Did you know that writing your to-dos down on a piece of paper makes them way more likely to happen? It’s scientifically proven. That’s why we suggest grabbing a pen and paper so you can jot down your favourite travel resolutions for the coming year! You can thank us when you’re pursuing happiness by careening down a sand dune in Morocco, improving your work-life balance in Peru, or saving money (up to 25% off) on worldwide travel in The Great Adventure Sale from now until January 31. Write that down!
1. Put bigger smiles on your face
Want to spend weeks absolutely beaming with joy? Then make sure you’re on a Moroccan adventure that includes walking tours of the iconic blue city of Chefchaouen, a guided Rif Mountain hike that ends with goat cheese making led by a local family, and sleeping under the stars in a Saharan desert camp. Your cheeks should hurt just thinking about it.
Resolve to join us on: Explore Morocco: The North & The Sahara
2. Get your finances in order
You’re not alone in feeling the pinch on everything from soup to nuts, but you still need to get out and see the world! Do your wallet a solid by timing your booking for the very best prices of the year. (Friendly reminder: That’s now in our Great Adventure Sale). But where to go for maximum value? Peru’s a superb deal thanks to its abundance of scenery, wildlife, mountain vistas, epic activities, and exclusive stays in one jam-packed itinerary.
Resolve to join us on: Amazon to the Andes
3. Plan something to look forward to
Anticipation isn’t just a Carly Simon song, it’s proven to be a huge mood booster. Put a week’s vacation on the books now with an express trip taking in the wonderment of Northern Thailand in Kanchanaburi, Ayutthaya, and Chiang Mai. Get hyped on sleeping in a floating rafthouse, seeing multi-tiered Erewan Falls, and witnessing the serenity of temples new and old.
Resolve to join us on: Bangkok to Chiang Mai Express
4. Do more with less
If you’re in that 18-to-Thirtysomethings range, you’re likely looking to travel on a tighter budget. But that doesn’t mean missing out on maximum fun! Spend 15 days roadtripping from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City with epic stops in Hue, Hoi An, and Nha Trang among others. The basics (and then some) are covered and you can opt in to extra activities as your budget allows.
Resolve to join us on: Vietnam: Roadtrip Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City
5. Kick off a digital detox
What if we told you that you could learn a dizzying amount about Egypt in two weeks without googling it? Put down your phone (unless it’s up for pictures) and turn your attention to our local Egyptologists leading the way through ancient history. You’ll wander the region’s iconic attractions, learn hidden secrets, and get first-hand experience of daily life in Egypt including a home-cooked meal.
Resolve to join us on: Highlights of Egypt
6. Explore a new hobby
Travel is inspiration itself and no place delivers it quite like the colourful rural life, architecture, and culture found in Northern India. Want to try your hand at travel photography? Bring an analog camera and 35mm film to capture the grainy goodness of the Pink City of Jaipur, the Amber Fort, ancient stepwells, and rural villages. Or, get hands on at a women-led block printing experience to see if this centuries-old art form is for you.
Resolve to join us on: Golden Triangle
7. Drink more water
Doctors these days aren’t happy unless your eyeballs are floating, so we suggest heading to the parched sands of Jordan to encourage greater hydration. (We are not doctors but this is surely sound medical advice.) Once there you can sip on your favourite reusable water bottle as you zoom over the Wadi Rum desert in a 4×4, dine on a traditional dinner, and overnight in a Bedouin tent. Drink up ahead of your Dead Sea dip as the high salt content can dehydrate you quickly!
Resolve to join us on: Highlights of Jordan
8. Break in a new pair of hiking boots
Each new year is a chance to rack up fresh accomplishments like reaching the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro. But you won’t get far if the first time you lace them up is at the base of the 62km (37 mi) climb. Find a comfy pair of lightweight and waterproof hiking boots and work them in at your local trails first to lessen how much your feet will be “Kili-ing” you on Africa’s highest peak.
