memory destination trip

Memory Makers Travel Agency

Where is your next adventure, lake charles travel agency, memory makers travel., we provide professional “nationwide” travel planning services at no additional cost to you. regardless of your location, simply give us a call and let us help you plan your dream vacation..

All-Inclusive Vacation Packages

We provide All-Inclusive Vacation Packages that will take all of the stress and worry out of budgeting your vacation. Simply let us know where and when you want to go and we’ll do the rest. We’re here to be of service.

Fabulous World-Wide Cruises

There are fantastic cruises available that can take you to almost any geographical location in the world. The cruise ships today provide a wide array of amenities that will provide memories that will not be forgotten.

Traditional Vacation Packages

Visit cities and theme parks throughout the world. Let us know exactly where you would like to go and we will be able to put together a vacation package for you that is sure to please. We take the stress out of planning!

Highly-Rated River Cruises

River cruises have become significantly more popular in recent years. You will find that shore excursions are generally included in many ports of call where you can experience the local cuisine and culture.

Exceptional Escorted Tours

Enjoy an Escorted Tour to almost any country in the world. A great tour guide will make your trip informative and interesting at the same time while helping to fulfill all of your personal needs from start… to finish.

Dream Vacation Accounts

Memory Makers Travel Agency has Dream Vacation Accounts available for those individuals who would like to begin saving now for future vacations or trips. Give us a call and we will be happy to answer any questions that you may have about this exceptional program.

Gift Certificates Available

Providing someone with a Gift Certificate that can be used towards a wonderful vacation is a thoughtful gift that they will remember for a lifetime. We also provide a registry for engaged couples and the gift certificates can help defray the cost of their honeymoon.

WHERE NEXT?

Our team of experts offer mouth watering special offers. From adventurous elephant trekking to awe-inspiring beaches, our collection of destinations is irresistible.

“professional travel planning services at no additional cost to you”.

We have booked several trips both for our office staff and just our family with Memory Makers. They are always so helpful with ideas and make the process super easy.

Always professional and efficient. All of our trips have turned out wonderful!

Worked with Brandi to plan my trip to Los Cabos Mexico it was an amazing trip and I can’t thank her enough for how smooth everything went! Transportation to and from the resort/ airport was booked and they were waiting for me when I arrived. The resort was beautiful and I will def be visiting Brandi again when it comes time to book my next trip!

Ellen Stephens is awesome to work with! She has planned our bachelorette and bachelor parties and my fiance and I’s honeymoon and we have been nothing but pleased with Memory Makers!! Cant wait to use them for another trip!

Our experience with Memory Makers & Ellen was amazing! She endured my countless questions, phone calls, & texts with a smile. I truly felt like she was excited as I was! We felt like she wanted our vacation to be perfect!… and it was! We will definitely be back! Thank you all so much!

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12 Tips for Traveling With a Loved One Who Has Dementia

A daughter plans a family vacation with her dad’s alzheimer’s in mind.

Barbara Barrielle, 

When I suggested to my family that we to go to Florida’s Sanibel and Captiva Islands last December, they jumped at the idea. My parents, who are both in their mid-80s, had spent a few weeks on Sanibel each winter for about 10 years, so it was familiar. And it seemed like an ideal destination for a relaxing trip, where we could be joined by my sisters — Tricia, who lives in Columbus, Ohio, and Jennie, who’s based in Raleigh, North Carolina. There are hundreds of condos stretched along the islands’ shell-packed beaches, but nothing feels crowded. Tennis, water sports, beach walking and reading by the shore are the primary activities between eating and drinking. I’d join them from my home in Northern California.

Three years ago, when my father was diagnosed with dementia , we started taking my mother away from their Bay Village, Ohio, home for a short annual break from caregiving for my dad. She loved seeing  Hamilton  in New York, then enjoyed Charleston and its Southern charm and fabulous food the next year. This year, we thought, we would bring Dad; maybe it would bring back memories, and he would feel comfortable in a place he once loved.

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By now my father’s cognitive decline was full-blown Alzheimer’s; his increasing memory loss meant his disease was progressing rapidly. But my father was still quite mobile, and his doctor wasn’t concerned about his flying to join us on vacation. And Dad seemed to like the idea when we explained it — repeatedly, due to his memory loss. I grabbed the calendar he checked several times a day and filled it with notations like “two weeks till Sanibel” and “beach coming soon.” He seemed to understand that we were going to one of his favorite haunts.

The day finally arrived. Except for the brisk removal of a mask that sent my dad’s $7,000 hearing aids flying across the airport floor, everyone arrived with little incident (my mom and sister were both on hand to assist him), and we settled in. As we soon found out, the best place to be was at our condo on the beach. We had a handful of meals at restaurants but mostly cooked our own, and those meals turned out better than the food we could find at local tourist spots.

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Real stories, resources, and advice

There were disappointments, though. Dad did not really want to walk on the beach and needed to use the restroom frequently. And while we had hopes that his memory cloud might lift during this getaway, they were dashed every morning when he woke up and asked where he was (the first of dozens of times throughout the day). Except for two hilarious nights when he was as clear and funny as he used to be, we spent a lot of time answering his endless questions and trying to keep him engaged.

Traveling? Pack these documents 

Before you depart, make sure you have the following items for your loved one: 

• Doctors’ names and contact information
• A list of current medications and dosages
• A list of food or drug allergies
• Names and contact information of friends and family members to call in case of an emergency
• Health insurance information

Source: The Alzheimer’s Association 

It helped to maintain a sense of humor. One day he woke up and announced that he knew why he was in Florida: “I’m a travel writer, and I am here to do a story on this place,” he declared to my mother, who surely did not keep a straight face.

The bottom line is that it was not the idyllic family vacation we’d hoped for, but it was, nevertheless, fantastic to be together, read on the beach, cook crazy meals and spend time with Dad. He seemed to enjoy himself, at least sometimes; he was more talkative than he is at home, and he reminisced about the trip a bit for a few weeks after returning home.

And we learned a few things. For one, next time we will bring Dad’s dog, Arnie — his touchstone, his pal, his responsibility. He needs my mother in sight at all times, too, but Arnie can be the dam that holds back his moments of panic. We also need to keep sports magazines on hand as a diversion and bring loads of patience.

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A few more tips for traveling with a relative who has dementia:

1. Strategize.  Before you go, think about the problems that might arise and how you’d handle them. For our family, that meant having one sister travel on the plane with my parents, in case my mom needed help navigating with my dad, and my arriving before them to be sure the condo was equipped with food and drinks when they got there.

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2. Stay relatively close to home.  This will decrease time in transit, which can be stressful for someone with dementia. Our trip certainly would have been easier if it hadn’t required flying or an extremely long drive.

3. Explain the plan to your loved one.  Well before the trip, begin describing where you will be going and what you may do, even if you need to repeat it often.

4. Try to stick with the familiar.  Having beloved, comforting people and pets on hand is key. In our case, that was my mother. We should have brought my father’s dog as well, because he looked for little Arnie every day. And we chose to go to a location my parents had been to many times.

5. Manage expectations.  Your loved one may not be as thrilled by the trip as you hoped they would be. My father sometimes said he wanted to be home.

6. Allow for lots of downtime.  Don’t overschedule or overstimulate.

7. Try to schedule travel and activities  at a time of day when the memory-affected family member is most aware and less prone to panic.

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8. Pack smart.  Whether you fly or drive, pack a bag with all of your loved one’s medications, games to play and a smartphone or iPad for entertainment. Make sure you bring any relevant medical information and insurance cards, know where hospital facilities are located at your destination, and have a backup plan and travel insurance in case there is a need to cancel. You may want to give your loved one an ID bracelet if wandering is an issue.

9. If you’re flying, arrive at the airport extra early.  Before your trip, you can contact the TSA helpline, TSA Cares, toll free at 1-855-787-2227, or email [email protected] to request extra assistance during the screening process.

10. Keep plans flexible.  Don’t hesitate to cancel if you or your loved one’s doctor determines that travel will be overwhelming or medically risky.

11. Be patient.  You may hear stories you have heard hundreds of times and need to repeat yourself frequently. Go with the flow.

12. Focus on spending quality time with each other:  talking, telling stories, joking and sharing meals, not seeing the sights or having adventures. Those personal moments were the highlights of our trip and the memories we most value.

Potential health benefits of travel

A  paper  published in June 2022 in the journal  Progress in Tourism Management  explores how travel could benefit those living with dementia. The team of Australian researchers report that some of the varied experiences that come with travel — sightseeing, dining out and enhanced physical activity — can provide cognitive, sensory and social stimulation that could have some  real health benefits  for people living with dementia.

“And then there’s the basics, like fresh air and sunshine increasing vitamin D and serotonin levels,” lead researcher Jun Wen explained in a statement. “Everything that comes together to represent a holistic tourism experience makes it easy to see how patients with dementia may benefit from tourism as an intervention.”

It’s important to recognize that not everyone with dementia can travel. In this instance,  virtual reality tours  may also provide therapeutic benefits.

Editor’s note: This story, first published Aug. 5, 2021, has been updated to include information from a new study.

Barbara Barrielle is a travel and wine writer who also produces films. Her documentary  “Crushed: Climate Change and the Wine Country Fires”  is at film festivals now.

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More on Dementia

How Therapeutic Fibbing and Diversion Can Help Loved Ones with Dementia and Alzheimer’s

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Why Caregivers Should Confront Rather Than Avoid a Dementia Diagnosis

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Let a Memory Maker® at Enchanted Memories Travel plan and book the perfect vacation for you and your family. Services are always FREE  and attention to detail can’t be beat. Whether you are looking for a family trip to Disney, a cruise to the Bahamas  or a trek through Europe, we can help you start making memories today!

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10 Memory-Making Family Vacation Ideas

The best memories are made when we spend time with our loved ones. That’s why family vacations are so important! They allow us to create memories that will last a lifetime.

If you’re looking for some ideas on where to go on your next family vacation , look no further!

This blog post will share ten amazing destinations perfect for families.

We have something for everyone, from beaches to theme parks to snowy mountains!

So pack your bags and get ready for some fun!

Great Family Vacation Ideas

If you’re looking for family vacation ideas that will create memories for a lifetime, look no further! Here are ten of the best family vacations you can add to your list.

1. Disneyland or Disney World

A family classic, Disneyland and Disney World are both fantastic places to create lasting memories. From meeting Mickey Mouse to riding thrilling rides, there’s something for everyone at these magical destinations.

While Disneyland is located in Anaheim, California, you can find Disney World in Orlando, Florida. Both parks offer a variety of accommodations, dining, and entertainment options, so you can tailor your trip to suit your family’s needs.

With so much to see and do, your family will surely have a blast!

2. The Beach

Whether you’re looking to relax on a quiet family vacation or have fun in the sun, the beach is always a good choice for an unforgettable thrill.

Build sandcastles, go swimming, play beach games, and more – the activities to enjoy are endless!

There are plenty of beautiful beaches in North America, so you’re sure to find one perfect for your family.

Looking for a sandy beach? check out some of the best beaches in North America:

• Clearwater Beach, Florida
• Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
• Virginia Beach , Virginia
• Honolulu, Hawaii
• Santa Monica, California

3. Family Road Trip

See the country (or the world!) from the comfort of your car on a family road trip . Plan some fun stops along the way, and take plenty of photos to document your journey!

Not sure where to go? Check out some of these popular road trip routes:

• The Pacific Coast Highway, California
• The Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia
• The Route 66, Illinois
• The Great River Road, Minnesota
• The Overseas Highway, Florida

Start planning your perfect family road trip once you’ve decided on a route!

4. Family Campout

Get back to nature with a family camping trip! Pitch a tent, build a campfire, go hiking, and Stargaze – there’s so much to do when you’re spending time in the great outdoors.

Camping is a great way to bond with your family and create lasting memories. Check out some of the best campgrounds in North America:

• Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
• Glacier National Park, Montana
• Rocky Mountain National Park , Colorado
• Acadia National Park, Maine
• Zion National Park, Utah

Whether you’re looking to rough it or camp in style, there’s a campground to suit your needs. So round up the family and get ready for an adventure!

5. Family Cruises

A cruise is a perfect way to see multiple destinations without constantly packing and unpacking your bags. Plus, most cruises have many family-friendly activities on board so everyone can have a good time.

If you’re looking for a cruise that the whole family will enjoy, check out some of the best cruises in North America:

• Disney Cruise Line
• Carnival Cruise Line
• Royal Caribbean International
• Norwegian Cruise Line
• Princess Cruises

Embark on a cruise for an unforgettable family vacation! With so many options, you’re sure to find the perfect cruise for your family.

6. Theme park

From Six Flags to Universal Studios, there are plenty of theme parks around the world that are perfect for a family vacation.

Go on thrilling rides, meet your favorite characters, and eat all the cotton candy you can handle!

Check out some of the best theme parks in North America:

• Disneyland, California
• Disney World, Florida
• Universal Studios Hollywood, California
• Universal Studios Florida
• Islands of Adventure, Florida

There’s a theme park for everyone, so start planning your next family vacation.

7. A Ski trip

A ski trip is an excellent option if you want to get away in the winter. So bundle up and hit the slopes for some family fun!

There are plenty of ski resorts all over North America, so you’re sure to find one perfect for your family. Check out some of the best ski resorts in North America:

• Whistler Blackcomb, British Columbia
• Aspen Snowmass, Colorado
• Vail, Colorado
• Breckenridge Ski Resort, Colorado
• Park City, Utah

Whether a beginner or an experienced skier, a ski trip is a great way to spend some time with your family. So put on your boots and hit the slopes!

8. A City Break

Spend some time exploring a new city with your family! Walk around, visit tourist attractions, eat at different restaurants, and take in all the sights and sounds of your surroundings.

Not sure where to go? Here are some great city break ideas:

• New York City, New York
• Washington, D.C.
• Boston, Massachusetts
• Chicago, Illinois
• San Francisco , California

Take your family on a city break they’ll never forget! You’re sure to find the perfect destination with so many different cities to choose from.

9. Country Cottage

Rent a cozy country cottage for your family vacation and enjoy some quiet in nature. Go for walks in the woods, sit by the fireplace, and relax – it’ll be a vacation you’ll never forget.

There are plenty of country cottages to choose from all over North America. So start planning your family getaway today!

10. Mountain Family Vacation

The Smoky Mountains are a great place to take your family on vacation. The area has plenty of fun activities, and the scenery is beautiful.

So, if you’re looking for travel ideas that will make memories for a lifetime, consider taking your family to the Smokies. 

Here are ten great ideas for things to do while you’re there.

Visit the National Park: The Smoky Mountains National Park is a must-see for any family vacation. There are plenty of hiking trails, scenic views, and wildlife. You can even take a horseback ride through the park!

Visit Dollywood: Dollywood is a great place for families to have fun together. There are rides, shows, and plenty of food options. The kids will love getting their picture taken with Dolly Parton!

Take a Scenic Drive: There are many scenic drives throughout the Smoky Mountains. You’ll want to take your time and enjoy the views. Be sure to stop at overlooks and take plenty of pictures!

Visit Gatlinburg: Gatlinburg is a small town located in the Smoky Mountains. It’s a great place to do some shopping, eat at restaurants, and visit attractions like Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies.

