If you love travel but you’re fed up with the ‘been there, done that, ticked it off,’ kind of tourism, then you’re going to love these travel goals – a modern bucket list for responsible, healthy, feel-good travel, leading to sustainable tourism.
Lonely Planet’s Travel Goals is a book for travellers who want to be immersed in a foreign culture, or who want to gaze in deep wonder at the natural world, and not just pass rapidly over it.
Lonely Planet’s Travel Goals
Lonely Planet surveyed more than 7,500 members of its community of travellers from around the world, with 92% of respondents saying they see travel as “an opportunity for positive change”.
In addition, 68% of those surveyed said they now care more about sustainable travel than they used to, while 60% view travel as more of an opportunity for personal growth than they previously did.
For those travellers wanting to discover themselves (as much as the next big sight), Lonely Planet’s Travel Goals has the potential to change lives.
From sleeping under the stars and witnessing natural phenomena to more ambitious challenges, such as helping communities and safe-guarding the environment, this is the essential companion to a life well-travelled – and well-lived.
“These travel goals are not about ticking off a list of far-away sights,” Lonely Planet says. “They are about a life filled with variety and self-discovery.
Lonely Planet
The book is full of transormative travel experiences and inspiration for finding goals to aim for.
Such as …
Spend time on water
Each goal is enriching in some way, either because it’s about forging stronger connections with the natural world, helping a community clear a coastline of plastic, or spending a week on silent retreat.
How did Lonely Planet go about compiling this list?
“We started out by asking our pool of travel writers about the travel experiences that had a life-changing effect for them – what would they recommend everyone try at least once in their lives? “
They then honed this list to 120 experiences that they felt would be the most personally rewarding.
“For each goal we explain why you should consider giving it a go and give at least three recommendations for where you can put the goal into action.”
Lonely Planet
The goals are wide ranging, and I challenge you not to be inspired.
Goals such as retrace your roots, or …
Engage all the senses
These are travel goals that will make you think, and engage. I love so many of the ideas in this book.
It’s certainly a travel book for our times. Especially when I think back to my youth when travel first became a thing for us baby boomers – the time of the package holiday! Remember that? It was all about finding a nice hotel, with a pool, near a beach and plenty of sunshine.
These days we might be more inclined to engage all our senses in a more meaningful way than waiting for the 6 o’clock cocktail!
Find your own Travel Goals
There are 120 different travel goals in the book. They are essentially ideas for travel self discovery, some of which include:-
- Learn a craft
- Seek out sacred places
- Sleep under the stars
- Make a pilgrimage
- Meditate with masters
- Survive in the wilderness
- Help save an endangered species
- Live off the land
- Help a community rebuild
- Write a travel blog
- Visit empty places
- Join a conservation project
Each chapter describes the experience and what you’ll achieve or get out of it. There are also tips and resources to help you achieve your own travel goals if you’re searching for similar experiences.
This is a book to help you create positive, life-changing travel experiences.
I think you’ll love it as much as I do.
Pin this Post to your Travel or Books Board – Happy Pinning!
What travel goals do you have?
We’d love to hear about them in the comments 🙂
Let this video inspire you
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Excellent post! You had a great point on what you said! I think that travel really can change the perspective of seeing things to the people, knowing more about different cultures and create a sense of loving and missing yours, so I basically think that more time you are out of your country the most time you will miss everything of it!
Such an interesting sounding book. I lover travel too. Pinned for #mlstl
Thanks Debbie. Glad you liked it too 🙂
I saw this on a Lonely Planet post and bought it to put away to give to my daughter as part of her Christmas present. Don’t tell her that I’m reading it first…That’s our secret #MLSTL
Hi Jo! I’m so glad – it’s a great book, hey? I won’t tell – ahem! Lol. A girl after my own heart!
Your excellent points Johanna are the exact reasons why I love revisiting places we enjoyed the first time though were more focused on trying to capture the highlights.
Long haul flights always made us feel slightly guilty and aware of how unfriendly it was environmentally. I am hoping that planting 1000 plus trees in our previous lifestyle is helping our fossil fuel footprint. Maybe not! #MSTL
Planting 1000 trees I would say definitely gives you lots of Brownie points Suzanne. Good on you! Enjoy your new style of travelling too 🙂
We have done a fair amount of the check things off the list bucket travel. I have noticed that we do look for different things. For example, our first few trips to New York City were full of the must see things. Trips in later years involved more out of the way places, smaller attractions etc. and we got to know NYC in a different way.
Hi Michele, yes I think we do evolve as we get older, and see travel in a different light. I’m glad you’re getting to know other places at another pace and for different reasons. Travel is just wonderful 🙂
I don’t think I’ve travelled enough yet to actually need prompts on how to get the most out of the experience. I’m happy just travelling occasionally for pleasure but I’m sure regular travellers would love having some inspiration and lateral thinking being handed to them in such a readable format.
Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂
Hi Leanne, thanks for your compliments, and thank you for sharing – always so much appreciated 🙂 Yes, I understand your point here, and I think that perhaps how and why we travel is something which evolves, as we travel more.
Very interesting approach to travel, Jo, and certainly from a different perspective than in our younger days, as you mentioned. “Slow down and travel” is what I learned from reading this, and I think it’s a wonderful way to learn and see the world! #MLSTL
Hi Candi, yes I believe that as we get older slow travel in every respect of the phrase becomes the way to go! I just wouldn’t enjoy gadding quickly from place to place anymore, but the idea of a villa in the hills of Tuscany for a week or two sounds idyllic to my mind!
This book looks like a ‘must read’ Jo. I love this form of travelling and have a done a few of the ones you have listed. #MLSTL Will share
Hi Jennifer, It’s heartening to hear that so many people are thinking and embarking on more sustainable travel. Great that you’ve done a few of those listed 🙂 Onwards 🙂 And thanks so much for sharing – always much appreciated.