finally—one of the things I’m most proud of in 2016 is that I began writing a book on travel.  It’s still a work in progress, but I’ve been writing away and am pretty pleased with it so far.  In 2017, I want to finish the writing process and begin looking into publishing to bring my new creation into the world.  Wish me luck!

Angkor Wat, Cambodia.

What are your travel goals or resolutions for 2017?  Did you keep the ones you made last year?