Take a Hike: There are many trails to choose from if you want to go hiking in the Smoky Mountains. You can find easy or challenging trails, depending on your experience level. Be sure to wear proper shoes and bring plenty of water!

Visit a Waterfall: There are many waterfalls located throughout the Smoky Mountains. Some of them you can even walk behind! Be sure to take plenty of pictures and enjoy the beauty of nature.

Visit Cades Cove: Cades Cove is a valley in the Smoky Mountains. It’s a fantastic place to view wildlife and discover new things about the area’s history. You can also take a scenic drive through the valley.

Visit the Biltmore Estate: The Biltmore Estate is a large mansion in Asheville, North Carolina. It’s a great place to tour the house and learn about the history of the estate. You can also explore the grounds and gardens.

Take a Train Ride: The Great Smoky Mountains Railway offers train rides through the Smoky Mountains. It’s a great way to see the scenery and learn about the area’s history. The kids will love riding the train!

Planning Tips For an Enjoyable Family Vacation

Planning a family vacation can be stressful because you have tons of questions that go through your mind like:

“Where to go?”

“What to do?”

“How do you keep everyone happy?”

“What to bring along?”

Here are some tips to help you plan an enjoyable family vacation:

• First, choose a destination that has something for everyone. A place where there are activities for both kids and adults so everyone can find something they enjoy.
• Prepare and pack early travel items to take along on the trip.
• Don’t over-plan. It’s essential to have a general idea of what you want to do each day; leave some free time in the schedule so you can explore and spontaneously decide to do something fun.
• Make sure to include some downtime. A vacation should be a time to relax, so schedule some time each day when everyone can kick back and take it easy.
• Don’t forget the camera ! Vacations are an excellent opportunity to take photos that you’ll look back on fondly for years to come. So make sure everyone has a chance to snap some pictures.

These tips will help you plan a family vacation that everyone will enjoy. You’ll have some beautiful memories to cherish for the rest of your life. 

Have a good trip!

This post originally appeared on Hello Sensible .

Oluwaseyi Ojo

Olu is a passionate entrepreneur who loves to blog on his site- frenzhub about life-saving lifestyle habits, hacks, and travel. He lives in the Western part of Canada. Olu has two bachelor’s degrees in Veterinary Medicine and Applied Accounting with a CPA designation. He currently shuffles time between completing a Master of Business Administration degree education, Accounting professional practice, and Blogging. He has freelanced lifestyle write-ups and articles for many websites since 2010.

• Oluwaseyi Ojo https://ourwovenjourney.com/author/olu/ 8 Top Dog-Friendly Beaches in the United States
• Oluwaseyi Ojo https://ourwovenjourney.com/author/olu/ 7 Best Dog Backpacks for Hiking and Outdoor Adventures

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Welcome to Thememoriestravel.com

Planning a trip for memory-making experiences.

Table of Contents

 Creating Unforgettable Memories: How to Plan a Trip for Memory-Making Experiences

Traveling is not just about exploring new places and ticking off destinations from your bucket list; it’s about seizing life’s precious moments and creating lasting memories. In this blog, we’ll delve into the importance of planning a trip specifically for memory-making experiences. By choosing the right destination, immersing yourself in the culture, embracing adventure, connecting with nature, and capturing memories along the way, you can craft a truly unforgettable journey.

Choosing the Destination:

To start your memory-making adventure, begin by researching bucket-list destinations that resonate with your interests and passions. Consider what activities or experiences align with your personal preferences and seek out unique, off-the-beaten-path locations that offer a fresh perspective.

Immersive Cultural Experiences

One of the best ways to create lasting memories is by immersing yourself in the local culture. Explore the customs, traditions, and festivals of the destination you’re visiting. Engage with the local community through volunteering or homestays, which will provide a deeper understanding of their way of life. Additionally, be sure to savor the flavors of the region by trying authentic cuisine and indulging in local delicacies.

 Adventure and Outdoor Activities

Inject some adrenaline into your journey by embracing thrilling activities. Whether it’s hiking through breathtaking landscapes, zip-lining over lush forests, or diving into vibrant coral reefs, adventure activities offer unique and exhilarating experiences. For the true adrenaline junkies, consider skydiving or bungee jumping. Alternatively, discover natural wonders through wildlife safaris or take a hot air balloon ride for a bird’s-eye view of the surroundings.

 Historical and Heritage Sites:

Uncover the rich history and cultural significance of your chosen destination by visiting iconic landmarks and UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Participate in guided tours and cultural workshops to gain a deeper appreciation for the local heritage. By immersing yourself in the past, you can create memories that are not only personal but also contribute to a broader understanding of different cultures.

Connecting with Nature:

Nature has a way of leaving a profound impact on our memories. Take time to explore national parks, mountains, and awe-inspiring landscapes. Consider camping under the stars or witnessing the beauty of sunrise and sunset from remarkable vantage points. Engage in activities like bird watching, photography, or stargazing, allowing nature to inspire and rejuvenate your soul.

 Capturing Memories:

To preserve the precious moments of your journey, utilize photography and videography to document experiences visually. Capture the essence of each place and the emotions it evokes. Additionally, journaling and writing about personal reflections and highlights will help you remember the small details that make each memory unique. Consider creating physical or digital memory albums, compiling photographs, keepsakes, and written accounts that will transport you back to those special moments.

 Embracing Spontaneity

While planning is crucial, leaving room for spontaneous adventures and serendipitous moments can lead to some of the most unforgettable experiences. Be open to local recommendations and suggestions, allowing the destination and its people to guide you towards unexpected and extraordinary memories. Leave space for unplanned exploration and relaxation, allowing

Connecting with Locals

One of the most fulfilling aspects of travel is the opportunity to connect with people from different backgrounds. Engage in conversations and cultural exchanges with locals, learning about their lives and traditions. Make an effort to learn basic phrases in the local language, as it can open doors and create genuine connections. By fostering new friendships and building lasting connections, you’ll have not only cherished memories but also a network of global friends.

 Conclusion

In conclusion,

planning a trip for memory-making experiences allows you to create a truly transformative journey. By carefully selecting the destination, immersing yourself in the culture, embracing adventure and nature, capturing memories, and connecting with locals, you can craft an unforgettable travel experience. Remember, the value of travel lies not just in the places you visit, but in the memories you make along the way. So, start planning your trip today and embark on a journey filled with moments that will stay with you forever.

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(541) 797-5445 Crafting Memories One Adventure at a Time

Cruise & all-inclusive destination vacations and top major events planning made easy.

Crafting your upcoming cruise, resort getaway, or unforgettable local event experience becomes effortlessly seamless with the expert guidance of Memory Making Adventures. Our dedicated agency stands steadfast in managing every detail of your travel and accommodation requirements, ensuring a flawless journey toward realizing your dream escape or local immersion. Whether it's setting sail on a breathtaking cruise, indulging in a luxurious resort retreat, or immersing yourself in the vibrancy of a top-notch local event, trust us to curate an unparalleled experience tailored precisely to your preferences.

Cruise Vacation:

Embarking on a cruise vacation is an unparalleled experience that offers a blend of relaxation, adventure, and luxury. With a repertoire of ten remarkable cruises under my belt, I can confidently say that cruising is an exceptional way to explore diverse destinations while indulging in top-notch amenities and entertainment. From the sun-kissed Caribbean islands to the majestic fjords of Norway, cruises offer unparalleled access to breathtaking locales, ensuring a hassle-free journey filled with awe-inspiring sights.

Whether you're a seasoned traveler seeking convenience or a first-timer yearning for a memorable escape, cruising caters to all. Enjoy the ease of unpacking just once while journeying to multiple destinations, relish gourmet dining experiences with ocean views, and partake in onboard activities ranging from Broadway-style shows to exhilarating water sports. Cruising combines comfort and exploration, offering an all-inclusive vacation with the freedom to tailor your experience to suit your preferences. Discover the perfect blend of relaxation and adventure aboard a cruise, where every sunrise unfolds a new adventure and every sunset promises unparalleled luxury. Find the best cruise deals, unforgettable destinations, and top-notch amenities for your dream vacation. Sail away to breathtaking destinations and create unforgettable memories with a cruise experience that suits your style and preferences.

Destination Vacation:

Selecting an all-inclusive destination vacation offers an unparalleled opportunity to immerse yourself in luxury and relaxation without the hassle of planning every detail. Having experienced ten remarkable cruise adventures, I can confidently advocate for the charm and convenience of an all-inclusive getaway. These vacations cater to diverse tastes and preferences, providing an array of activities, dining options, and accommodations bundled into one comprehensive package. From secluded beachfront paradises to vibrant cultural hubs, all-inclusive destinations ensure a stress-free escape where everything you desire is at your fingertips.

Experience the epitome of hassle-free travel with all-inclusive destination vacations that promise relaxation and adventure in equal measure. Discover top-rated resorts offering exquisite dining experiences, thrilling activities, and luxurious accommodations, all bundled into one convenient package. Unwind in paradise while enjoying unlimited amenities, from spa treatments to water sports, creating unforgettable moments without worrying about extra expenses. Explore the best all-inclusive vacation deals, from breathtaking beachfront retreats to culturally rich destinations, ensuring a seamless and unforgettable escape.

Exclusive Entertainment:

Supporting your local community by attending diverse sporting events and concerts isn't just about entertainment—it's about embracing the vibrant culture and talent thriving right in your backyard. Attending local events not only fosters a sense of community but also offers unique experiences that celebrate the essence of your area. From thrilling sports matches to electrifying live performances, these events are a testament to the rich tapestry of talent and culture present within your local sphere.

Uncover the best local sporting events and concerts near you, showcasing the dynamic culture and talent within your community. Immerse yourself in the excitement of live entertainment, from hometown sports teams to emerging musicians, and experience the pulse of your local scene. Find top-rated local events, support local artists and athletes, and embrace the unique experiences that celebrate the diversity and vibrancy of your area.

9 Ways to Relive Your Last Trip When You're Grounded

When you're not able to travel or have no vacations booked, you can still keep the travel spirit alive by reliving your favorite past trips. Use these nine ideas to re-experience your last memorable vacation and spark inspiration for upcoming voyages.

Get Something Personalized Made From Your Trip Photos

Immortalize the flight that took you to your dream destination with a boarding pass pillow listing your originating and destination airport codes, flight number, gate, seat, date, and name. Create a photo collage in the shape of the U.S. states you’ve visited with a Places We’ve Been Travel Map . Or commemorate your travels with a gunmetal necklace from the Traveller Collective, adding flat silver discs for each country you’ve checked off your bucket list. These customized items can mean a lot more than any tchotchke you hastily picked up at the airport gift shop.

Post an Instagram Highlight of Your Trip

Better than the app’s Story feature where photos disappear after twenty-four hours, Highlights remain on your Instagram account, represented by a circle with the name of the highlight. Activating one launches a slideshow of up to a hundred photos with captions, emojis, and filters—a fun way to quickly reminisce about your entire trip. To create a Highlight, share a photo on your phone to IG Stories. Click on your Story then the More button (with three dots), then select Add to Highlight. The first time you do this, you will have to create the Highlight and give it a name; when adding subsequent photos, you’ll be able to select from the existing Highlight.

Pull Out Those Gourmet Souvenirs

Marinate chicken thighs in the jerk seasoning from Negril, drizzle the fragrant olive oil you purchased in Tuscany on a crusty baguette, and indulge in some tasty chocolate from Geneva. And if you’ve been saving the magnum of vintage Champagne from France or the grippy cabernet sauvignon from your vacation in California wine country, there is no better time to uncork it and enjoy it.

Create and Order a Photo Book

Sites like Mixbook and Shutterfly make it incredibly effortless to upload your photos from your phone or hard drive and create gorgeous, full-color books that you’ll cherish. You’ll even find themes and styles geared for particular themes like beach or camping as well as specific destinations from Europe to Mexico to Disney. It can seem daunting to finish a creation in one sitting, so plan on setting aside a half hour or so a day to tackle the project, especially for more extended vacations. Poll family members and include some fun lists in the captions like the best things you ate, drank, did, and saw, as well as what was most surprising and meaningful about the trip for each of you.

Go Old-School and Make a Scrapbook

If you tend to reach for an actual book rather than your Amazon Kindle, you may find the tactile sensation of creating a scrapbook to be a relaxing diversion right now. Even if you don’t have the cutting tools, fancy cardstock, decorative embellishments, or even the craftiness or creativity to make one, you can order a predesigned and decorated album from Creative Memories . Get low-cost mail-order prints from Snapfish or Target , or use the Free Prints Now app to get up to 85 4x6 prints mailed to you each month for free with just a minimal charge for shipping.

Make a Playlist of Songs by Artists from Your Last Trip's Destination

Spotify continues to be the best option to curate personalized playlists, whether you are looking for soca tunes to bring you back to the beaches of Trinidad or Celtic rock to remind you of good times drinking Guinness in the pubs of Dublin. 

Set Aside Time Each Day to Browse (and Delete) Photos From Your Phone

The ease at which we can take high-quality photos and the amount of storage space we have on our phones has spoiled us, meaning we take way too many pictures of the same thing—annoying when we want to show friends some pics of a trip or create an album. In-between checking out the news or social media take fifteen minutes a day to purge some photos and clear out some space or get help with an app like ALPACA or Flic . Do you really need 10 pics of the cocktail you sipped at sunset in Maui?

Write Reviews for Places You Encountered Great Service

Admit it: it’s always one of those things you swear you’ll do after you return home, but life and laundry always seem to get in the way. Many of us have nothing but time now, and the hospitality industry is struggling. Take a few minutes to post a thoughtful review about the affable owners of the bed and breakfast or the stellar dinner you can’t stop talking about on Yelp or TripAdvisor. While you are at it, reach out to the establishment directly via email, Twitter, or their website and tell them how much you enjoyed your stay, meal, or cocktail and that you will be sure to recommend it to others.

Compile a Photo Slideshow and Play It on Your TV

We’re all spending a lot of time indoors right now—a lot. Seeing memories of your island-hopping cruise, three-week expedition around Thailand, or camping trip to the base of the Grand Canyon can virtually transport you, even for a few minutes while you are making dinner with the ingredients you’ve stockpiled or are playing a board game for the umpteenth time. We will get through this and go on to create many more travel memories.

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44 Ways To Make Travel Memories: Travel Memory Ideas From A Lifelong Nomad

Gregory j. gaynor.

May 12, 2022

Help your tribe face their dragons: share this post:

• Gregory J. Gaynor https://facedragons.com/author/gregory-j-gaynor/ Don't Try the Same Digital Detox Over and Over
• Gregory J. Gaynor https://facedragons.com/author/gregory-j-gaynor/ How to Develop Grit in Three Steps
• Gregory J. Gaynor https://facedragons.com/author/gregory-j-gaynor/ Maximize These Masculine Traits and Dragons Will Fear You
• Gregory J. Gaynor https://facedragons.com/author/gregory-j-gaynor/ "I Wasted My Twenties" What to Do About It

There are so many travel memory ideas out there! I left home over 15 years ago and have made many memories in destinations worldwide. Over the years, I’ve discovered the best (and worst) ways to make a great travel memory. In this post, I want to share the best ways this digital nomad has found to make travel memories that won’t fade!

