My Year of Travels – Best of 2018
If you follow my blog, you might have read my travel resolutions for 2018. If not, you can still catch up on it! This post was all about the goals that I wanted to set for this year. And now that 2018 is almost over, I want to review these goals for you. So what happened in my year of travels? What has changed and what was unexpected? What was good and what a bad experience? There are so many questions that I have to answer.
I also want to give you a summary of my most special trips of this year. So grab a coffee, hot chocolate or tea, lean back and enjoy my special moments with me. And maybe you get inspired now if it hasn’t already happened.
Philippines
Most people want to travel more often so they can remove a holiday destination from their bucket list. And that’s how it became a common travel resolution besides eating healthier and going to the gym – also for me. In my year of travels, I wanted to visit so many places, but the Philippines were high on my list and should be a big adventure for my boyfriend and me, too. My dream turned into a reality and so we traveled to the Philippines for two weeks earlier this year. It was an amazing trip with so many great experiences. So my advice: just take your chance, find a cheap flight and don’t be afraid of what could happen – it will be awesome!
Marrakech & Dublin
Another one of my resolutions was to be more spontaneous. Actually, this happened twice this year in a very short time. In May I found a cheap flight to Marrakech and so I decided one week before the flight to visit Africa. I got to know a new culture and cooked with locals – something I’ve never done before. Just two weeks later I had the chance to visit Dublin to meet up with a friend. And that’s what I did. Everything was not planned and still, I had a good time with lots of unforgettable memories. My advice here: Be spontaneous and go on a trip over a long weekend. Maybe it will be the highlight of your year of travel.
Ischia
See more than the big sights – that’s a resolution that I’ve done when I visited Ischia. I decided not to see the popular islands such as Capri, but to visit the less touristic Ischia. By staying in a guest-house on the little Italian island, you really get a feeling of how the locals live. So, in the end, it was a relaxing vacation with lots of new impressions. And it will be definitely not my last time there.
Algarve
When I learned how to surf in the Algarve, this vacation taught me something: appreciating what matters most in life. Because every time I tried to stand on the board and fell into the water over and over again, I realized that it doesn’t matter whether I will learn how to surf or not. What really matters is that I got the chance to try it. I was at a beautiful beach in Portugal with fabulous weather. What more could I ask for? So wherever you go, whatever country you will travel to, appreciate the moment – even if something goes wrong.
Mauritius
7 days of vacation left – so I needed to go somewhere to spend the rest of my vacation days at work for this year. And of course, I decided to travel again – this time with my Mom. Mauritius is considered a paradise island and it is the place I always wanted to visit. But it is also the place where I met so many nice and kind people. For example Ben. He was the host of the first accommodation and gave us helpful tips. Once he even took us to the supermarket without any asking. I just love meeting new people and it’s great to stay in touch for further visits. That’s also what I can tell you. Meet new people, make new friends and keep in touch. It’s so important and invaluable.
My year of travels – A review
All in all, I can say I did pretty much everything of my travel resolutions in my year of travels. And I’m glad and happy about it because I’ve learned and experienced so much! I hope this post will inspire you to build on your own resolutions, too, and to achieve them for the next year. But don’t see it as a list that you need to work off. Just keep your important things in mind and the rest will happen automatically.
Have you made any travel resolutions yet? I would also love to read your travel plans for 2019. I’m excited to get inspired.
Aaron (@1dish4the4road)
Wow, what incredible adventures you’ve had. Fascinating to read about them..
Postcards from V
Thanks a lot Aaron! Hope there are more to come…