The technique that will help you go travel more this year.
We asked folks “what keeps you from traveling more?” Here’s what they said.
Time
Money
Someone “holding” them back. (Typically, it was a spouse who didn’t like to travel or a parent that they had to care for.)
Not enough vacation days
No one to travel with
Don’t make plans in time
Schedule too full
Not knowing where to go
Work
Can you relate?
We're talking to you, busy adult, who loves to travel, but has EVERY excuse why it’s not feasible right now. Weeknight schedules are filled to the brim with soccer, baseball, drum lessons, church services, board meetings, fundraisers, dinner with friends, and working out…AND weekend schedules bookmarked for errands and recovering from the week…
we know you're busy, and tired. So, so tired.
But what we also know is that the desire to travel and see new places and explore hasn’t gone away no matter how swamped your day-to-day life feels.
Here’s the hard truth.
It won’t get easier to travel later. That elusive time you’re waiting for, when you’ll have more money, more time, more freedom…yeah…that’s a fairytale. The reasons and excuses and responsibilities don’t go away, they just change with the seasons of life.
Have young kids and can’t travel?
It happens like this:
Maybe you are caring for young kids. You don’t how they’ll do flying. You think the road trip will be too long. There’s too much to bring— pack-n-play, stroller, bottles, baby swing, etc. Their nap-time schedule will interrupt all the travel plans. You’re too tired to enjoy a trip because you’re still not sleeping through the night. All of these woes come along with parenting young ones. Maybe travel will be easier once the kids get older.
So you wait.
Now that the kids are older, you can travel more, right? Wrong.
Now the kids are older, but what you didn’t count on was that you can’t leave town quite so easily at this stage. They have sports and school and dances and plays and testing at school that they can’t miss.
So you continue to wait.
You wait until they’re out of the house or you’re closer to retirement, with thoughts that when those times come, you’ll have more free time. Except you didn’t realize that college would tap every free dollar. Or an aging parent would get sick. Or, God forbid, your health doesn’t allow you to travel.And you put life on hold. And traveling continues to take a backseat.
Maybe you don’t have a travel partner.
Perhaps it’s not the kids that are holding you back. Maybe you have the time and the discretionary income, but you just can’t imagine traveling solo. You believe that travel is an experience that should be shared. You can’t seem to find a willing, or worthy, travel buddy.
So you wait.
Why do people travel? Here are 20 reasons travelers gave us.
What’s the big draw to travel anyway? And why is everyone so focused on trying to travel more? Traveling adds so much richness to life. The memories and experiences are invaluable. But what are the practical benefits of traveling?
We asked a group of travelers why THEY travel, and here’s what they said.
1. To sight see
2. To be active: swim, kayak, bike, hike, etc.
3. To eat
4. To have fun
5. To explore
6. To adventure with the family
7. To learn about historical places
8. To relax
9. To party or hit up the night life
10. To enjoy new surroundings
11. To meet people
12. To take photos
13. To hear good live music
14. To go camping
15. To make memories
16. For cultural events
17. To check out breweries, distilleries, or wineries
18. To seek out hidden gems (destinations) and backroads
19. To see something you can’t see in your hometown
20. To get lost
How can I travel more?
So, you’re convinced. You want 2020 to be full of more trips! Is there anything you can practically do, besides saving money, to make sure that happens?
Here are some ways that you be intentional about traveling more.
1. Spend the month of January scoping out a good travel buddy.
Be intentional about connecting with friends who also have a strong sense of wanderlust. Then, plan a coffee date and get some trip ideas down on the calendar.
2. Start small.
Find a site that helps you locate quick day trips, like this one in near Nashville, TN.
3. Join travel groups on Facebook.
Search for local Facebook groups where you can connect with other travelers who are sharing tips for road trips or ideas for destinations, like this one.
4. Plan multigenerational trips.
Plan a trip with the kids. Take a grandparent, aunt/uncle, or cousins along. Make it a family bonding experience. Just remember, family trips don’t have to be limited to big, once-in-a-lifetime Disney trips. Keep these important things in mind when planning multigenerational trips!
5. Join our Three in 2020 Challenge.
What’s the Three in 2020 Challenge?
