On my radar: 2024 travels + beyond

Everywhere I want to go this year (and this decade)

Written By Lauren

You can’t get where you’re going unless you know where you’re going, right?

And now that I’m clarifying my vision for what I want, I’m starting to get a handle on all the places I want to visit in this lifetime, and more specifically, this trip around the sun.

Is it just me or does it seem like travel bloggers and creators are always on the go? This perception is probably skewed from social media and not posting in real time, but to be honest, the idea of having to always be on to the next thing was one of the biggest mental hurdles I had to overcome to start my travel writing journey.

Because I don’t want to be traveling all the time.

You see, I’ve always had a strong sense of belief that my everyday life should be just as beautiful and soul-nourishing as my adventure time is. Obviously, I love traveling, for pure travelings sake.

I love novelty and discovering new places and meeting new people. I love the way the soul of places feel. Each place has it’s own spirit, it’s own je ne sais quoi. And I love to be in that, to be deeply in that place, even if only for a brief moment.

I’d rather spend two days strolling aimlessly through Paris, sipping cafe au lait’s on sidewalk cafes while I people watch, then spend a week with an itinerary so jam packed I don’t have a moment to myself to think or reflect.

But I also love being home. I love my daily rhythms and routines. I’ve worked incredibly hard to make my everyday reflect a state of flow that honors my needs. I love my Sunday night baths in my clawfoot tub. I love my shifts at the local coffee shop. I love walking around my neighborhood, weekly training sessions at my dojo, classes at my yoga studio down the road, my morning cup of coffee, my nightly reading time. These are all things that are deeply nourishing to me on a soul level. These are not things I want or need to escape from.

And yet, I also feel fully myself when I’m out on the open road, in the thick of a weeks long adventure, throwing all routines to the wind. It’s good for the soul to shake it up every once in a while, ain’t it?

After all, contrast is the spice of life.

It’s taken me thirty-some years to realize that I am not a linear being. I am cyclical. All these things I’m drawn towards are spokes on a wheel. I need Paris and I need New Orleans. I need Nashville and I need New Mexico. I need city skyscrapers and I need prairie skies. I need the ocean and the mountains. I need time at home; time spent inwards in rest. And I need time out and about; that expansive, outward-facing energy that wants to take it all in and experience it all. All spokes on the same wheel, ever-turning.

After looking over my wonderlist of all the places I want to go and adventures I want to have, I’ve devised a plan (hello, I am a Virgo, after all).

For the time being I’m gonna try it on for size and see how it goes. This might be more information than you ever wanted (ha), but maybe it’ll help you work out a travel schedule that works best for you, financially, spiritually, and logistically.

The plan

• Six trips (give or take) each year
  – International trip (1-3 weeks)
  – Tropical seaside escape (stateside or otherwise — 1 week)
  – Southern locale (3-4 days)
  – Solo spirit quest / nature vibes (4-5 days)
  – Road / train trip vibes (7-10 days)
  – City vibes / wherever else my soul is calling me at the time 🙂
• Every continent (minus Antartica because brrr) every decade

Six trips a year means I don’t have to be on the go every month, and I really need that space in my life for my mental health. And in a few years, I hope to start adding some long stays into the mix.

I’m also a person that likes to travel back to my favorite places / different areas of the same places. I’m very rarely a one-and-done kinda gal.

[ Will travel for vibes ]

2024

Thirty, flirty + thriving: the 2020’s

I was fortunate enough to be born near the beginning of the decade (’91, if you must know), so each decade here on earth roughly bookends my own personal decade (twenties, thirties, forties, you get the idea).

So far this decade, I’ve been to:

✔️ South Dakota (solo spirit quest / road trip)
✔️ New Mexico (solo spirit quest / road trip)
✔️ Boyne, Michigan
✔️ Vegas (several times, unfortunately for my nervous system)
✔️ Petoskey, Michigan
✔️ Maui
✔️ Iceland
✔️ Grayling, Michigan
✔️ Great Southern Road Trip — Nashville, Fort Lauderdale, Savannah, Charleston
✔️ West Virginia
✔️ Oahu
✔️ NYC
✔️ LA
✔️ Traverse City + Leelanau Peninsula, Michigan

On my radar for the rest of the ’20s:

I honestly don’t know if I’m actually going to make it to all these places, but by having an (albeit rough) outline, I’ll know when I will need to plan and book trips by. We’ll see how this changes over the next few years.

Africa

South Africa + Tanzania
(Cape Town, Johannesburg, Rovos Rail)

Asia

Japan
Southeast Asia
Singapore
Bali

Caribbean + Central America

Mexico
Puerto Rico
Cuba
Costa Rica
Bahamas
Antigua

Europe

Southern Italy (Sicily) + Rome
London
Ireland
Paris + Strasbourg in December
Venice + Vienna + Paris on the Venice Simplon Orient Express
Scotland (Edinburgh + Highlands)
Budapest
Istanbul

Middle East

Saudi Arabia

Pacific Islands

Australia road trip (Sydney)

South America

Columbia

Stateside

San Fran, California
Austin + Marfa, Texas
West Coast road trip
St. Augustine, Florida
Yellowstone National Park
Palm Springs, California
NYC (always)
Lowcountry, South Carolina
(Charleston, Montage Palmetto Bluff, Hilton Head, Beaufort)
Thoroughbred County, South Carolina
New Orleans for a month
Taos, New Mexico
Kauai, Hawaii

Solo spirit quests

Travelers Rest, South Carolina
Grand Tetons National Park, Wyoming
Chaco + Chimayo, New Mexico
John Muir Woods + Redwoods, California
Custer State Park, South Dakota
White Sands, New Mexico

Truth be told, I’m not exactly sure how I’m actually going to accomplish all of this in the next decade. But one thing’s for sure, you can’t get to where you want to go if you don’t know where you want to go.

As Oprah said, “People get to where they want to go because they know where they want to go.”

So here’s to setting intentions, marking those maps, and planning those trips!

What about you, friends? What’s on your list this year? This decade? Let’s make it happen!

Adventure Awaits!