When you travel from country to country, buying a souvenir in every place is tempting. But any digital nomad will tell you that you quickly end up with more than you can carry.

One part of living a successful nomadic lifestyle is traveling light. So in this post, I want to explore alternatives to buying souvenirs that will still call up your favorite travel memories of all the places you’ve been.

Table of Contents

Forget making a photo album: digitize your travel souvenirs., travel memory ideas to document your trip, experiences made better memories than things, create travel memories with these ideas, learning something made me remember it forever, travel memory ideas to take with you, tips for buying memorable travel souvenirs, souvenir travel memories that won’t break your back, documenting my travels created lasting memories.

After visiting so many places, it’s easy for the memories to start to merge. But unfortunately, many traditional ways of documenting your travels won’t work for digital nomads because they involve collecting too much stuff, and most of us want to travel light.

Forget about collecting all your tickets, maps, and tourist guides. Collecting souvenirs of any kind means traveling with them forever! But there are some excellent alternatives to make travel memories without compromising luggage space.

Digitizing your souvenirs is a great way to keep your travel memories forever without taking up any space in your bag. Just take a photo of that map, of the guide around, or just of your ticket stubs.

Rather than taking a boring shot of a ticket on a desk, take a photo of the ticket with the place in the background.

Take photos of your

• Entry Ticket stubs
• Plane tickets

Documenting your travels pays off years later when you struggle to remember where you’ve been and what you’ve done. Turn your phone’s gallery into a memory museum, and your travel memories will always be there to reminisce with.

You can also document your travels in other ways without adding weight to your bags. For example, create a written travel record for your travel memories. But that doesn’t mean keeping a travel journal at the bottom of your bag.

• Digital Travel Journal Use a running document on your laptop, an app, or notes on your phone to keep a journal.
• Tweet Your Travels Use Twitter to Document Your Travel Experiences
• Photo Albums Your phone already does a great job of creating albums, but to make them genuinely searchable, check out Google Photos
• Create Travel Video Logs Making videos create the best travel memories. Upload them to YouTube and share them instantly
• Send Postcards To Friends & Family Take Photos of them (both sides) before you send them.
• Letter Write a regular travel letter (or email) to yourself.
• Google Maps Rather than using a travel pinboard, pin all your travel destinations on Google Maps.
• Travel Blog Create a travel blog to document your nomadic life – and maybe make some money too!
• Instagram You don’t have to emulate those travel Instagram accounts with perfect images; make real pictures to remember how it was.

After traveling from country to country for a few years, it can become easy to settle into your routine of finding a place to stay, finding a place to work, and going through your everyday routine. When this happens, remember why you wanted to travel or be a digital nomad in the first place – To see the world.

If you’re anything like me, you want to travel to see the world and, more importantly, experience everything the world offers. It has more to offer us travelers than a laptop in another cafe. Don’t let the only thing that changes in your life be the view out of the window.

By trying to have at least one entirely new experience at every destination you travel to, you will forever remember that place for it.

On my trip to Henan, China, one of my favorite travel memories was experiencing The Shaolin Temple.

I’ve walked around hundreds of temples in Asia, Tibetan temples, Laotian temples, and even a temple on a deserted island in the middle of a vast lake. However, the Shaolin Temple is different because it’s home to the Shaolin monks, a band of warrior monks practicing kung fu. I had been obsessed with them ever since I was a child.

In numerous documentaries, I’d seen them training around the temple, hitting their makeshift punching bags. So when I traveled to Shaolin, I wanted to experience what they experience daily rather than just walking around the temple.

I ran up the mountain as they do every morning, practiced kung fu on the temple grounds, and hit those punching bags. It was, for me, an unforgettable experience.

Not every experience has to be something you’ve wanted to do from childhood, but having an experience outside your regular daily routine will solidify that travel memory for you.

• Water rafting
• Bungee Jump
• Compete in a surfing competition
• Trekking/Climbing
• Eating Something Special
• Private Island
• Massage or Spa Day
• Museum or Gallery

Experiences are an excellent memory maker because they are something that you can always look back on. But learning something new keeps the travel memory alive. Learning a new skill or habit can remind you of that time and place every day.

Just before the pandemic hit I was in India, up north in Dharamshala. The views were, of course, unforgettable, being on the Himalayas. Watching the clouds roll in over the mountains every afternoon was a mysterious experience. But I was doing more there than looking down on the planet, and drinking tea with Tibetan monks, I was learning a skill.

I started learning Tibetan in 2015 before traveling to Nepal. It was hard going, even for an experienced language learner like me. I came back from Nepal determined to become conversational. And after 4 years of consistent online classes, I wanted to really up my skills, so I enrolled in a Tibetan language school in India.

Although the views really were some of the most spectacular I’ve ever seen, the memory of Dharamshala is forever connected to my ability to speak Tibetan.

Of course, you don’t need to set out to learn a new language to make a memory of a travel destination. It could be something that you learn in a single afternoon like how to make a local dish. You can take that with you for the rest of your life and every time you make it, where ever you are in the world, you’ll be reminded.

• Cooking Learn to cook at least one dish from every place you travel to. There’s nothing wrong with eating out alone but your family will love you for it too!
• Language Language learning opportunities are everywhere when you’re traveling
• Yoga The yoga I first learned in Bali, I still practice today. It’s one of the best ways to stay healthy as a digital nomad
• Taichi When I practice taichi I always remember Beijing
• Meditation Learning some meditation would be a great memory to take with you
• Martial Arts Muaythai in Thailand, kung fu in China, BJJ in Brazil or boxing in Cuba
• Sport Learn a new sport while you travel, what are the locals playing?
• Style of Painting/Drawing As you travel, different places have different styles, what could you learn there?
• Craft Travel to Japan and learn origami, or Tangka in Tibet

Small Reminders That Won’t Weigh You Down

OK OK, so I said no souvenirs, but sometimes you just can’t resist!

In fact, over the years I’ve created some ways to get around buying souvenirs that won’t become a burden. The last thing you want is to be that guy with their suitcase wide open at check-in, looking for something to throw out because he’s over the weight limit!

So you either want something that is very light and small or something which you don’t have to take with you.

• Send it to your next destination
• Send it to family or friends
• Send it to a P.O. box
• Something very small & light
• Something you need anyway

If like me, you travel back to the same place every year, you can buy souvenirs and send them there. Next time you go back, they’ll be there waiting for you.

This does require a bit of forethought however, you may need to set up a P.O box at the local post office or ask a local friend to receive the packages for you.

Another option is to send them to a family member or friend back home. It’s also the perfect way to stay in touch with the people who mean the most to you.

My wife loves buying fridge magnets of the places we’ve traveled to. They all get sent to China and when we are there they get put up on the fridge.

Is it necessary? No. But going to the fridge a few times each day, it’s nice to remember the meal we had by the Mekong River or the time we spent in Hong Kong.

The only problem with sending things to a future destination is you don’t have that memory with you most of the time. This is why I like to find things that I need anyway. I buy clothes where ever I am and every time I wear them I can remember the place I bought them.

• Fridge Magnets You can find these absolutely everywhere when you travel
• Collect Money Some countries don’t let you take money out of the country, make sure you can before you travel
• Stones/Sand Again, some places don’t allow you to take natural scenery away, check before you do!
• Shells Take the sound of the sea with you
• Clothes You have to buy clothes anyway, why not create a travel memory with them
• Tea Sit and remember your travels with a cup of tea
• Coffee Buy some coffee and start your day with a travel memory
• Phone Case You’ll find some creative phone cases on your travels, it’s a nice way to keep a memory alive.

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Neuropsychologist explains why travel creates long-lasting memories

Oct 5, 2018 • 2 min read

No matter how big or small a trip, travel can create long-lasting memories. All of those experiences – and they memories they create – also help shape your personality, according to new research.

A survey, commissioned by Swiss International Air Lines with consultation from neuropsychologist professor Lutz Jäncke from the University of Zurich's department of psychology, looked at how travel memories differ from others, and how they influence people.

"Travel and our travel memories have the power to shape our personality," said Professor Jäncke in a statement. "We are what we remember, or, more precisely - we are what we remember about ourselves… Holiday and travel memories take a prioritised position within this realm of experiences, which is why they are major pillars of our personality”.

More than 40% of British people said they have already taken a trip that has changed them as a person, while 20% say they picked up a new hobby after travelling. When it comes to how we try to create such memories, nearly 70% of Brits say they take photographs to remember their travel – and nearly 50% said they wouldn’t delete those photos for all the money in the world.

But, as more people use phones with constant internet access, they are losing trust in their memories, according to Professor Jäncke. But it’s an unwarranted fear, as he says we often retain travel memories all our lives, since they are often associated with very positive emotions. Because we have good travel experiences – away from the stress of daily life – people are able to absorb lots of the details that help to create strong memories.

When it comes to what we remember from our travels, 55.9% remember time spent with family and friends, followed by how the food tasted at 53.21% and the people they met at 47.7%.

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12 Creative Ideas To Make Your Travel Memories Last Forever

Let’s face it: photo albums are boring and no one cares about generic travel souvenirs anymore. Want to do something different with all your travel paraphernalia but have no inspiration? Here’s some inspiration.

Check out these quirky travel memories ideas to get your creative juices flowing!

So you just came from a trip with hundreds of photos and videos on your phone. Some of them you’ve even uploaded in Facebook and Instagram.  Others will end up in a boring photo album you’ll hardly see again.

Let’s be real – you’ll never have the time or patience to go through all of them again.

Don’t even get me started on the items and souvenirs that will suffer a long and slow death in a cabinet in your living room.

What to do then? Here are some of the best crafty ideas to make your travel memories more vivid and enduring!

1 Start a Scrapbook

Trust me. Even the most mundane things you might collect during your trip – train tickets, receipts, bank notes – will become utterly fascinating a few months afterward.

After a few months, you’ll probably won’t forget the name of the amazing dish you had or the whereabouts of that cool bar. This is why a good ol’ scrapbook is always a good idea!

I started travel scrapbooking recently. I dedicate each page on this journal to a different destination and fill it with mementos I kept of the place. Just selecting, arranging and gluing these around feels like a school art project.

If I’m feeling ambitious, I write small notes or doodles next to each piece to make sure it tickles more than just my only visual memory.

2 Build a Memory List

This is one of my favorites. It’s cute but super simple at the time. Create a shopping list of the things you think are more memorable on your trip. Keep it on your phone or in a notebook.

You could be adding anything from the view of the top of the Eiffel Tower to the cat with a black spot on the right eye that lived on your hostel in Bangkok. When you read them again after your trip, it’s a rollercoaster of emotions. Try not to tear up.

If you’re traveling with someone else this is even more fun: you can take turns adding items to the list!

3 Get These Minimal Travel Posters

You may not have the creative skills to craft something wall-hanging-worthy on your own. And that’s fine. There are people who can fill your home with memories in a neat, clean and minimal way.

One of my favorites are these minimal travel posters from cities around the world . If you’re a fan of minimal art and home design like me, this would fit right in!

Buy them here.

4 Create a Video

Even if you aren’t the type who takes regular photos of everyday moments with your phone, you’ll probably will when you’re abroad. Everything is new.

In this digital era, it’s easy to get overwhelmed with the huge stash of photos and videos we take home after a trip.

A great workaround is to condense your travel media files into a single video. With only a couple of minutes long, it’s effective and much more dynamic!

Before you say you don’t have the skills to do a video, there are many tools that you can use without you necessarily be an editing wizard. Heck, Google Photos even does them automagically .

5 Destination Boxes

One of the simplest but more interesting ideas I’ve come across: making a travel memory box for each destination you visit.

Just fill small boxes – if possible wooden ones for a better end-effect – with anything interesting you could bring from each destination. tickets, receipts, souvenirs, postcards, and other detritus . Write the name of the destination on the outside. And voilà , you made yourself a travel time capsule!

Not only these are pretty, but they will keep all your travel mementos organized. And it will look great in your living room!

6 Get Your Favourite Travel Moment Painted

There are many options to frame your photos and hang them on the wall – I particularly like CanvasPop .

A more interesting and unique approach is to have your favorite travel moment painted ! Do like Missy who documented years of travel painting on her Moleskine . An amazing set of visual memories!

7 Bring Your Social Media Photos to Life

If you’re a social media junkie like me, chances are you’ll probably have TONS of photos uploaded in social media, especially on Instagram. So why not put it to more creative use?

Using your Instagram photos, Social Print Studio creates a variety of physical frames, photo strips, and posters, including these adorable tiny books . FoxPrint allows you to create magnets as well.

Personally, I use a Polaroid Zip to print out my photos instantly. They come out in small mini-squares that I then use to ornament my fridge or add to my scrapbook.

8 Send Postcards To Yourself

Postcards never get out of style, it’s one of the most powerful and meaningful travel objects. Sending out them to family and friends is cute , but they probably mean more to you anyway who was actually there.

So try sending postcards to your home address instead!

Avoid the generic touristy ones and go for others able to evoke what you felt about a particular place or painting in the museum. When you get back home, you’ll have the mailbox full of your favorite travel memories!

9 Collect Something

If you take one particular object from each place you visit, you’ll soon end up with an enviable collection from all around the world.

I collect magnets and postcards. Boring I know. I have a friend who collects shot glasses and other race medals (she runs 10K). But the best part is that you can collect virtually anything . Here are some suggestions:

• Rocks/Pebbles
• Food – chocolates, salt, spices, etc
• … and so much more!

10 Put Your Wanderlust On The Wall

This is as simple as choosing a wall back home and turn it into your personal wanderlust worship place.

Go big and dramatic with a collage of travel photographs, snapshots, and other mementos and create a memorable wanderlust gallery!

11 Unlock The Power of Senses

How many times have a specific song remembered you of a destination? Or a scent? Sounds and scents have the power to unlock profound memories of the past.

One of the simplest things you can do is keep a playlist of each of your trips. Use Shazam to easily identify the artist and name of the song, whether it’s playing during your tuk-tuk ride in India or in the largest club in Las Vegas .

12 Blog it!

I had to squeeze this one in! Blogging is a great way to not only preserve travel memories but also share them.

In my case, I feel it also helps to organize my thoughts and moments and truly remember my travels. In a way, it’s like I’m traveling again.

There are some cons to this – there is a lot of work involved in blogging if you want to take it seriously – but definitely worth a try!

How about you? Which items do you usually keep from your trips? What to do you with them to make your travel memories last longer? Leave your comments below, can’t wait to get to know your ideas!

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Love all the info. Where did you buy the scrapbook in the image for ‘Start a Scrapbook?’

Just bought it from a local paper store, nothing fancy!

Another thing you can add to the list: put a picture of your favorite vacation memory as a background for your phone’s Home Screen.

Good one! Although in my case it doesn’t last forever – I keep changing my wallpaper every few weeks or so.

Great list. Thank you! While on my trip, I often send myself an email daily to remember specific things. (otherwise, all days and things seem to run together 🙂 ) We travel with my sister & her hubby, so every evening we meet for drinks and journal about all the things we did. And, once in Malaysia, they have wire-art they hang on their buildings throughout the city. At the local tourist bureau, they give away brochures with all of the art listed, so every day we found at least 3 pieces of art, took pics and checked the art as “found” off the map – a treasure hunt!