If you want to travel more this year, we have a technique to help you. It’s called Three in 2020.
We’re challenging you to take three road trips in 2020.
Start planning now.
Get your calendars out and block off three weekends in 2020 for you and your travel buddies, friends, and/or family. Because the ONE thing that will get you traveling more this year is intentionality. Get one trip under your belt and you’ll be hungry for more. Get two trips done, and you will be planning your third before you get home from your second.
You just have to stop thinking about it and GO. You have to be intentional about picking dates, saving money, and arranging your schedule to fit travel in.
But why THREE trips?
Four felt like too many to start with. Three felt achievable for the budget and for the schedule. If you start early enough in the year, you can fit in:
1. one winter/spring road trip,
2. one summer road trip,
3. one fall road trip.
Or if you’re a procrastinator, like me, you will fit in 3 fall/winter road trips just under the deadline.
But, three road trips in 12 months.
And the trips don’t have to be long.
You can do this.
Here are some popular Q & A’s about the Three in 2020 Challenge.
Do you have to fly? No. Road trips absolutely count!
Does a day trip count? Yes.
Do we have to spend a ton of money on a trip? Nope. If your budget is limited, buy a tank of gas and pack a lunch. You’re all set!
If you do only ONE thing this year, let it be THIS.
Block off your travel dates NOW.
You don’t have to know where you’re going. You don’t even have to know how you’re paying for it or who is going with you. Block off the dates on your 2020 calendar NOW. Be fierce about protecting those dates from all the responsibilities of life.
Even more than choosing resolutions or guiding words for the year, write this simple phrase on your three selected calendar dates: SAVED FOR TRAVEL.
Before you get swallowed by all the appointments and commitments on your calendar, be sure you’ve set aside your travel days. This is one amazing and precious gift you can give to your 2020 self.
People who make enjoying life a priority, enjoy their life.
Recently, we read this quote: "People who make enjoying life a priority, ummmm..enjoy their life." And it was a revelation, in a child-like wisdom sort of way.
Sometimes simplicity has a way of rocking you to your core, or at least it does me. As a family, we realize the power of travel.
It informs how we see the world.
It educates.
It bonds us.
It causes us to see beauty in the world, despite the fact that so many voices in media and around us are raging: “There is no more beauty on our earth.”
Travel teaches us how to overcome fear with each new, unexplored road we set our wheels on. And it reminds us that our comfort zone is nowhere near as sweet as we were lead to believe.
We're calling an all-out assault on living life by default. On letting our busy schedules run us into exhaustion. On missing the opportunity to make memories with the people we love.
Road trips are easy ways to start re-connecting and exploring with your family and friends. And hey, if you’re doing a solo road trip, what a beautiful way to find some quiet time and reconnect to your true self…the one beneath the layers of worry or exhaustion…the one you haven’t seen in awhile.
With road trips, you won't have the expense of plane tickets. And your trip doesn't have to be a long getaway.
If you can pack a bag and drive a car, you can take a road trip.
And we're going to help. How?
You can count on us for quick and easy road trip ideas. We release one new road trip every Friday! We call it Mystery Trip Friday.
We will make planning a getaway easy. By highlighting a destination we think you’ll love every week, we’ll give you a wealth of trip ideas from which to choose! Let our family will be your tour guide. Take this road trip, for example.
For this trip, we drove the 4 hours to Indianapolis, Indiana. We had never been there before. Frankly, we were surprised we could get to Indiana from Tennessee so quickly. We slept in a historic train car, played drums in the city, road paddleboats down the river right in the middle of downtown, and so much more!
One road trip done…so many memories made. That’s how it’s done.
But don’t hear what I’m not saying.
Road trips don’t have to be hours away. They don’t have to be overnight trips. They can be day trips. Small treks that get you out of your 10-mile radius, out of your comfort zone, and onto new roads. Let’s reframe our idea of a road trip.
Road trip: exploring any area that you’ve never seen via car.
These weekend trips don’t have to cost more than a tank of gas. Skip the restaurants; pack a lunch and your favorite snacks if the budget is tight. Just hit the road.
Read more: These trips are 1-3 hours from Nashville!