Resolve to join us on: Mt Kilimanjaro Trek – Machame Route (8 Days)
9. Say ‘yes’ to everything
Hiking, biking, horseback riding, whitewater rafting, surfing, and ziplining — Costa Rica makes it easy to try them all. As the ‘Adventure Capital of the Americas’, it’s the perfect place for thrill-seekers new and old to try all of the activities. Plus, there’s time to unwind (and soothe aching muscles) at our remote rainforest lodge and the beach at Puerto Viejo.
Resolve to join us on: Costa Rica Active Adventure
10. Spend quality time with local people
Interested in befriending people that few outsiders even have the honour to meet? That’s exactly what you do on a Local Living trip to the Amazon Rainforest. Get whisked to your new jungle home to meet the Quicha family hosting you for four nights. You’ll discover jungle waterfalls, travel to an animal rescue by canoe, and learn how to use a blowgun at a shaman ceremony!
Resolve to join us on: Local Living Ecuador—Amazon Jungle
11. Learn (and practice) a new language
Part of the fun before a big foreign trip is prepping yourself with key phrases like, “this sushi isn’t sitting right” or “can I hug the deer in Nara?” (The answer to the latter is no but you can feed them deer crackers!) Start cramming now by downloading language apps like Duolingo, watching Japanese shows with subtitles, or connecting online with language exchange partners.
Resolve to join us on: Japan Express – Osaka to Tokyo
12. Make new friends (including yourself)
Tired of waiting for free time to align with your adventure buddies? Always ready to head out on a whim on your own? Meet Solo-ish Adventures: our brand new solo-only travel style that helps you meet instant new besties (in Greece, among others) and still enjoy plenty of me-time. We ‘opa!’ you enjoy the Greek cooking class and dinner party in Athens!
Resolve to join us on: Solo-ish Greece
13. Start your inner journey
Time to get off the hot mess express? There’s no better place to unwind your mind than the spiritual and tropical wonderland of Bali. Your journey inward starts with a traditional offering in Ubud before immersing yourself in nine days of yoga, healing ceremonies, and healthier eating. Plus, the serene beaches of Pemuteran and Sanur help you feel better about, well, everything.
Resolve to join us on: Wellness Bali
14. Travel lighter and more responsibly
Gone are the days of dragging giant suitcases across the globe so that you can have the comforts of home along for the ride. Minimalism and a lighter load are where it’s at especially when you’re overnighting in the wildlife-packed salt pans of Etosha National Park. Leave only footprints on star dunes in the Namib Desert, tread lightly through a Quiver Tree Forest, and support the San people with a visit to their heritage centre.
Resolve to join us on: Cape & Dunes Discoverer
15. Go big on one goal
While we don’t recommend running out and scaling Mount Everest next week, we do appreciate lofty goals and offer the next best thing. For active adventurers not afraid to break a sweat, our Everest Base Camp Trek rewards you with well-earned views of mighty Himalayan peaks, Sherpa villages, glacial moraines, and next-level bragging rights for years to come.
Resolve to join us on: Everest Base Camp Trek
16. Improve your work-life balance
In our work from anywhere era, it’s easier to stay productive while enjoying a major change of scenery. Many destinations like Lima are ideal for digital nomads or those just looking to stay longer in one place. The city has high-speed internet, plenty of co-working spaces, and tasty Peruvian cafes for lunch. Most importantly, it’s a solid base for paid time off to tackle the Inca Trail and Machu Picchu without the long slog back to WFH or the office.
Resolve to join us on: Inca Discovery Plus
17. Spend more time with your family
Why do some families fly all the way to Thailand just to lie on the beach? We’re stumped. The best family memories are made when your trip is packed with bona fide local experiences like longboat tours of Bangkok’s klongs (canals), meeting hill tribe communities, hands-on cooking classes in Chiang Mai, and then plenty of free time to swim and surf in Phuket.