I think these are great I just got an idea I will put sand from the beach in a container and but a souvenir from a shop than you for these ideas, I would rate this ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Great ideas to make memories last. My personal favourite is to buy a present for my Christmas tree and every year when dressing the tree my thoughts go to all the places I purchased each of the ornament.

That’s a great one, perfect timing to do a throwback of the year too.

Can u suggest any other idea to store boarding passes other than a scrapbook

Frame them somehow? Take pictures?

where did you get those wooden destination boxes? Love your idea

It’s a DIY project, you just need some wooden boxes, paint and a stencil.

I believe its a Martha stewart project. google it

With everything being done from mobile apps, more and more people are going with the Blog it! option.

Sadly yes but physical items are also important and feel more authentic.

Awesome ideas. I already do a few of these. One that I’ve recently started doing and is similar to your last idea – reviewing some of the places visited on tripadvisor. Great list again. Thanks.

Thank you! It’s satisfying and encouraging to realize “wow, you’ve done a lot!” as our list of places grow!

These are great ideas! Especially the destination boxes! Very clever!

Those are my favorites! 😀

Thank you for these tips!!!

you are very welcome! 🙂

Like you said people fill up a closet with things that will never see again. So … I decided to only buy things that I can use every day and they bring memories of every place. Ihave 2 costers from Turkey, 4 tea spoons (with the name) from Spain, umbrella from China, my teapot from Tibet, my sleepers from Sweden…and so on. I also make 4 individual tablecloth out of the best pictures of esch trip. Thst’s it. I hope helps somebody. Lee

I love that mindset, love the idea of individual tablecloths with pictures, it sure makes a great topic of conversation at dinner! Thanks for sharing Lee!

How about videos? Nowadays I take a lot of videos, not only photos. I LOVE having them edited into a clip, which is a modern version of a photo album, easy to store in cloud and share with the world. Love the whole editing process, although it’s probably not for everyone… For those who are too busy, I’d recommend using WeEDIT.com – these guys are affordable and awesome.

Videos are my suggestion #3! 🙂 Thanks for the tip.

Yeah blog it! 🙂 I use journi, have you tried it? A nice photo app to automatically keeping track of your travels.

Never tried, thanks for the suggestion. However I don’t accept links on comments, had to remove your second reply.

Why not take a Photography Workshop-Tour that will lead you through the hidden jewels of the city while you learn or improve your Photo skills with the help of a Photographer? 🙂

More than that.Memories make me want to go back again.

I never thought about the memory list – but that’s a really cute idea!

So simple yet so powerful!

I totally agree with creating videos to capture all the best travel memories. I used to do that, but then you get lazy on the road and switch to take pictures on your photo :P. I guess every backpacker knows it.

I agree it’s very time-consuming and most times you just want to “take it in” instead of seeing the reality through a screen. But the end result is really worth it!

Editing does require a lot of effort… but the process is so fan and creative. Or you could use online services like WeEdit.com

Awesome ideas! Woooo I’m so excited to create my own. I love no 4 and of course blogging 🙂

Glad you enjoyed the post. It’s time to create some memories!

I love this post. Is wonderful!!! Thanks..

Time to put your hands to work!

Destinations🌎

11 Ways To Remember Your Trip Besides Photos

After a fulfilling vacation, most of us are just left with a huge stack of photos and absolutely no clue what to do with them. Do you begrudgingly hang them up on the wall, or just save them in an album as a weapon for boring house guests over the next decade? Maybe get some of the photos printed on a nice mug for Grandma as a holiday gift.

The sad reality is that precious mementos from traveling can quickly turn into a storage hassle without much of a purpose once you get home. According to Influence Digest , most people are plagued with the question of what to do with their photos after an exotic vacation they want to remember forever. There must be a better solution than tucking these memories away.  

Luckily, there are plenty of unique ways to memorialize a trip besides taking thousands of photographs and dumping them all on the Cloud until the end of time. From wine corks to playlists, there are so many different methods to remember your trip besides collecting run-of-the-mill photos. 

Save ticket stubs

I know what you're thinking — "really, I should just carry around a bunch of trash for my entire vacation?." The short answer is yes. Even though the tickets and receipts you pick up along a trip might appear to be garbage at first, they can actually become a one-of-a-kind keepsake.

Plus, they're a 100% free souvenir that is bound to spark a memory every time you look at it. I mean after paying for the whole trip, who doesn't want an irreplaceable memento that doesn't cost a thing? 

Not to mention that these pieces of rubbish from your travels can actually turn into an adorably aesthetic decoration in your home. There are a million cool things you can do with this type of stuff. Studio 5 suggests tastefully displaying ticket stubs in a floating glass frame and mounted on the wall. Alternatively, one user on Pinterest said they scattered tickets inside the glass coffee table for a more front-and-center look. 

There are surprisingly a lot of ways to transform ticket stubs and receipts from a vacation into a statement piece that memorializes your holiday. All you have to do is remember to save the tickets in a Ziplock back during your trip and let your creative juices flow when you get back home. If you're at a loss for ways to use your tickets from adventures past, you can always get some inspiration online. 

Collect a map from every city you visit

Another free-to-cheap item that's easy to collect at practically every destination around the world is maps. Most big cities and small towns are more than happy to provide visitors with maps at their local tourism center. Maps are available at places like theme parks, state parks, tourist attractions, and more, too. Most paper maps are made to be compressed and can be packed very efficiently. 

Not only will grabbing a map help you get around while you're exploring new territory. Saving maps is also a colorful and visual way of remembering all your exploration. It's a meaningful souvenir that helps you recollect every single place you've ever been (via Wade Tours).

Maps are even better than your standard souvenir after a vacation because you can get really creative with how you use them. After you've collected a few, the maps can be used as an awesome medium for scrapbooking. Or, you can just pin them as decoration on a bulletin board. The possibilities endless for what to do with all the maps you collect along the way.

Keep a travel journal

Even the most intense travel memories can slowly fade with time, but journaling can keep every moment of your trip fresh forever. According to Project Goals , keeping a journal is one of the most effective ways to fully remember a vacation because you can catalog every detail down to your main course at dinner. Before you book a flight  and hop on the plane for your next vacation, invest in an easy-to-carry notebook and pen to hold all of your travel memories.

There are lots of different strategies to keep up with a journal while you're traveling. You can write stream-of-consciousness about the days of your vacation. Detailing who you met, what you did, where you went, and how you felt. Everything. Alternatively, you can spice up your journal by answering prompts, filling it with Polaroids and stickers, or listing a daily quote (via LightsPlannerReaction ). Foundry suggests setting an alarm to remind yourself to write in your travel journal every day and make it part of your routine. 

After your trip, you can read your travel journal entries for years to come and bring back the vivid memories whenever you want. You'll be blown away by the tiny aspects of a trip that slip your mind as the years go by. In addition to being a travel treasure and tool for personal growth, your journal can be a precious keepsake for your family or kids to learn about your adventures one day.

Create a memory box

Maybe you're a diverse souvenir collector who likes to save a bunch of different things from your incredible trips. A couple of shot glasses, maybe a map, jewelry, and a few photos from your endeavors. But, what do you do with all this random stuff once you get home? Well, one option is making a memory box.

All you have to do to create a memory box is get a wooden, metal, or even cardboard box and paint it in a color of your choice (via The Country Chic Cottage ). On the top of the box, write out the name of the trip destination. Then, fill it with all the things you picked up throughout the journey. You can even add to it if you end up visiting the city, state, or country again. You can make a new memory box for all the  mesmerizing destinations you visit and then stack them together to make a display. 

Designing a DIY memory box is a fun activity and it's the perfect way to effortlessly organize various pieces of travel memorabilia from a recent vacation. You can cherish and low-key display your travel souvenirs without them being a main attraction in your house (via The Country Chic Cottage ). It's an easy, anti-mess alternative to scrapbooking about your trips. Making it perfect for families with kids who want to hold onto vacation memories for them as they grow up.

Compile a vacation playlist

Think back to your favorite song from when you were a kid. When you recall the tune, how does it make you feel and what do you imagine? I'm willing to bet that even just thinking about the song for a second sparked a pretty vivid memory. Memories are tied very closely to our senses, like hearing. According to Mashable , that's why making a vacation playlist is a neat trick to hack your psychology and recall the ambiance of a trip forever.

With today's widely available music streaming software, it's super simple to make a playlist for every trip you embark on. All you have to do is make a playlist titled with your vacation destination and fill it with the songs you hear along your journey. Maybe it will include a jam recommended by a fellow traveler or a song you heard in bar. Even if it is just something you listen to on repeat while you're on your vacation. Add it to the playlist.

By the time you finish your trip, you'll have a comprehensive playlist that's sure to kickstart your vacation nostalgia every time you play it. How many souvenirs can you appreciate while you're driving in your car on the way to work? If you want a way to remember your trip without physically collecting a thing, this is the solution you've been looking for.

Vlog your adventures

Many travelers get intimidated by the idea of vlogging their experiences, but you don't need to be a professional YouTuber to create entertaining vlogs of your travels. In fact, you can create amusing, clean-cut vlogs for yourself or others with just your cellphone. One user on Reddit explained that cutting together a video after their trips was the best way to share their escapades with friends and family back home.

Gathering the content to create a full-length vlog of your travel adventures is as simple as recording the things you do. When you eat at a fancy restaurant, swim in the ocean, or go bungee jumping. You can describe what you're doing, who was there, and where. Or, you don't even have to talk if you prefer. It's all up to you based on what you feel comfortable with.

Watching back your vlogs down the line is the closest thing to reliving a trip you can possibly get. Imagine sitting down twenty years later and turning on your old travel video from your favorite city. That's when you'll be thanking your younger self for capturing it all.

Make a private Finsta just for each trip you take

When most people think of Instagram, the first thing that pops into their mind is showing off content of all the cool stuff they do. I mean, what's the point of posting pictures if nobody is going to see them? Well, according to one user on Reddit , instead you should try turning a secret Finsta account on Instagram into your personal page for immortalizing each of your big trips.

Harness the power of social media to remember your vacations by creating a new personal "Finsta" account for every place you visit. Make the handle the name of your destination and the year of the trip or something more creative. Then, just capture all the funny, goofy, exciting memories in a private place online and they'll always be there for you to look back on.

By eliminating the usual Instagram audience, it gives you the room to commemorate your trip in a more authentic way. If you're traveling with other people, you can all share the login with each other and each make your own posts. People really have a way of letting loose when they have access to a fun throwaway account. This is an especially fun way to encapsulate group trips for birthday getaways or bachelorette/bachelor party trips.

Bring yourself back a postcard from every place you go

This one might sound a little on the cliche side, but there is a reason certain things are classics. Postcards are the definition of a travel souvenir classic. Mailing or bringing home a local postcard with stories of your travels on the back is a tried and true method for remembering your vacation. It's like a more compact and decorated version of a travel journal (via Reddit ).

Postcards are one of the most popular souvenirs in the world according to Icelolly . Whether you're visiting Niagara Falls  or the cenotes in Mexico, there will be postcards wherever you go. When you finally find the right one among all the options, grab it and take it with you.

While you might be tempted to mail it back to yourself, this runs the risk of your memento getting lost in the mail if you're traveling abroad. Luckily, postcards are very lightweight and convenient to bring along in a  carry on or personal item . All you have to do is tuck it in the pocket of your bag and continue on your adventures.

When you return home, you can easily bind your variety of postcards into a simple DIY picture book. Just use a hole puncher and tie the postcards together with little metal book rings (via Instructables ). Soon, you'll have a collection of cute little postcard booklets that don't take up much room.

Map out your movements around the globe with Google Maps Timeline

Most travelers are already pretty acquainted with Google Maps as a handy directional tool for getting from point A to point B. But, did you know that Google Maps could actually be a useful mechanism for remembering every step of your trip? Seriously, now Google Maps will track your movements and map them out for you. It does all the work to create a pinpoint-perfect virtual souvenir to remember your trip by (via Reddit ).

All you have to do to utilize this awesome feature is enable Timeline on Google Maps (via Google Support ). From there, just go about your travels as usual. It will track the places you go and the routes you take, creating a real-time map of your travels for you to look check out later. Your timeline will be completely private and only available to your eyes. It's pretty crazy to watch your zigzagging path wander across a new place throughout a trip.

There are a few ways to take your Google Maps Timeline and turn it into a more tangible keepsake, too. You can get your route straight up printed on a poster. Alternatively, you could paint the simple lines on a memory box as a secret nod to your former vacation. When you think outside the box, little things like this Timeline feature can become a super valuable memento.

Transfer vacation photo prints onto wood as a display

It's pretty difficult to tastefully exhibit your travel memories and photos in your home without it taking over the whole place. You want to showcase special memories without it being tacky. It's a tough balance. However, one user on Reddit overcame this struggle by transferring some of their favorite travel photos onto wooden blocks or coasters.

It sounds like a tough process, but it's actually a fairly straightforward DIY project with a stunning, professional-looking result. According to Digital Photography School , you just need a few basic crafting products, pre-sized pieces of wood, and laser-printed copies of the photos you want to transfer. Make sure it's specifically laster-printed otherwise it won't work! From there, the whole project only takes a few more basic steps that can be accomplished in an afternoon.

It's rare to find a DIY project that ticks so many boxes. It produces a beautiful home display with very little effort through a fun process. It's a charming way to showcase your travel photos in your house without them overwhelming the decor. Plus, kids love doing this type of magical transfer project after winding down from a vacation. It's definitely a winner that you should try with some of the travel photos you've always loved but never knew what to do with.

Keep a bottle cap or wine cork from every destination

When you're popping a bottle of white wine or clinking beer bottles at dinner, the last thing on your mind is holding onto the cork or cap. But, you know what they say, one man's trash is another's treasure. When you're traveling, any small thing can end up being a unique keepsake to remember your trip by. Even just a bottle cap or cork from a drink you enjoyed on vacation can be the one-of-a-kind souvenir you've been looking for (via Reddit ).

If there is one thing you need in a travel keepsake, it's transportability. Little items like bottle caps or wine corks are easy to bring back home from a trip. Once you're settled back at home, there are a bunch of different things you can do with the bottle caps to officially memorialize your trip. A shocking amount of things, actually.

Bottle caps and wine corks can be turned into magnets, bookmarks, and more with just a quick 30-minute to 1-hour project. You can even turn your bottle cap souvenirs into a coaster with a little resin if you want to put a touch more effort in (via ResinObsession ). Even if you just keep all your bottle caps and corks in a glass display box, they still look pretty neat. 

Velvet Escape

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My Favorite Travel Memories

I was bitten by the travel bug at a very young age. My first overseas trip was at age 7 (to Hong Kong) and the tally now stands at 88 countries (as at January 2019) across six continents. That equals quite a few terabytes of memory I guess! The breadth and depth of the travel memories I’ve amassed through the years have been amazing and I cherish them more than anything (well, almost!). From sailing around the Whitsunday Islands in Australia to hiking around the lunar landscapes of the Atacama desert, swimming with sharks in Malaysia, meeting the world’s greatest chef, floating in a frozen lake in Finnish Lapland or witnessing a breathtaking sunset at Ipanema Beach in Rio de Janeiro.

