So, I love traveling and nowadays I don’t even blink or hesitate before buying my plane tickets. I don’t think too much of my travels before I head off and I have just good feelings towards going out for new adventures. This post, “8 Travel Excuses and How to Overcome Them”, is a post to inspire you to start traveling and stop making excuses not to follow your dreams.
I kind of
Still, I know it’s not like this for everyone. Sometimes, and for some people, traveling can seem challenging, and organizing for a trip can seem like a hassle. In this post, a post a bit different from what I normally post, I’m listing some excuses I think many people make, to not follow their dreams.
I’ve also gathered posts from some amazing travel bloggers, to inspire you to take that trip you’ve been thinking about. Read some of the articles I’ve linked to and stop making excuses, and start looking forward to future adventures!
Table of Contents
You’re worried about traveling alone
You’re worried you’ll find yourself alone in a new place, where you don’t speak the language and won’t find your way around? Well, let me tell you that almost no matter how shy you are, you’ll find someone to vibe with. Traveling, there are plenty of ways to connect with other people on. Remember that you’re all in the same situation, and eager to explore a new place!
Head over to Ninas blog, “Nina Out and About” to read more about the pros and cons about traveling solo!
How to meet people when you travel alone
There are plenty of ways to meet people when you’re traveling. Here is just a couple of tips on where to meet people when you find yourself in a new place. I usually use couchsurfing or meet people through free walking tours or just in my hostel.
Couchsurf – Stay with a local
You can try to stay with a local through Couchsurfing. That way you will have someone to show you around or at least tell you about all the good places. If you don’t feel comfortable staying with someone through couchsurfing, reach out to someone that seems cool, and ask if you can grab a coffee. It’s a great way to get some local tips and maybe a new friend.
Many cities also have a lot of C
Couchsurfing is also an app, so it’s super easy to use even from your phone. Another app that can be
Read how Diana behind F
Stay in hostels if you travel alone
If you travel alone and want to meet like-minded people to explore the city with, stay in hostels. There are always other people traveling alone there, and you’ll surely find someone to spend time with. I always stay in dorms, and most of the time, the others in hotel dorms are also solo travelers. Even if you’re not ok with staying in hostel dorms, get a private room in a hostel. Just make sure that you stay in a place with good common areas and maybe a kitchen so that you have an area where you can
Attend a Free Walking Tour
Walking tours are also great places to get to know people. You usually spend a couple of hours walking around the city. It’s almost impossible not to start up a couple of conversations through out the tour. The bar is super low for it too. You usually walk a couple of minutes inbetween each location. This makes for a perfect amount of time to start up a conversation, and doesnt put a lot of preasuer on the whole thing, as you just have to keep the conversation going a couple of minutes at a time. I met one of my now closest friends, on a walking tour in Bogotá, Colombia back in 2017!
Walking tours are not only great to attend to meet people. A lot of cities have one or several companies offering FREE walking tours. I’ve attended some really great ones, and I always try to attend
Check out Sydney’s post about Free Walking Tours on “A World in Reach”, and more reasons to why it’s such a great way to see a city, basically for free.
Embrace your own company when you travel
And what’s really so bad about spending some time in your own company? I think we can learn a lot from spending some time alone. I surely have. Eating out alone, with a good book and a glass of red wine, might be a little weird
You don’t know what kind of travel you like
If you haven’t done a lot of
If you’re not sure what kind of travel style you like, think about how you live your day
Check out Yeshi’s excellent post on different travel types on her blog Hello Yeshi. Let me know which one captures your travel style! If you didn’t already guess it, I’m definitely the “backpacker”.
Also, take in to account what budget you have and what time you have available. By example; When I started my Latin America trip, I didn’t have the biggest budget, but I had no commitments at home when I started my travels in Latin America. Therefore I ended up backpacking low budget for months on end, volunteering and saving money where I could, to stay traveling. Find your style, take into account the time, budget and preferences you have. I’m sure you know deep down, what’s your kind of travel style.
The travel Bunny, Mirela, has a great introduction post about backpacking in the mountains, head over to check out if this kind of travel adventure could be something for you!