Resolve to join us on: Thailand Family Adventure
18. Visit all 63 US National Parks
For those with completionist tendencies, you can find any number of cool scratch-off, sticker, or pushpin ways to track your progress through iconic American parklands. And we can help you make a serious dent with one 16-day trip through seven of the best national parks in the west: Joshua Tree, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Grand Canyon, Death Valley, Sequoia, and Yosemite.
Resolve to join us on: USA National Parks Explorer
19. Eat healthier to fuel adventure
If you’ve ever been caught drinking straight from the gravy boat, it might be time to take stock of your eating habits. Rather than counting calories and making yourself miserable, increasing your physical activity is a gateway to healthier eating. Even better if you’re prepping for an active vacation that includes hiking, biking, kayaking, and more to get an authentic taste of Vietnam. Did we mention there’s noodles? Oodles of them but you can just work them off!
Resolve to join us on: Vietnam Hike, Bike & Kayak
20. Add some spice to your life
It’s hard to think of a more tantalizing adventure than tasting your way through most of Morocco. Let the souk spices lead the way to lively group dinners, hands-on goat cheese making on a farm in the Rif Mountains, Moroccan bakery and food tours, desert camp teas, and tasty tangia lunch you learned to make yourself. Yum yum!
Resolve to join us on: Morocco: North, South & Marrakech
21. Cut down on alcohol
Once the champagne cork pops on a new year and the hangover kicks in, you might want to go easier on the tipple. Our recommendation? Head for a place like the Maldives where drinking among the local people is strictly forbidden. That’s not to say you can’t drink (resorts and live aboard boats serve visitors) but it’s easier to cut back when it’s not part of the culture. Plus, you’ll be surrounded by the endless natural highs of sunny atolls and epic marine life.
Resolve to join us on: Sri Lanka & Maldives Adventure
22. Make more meaningful connections
A tour that shuttles you from stop to stop for a quick photo op is not our kind of adventure. At the heart of every itinerary is creating opportunities to uplift local communities with your visit. Meet local Nepalese women and learn to make momos for lunch, experience the Dragon Kingdom with cultural interactions at a local farm, learn block printing at a women-led workshop in Jaipur, and spend a night with the indigenous Tharu community in Chitwan.
Resolve to join us on: Himalayan Adventure: India, Nepal & Bhutan
23. Introduce friends to your kind of travel
Know someone who needs to get out of their comfort zone in a way that feels comfortable to them? Maybe your mom puts everyone else first or your bestie can’t deal with logistics. Book them onto a holiday with you where your local skipper shows them the ropes on our yacht. Let the wind and a flexible schedule take you from Venice along the Adriatic coastline for idyllic stops on the way to Slovenia and Croatia.
Resolve to join us on: Sailing Italy to Croatia
24. Get a better night’s sleep
Forget counting sheep — we think counting Icelandic horses and gazing at otherworldly auras makes for peaceful slumber. After the long dark days of Icelandic winter, hikes to waterfalls, lava cave explorations, and hot spring dips you’ll be ready for bed in no time. Long after you return home from spending crisp nights looking northward, memories of the Aurora Borealis will bring you peace of mind. Honk-shoo!
Resolve to join us on: Iceland Northern Lights & Golden Circle
25. Take your trip home with you
An adventure is best when the people you meet and the memories made stay with you long after the journey home. From chronicling a moment on the Inca Trail in a travel journal, to taking home a handwoven scarf from the Ccaccaccollo Women’s Weaving Co-op, to gathering spices for a Peruvian recipe, there are plenty of ways to capture connections beyond plastic souvenirs. Stay in touch with your fellow travellers, send a postcard to your homestay hosts, or plan to return again some day soon for lasting good feels.
Resolve to join us on: Absolute Peru
If you’re looking to make some of these travel resolutions happen in 2025, now’s the time. Until January 31, you can save up to 25% on 500+ trips all across the world in The Great Adventure Sale. Peru, Morocco, Thailand, Egypt, and so many more — get immersed in iconic destinations with seasoned pros doing it since 1990.