Scroll down this timeline to view some of my favourite travel memories and click on any link to read more about the experience(s) – the quotes in the captions are excerpts from the related blog post.

Five-month round-the-world trip

This photo brings back many fond memories. It was taken during the first leg (Amsterdam to Hong Kong) of my five-month round-the-world trip in 2008 as the plane flew past the coast of Estonia. I’ve called this photo “The Moment” because it symbolises the start of a life-changing journey that began in 2008 and which led me onto a new and exciting path as a travel blogger.

Read about the trip that changed my life .

Getting over my ‘Jaws’ complex

Swimming with sharks at Lang Tengah island, Malaysia. “I was out snorkelling on my own and a single barracuda and some parrot fish kept me company throughout. I got to see the big shark – it swam past, just five meters or so away, and strangely, I just stared and enjoyed the moment.”

Read about my trip to Lang Tengah Island .

The wonders of Angkor Wat

Visiting the temples of Angkor in Cambodia. “As we reached the top, the heavy rain seized for a moment and we got to enjoy the fantastic views over the Angkor Wat complex. At that moment, I didn’t care that I was completely drenched and that my shoes were flooded up and covered in thick mud, the view of the misty, jungle-covered hillsides, the broad plains below with their mosaic-like rice fields and the majestic towers of Angkor Wat just breaking through the tree-tops was simply breathtaking.”

Read about my visit to Angkor .

Adventures in Whitsunday Islands

Whitehaven Beach in Australia’s Whitsunday Islands. “The beach is a wide arc with an inlet on one end, with sand so white, I needed my sunnies to protect my eyes from the glare. The sea was an astounding spectrum of turquoise and blue.”

Read about my adventures in the Whitsunday Islands .

Bewitched in Bora Bora

Bora Bora is everything I thought it would be… and more. I’ve seen pictures of it in countless publications, documentaries and travel programmes but it’s not till you’re actually here that you begin to fathom just how magical this place is. I mean, I’ve been to many places around the world that have similar surroundings but Bora Bora just has, let’s call it, the ‘X-factor’.

Read about my trip to Bora Bora .

Mysteries of Easter Island

“It still is very much a mystery why these statues were built [on Easter Island] and how the locals managed to erect such huge statues (the largest are more than 20 meters long) and haul them many miles from the quarry to the ahu. Various theories were introduced during the next few days but I like the one that says that aliens created them during their stay on Earth.”

Read about the mysteries of Easter Island .

The spectacular bus ride across the Andes

When everyone was back on board, the bus continued on its journey…..and what a journey it was! Lunar landscapes, multi-coloured rock faces, gigantic volcanoes, dark blue lagoons, lush oases and towering sand dunes more or less sum it up. The 10-hour bus ride from San Pedro de Atacama in Chile, across the Andes, to Salta in northern Argentina brought us past all these features AND MORE! There were times, as I looked out the window, that I thought I was watching some sort of science fiction movie as the bus sped along, as the landscapes were so surreal, so unearthly.

Read about this spectacular bus ride across the Andes.

Adventures in the Atacama Desert

Valle de la Luna in the Atacama Desert in northern Chile. “The colourful valley spread out below us while the Andes formed an impressive backdrop. As the sun slowly dipped below the horizon, the colours of the valley changed from ochre to a bright orangy-red. The shadows of the Salt mountains grew longer and soon enveloped the valley and reached the feet of the Andes. From there, the shadows rose up the flanks of the Andes. It was so magical and so surreal that I had to pinch myself to convince myself that I was actually witnessing this spectacle.”

Read about things to do in the Atacama Desert .

Patagonia: Home of the Gods

Patagonia is indeed a rugged and daunting place. It’s a huge area that’s divided by countless channels, fjords, ice-fields, glaciers and the southern end of the mighty Andes mountains, making large parts of the region quite inaccessible. Then there’s the extreme weather. The wind is relentless and can bring with it rain, hail and snow at any time of the day throughout the year.

Read about my tour of Patagonia .

A glorious day at Da Adolfo

On my trip to the Amalfi Coast in Italy, I stumbled upon Da Adolfo, a beach restaurant and had the most wonderful day there! What a gem!

Read about my day at Da Adolfo .

My first skydive!

My first and only skydive! “I used to have nightmares involving an endless fall into an abyss. This was exactly what it felt like. The adrenaline rushed through my body in waves and I felt numb.”

Read about my skydive in Costa Brava .

Dining at El Celler de Can Roca

Our 15-course lunch kicked off with an excellent cava and caramelised olives (stuffed with anchovies) served hanging in the branches of a bonsai tree. There was no serpent tempting us to take a bite, nor did I feel like Adam (or Eve) but it was a brilliant metaphor. The olives hanging in the tree were an invitation to partake in a meal of ethereal delights.

Read about my unforgettable meal at El Celler de Can Roca .

Cruising Alaska’s Inside Passage

One evening after dinner, one of the deck crew came running into the lounge and excitedly told us to look outside. As we opened the windows, I noticed the ship slowing. I looked out and was treated to scenes no one will easily forget. In the distance, we saw several pods of humpback whales lunging: coming up from the deep with their mouths open and gobbling up the herring near the surface. As they breached the surface, they snapped their jaws close and disappeared into the water.

Read about my cruise through the Inside Passage of Alaska .

Meeting the world’s greatest chef!

Ferran Adriá is considered by many to be the world’s greatest chef. In the past decade, his three-star Michelin restaurant El Bulli, near the Costa Brava town of Roses, was voted the world’s best five times over and won a dazzling array of accolades. He single-handedly transformed the culinary landscape in Spain and introduced a multi-sensory culinary experience that was unique anywhere in the world.

Read about my meeting with Ferran Adriá .

Hot-air balloon flight over Wadi Rum

Wadi Rum, Jordan. “The balloon rose quickly to a height of 3,000 feet and I was stunned! The scenery that unfolded was absolutely breathtaking! Strangely enough, I didn’t experience any fear (like I usually would from great heights). The surreal landscapes below and the soft breeze in my face kept me occupied I guess and I felt perfectly safe.”

Read about my hot-air balloon flight over Wadi Rum .

Mesmerising visit to Petra

The Treasury in Petra, Jordan (image courtesy of Jordan Tourism). “In the square directly in front of the Treasury, hundreds of candles cast a warm glow on the faces of the people who had come to experience Petra by night and to listen to a Bedouin musical performance. The crowd’s excited chatter quickly dissipated when a Bedouin man appeared. He took out a flute from his pocket and within moments mesmerised the crowd with his hypnotic tunes.”

Read about my mesmerising visit to Petra at night .

Floating in the Dead Sea

There it was! I stood at the edge of the cliff and marvelled at the scenery. It was one of those unforgettable travel moments. A place I’ve read and heard so much about and finally… I’m here at the Dead Sea ! Stretching from below me to the distant horizon was its blue expanse, famous the world over for the ‘floating in the Dead Sea’ experience, but also for being the lowest point on Earth (the ‘sea’ is 420m or 1,400ft below sea level), its extraordinarily high level of salination (it’s more than 8 times saltier than the average ocean) and for its numerous mentions in the Bible.

Read about my Dead Sea floating experience .

Sleeping in the Snow Hotel in Finnish Lapland

Each year in late-November, a thousand truck-loads of snow and massive blocks of ice carved out of a nearby river are used to create a winter wonderland like no other: the Snow Village in Finnish Lapland. Situated in Lainio, deep in the forests near the ski resorts of Ylläs and Levi, the Snow Village is a place where local snow and ice sculptors let their creativity and skills run wild and the result is simply phenomenal!

Read about my stay at the Snow Village .

Ice-floating experience in Finnish Lapland

Floating in an icy pool in a frozen lake in Finnish Lapland. “I closed my eyes. Tiny snowflakes drifted onto my face. I tried to register a sound but there were none. Just silence. My body felt weightless, like I was hovering in mid-air, yet I knew I wasn’t. It was a strangely soothing feeling as I felt my muscles quite literally unwind, from my fingers right down to my toes. The sensation of total relaxation surprised me, considering where I was at that very moment..”

Read about my ice-floating experience in Finnish Lapland .

Seeing the northern lights

Once outside, I was greeted by the most magical sight I’d ever seen. Long curtains of light seemed to descend from the dark sky in hues of green, yellow and pink. They moved slowly in a series of swirls, performing a sensual dance in the sky. I was simply awestruck.

Read about my experience seeing the northern lights in Finnish Lapland .

Exploring Rio de Janeiro

Ipanema Beach, Rio de Janeiro. “The beaches in Rio like Copacabana and Ipanema are famous the world over. Any city that has such gorgeous beaches at its doorstep has a big plus in my book! And Rio is absolutely blessed in this respect. The beaches are fabulous and the people-watching is unparalleled.”

Check out my photos of Rio de Janeiro .

An unforgettable week in Emilia-Romagna

With its forest-clad mountains, endless beaches along the Adriatic coast, historic towns such as Bologna, Modena, Parma and Ravenna, world-famous automotive industry (think Ferrari, Ducati and Lamborghini), colourful festivals and terrific cuisine, Emilia Romagna has a lot to offer visitors. Despite its numerous attractions, the region remains relatively off-the-beaten-path for many visitors to Italy.

Read about things you must do in Emilia-Romagna .

My first solo road trip

I finally made it onto the highway and in no time, I was whizzing past the outskirts of Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city. Melbourne’s imposing skyline faded below the horizon as I headed further afield. My pangs of fear had quickly changed to excitement. Here I was, in the car on my own, with a lady’s voice as my guide, and my iPhone was belting out my favourite songs! How awesome is that?

Read about my first solo road trip in Victoria, Australia.

Cruising around the Galapagos Islands

After my first day on the islands, I was really happy that I decided to go. The Galapagos Islands are truly magical – from the pristine beaches and spectacular sunsets to the vast diversity of unique flora and fauna, the islands were simply breathtaking. In addition, it opened my eyes even further to the fragility of our ecosystem and the importance of care and conservation.

Read about my experiences on the Galapagos Islands .

In the Mashpi cloud forests of Ecuador

I fell asleep in the van at a certain point and when I opened my eyes, I found myself in a mysterious, mist-shrouded forest with giant anthuriums, mosses and towering trees. The car soon came to a halt and as the mist cleared, I spotted a futuristic-looking building with large windows, almost completely encapsulated by the forest. This was the Mashpi Lodge! Situated on a ridge 900 meters high and overlooking a broad valley, the lodge was designed as a cocoon of luxury in the clouds.

Read about my stay at the Mashpi Lodge .

Wildlife encounters at Phinda Game Reserve

Someone in the van yelled “STOP” and the driver hit the brakes. We trained our eyes on the patches of tall grass that lined the road, alert for any movement. Several moments later, we saw the grass shift ever so gently again. Binoculars were whipped out of bags and as we zoomed in, we noticed a sleek body with distinctive spots, striding confidently through the grass. Our first wildlife encounter was of a cheetah!

Read about my safari at the Phinda Game Reserve in South Africa.

Rejuvenation in Vorarlberg

What I saw, as I opened my eyes, surprised me. It wasn’t as though I’d been led blindfolded down this road. I’d seen this scenery before. What surprised me was how vivid everything looked: the bright green meadows that stretched out before me, the towering granite peaks in the distance that glistened in the morning sun and the thin veil of mist that cloaked the foothills of the mountains. The silence remained but I felt very much at ease now, as if a weight had been lifted off my shoulders.

Read about my visit to Vorarlberg in Austria .

Helicopter tour of Cape Town

The brand new, futuristic-looking Airbus helicopter gleamed in the late afternoon sun – we were so lucky with the weather! We climbed into the helicopter, buckled up and put on our noise-cancelling headphones. I was so excited I could scream!! Haha! We were soon airborne and the breathtaking views unfolded as soon as we left the ground!

Read about my helicopter tour of Cape Town .

Road trip in Brazil

At the height of its wealth in the 18th/19th centuries, Ouro Preto was the capital of Minas Gerais and attracted artists and scholars from around Brazil and Europe. These days, its rich colonial past can still be observed, particularly in its ornate churches. Decorated in gold and featuring sculptures by the famous artist Aleijadinho, these 18th/19th century churches are literally breathtaking. I couldn’t take photos inside the churches but believe me when I say that I have seldom seen such incredible baroque interiors, all draped in gold!

Read about my road trip on the Estrada Real in Brazil .

Matera – Italy’s ancient cave city

I walked up the cobble-stoned road towards the Cathedral square. Ahead of me, I could see the towering Cathedral, cloaked in the warm, pinkish glow of the setting sun. Several people stood at the edge of the road, staring ahead in silence. Curious, I stopped to look at what they were staring at. As soon as my mind could register what I was seeing, I gasped. My audible reaction was met with smiles by the others standing there. In front of me was one of the most extraordinary towns I’ve ever laid my eyes on: Matera .

Read about things to do in Matera .

Feeling like a rock star in Monaco

After a short wait, I was ushered into a van which brought me to the helipad. It was a swift seven-minute flight but the views were stunning and while I sat in the helicopter, I chuckled at the thought of arriving in Monaco like a rock star!

Read about my visit to Monaco .

On the frozen canals of Amsterdam

A cold front that originated in Siberia brought howling winds and bone-chilling temperatures to Western Europe in early-March. Nicknamed the ‘Beast from the East’, the cold front resulted in freezing temperatures that lasted about a week. Daily reports in the media kept everyone informed on the state of the ice around the country, and as soon as the authorities gave the green light, ice-skating marathons were organised and people all over the country took to the ice.

See the frozen canals in Amsterdam .

Safari at Gondwana Game Reserve

The light was fading quickly but we were determined to find them. Our guide expertly manoeuvered the jeep around a tight bend and stopped. Silence reigned as the dust settled. I surveyed the surrounding bushes before turning my gaze to the mountains, bathed in a soft pink light, in the far distance. We sat in silence when suddenly, we heard the crack of a twig. He came, slowly but surely, into view and we gasped in awe. The lion casually strolled past us, seemingly without a care in the world.

Read about my safari at Gondwana Private Game Reserve in South Africa.

Seeing Mount Everest

The plane broke through a layer of clouds and the peaks of the Himalayas, glistening in the morning sun, were immediately visible. I pinched myself as we approached the mountains. It felt so surreal! I reminded myself that I was looking at the view from my plane window of the Himalayas – the highest mountains in the world! It was a dream come true!

Read about my flight over the Himalayas .

Exploring Kathmandu

Strolling in the streets of Kathmandu is a crazy, multi-sensory experience. The colours, scents of spices, temples, shrines, flags, honking taxis, cyclists, rickshaws and the odd cow greet you as you explore the city.

Read about my impressions of Kathmandu .

A stunning sunset in Kuala Lumpur

It was a very cloudy day so I wasn’t expecting much in terms of the sunset but as the sun retreated below the horizon, the colours changed gradually, and then dramatically. The result was a surreal urban landscape, with a plethora of towers framed by a blazing red sky! The lights from the surrounding buildings, streets and traffic below looked like a sea of shimmering gems. It was perhaps the most incredible view of Kuala Lumpur I’d ever seen!