You are too busy working?
Instead of spending the weekend watching Netflix, or being social in your city. Sacrifice one weekend to a getaway. You don’t have to go on a 2 weeks trip everytime you travel. make the best out of what time you have avaliable.
Not to found of flying
Flying can be a hassle, there are lots of elements to take I to a count, from packing, luggage restrictions, delays, security and in general just the whole airport chaos. But there are ways to deal with it. My number one tip if airports stress you out is; meet up in good time.
If flying makes you nervous, bring things that make you feel comfortable, your favorite playlist, snacks, food
Read “With Caitlyn“‘s 10 tips to survive long haul flights to prepare for your next long-distance travel.
Not sure of you can affort it?
Struggling to make ends meet as it is? I promise you that there are so many small expenses in your day to day life that you don’t even know that you have. Things you don’t even think about, that in the end sums up. Drop eating out or ordering takeout and start cooking, stop buying coffee on the go but bring your cup of coffee from home. Stop buying new clothes, unless you absolutely truly need it. When you see how much money it’s possible to save by making minor changes, you will be able to save up for your next adventure!
Start planning your budget, prepared with these 12 hidden costs of traveling from “Career Gappers”, Alex and Lisa.
Travel also doesn’t have to be as expensive as you might think. You can even stay for free through Couchsurfing, or through a voluntary job. I spent months working in hostels where I had food included and worked about 8 hours 4 times a week. That gave me plenty of time to explore the areas nearby, get local and traveler friends, and I spent minimally.
Not sure where to go?
Go everywhere!!! No, but seriously, the options are endless. Start by deduction.
Take into consideration, how long you have, and if you want to get on a long flight or if it’s better to go somewhere a bit closer. Consider what climate you want and what kind of attractions you’re looking for. Figure out your budget and search for and
You want to travel, but you don’t feel ready yet
“If you keep waiting for the right time, it may never happen. Sometimes you have to make the most of the time you have.” – Ever My Merlin by Priya Ardis
Sometimes you just have to take a leap of faith and trust that you’re making the right moments for yourself, instead of waiting for a sign. I think travel will make you ready for whatever lies ahead of you. If you think you have to get your life in order before traveling, think of it like this instead; Travel to get your life and priorities in order!
Read about all the mental health benefits of traveling on Sippin’ Gypsy’s blog.
You think it will be to complicated to travel with your kids
Are you thinking that traveling with your kids will be too complicated? Too stressful? Traveling is, if you ask me, a form of educating yourself. We open our minds, we learn to empathize with others and get a better understanding of the world and its cultures and diversities. I don’t have kids myself, but I’ve some amazing blogger collegues that
Think back to your first travel memories. Magical? Interesting? I’m sure they were memorable. Wouldn’t you want your kids to have the same experiences? Jayashree has written a beautiful post about how traveling helped her interpret life, read it to get inspired to share the beauty of the world with everyone you care about.
Read about why Alison behind the blog “Five Family Adventures”, thinks traveling with kids is so important. She writes “In truth, no perfect age exists to start traveling with kids, so just start now. Beginning while they’re younger helps children develop a deeper appreciation for the world around them.”.
If you’re worried about your kid’s safety and it’s keeping you from discovering the world as a family, read these 10 travel safety tips for families on “Roots Wings and Travel Things”.
I hope this blogpost inspiered you to start planning your next adventure. Hopefully you also discovered some amazing blogs while reading it too. Let me know where you want to travel to next!
This is such a great post to bring together the advice and experiences of other travelers! Thank you for including me! Cheers!
I absolutely love what you did with this post!!!! Thanks for including us- we hope to help families realize that they too CAN travel with kids!!!!
This is a wonderful post, Julie! I always tell everyone not to let excuses get them down and this post really sums that up!
I hear far too many excuses about why people don’t travel, but I guess it’s important to prioritise travel, isn’t it? I’m definitely going to be reading those tips about saving money, because that’s my biggest excuse right now!
My favorite one is “Embrace your own company when you travel” – this is so true and I think only if you are able to do so, you really enjoy traveling solo. Great post!