Best Travel Quotes That Inspire Us To See More, Do More, and Be More!
Best Travel Quotes That Inspire Us To See More, Do More, and Be More!
The first time I caught the travel bug was at age 19 on my first solo trip to Argentina. I was on my way to meet my penpal in Buenos Aires. We’d been writing to each other since Grade 1 and this was my first time leaving Canada on a solo international trip. As I was prepping for that trip, I remember writing travel quotes in my journal. I referred to them with growing excitement as I got further into my plans for visiting South America.
This quote was at the front of my travel journal in bold letters.
[bctt tweet=”Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things 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.” username=”reach_to_teach”]
That trip to South America was incredible. Suffice to say, I caught the travel bug! I also experienced my first case of the travel blues, which is a feeling I’ve become familiar with as I’ve ticked more countries off my list. That feeling of coming home and feeling like nothing else can compare to what you’ve just experienced has never left me.
I was hooked on travel, and I was hooked hard!
After Argentina, I was determined to see everything I could in this short life of mine. But first, I had to finish university and then I had to save. As soon as I graduated, I settled into a routine of saving as much money as I could. Each week I added a little more money to my savings account for traveling. Then I took a TEFL course in Ottawa, Canada in 2002. Six months later, I was on my way to China to teach English for one year. That first year turned into three years in China. I met a man and fell in love. We moved to Taiwan and we’ve been here ever since.
Every now and then, I turned to those wise words I’d started my first travel journal with. I’d run my fingers over that well worn page in my journal. It kept me on track with my dreams of traveling.
And while this quote continued to inspire me, many others did too! (I’ve since found out that Mark Twain did not write this quote, but it’s still on my list of best travel quotes of all time.)
My journals are full of favorite travel quotes that kept me pursuing my dream. As a budding world traveler, I looked to quotes by my favorite authors for inspiration. At times these quotes empowered me and motivated me to move faster towards my travel goals. Some of my best travel quotes have allowed me to reflect on my travels and think back about what I’ve learned along the way.
Best Travel Quotes
“Travel teaches toleration” – Benjamin Disraeli
“Take only memories, leave only footprints.” – Chief Seattle
“People don’t take trips — trips take people.” – John Steinbeck
“Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in an office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamned mountain.” – Jack Kerouac
“We travel, initially, to lose ourselves; and we travel, next to find ourselves.” – Pico Iyer
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu
“Life is either a daring adventure or nothing at all.” – Helen Keller
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” – Mae West
“Life is a journey, not a destination.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
“Tourists don’t know where they’ve been, travelers don’t know where they’re going.” – Paul Theroux
“Live with no excuses and travel with no regrets.” – Oscar Wilde
“Not all those who wander are lost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” – Saint Augustine
“Travel is glamorous only in retrospect.” – Paul Theroux
It’s through solo travel that we start to figure out who we are and what inspires us.
No matter where you are going, being away from everything that you’re familiar with is a test that every person should go through. Solo travel forces you to get by on your own. There is no better way to learn about yourself, break old routines, and create new ideas for yourself.
Of all the travel moments in my life, one of my most vivid travel memories is from Beijing in 2004. That trip is etched on my heart forever. I still get excited reading the passages in my journal from that trip so long ago. Pulling into Beijing by train that morning, I remember stepping into a life that was completely different to anything I had ever encountered before. I found peace while walking those streets. As I meandered to my hostel, I had never felt as alive as I did in that city at that moment in time.
Being away from home pushes you to find more opportunities and stop relying on comfort zones.
That’s what we hope all our teachers experience and learn for themselves.