Read about this incredible view of Kuala Lumpur from Vertigo Bar .

An indulgent weekend at Lanzerac Wine Estate

I entered the suite (208) and I’m quite sure I gasped (audibly). The bellboy smiled and said this was his favourite room. He proudly showed me around, stopping briefly at the mini-bar (which is included in the room rate and is replenished daily) before leading me to the living area, the massive bedroom and ditto bathroom. He opened the sliding doors which opened out to a gazebo and a private pool with a view of the vineyard and the mountains. I was in awe! My first thought was: I wished my house looked like this!

Read about my stay at Lanzerac Wine Estate .

Chilling in style at Constance Prince Maurice

The first thing that struck me was how beautiful the landscaping was, with pristine lawns, shady trees and elegant palms. We were greeted by the front desk staff with big smiles and a cocktail in the breezy lobby. Just ahead was a gorgeous infinity pool which seemed to spill over into the lagoon.

Read about my stay at Constance Prince Maurice .

Road trip around Réunion Island

Réunion Island is located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar and southwest of the island nation of Mauritius. Known for Piton de la Fournaise, one of the most active volcanoes in the world, and its breathtaking mountains and calderas, Réunion Island is home to an incredible diversity of landscapes and micro-climates, a melting pot of cultures, bustling towns and stunning beaches.

Read my Réunion Island guide .

Cruising the Danube River with Avalon Waterways

When I was invited to join an eight-day Active & Discovery Danube River cruise with Avalon Waterways from Budapest (Hungary) to Linz (Austria), I didn’t hesitate for a moment. It turned out to be, arguably, the best river cruise I’d ever been on! A bold statement I know but I say this based on my prior experiences and how impressed I am with Avalon Waterways.

Read about my Avalon Waterways Danube River cruise .

The spectacular Jewel at Changi Airport

When I first saw pictures of Jewel, a spectacular mall at Changi Airport in Singapore, I gasped! The image of a massive dome and a vortex-like waterfall surrounded by a lush tropical forest seemed absolutely surreal, like something out of a science fiction movie. I knew, there and then, that I had to see this with my own eyes!

Read about my visit to Jewel Changi Airport .

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25+ Best Travel Memories Quotes to Inspire Your Wanderlust

I admit it, I love great travel memories quotes.

A great quote can capture a feeling or idea in a way that’s especially inspiring. It can stoke your wanderlust, and make you think about the world in a different way.

It’s a great privilege to be able to look back on my travels around the world, and reflect on how they’ve changed me, and changed my perspective on the world.

Travel has changed my perspective on the world, and it’s changed the heart of who I am. I want to preserve our travel memories , and be able to relax and reflect on our travels around the world, whether I’m looking at old photos, or going more upscale with custom canvas printing of our travel pictures.

The Best Travel Memories Quotes

Here they are, my favorite travel memories quotes and sayings.

“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in an office or mowing your lawn. Climb that damn mountain.” ~ Jack Kerouac

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” – Anthony Bourdain

“One of the best ways to make yourself happy in the present is to recall happy times from the past. Photos are a great memory-prompt, and because we tend to take photos of happy occasions, they weight our memories to the good.” – Gretchen Rubin

“To be human is to have a collection of memories that tells you who you are and how you got there.” – Rosecrans Baldwin

“The most beautiful things are not associated with money; they are memories and moments. If you don’t celebrate those, they can pass you by.” – Alek Wek

“I collect memories. I look for opportunities to try new things, go to new places, and meet new people all the time.” – Marcel Wanders

“Travel is more than the seeing of sights; it is a change that goes on, deep and permanent, in the ideas of living.”  – Miriam Beard

“Remember that happiness is a way of travel – not a destination.” – Roy M. Goodman

“I have learned that if you must leave a place that you have lived in and loved and where all your yesteryears are buried deep, leave it any way except a slow way, leave it the fastest way you can. Never turn back and never believe that an hour you remember is a better hour because it is dead. Passed years seem safe ones, vanquished ones, while the future lives in a cloud, formidable from a distance.” – Beryl Markham, West with the Night

“I want to make memories all over the world.” – Unknown

“Own only what you can always carry with you: know languages, know countries, know people. Let your memory be your travel bag.” – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

“It is not the destination where you end up but the mishaps and memories you create along the way.” – Penelope Riley

“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” – L.P. Hartley, The Go-Between

“We find ourselves after airplane doors close and wheels touch the heavens. We discover the maps to our hearts when we lose the maps to this world. Wander, and find home in the people you meet. Wander, and find home inside yourself.” – Tyler Knott Gregson

“If dreams are like movies, then memories are films about ghosts.” – Adam Duritz

“Is there anything, apart from a really good chocolate cream pie and receiving a large unexpected cheque in the post, to beat finding yourself at large in a foreign city on a fair spring evening, loafing along unfamiliar streets in the long shadows of a lazy sunset, pausing to gaze in shop windows or at some church or lovely square or tranquil stretch of quayside, hesitating at street corners to decide whether that cheerful and homy restaurant you will remember fondly for years is likely to lie down this street or that one? I just love it. I could spend my life arriving each evening in a new city.” – Bill Bryson

“Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen.” – Benjamin Disraeli

“I want to look at a map and be able to remember how I was transformed by the places I’ve been to, the things I’ve seen and the people I’ve met. I want to come home and realize that I have not come home whole but have left a piece of my heart in each place I have been. This, I think, is what is at the heart of adventure and this is why I plan on making my life one.” – Becca Martin

“What I like about photographs is that they capture a moment that’s gone forever, impossible to reproduce.” – Karl Lagerfeld

“Repetition doesn’t create memories. New experiences do.” – Brian Chesky

“One of my favorite vacation memories was the Thai foot massage and Internet access salons in Bangkok, followed up by my testing cellphone coverage while wading in Provincetown Harbor on Cape Cod.” – Kara Swisher

Old travel memories quotes

It’s easy to think of travel happening only in our time of airplanes, high speed trains, and

“Take only memories, leave only footprints.” – Chief Seattle

“Nothing is ever really lost to us as long as we remember it.” – L.M. Montgomery

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” – most commonly attributed to Mark Twain, but this quote likely came from H. Jackson Brown

Mark Twain is probably one of the most quoted authors on the planet. Many clever and inspiring quotes did originate from Twain, but the quote above isn’t one. It’s commonly attributed to Twain, but it likely originated with H. Jackson Brown’s 1990 book, P.S. I Love You.

Family travel memories quotes

“The greatest legacy we can leave our children is happy memories.” – Og Mandino

“Summer will end soon enough, and childhood as well.” – George R.R. Martin

Love social media? These quotes are perfect if you’re looking for throwback travel memories quotes for Instagram!

If you’re looking for inspiration for your wanderlust, you should find the perfect quotation above!

Excellent inspirational quotes, especially, “Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in an office or mowing your lawn. Climb that damn mountain.” I also like, “No one on their death bed says I wish I worked more.” Not sure who said that one.

Nice quotes, reading through them I mentally had flashbacks to the places I’ve gone.

I love these travel memories quotes! They make me want to pack my bags and head out on a new adventure!

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Memory and forgetfulness in tourism crisis research

Associated data.

Even though academic attention has been paid on the tourism-memory nexus, the concept of forgetfulness in tourism has been largely overlooked and remains unexplored. The aim of this research note is to introduce the concept of forgetfulness alongside memory within tourism scholarship to discuss the way in which it may be integrated with future research. In so doing, the discussion focused on a tourist crisis context as tourists’ post-crisis behaviour often reflects forgetfulness as evidenced by their travel resumption patterns. Overall, by linking the concepts of forgetfulness and tourism, this research note contributes to knowledge advancement on tourism crises by shifting attention away from risk perceptions towards an understanding of the cognitive and emotional processes influencing tourist behaviour. The research note also illuminates understanding of how crises are forgotten; hence, contributes to the improvement of crisis management strategies. The research note concludes by proposing an agenda for future research.

“Memory only becomes interesting through its struggle with forgetfulness” Adrian Forty

1. Introduction

The emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought international travel at a standstill, exemplifies the vulnerability of the tourism industry to crises. Indeed, disasters and crises of all types have long-lasting effects on travel patterns, tourist demand and destination image (e.g. Chew & Jahari, 2014 ; Cró & Martins, 2017 ; Rittichainuwat & Chakraborty, 2009 ; Rossello et al., 2020 ), highlighting the importance of resilience-based crisis management strategies ( Paraskevas & Quek, 2019 ). Specifically, extant literature acknowledges that tourists’ risk perceptions and attitudes towards destinations are greatly impacted by a crisis, leading to a change of travel plans by avoiding visitation to a particular destination or travelling altogether ( Lutz & Lutz, 2020 ). In this context, some tourist segments have been recognised as exhibiting less sensitivity to external risks or even resistance to crises ( Hajibaba et al., 2015 ).

Despite the immediate and adverse effects of crises on tourism, in most cases a destination will recover as people's needs, desire and motive to travel makes the memory effect of the crisis not permanent ( Seabra et al., 2020 ), particularly when crisis management strategies are in place ( Alonso-Almeida & Bremser, 2013 ). Indeed, pertinent studies show that tourists and unaffected tourism suppliers forget about the crisis as time passes (e.g. Rittichainuwat, 2013 ). Nonetheless, the concept of crisis forgetfulness remains underdeveloped and largely unexplored in tourism research. While memory was previously examined in terms of post-travel purchase intentions ( Yin et al., 2017 ), destination loyalty ( Agapito et al., 2017 ), tourist experiences ( Ballantyne et al., 2011 ) and post-crisis tourist demand ( Gil-Alana, 2005 ; Lanouar & Goaied, 2019 ), the interface between tourism and memory's antipode – forgetfulness – is yet to receive academic attention especially within the context of tourism crises.

Following calls for the theoretical advancement of crisis management literature ( Pennington-Gray, 2018 ), this research note aims to invite tourism scholars to consider forgetfulness in tourism crisis examinations. In so doing, the paper introduces the concept of forgetfulness alongside memory within tourism scholarship to discuss the way in which it may be integrated with future research to enhance understanding of tourists’ post-crisis behaviour. Hence, this paper offers important implications to both theory and practice. First, by linking the concepts of forgetfulness and tourism and proposing an agenda for future research, this research note may contribute to knowledge advancement on tourism crises by shifting attention away from risk perceptions towards an understanding of the cognitive and emotional processes influencing tourist behaviour. Second, the research note may be of practical value to destination planners and industry practitioners as, by illuminating understanding of how crises are forgotten, the effectiveness of crisis management strategies may be improved.

2. Theoretical background

The concepts of memory and forgetfulness are inextricably linked. Perhaps, the memory-forgetfulness nexus is best described in Greek Mythology wherein reference to memory ( Mnemosyne ) and forgetfulness ( Lethe ) is made. Specifically, Mnemosyne and Lethe represented two parallel rivers in the underworld of Hades as well as the personification of the goddesses of ‘memory’ and ‘oblivion’ respectively. While the souls of the dead were required to drink from the waters of Lethe to forget their earthly life before being reincarnated, initiates were encouraged to drink from its counterpart Mnemosyne to stop the transgression of the soul as they would remember everything and achieve omniscience. Memory and forgetfulness represent, thus, two opposite yet inextricably linked concepts. Evidently, in order to understand the relationship between forgetfulness and tourism, it is first necessary to comprehend how memory is formed and what causes it to be forgotten.

Memory refers to an assemblage of mental representations of past experiences and is, as such, a dynamic entity that has the potential to manifest behaviourally the effects of prior experience ( Wixted, 1998 ). Cognitive psychologists identify three phases of memory: sensory, short-term and long-term memory with information processing occurring eventually through all the three stages as information is encoded, stored and retrieved if and when needed ( Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968 ). Sensory memory enables people to retain impressions of sensory information and, although pieces of this information may be retrieved by short-term memory for further process, sensory memory is not involved in higher cognitive functions as it is not consciously controlled. Short-term memory can hold a few items of information and lasts only for a few seconds whereas long-term memory has a large storage capacity and may include information acquired over a long period of time. Hence, the two types of memory differ in duration and capacity ( Cowan, 2008 ); while in short-term memory information is stored sequentially, in long-term memory it is stored and retrieved by association. Thus, as long-term memory represents a key aspect of human learning that guides behaviour ( Friedman et al., 2018 ), it is often regarded as the most important phase by psychologists.

Long-term memory is categorised into ‘explicit memory’ which is intentionally and consciously recalled and ‘implicit memory’, referring to a sub-conscious memory that affects behaviour ( Brewer & Pani, 1983 ). There is also ‘procedural memory’, a type of implicit memory mostly concerned with the performance of specific tasks, and ‘declarative memory’ which represents a sub-set of explicit memory, referring to facts and events that are consciously recalled ( Eichenbaum, 1997 ). Generally, explicit memory tends to receive great attention in psychology as it deals with the knowledge and experiences of a person that can be consciously remembered ( Stangor & Walinga, 2014 ). Declarative memory is further divided into ‘episodic’ and ‘semantic’ memory; while the first deals with specific experiences and events in a person's life, the second refers to the storage of general factual knowledge independent of personal experience. Therefore, it may be argued that in a crisis situation, it is declarative memory that matters with episodic memory being recalled in case of a personal experience with the crisis and semantic memory being evoked when an individual has heard of a crisis but not necessarily experienced it.

The opposite of memory is forgetfulness and occurs when there is a loss or modification of the information encoded and stored in a person's memory. While forgetfulness is often attributed to ageing or physical injury, it most often arises due to psychological causes. Building on the work of Hermann Ebbinghaus, memory loss is explained by trace decay theory which identifies time as a main cause for memories fading ( Brown, 1958 ). Likewise, interference theory suggests that forgetting emerges as a result of old and new memories interfering with each other ( Postman, 1963 ), particularly in cases of similar events occurring. Forgetfulness has also been attributed to ineffective encoding as people often process information that does not develop into long-term memory ( Nickerson & Adams, 1979 ). Moreover, in what is known as cue-dependent forgetting or retrieval failure, individuals often fail to retrieve information in the absence of cues associated with the memory ( Tulving, 1974 ). Such cues include: a) the emotional state of a person during encoding which, if relived, may evoke a memory, b) semantic cues that link a memory with another memory and c) context-specific cues related to the environment and/or situation. Additionally, forgetfulness may arise in the form of repression due to an effort to forget a traumatic experience ( Becker-Blease et al., 2011 ). While much pertinent discussion on forgetfulness relies on individual perspectives, collective forgetting has also been noted as a process of (re)shaping collective memory and identity ( Harrison, 2013 ), mostly observed in emotionally loaded situations (i.e. difficult heritage) wherein ‘public silence’ ( Stone & Hirst, 2014 ) often exists.

