10 Travel Quotes to Ignite Your Inner Wanderlust

There are few pleasures in life as great as the one you feel when you travel. Imagine it right now: Packing up an old bag, booking the very next  flight, and jetting off into the sunset. If those words have your senses tingling, you’re not alone. Some of us have it in us; a pure love of the journeys we’ve yet to take. With that in mind, here are some quotes that will ignite your inner wanderlust.

1.  “There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign.” – Robert Louis Stevenson

Discovering new places is just part of the reason that people adore traveling. While some may see a world full of foreign scary places stretched out before them, there are others who see the great wonder that each place brings. The idea of spending time to truly get to know these new regions doesn’t fill them with fear, but excitement.

2.  “A journey is best measured in friends, rather than miles.” – Tim Cahill

Oh, and it’s not just about seeing new places and things; it’s about the people that you meet along the way. When you’re traveling around the globe, you’re likely to cross paths with people who you would never have met otherwise. These once-strangers are likely to come from different backgrounds, have different tales to tell, and share new things with you. When you come home, you have new friends around the world.

3.  “One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller

If you’ve traveled to any degree before now, you will know that it changes you in some small, yet fundamental way. All too often, people think that going to new places is just about seeing the sights and taking photos of tourist points. It’s not. What’s important about the act of adventuring is the many new perspectives it offers you.

4.  “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do.” – Mark Twain

Here’s one for all the ladies out there who are continuously putting off their dreams of seeing the world. There really is no time like the present. The more you tell yourself that you’ll do these things ‘one day,’ the farther away that day will become. The very last thing you want is to look back on your life and regret the trips you never took.

5.  “Travel far enough, you meet yourself.” ― David Mitchell

It may sound a little corny, but it’s true. When you wander, the thing that you’re most likely to find is yourself. Often enough, when we lead busy lives, we fail to truly get to know ourselves on any real level. Simply getting away from it all and taking some time out from our everyday existences could be enough to change that.

6.  “People don’t take trips, trips take people.” – John Steinbeck

By the way, if you think you’re in control of your travels, you’re sadly mistaken. From the minute that you embark on a new journey, it takes a hold of you. The most wonderful thing about this experience is the fact that, for once in your life, you really don’t have a clue where things are headed. Instead, you’re letting yourself be carried along; it’s a truly refreshing state.

7.  “Traveling: it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller.” — Ibn Battuta

Let’s not forget the greatest gift that travel affords you; the stories. You will never meet a boring person who has invested time in traveling. It’s just not possible. When a person has seen so much of what the planet has to offer, they have many things to share with each new friend that they meet along the way. Be that person. Be a storyteller.

8.  “Never go on trips with anyone you do not love.” — Ernest Hemingway

Make no mistakes, traveling with friends can be a tricky feat. You don’t want your journey to turn you into enemies. With that in mind, take note of this advice. Only travel with someone you truly love. That way, you won’t bicker, fight, or fall out with them. And if you’re not sure who you love right now, don’t be afraid to get out there alone. Fly solo.

9.  “Travel is never a matter of money but of courage.” – Paulo Coelho

Ladies who are put off traveling will often tell you that they don’t have the time or money to do so. Let’s be real; we all know that’s not the reason. To actually set your heart on traveling, be it alone or with others, you need a healthy helping of courage. No one wants to admit it, but traveling is seriously scary… and that’s just the thing that makes it so utterly exciting too.

10.  “I haven’t been everywhere, but it’s on my list.” – Susan Sontag

Finally, here’s a lesson in how we all ought to live. Forget having a limiting bucket list; you should aim to see as much of the world as you possibly can. Those who are natural wanderers will feel this statement more than most. Each day spent at home is wasted time; time that would be better spent journeying into foreign lands.