Travel Quotes for the Wanderer

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This post combines two of my favorite things in life…travel and inspiring quotes. Words possess power and energy. For that reason, I surround myself with words that encourage, inspire, teach and motivate.

During these months of non-travel, quotes about traveling help feed my soul and keep my desire for exploring the world stoked. Some make my heart beat faster, in anticipation of the day I hop on a plane and fly over the ocean. Others remind me of my “big why” and the importance of travel in my life. And some quotes bring tears to my eyes as the longing for other places becomes an ache that cannot be eased.

Check out my favorite travel quotes for the wanderer. A photo from my travels accompanies each quote.

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

I’m a storyteller, from a family of travelers and storytellers. It’s how I love to communicate with others. Travel enriches my life and so many of my tales.

“We travel, some of us forever, to seek other places, other lives, other souls.”  Anais Nin

One of the things I most love about travel is meeting other people. My daughter, grandson and I toured Italy with Globus Tours. We joined a group of people from around the world. After 12 days together, we felt like family. Our amazing tour guide, Fabi, and incredible bus driver, Luciano, created that sense of togetherness on day one of our journey together.

“To awaken alone in a strange town is one of the pleasantest sensations in the world.” Freya Stark

Although I have not done so yet, solo travel is my next big adventure. It’s fun to go on adventures with family and friends. And, I believe I’ll learn new things about who I am as I set off on my own.

“Live, travel, adventure, bless and don’t be sorry.” Jack Kerouac

What a recipe for the adventurous life. I especially love the inclusion of “bless” and “don’t be sorry”. Blessing others I meet as I travel is important to me, even as I am blessed by others. It’s an ongoing ripple of energy made up of kindness and compassion. And equally important is experiencing it all without regrets. No holding back, no waiting until another time, no thinking I can do it later.

“He who is outside his door has the hardest part of his journey behind him.” Dutch Proverb

Such a Tokien-like quote, these words remind me of Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit. There’s nothing wrong with being an armchair traveler. However, we don’t experience the life changing events if we always stay safe within our homes. It takes courage to step through the door and allow adventure to sweep us away.

“The life you have led doesn’t need to be the only life you have.” Anna Quindlen

I began traveling internationally when I was well into my 50s. Just because I’ve not traveled much before doesn’t mean I can’t now. Thankfully, past actions don’t predict future actions. And even when those first travel opportunities came, I didn’t ever see myself as a travel “influencer”. How fun, on my most recent trip to Scotland, to experience comped meals in amazing vegan restaurants, in exchange for posts and social media shares.

“We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us.” Anonymous

Yes! My travels are not an escape from my life. The purpose beneath my journeys is to deeply participate in life. New adventures, new cultures, new people, food and languages all broaden my life experiences and raise my awareness so that I see with fresh perspectives.

“Not all those who wander are lost.”  J.R.R. Tolkien

Wise words from one of my favorite authors. They remind me that while it’s perfectly okay to plan out a trip it’s also okay…desirable even….to wander down intriguing streets or veer off the beaten path. Small towns in Italy beg the visitor to get a little lost, wandering the narrow lanes and exploring unexpected courtyards.

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

So strong is my connection to Scotland’s capital city that sometimes when I say I long to travel what I really mean is, I’m so missing Edinburgh. However, when I see photos of Bali or Greece or Brazil I think “I want to see it all.” As a result, my travel list is quite long! And Edinburgh remains, always, at the top of that list.

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.” Oliver Wendell Holmes

Oh I dearly love new experiences! Seeing something for the first time, even something familiar from photos and films, is one of my favorite things to do. How powerful to see Michelangelo’s David for the first time in person and the Leaning Tower of Pisa. And touring my ancestral home, Thirlestane Castle, after I’d read about it all my life, literally made me sit in silent wonder for a while before climbing the steps to the massive front door. I am changed and expanded by such experiences.

“Wherever you go becomes a part of you somehow.” Anita Desai

We all collect souvenirs when we travel. However, my favorite things to take home are bits and pieces of the experiences themselves. I adopt practices and customs from other countries, such as afternoon tea. Phrases from Italy or Ireland flavor my speech. Those countries become a part of me. Travel becomes written into my DNA.

“I am not the same, having seen the moon shine on the other side of the world.” Mary Anne Radmacher

How magical, when perspectives shift the familiar. Seeing the moon from a country across the Atlantic or tasting fresh basil pesto in a tiny village perched on a mountainside makes the ordinary extraordinary. My sense of curiosity and wonder spikes when encountering familiar things in fresh settings.

“Blessed are the curious for they shall have adventures.” Lovelle Drachman

Following curiosity leads me to such amazing adventures. Curiosity opens my  heart and soul and allows me to see with more than my physical eyes. Details stand out that I might miss without curiosity as my guide. And surprises await as I travel paths unknown.

“Wanderlust – noun. a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world” dictionary definition

I experience wanderlust quite frequently. That strong desire or impulse to wander and travel and explore the world motivates me to make my dreams reality.

“The more often I do things I want to do, the less bitter I am at people for doing what they want to do.” Glennon Doyle

While not exactly a travel quote, Glennon’s words remind me to express gratitude and happiness for others as they do what they most want to do. For me, doing what I most want to do involves travel. For someone else, it might include rescuing animals, acting in films or building houses. We are not competing for limited resources. Another’s success or joy does not diminish mine.

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the things you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” Mark Twain

Long one of my favorite quotes, Twain’s words encourage me to live life beyond the edges of fear, comfort zones and limiting beliefs. I’m not created to play it safe and remain tied to a dock. I’m made to live in expansive freedom and explore, dream and discover.

“When you have a dream, you’ve got to grab it and never let go.” Carol Burnett

Oh, am I ever a dreamer. Since early childhood, I’ve crafted the most vivid dreams about my future. As an adult I’ve learned that dreaming is vital to creating the reality I desire. If I imagine it, I can achieve it.

“And then there is the most dangerous risk of all – the risk of spending your life not doing what you want on the bet you can buy yourself the freedom to do it later.” Randy Komisar

These powerful words serve as a reminder to not wait. Honestly, at age 63, waiting is a greater risk than going for it. I refuse to spend my life “hoping for an opportunity later”. Every step I take toward realizing my dreams takes me closer to the reality of them.

“Travel isn’t always pretty. It isn’t always comfortable. Sometimes it hurts, it even breaks your heart. But that’s okay. The journey changes you; it should change you. It leaves marks on your memory, on your consciousness, on your heart, and on your body. You take something with you. Hopefully, you leave something good behind.” Anthony Bourdain

This is currently my top travel quote. The late Anthony Bourdain understood how travel changes a person. It’s not always pretty or comfortable or easy. It can be exhausting to the body and painful even.

However the impression travel makes as it leaves its marks on me is life shifting. Coming home I’m not the same person who left. I bring back with me experiences and new connections and discoveries I make about myself and the world around me. Every trip I take changes me a bit more. How can I not long to keep exploring and keep challenging myself to grow?

Favorite Travel Quote

My collection of travel quotes shifts and changes, as I do. They reflect different points on my journey. And sometimes they serve as a beacon, guiding me to the next right spot along the path.

Do you have a favorite travel quote? Please share it in the comments below!

 

 

 

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