In the event of crises, tourists face various options; they either cancel or postpone the trip, visit an alternative destination instead or travel to the destination regardless. While the effects of a crisis on the cancellation or alternation of a trip are well-documented, there is less research on the decision of tourists to continue or resume travelling once conditions allow so. Travel resumption behaviour post-crisis is acknowledged in most studies as indicative of the return to normalcy and a sign of destination recovery (e.g. Seabra et al., 2020 ). Generally speaking, travel resumption has been argued to emerge as a result of resistance to change or willingness to undertake the associated risk ( Hajibaba et al., 2015 ). Also, tourists may resume travel as a means of solidarity to show support to the affected destination ( Beirman, 2003 ). More frequently though, travel will recommence when adequate time has passed from the occurrence of the crisis, leading to tourists to forget about it ( Rittichainuwat, 2013 ). It is to this point that this research note now turns in an attempt to encourage the examination of forgetfulness and tourism in crisis contexts.

3. Discussion and further research

Drawing from cognitive psychology, it appears that the passage of time increases the likelihood of tourists forgetting about the crisis and resuming travel, particularly when effects are indirect. This likelihood is reinforced by tourists’ needs, desire and motive to travel despite the presence of emotional factors ( Farmaki et al., 2019 ) such as in the case of visiting family and friends ( Zenker & Kock, 2020 ). Similarly, the longer the time interval the more likely it is that other events, either internal or external to the tourist, will interfere with the memory of the crisis causing it to gradually fade. In any case, interference is more probable when events similar to the crisis (i.e. other similar crises) take place whereas the higher the frequency and severity of the interfering events ( Chew & Jahari, 2014 ), the greater the forgetfulness probability. Tourists may also achieve crisis forgetfulness when they fail to retrieve memories related to a crisis, a possibility when associated cues pertinent to the tourist or the crisis context are absent or when there is no prior experience of the affected destination. Likewise, tourists are more prone to forget a crisis when they have initially failed to store relevant information about it; this may happen if they become aware of the crisis from non-personal information sources (i.e. media), if the destination and travel intermediaries are responsive to crisis management ( De Sausmarez, 2013 ) and/or if tourists remain largely unaffected by its effects (e.g. pre-booking stage). Last, crisis forgetfulness may occur willingly as a resistance-to-crisis mechanism by tourists who are personally impacted by the traumatic effects of a crisis and try to suppress the memory of it by continuing travel to acquire new positive experiences.

The link between forgetfulness and tourism is illustrated diagrammatically in Fig. 1 . Specifically, the various causes of forgetfulness as shaped by numerous influencing factors (e.g. frequency of crises) lead to semantic or episodic memory to fade depending on whether the influence from the crisis is personal and direct or impersonal and indirect. As such, forgetfulness drives travel which may evolve either as: a) compliance mechanism predisposing tourists to travel to satisfy their hedonic needs or b) defence mechanism to deal with the traumatic experience of a crisis.

The tourism forgetfulness nexus.

Based on the above discussion, future research avenues are proposed. First, tourism crisis research should consider the emotional and cognitive impacts of crises on tourists beyond risk perception theorising. Such acknowledgement should be shared by destination planners who need to adapt their marketing campaigns and destination branding efforts in acknowledgement of the needs and motives of various tourist segments including risk-sensitive and risk-taking travellers; thereby, identifying those segments that may be more appropriate for recovering destinations such as domestic tourists ( Kock et al., 2019 ). Second, given the complexity characterising post-crisis travel behaviour, studies could look beyond travel resumption behaviour into travel group composition, group size and expenditure data whilst employing appropriate theories for revealing non-linear relations ( Zenker & Kock, 2020 ).

In addition, although this note centred discussion of the forgetfulness-tourism nexus within a crisis context, insights may be offered to other subject areas including destination marketing, tourist experiences and the tourist activity itself as a means of forgetting. Hence, future research could delve into the causes and outcomes of forgetfulness within a general tourism context. In particular, travel as a means of forgetting should be empirically examined from a mental and experiential perspective. Likewise, considering the contextual nature of crises and the subsequent different levels of negative effects on destinations and tourist behaviour, future research could also examine crisis forgetfulness in relation to sustainable tourism development issues (i.e. economic, socio-cultural, environmental) both short-term and long-term. Indeed, scholars have highlighted the opportunities emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic for escaping the unsustainable global tourism path ( Ioannides and Gyimothi, 2020 ). Last, by integrating forgetfulness and tourism, this research note may inform examinations of post-crisis experiences of stakeholders beyond tourists such as the local community and industry practitioners. For example, the potential biases of locals against tourists after a crisis may be examined ( Qiu et al., 2020 ). Similarly, the practices and viewpoints of industry stakeholders are worthy of investigation as their behaviours post-crisis may inhibit the sustainability efforts of destinations.

Notwithstanding, this research note is not without limitations. The discussion focused on the concept of forgetfulness in tourism crisis and, as such, potentially diminished the important influence that other travel motives may play in travel resumption. For instance, travelling post-disaster for dark tourism (e.g. Tucker et al., 2017 ) often reinforced by dark place marketing ( Medway & Warnaby, 2008 ) is acknowledged in the literature as a travel motive. Likewise, empathy and the charitable behaviours of tourists might reinforce travel post-crisis ( Zenker & Kock, 2020 ). As such, the conclusions drawn in this research note should be treated with caution by researchers and in acknowledgement that other factors (i.e. destination recovery activities and policies) need be considered as foci in future tourism crisis investigations.

Impact statement

This research note sets out to examine the concept of forgetfulness in tourism, drawing from the tourism crisis context. As such, the study contributes both theoretically and practically in numerous ways. First, it draws from cognitive psychology to underpin the discussion of the tourism-forgetfulness nexus which has not been previously examined. Secondly, it responds to calls for the theoretical advancement of crisis management literature as by enacting the concept of forgetfulness within tourism scholarship, it enhances understanding of tourists’ behaviour post-crisis. Thirdly, it offers a tourism-forgetfulness nexus framework which may be used as a steppingstone for further research on the concepts of memory and forgetfulness in tourism, beyond the crisis context including destination marketing, tourist behaviour and experiences. As such, the note may be of practical value to destination planners and industry practitioners leading to improved crisis management approaches.

Credit author statement

Anna Farmaki: Conceptualization; Investigation; Visualization; Roles/Writing - original draft; Writing - review & editing.

Declaration of competing interest

Acknowledgments.

Anna Farmaki is Assistant Professor at the School of Management and Economics of the Cyprus University of Technology. Her research interests lie in the areas of tourism planning and development and tourist behaviour.

Appendix A Supplementary data to this article can be found online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2020.104210 .

Appendix A. Supplementary data

The following is the Supplementary data to this article:

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Forget the beach: How you can experience the real Maldives

I was on a boat in the middle of the Indian Ocean, about to taste real life in the Maldives .

A crew of fishermen from Sun Siyam Iru Veli , located in the Dhaalu Atoll, set up the fishing lines. We were anchored off the shores of the nearby local island Bandidhoo, where people fish tuna for money and smaller reef fish for their tables. 

The task seemed simple enough: bait attached to a hook tied to the end of a fishing line, which I was to hold by hand. As the line dropped to the reef, I was to wait for the feel of a fish nibbling on the bait. Then I’d just pull the line by hand, and voilà: a catch. No poles or spears required. 

Long-line fishing is a generations-old tradition in the Maldives, a way of life for its people. Living in an island nation where not much grows, Maldivians sustain themselves off of fish and coconuts. Not only is it an ancient practice, but long-line fishing is sustainable, taking just a few fish at a time with minimal damage to coral reefs or bycatch. 

I quickly learned that I was not a natural long-line fisher. For the next hour, I mistook the moving current for a gullible fish when I was actually the gullible one. Other times, the fish was stealthy enough to take the bait without me feeling anything at all. 

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Instead, I watched the fishermen work their magic. The line danced in their hands, flying up and down. Sensitive to the slightest movement going on 65 feet underwater, they knew the exact moment to start pulling the line up and win the battle against the fish. 

As the sun set over the water, we caught a total of nine fish, including emperor fish, batfish and humpback snapper. 

Although the rest of the fish went to the fishermen to enjoy at home, one snapper would make a reappearance the following day. For lunch, I enjoyed the red snapper, grilled to perfection and sliced raw into sashimi. 

While the Maldives is renowned as a romantic, luxurious destination where people can enjoy the sunshine, soft white sand and gentle lapping turquoise waters, it’s also packed with history and culture. While everyone should spend some time relaxing at the beach , the atoll nation offers way more for travelers to do – and learn more about life in the Maldives. 

Like most things in the Maldives, most activities are unfortunately pricey, especially since booking through a resort is pretty much your only option.

Long-line fishing is just the beginning. Here are eight other activities in the Maldives beyond simply lounging on the beach.

Go fish, Maldivian-style

Sunset fishing was hands-down my favorite excursion in the Maldives. Watching the fishermen in action was exhilarating, even though I couldn’t get the long line fishing down myself. Partaking in the ancient fishing tradition was a peek into real Maldivian life – and against the most gorgeous of backdrops: the sun setting over the ocean. To pick which fish to eat the next day and how it would be prepared made the experience extra rewarding.  

Check out the marine life

The Maldives is rich in marine biodiversity. Guests can snorkel and dive with whale sharks in southern waters and alongside manta rays in the north. At Sun Siyam Iru Veli, I went on an afternoon snorkeling tour, a 20-minute boat ride from the resort, and swam along the reef, an uninhabited island. Dropping about 100 feet, the reef was overflowing with marine life. I spotted a plethora of tropical reef fish along with three Hawksbill turtles – the most common type in the Maldives – and a white-tip reef shark. 

Even on resort grounds, travelers have plenty of opportunities to easily witness marine life – I spotted a pod of dolphins swim past me on my sunset fishing excursion and baby reef sharks around the shoreline by my villa at Sun Siyam Iru Veli in the mornings. 

Are there blind scuba divers? Here's the accessible way anyone can explore the ocean.

Explore the ocean … at night

Most resorts in the Maldives also have a house reef, where colorful clownfish and triggerfish swim around anemones and soft coral. At Sun Siyam Iru Fushi , guests can request a nighttime snorkeling activity, where they dive in after the sun sets to see the reef in another light, literally. 

The gear was simple. I slipped an orange filter over my snorkel mask, secured with a band, to eliminate the fluorescence caused by my blue light flashlight. This light source would make all the difference, as the soft coral and anemones absorbed the blue light, casting neon greens and reds back. The bright red anemones swayed in the dark and soft coral glowed, showcasing intricate brain-like textures and patterns not noticeable in daylight. 

Help restore some coral

Coral reefs play a critical role in the very existence of the Maldives; without them, the islands would be damaged by strong waves. Maldivians also rely on the fish from reefs for their livelihoods. Guests can participate in coral restoration alongside on-staff marine biologists at multiple Sun Siyam Resorts with coral planting. In this activity, I fastened coral fragments to a metal frame that’s later placed in the ocean to hopefully regrow and thrive. 

Visit a local island 

Sun Siyam Resorts offers travelers the chance to get off the resort island and witness everyday life for Maldivians. Guests can sign up for a local island tour, which takes them to a local fishing village to meet community members and see the school and local shops. I went on a local farm tour, where I got to see how some of the produce, such as papaya, that’s served in the resorts are grown. 

Watersports galore

In the Maldives, the ocean is the main attraction. Siyam World Maldives way offers more than the typical jet skis, paddleboards and kayaks. Guests of all ages can clamber around on the Indian Ocean’s biggest floating waterpark, made up of inflatable obstacles. There are also electric surfboards, kite surfing, banana boats and underwater jetpacks. I rented a seabob, a diving scooter that let me glide up and down underwater like a dolphin at up to 13 miles per hour. It was a strange sensation, but definitely took snorkeling to the next level. 

Visit an uninhabited private island

Over 83% of the Maldives’ 1,192 islands are uninhabited, allowing travelers to bask in unspoiled tropical landscapes. At Sun Siyam Iru Fushi, I was able to enjoy untouched nature and be the only present human there. Sun Siyam Iru Fushi and its sister resort, Siyam World, also share a small private island where only palm trees exist (and a restroom facility, so don’t worry about that). Guests can book the private island for picnics and photoshoots, which willand it’ll be exclusively theirs for the entire time. During the picnic, staff set up a tent for respite from the afternoon sun and served lunch and even champagne. No roughing it here.

Learn more about Maldivian culture

Every Friday night at Sun Siyam Iru Fushi, Maldivian staff share a piece of their culture with guests through traditional song and dance – of course, guests are invited to learn the dance, too. In Boduberu , dancers move energetically to the beat of coconut drums and folk singing. The dancing style is said to have come from African sailors who reached the Maldives many centuries ago, and is typically performed at special occasions and celebrations. The resort also offers cooking classes, where guests can learn how to make traditional Maldivian dishes, and free workshops such as making your own coconut oil, a staple product for cooking in the country. 

Kathleen Wong is a travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Hawaii. You can reach her at [email protected] .

I visited Aspen, the most expensive vacation destination in America, for the first time. Here are 13 things that surprised me.

• At the start of the 2021 ski season, I visited one of the US' most expensive ski towns: Aspen, Colorado.
• Aspen is a luxury playground for the rich and famous where property sells for $8,000 a square foot.
•  After spending a few days here, I thought it lived up to its wealthy reputation.

Nestled in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, Aspen is a small ski town known for vacationers with big budgets.

In April 2024, Travel and Leisure published the findings from an OptimosTravel study , which analyzed the cost of vacationing in more than 100 US vacation spots. At the top of the list was Aspen, with vacationers spending an average of $761.39 per person per day in the town. 

And it's not the first time Aspen has made its mark as an expensive place to live and vacation. In 2022, Aspen was the world's most expensive ski town based on the listing price for prime ski property, according to Engel & Völkers , a global real-estate company. In 2023, the ski outlet SnowBrains named Aspen the most expensive ski town in the US. 

Each winter, celebrities flock to the town to show off designer ski gear on the town's snowy slopes. I joined them in December 2021 and gained a taste of the town's lavish lifestyle. 

At the start of the 2021 ski season, I headed to Aspen, where I discovered coffee shops selling prosecco and dog food on room-service menus. It added to the luxury and charm of Aspen, but I also found some surprisingly affordable things, too.

By the end of my trip, I learned that luxury is all in the details . It's when your hotel room has real plants instead of fake ones and when restaurants opt for cloth napkins over paper.

Those tiny elements cast a surprising spotlight on how Aspen had become such an expensive place to live and vacation. Here are the things that shocked me the most.

I grew up in Florida, so it may just be my roots showing, but I didn't expect people to be walking around the town in designer ski boots with skis perched on their shoulders.

As I booked my trip, I noticed that many hotels advertised themselves as ski-in, ski-out. I'd never skied before the trip, so I hadn't realized how literal that term was until I visited Aspen.

From my hotel room, I could walk just a few hundred feet and be at the base of Aspen Mountain, where I'd have access to 87 ski trails.

But even if people weren't staying in a ski-in, ski-out accommodation, they still seemed to be trekking across the town in their ski gear. Everywhere I looked in Aspen, people were heading to the lifts in their ski boots or were just off the slopes and biking home with their snowboards in tow.

Most of my waiters and waitresses could casually list off celebrities they said they'd met.

Celebrities flock to Aspen each winter, but I was surprised at how willing and eager restaurant servers were to share their celebrity sightings.

At the White House Tavern , one waitress told me she sent the musician Leon Bridges to the bar and mentioned Dua Lipa had recently stopped by for a meal.

At Ajax Tavern , our waiter said he'd seen A-listers, including Neil Patrick Harris, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Katy Perry.

"In the winter, you're going to see celebrities every day," my waitress at the sushi restaurant Matsuhisa casually mentioned.

I knew to expect mansions, but touring Aspen's real estate gave me an entirely new look into how billionaires live.

During my trip, I met up with three real-estate agents who took me inside mansions listed between $27 million and $51 million. 

I quickly learned that seeing an online listing for $44.5 million is entirely different than stepping inside a house priced that high.

In Aspen Park , I toured a sprawling 15,000-square-foot home listed by agent Carrie Wells. Inside the primary bedroom was an oxygen system that pumps air into the room to mimic different sea levels and reduce the effects of altitude sickness — a luxury that I didn't even know existed. 

At The Peak House , Compass real-estate agent Heidi Houston walked me through a mansion listed for $45 million. One unique feature of the home was a secret bedroom and passageway that was built for the original owner's mistress .

These were amenities I couldn't dream of having in my own home. 

I was shocked to find a coffee shop's fridge stocked with prosecco.

I was surprised to see miniature bottles of the bubbly next to cold-brew cans and coconut water in a coffee shop.

The shop also stocked orange juice, so, in theory, customers could make their own mimosas before the café closed at 2 p.m.

Other stores with luxe offerings also surprised me. For example, I popped into a store that sold cannabis next to $92,000 jewelry.

I knew designer stores would fill Aspen's streets. I expected to stumble into Gucci, Prada, and Louis Vuitton, but I didn't expect to find such ritzy dispensaries .

Then, I went to Dalwhinnie Farms. The dispensary calls itself a "boutique," and alongside rows of cannabis flower and pre-rolled joints are crystal glassware, cashmere, leather, and jewelry. 

The dispensary was far from what I'm familiar with in my current home in Denver. There weren't any barred windows, weed-themed puns, or neon lights. Instead, it was elegant and seamlessly fit in with the designer brands that sandwiched the storefront.

Overall, it seemed as if Aspen took special care with its outdoor amenities. Water fountains and bicycle stations were covered for the winter season, which I'd never seen before.

I'd never seen a town protect its water fountains and bicycle stations the way Aspen does in the winter.

I'm more familiar with winter in New York City , where you can rent Citi Bikes year-round and Central Park's water fountains end up covered in snow.

In Aspen, the bicycle rideshares close, the bikes are stored away, and plastic covers are placed on the docking stations.

The same goes for the water fountains. Each water station I saw in Aspen had a snug cover protecting it from the colder temps.

Even the tiny, free libraries dotting the town felt like an upgrade, with hard-to-find New York Times bestsellers there for the taking.

I'm used to seeing Free Little Libraries, which are like mailboxes filled with free books, across my neighborhood in Denver. But I'm not used to them being filled with books that have sat on my Goodreads wish list for months.

After peeking inside the free library, I saw a copy of "The Vanishing Half," a book that's topped The New York Times bestseller list .

Any book that popular would be gone in a free library in Denver in minutes, I thought. 

Art galleries filled nearly every street in the town.

A few Aspen locals gushed to me about how their town was known for so much more than skiing.

They bragged about the Aspen Art Museum's exhibit on Andy Warhol and listed off the small galleries filling practically every town block.

While Aspen is known for its nature, I was surprised to discover an equally strong emphasis on the arts.

I didn't expect there to be so much focus on food in Aspen, but my list of restaurant recommendations was long enough to last a season.

No matter who I spoke with as I explored Aspen, everyone seemed to know every restaurant in town, whether it was a luxury real-estate agent or a bellhop. 

And almost every local I spoke with had a favorite.

I was urged to go to Clark's for seafood and told Steak House No. 316 served the best steak. A trip to Aspen wouldn't be complete without tasting sushi from Matsuhisa or having the wagyu burger at Ajax Tavern , I was told.

Food was clearly a significant part of the Aspen experience , I quickly learned.

While I wasn't surprised to see dogs in designer outfits walking the brick streets of Aspen, I was shocked to find dog food on a hotel menu.

As my stomach growled on my first night in Aspen, I eyed the room-service menu at my hotel, the five-star Little Nell .

A $21 French toast and a $25 Cobb salad were available and priced as expected, but there was also food available for four-legged friends. The menu advertised "Canine Delights Daily, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m."

The meals, which were served in dog-friendly bowls, included carrots, brown rice, scrambled eggs, and the owner's choice of protein and cost $19.

Though I expected pricey meals, I also discovered some affordable eats.

Within minutes after I arrived in Aspen, a sign advertising $8 burgers lured me into Aspen Pie Shop, a restaurant selling pizza, burgers, and sandwiches. 

I enjoyed a $6 slice of pizza knowing that Aspen isn't just home to $25 entreés and $20 cocktails was a relief.

While the Aspen Pie Shop has since closed, later during my trip and on future trips, I've continued to find affordable eats such as a $9 sub or an $8 shot-and-beer drink deal.

Groceries also seemed to be reasonably priced.

My friend tagged along for the trip, and on our first night, we walked over to City Market, a part of the Kroger grocery chain, to grab a few snacks and breakfast items for the week. 

We expected Aspen's groceries to be pricier than we were used to in Denver, but the prices were surprisingly comparable to what I buy back home at King Soopers, another Kroger chain.

For example, I often spend more than $1.25 per avocado and a $1 onion didn't catch me off guard. Other snacks, like chips and pretzels, felt similarly priced as well.

After a day in Aspen, I realized why the town felt so quaint. No building was higher than six stories, making way for stunning views.

I spent my first day in Aspen debating whether it was the snowy slopes or brick sidewalks that gave the town its charming appeal. 

Then I realized it was the lack of skyscrapers — or really any tall building for that matter. I noticed that the vast majority of buildings in Aspen were just two or three stories high, and as a result, I always had unobstructed views of the sky and mountains.

I left the ski town with a new sense of how the rich and famous vacation and live. But even after stepping into a luxe dispensary and touring a $45 million mansion, I left confident that the everyday traveler can visit Aspen, too.

From food to real estate, my trip to Aspen was filled with luxury surprises around every corner. 

I left the ritzy ski town aware that it isn't a cheap place to vacation but that it's also surprisingly not unattainable for the everyday traveler like me.

Between affordable beer-and-shot combos, meal planning, and cheap pizza slices, I'd happily plan a trip back — although I likely won't be able to afford a hotel that offers canine delights on its room-service menu.

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This Is the No. 1 Surf Destination in the World

Hossegor, located along the southwest coast of France, was just named the best destination to surf.

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The World Surf League's championship tour is well underway, bringing the best professional surfers to places like Australia, Brazil, southern California, and beyond to paddle and battle it out on some of the best breaks on Earth. And while you probably won't be getting out into the lineup with Kelly Slater, Carissa Moore, Griffin Colapinto, Tatiana Weston-Webb, or Gabriel Medina any time soon, they at least may have inspired you to want to go out and surf on your own. And the travel insurance experts at Confused.com have a few suggestions on where you should go. 

The website released its list of the best surf destinations in the world, a study based on wave quality and surfer satisfaction via data from Surf-Forecast , and overall search interest via Google search data. After digging into all the numbers, the team named Hossegor, located along the southwest coast of France, the best destination to surf. 

"Hossegor ranks as the best destination for surfing in the world, with an overall score of 8.16/10. Hossegor offers reliable, excellent conditions for surfing and is known for its hollow and fast-breaking waves favored by experienced surfers. It has an average surfer rating of 4.25, and 48 percent of the recorded waves are clean and surfable." The team also noted in the results that the best time to visit is during the region's fall shoulder season in October when flights and hotels are at their cheapest. 

Hossegor was joined on the list by the legendary Mavericks, located just outside of Half Moon Bay, California, in second place, followed by Tofino, Canada, known for its year-round surf and fantastic wildlife spotting (seriously, watch out for whales here). 

Rounding out the top 10 spots are The Bubble in the Canary Islands; Biarritz in France; Cloudbreak on Tavarua Island in Fiji; Carrapateira in Portugal; Ponta Preta in Maio, Cape Verde; Uluwatu and Kuta in Bali, Indonesia; Pasta Point in the Maldives; Puerto Escondido, in southern Oaxaca, Mexico; and Byron Bay in New South Wales, Australia. 

While yes, this list is fantastic, it's chock full of spots that would easily be rated as expert-only. (Seriously, please do not paddle out to places like Mavericks or Cloud Break unless you really know what you're doing.) So we thought we'd give you three more suggestions for places to go surf if you consider yourself more of a beginner or beginner-intermediate, and asked our friends at The Inertia for their input. Here's what they (and we) suggest. 

Waikiki, Hawaii

If you're going to learn to surf, you might as well do it in the birthplace of the sport — Hawaii. Waikiki is a prime destination, as it often offers soft, rolling waves in beautiful azure waters. Plenty of schools are ready to teach you all the ins and outs, including Kahu , which says 95 percent of its students stand up with one lesson. And, as a bonus, you can drive over to Pipeline and see the pros surf on some of the most pristine waves on Earth. 

Nosara, Costa Rica

The tiny town of Nosara has become an ultra-popular destination for beach-goers, and for good reason. Not only is it stunning, but it also offers plenty of coastline for those who want to surf. Both Nosara Surf School and Nosara Surf Academy are great options and offer lessons for beginners, intermediates, and those looking to take things to the advanced level. 

Cocoa Beach, Florida

Florida may not be the first place that comes to mind for surfing, but you absolutely should not overlook Cocoa Beach if you want to paddle out. Not only does it offer smooth waves, but it's also the hometown of surfing's greatest athlete, Kelly Slater. So really, you'll be surfing in the shadow of greats. Make a reservation with Cocoa Beach Surf School and get out in the water ASAP. 

These Are Going to Be the Most Popular Travel Destinations in 2024

A lready thinking about where you want to travel in 2024 ? If you’re hoping to hit the hottest travel destinations of the year, Expedia Group is here to help. The one-stop travel site—alongside Hotels.com and VRBO—just released Unpack '24 , a travel trends analysis for the coming year. In addition to detailing the projected top 10 most popular international destinations of 2024, the site also revealed 10 “dupes” for travelers looking to perhaps spend a bit less, as well as those hoping to be surrounded by fewer fellow tourists. Additionally, they revealed 10 affordable cities where the world’s biggest musical acts are set to perform, as well as where to travel if you live a sober lifestyle.

“At Expedia Group, we have extensive first-party travel data that we use to enhance and curate experiences for our travelers across Expedia, Hotels.com, and Vrbo,” Jon Gieselman, president of Expedia Brands, says in the report. “These insights shape our travel forecasts, revealed in Unpack '24, enabling our travelers to be the first to discover and book the most desired trips before they become well-beaten paths.”

Ready to ignite your travel bug? Ahead, discover the most popular travel destinations of 2024.

The Top 10 Travel Destinations of 2024

Expedia Group predicts that travelers are most likely to jet set to destinations popularized in fan-favorite TV shows and movies. According to the report, “More than half of travelers say they’ve researched or booked a trip to a destination after seeing it on a TV show or in a movie. In fact, travelers say TV shows influence their travel decisions more than Instagram, TikTok, and podcasts.” With that in mind, they reveal that the top 10 travel destinations of 2024 are as follows:

• Thailand - Featured in White Lotus , Season 3—which has sadly been pushed to premiere in 2025
• Romania - Featured in Wednesday , Season 2—which has not yet set a release date
• Malta - As seen in Gladiator 2 , which is set to premiere on November 22, 2024
• Paris - As seen in Emily in Paris
• Scottish Highlands - Featured in Outlander
• London, Bath, and Windsor, U.K. - As seen in Bridgerton and The Crown
• South Korea - Featured in Squid Game —the Season 2 release date has yet to be announced
• Florida Keys - As seen in the series Bad Monkey
• Australia - Featured in Baz Luhrmann’s Faraway Downs series, as well as the film Furiosa , which is set to premiere on May 24, 2024
• Greece - as seen in the films Argylle (set to release in 2024) and My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3

The Top 10 Travel Destination Dupes

Dupes have long been lauded in the beauty and fashion categories, and now the concept is making its way to travel. “1 in 3 of those polled say they’ve booked a dupe,” the report reveals. “But what do these less obvious alternatives offer besides potential savings? They’re often less crowded, tend to be a little unexpected, and can be every bit as delightful as the tried-and-true destinations.”

Intrigued by the idea of booking a stellar vacation for a fraction of the price? Check out Expedia Group’s Top 10 Travel Destination Dupes, below, which are listed as the original destination of inspiration and the dupe that mirrors it.

• Seoul —> Taipei
• Bangkok —> Pattaya
• Santorini —> Paros
• Saint Martin —> Curaçao
• Sydney —> Perth
• London —> Liverpool
• Lisbon —> Palermo
• Geneva —> Québec City
• Zermatt —> Sapporo
• Nashville —> Memphis

The Top 10 Tour-Inspired Travel Destinations

Music lovers, this one’s for you! As you well know, traveling to see your favorite artists live is expensive, to say the least. With this in mind, Expedia set out to find the most affordable destinations where the world’s most famous pop and rock stars are set to take the stage in 2024.

Through their research, in which they analyzed the average daily rates of tour locations, they found the top 10 most affordable cities (less than $150/night on average) where travelers can witness the likes of Taylor Swift, Olivia Rodrigo, Coldplay, Metallica, Madonna, and more. They are as follows:

• Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - $91
• Edmonton, Canada - $108
• Mexico City, Mexico - $119
• Warsaw, Poland - $119
• Birmingham, U.K. - $127
• Houston, Texas - $130
• Antwerp, Belgium - $140
• Tokyo, Japan - $147
• Perth, Australia - $148
• Detroit, Michigan - $149

For more research-backed travel trends, be sure to check out Expedia’s full Unpack ‘24 Trend Report .

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Breaking news, top 10 most-searched summer 2024 destinations revealed by delta: where everyone will vacation.

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Everyone is looking to leave the country this summer.

Delta Air Lines has released its second annual list of the most-searched summer travel destinations for 2024 — and the most in-demand spots are international.

According to Delta search data in the US from Nov. 1, 2023, to March 18, 2024, for travel between May and August 2024, the top 10 list had numerous unsurprising tourist destinations — but also some more unique spots topping the chart.

London, Paris and Rome are the always-popular destinations that topped the list again this year, while Dublin, Barcelona and Vancouver, Canada, were newly in demand.

Searches for all of the top 10 international destinations increased more than 150% from 2023 — but one stood out more than the rest.

Athens, Greece, had the biggest surge in interest, with a whopping 248% increase in searches compared to last year.

Though the Greek city still came in at fourth place overall, it had a significantly higher surge than all the other destinations compared to 2023.

Here is the full list of Delta’s 2024 most-searched summer destinations:

• London, England
• Paris, France
• Rome, Italy
• Athens, Greece
• Cancun, Mexico
• Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Tokyo, Japan
• Dublin, Ireland
• Barcelona, Spain
• Vancouver, Canada

Meanwhile, when it comes to domestic travel, the most-searched destinations — with the exception of Delta Hubs — included Las Vegas, Orlando, Miami and Honolulu, which Delta suggests is due to an interest in “sun-drenched getaways” and major summer sporting events.

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